| Garden Center in Hudson, NH |
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Countrybrook Farms Nursery & Garden Center
175 Lowell Road Route 3A
Hudson, NH USA 03051
603-886-5200
"Where your daydream landscape becomes reality" |
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Botanical Latin Name vs Common Name
In the 18th century, Latin was the universal language of scientists. Carolus Linnaeus, (1707 – 1778) was a botanist and compulsive organizer. He was the founder of the Botanical naming system. The naming system may include a plants place of origin, leaf, bud, branch or flower description, special characteristics, or even named after a person.
His system for naming, ranking, and classifying organisms was published in his book called Species Plantarum in 1753. Johann Siegesbeck was a harsh critic who vehemently opposed the botanical naming system. Linnaeus honored him by naming a plant after him ‘Siegesbeckia’ which is a small, useless, European weed.
The botanical naming system is still in worldwide use today, with many new plant discoveries and many changes. His ideas on classification have influenced generations of biologists during and after his own lifetime. In his naming system, the first Latin word, spelled with a capital letter indicated the genus. The second name, not capitalized pinpoints the species. In some instances there is also a 3rd cultivar name. (There are also sub-species, plant family, clones, hybrids and other details but for the sake of my sanity, I’m not going to go there.) Genus species 'Cultivar' - is how names usually appear For example: Abies balsamea ‘Nana’ To Simplify, think of the genus (Abies) like a person’s last name and the species (balsamea) as the first name, and the cultivar 'Nana' as one of the children. Abies is a Fir tree. There are about 50 different fir trees. The balsamea a type of fir tree, the most common is often used as Christmas trees. Then ‘Nana’ narrows it down to a dwarf selection of Balsam Fir that was discovered in our New Hampshire White Mountains that is only 12” tall when mature.
There is understandably much confusion regarding plant names. If you look for one specific plant you may discover it is known by many different common names. Common names are like nicknames. Here in our NH area we may refer to Hibiscus moscheutos as Hardy Hibiscus, or a Perennial Hibiscus another part of the country refers to the same plant as Swamp Rose, or Rose Mallow. Another Hibiscus we refer to by common name as Rose of Sharon is also known as Althea Shrub is actually Hibiscus syriacus. This is the reason we use a universal Latin naming system. Every plant in the world has one unique Latin name.
Other than being hard to pronounce, very often the botanical Latin name has meaning that is descriptive of the plants appearance, origin, or other characteristic. Example:
alba or albo *means white, has white variegations, for instance: Cornus alba ‘Ivory Halo’ See this list below for frequently used botanical names and their meaning: aculeatus * prickly, thorny
aethiopium * from Africa
alpin * alpine regions
andi * from the Andes region
aurea, aureo * golden, yellow variegations or coloration
bicolor * of two colors
canadensis * from Canada
chinensis * from China
compactus * compact growth
concolor * one color
conicus * cone-shaped, conical
crispa * finely waved, curled
contorta, tortulosa * means contorted, twisted, growth habits
decumbens * with prostrate stems, the tips ascending
fastigiata * tall, slender, upright, columnar shape
flava * yellow
glauca * blue, describes a blue coloration
glabra * shiny, silvery, describes coloration
globosus, globosa * spherical, globe shaped
gracilis * graceful
graeca * from Greece
helvetica * from Switzerland
japonica * from Japan
littoralis * of the seashore
macrophyllus * with large leaves
marginata * marginal, margins variegation
maritima * from near the sea
medio * middle variegation
mollis * soft
montana, montanus * from the mountains
nana * small, dwarf, slow growing
officinalis * originally used medicinally
palmate, palmatum * hand-shaped leaves
palmatus * lobed like a hand
palustris * from marshes or wetlands
pictum * painted
prostrata * low to the ground, creeping
pendula * weeping growth habit
procumbens * lying along the ground
pubescens * covered with downy hairs
pumilia * low-growing, dwarf
purpurea, atropurpurea * purple, purple coloration
pygmaea * small
riparius * of river banks
rotunda, rotundifolia * round shaped
rubra * red, red colorations
semperflorens * ever-flowering
sempervirens * evergreen
sinense * from China
striata * streaks variegation
tricolor * a three color blend of variegation
variegata * variegated general variegation
zebrina, zebrinus * striped or banded | |
| Are you still with me here? Good! Anyone that's ever seen lists of botanical names knows that they can be a real mouthful! See the list below for pronounciations....
Botanical Names Pronunciations
* * * A * * *
Acer rubrum *AY-sir ROO-brum*
Achillea *ah-KILL-lee-ah*
Actaea *ak-TAY-ah*
Agastache *ag-ah-STASH-ee*
Agave colorata *ah-GAH-vay kul-or-AH-tah*
Ajuga reptans *ah-JEW-gah REP-tanz*
Alchemilla alpina *al-kem-ILL-ah al-PINE-ah*
Allium thunbergii *AL-lee-um thun-BER-jee-eye*
Amsonia hubrichtii *pam-SO-nee-ah hew-BRIK-tee-eye*
Anthemis tinctoria *an-THEME-is tink-TOR-ee-ah*
Anthericum saundersiae *an-THER-ih-cum son-DERS-ee-ay*
Aquilegia *a-quill-EE-jee-ah*
Asclepias tuberosa *ah-SKLEE-pee-us too-ber-OH-sah*
Astilbe chinensis *ah-STILL-bee chin-EN-sis*
* * * B * * *
Baptisia australis *bap-TIZ-ee-ah oss-TRAL-iss*
Brugmansia suaveolens *brug-MAN-see-ah swah-vee-OH-lenz*
Buddleia davidii *BUD-lee-ah da-VID-ee-eye*
* * * C* * *
Calamintha grandiflora *kal-ah-MIN-thah gran-dih-FLOOR-ah *
Chamaemelum nobile *kam-ah-MEL-um NO-bih-lay*
Chelone obliqua *kee-LOW-nay ob-LEE-qua*
Chrysogonum virginianum *kris-SOG-oh-num ver-jin-ee-AY-num*
Clematis armandii *KLEM-ah-tis ar-MAHN-dee-eye*
Clematis viticella *KLEM-ah-tis vih-tih-SELL-ah*
Cleome hassleriana *klee-OH-mee hass-ler-ee-AY-nah*
Clethra alnifolia *KLETH-rah all-nih-FOE-lee-ah*
Coreopsis grandiflora *kor-ee-OP-sis gran-di-FLOR-ah*
Cotoneaster microphyllus *kah-TONE-ee-ass-ter my-kro-FY-lus*
Crocosmia *krow-KOZ-mee-ahn*
Cuphea micropetala *KOO-fee-ah my-kro-PET-ah-lah*
* * * D * * *
Dianthus deltoides *dy-ANN-thus del-TOY-deez*
Dicentra scandens *dy-SEN-trah skan-denz*
* * * E * * *
Echinacea purpurea *eh-ki-NAY-see-ah per-per-EE-ah*
Echinops ritro *EH-kih-nops RIT-tro*
Epimedium x youngianum *ep-ih-MEE-dee-um ex yung-ee-AY-numn*
Euonymus fortunei *yew-ON-ih-mus for-TOON-ee-eye*
Eupatorium maculatum *yew-pa-TOR-ee-um mak-yew-LAY-tum*
Euphorbia polychroma *yew-FOR-bee-ah pol-ee-KRO-mah*
* * * F * * *
Filipendula rubra *fih-lih-PEND-yew-lah ROO-brah*
Fothergilla major *fah-ther-GILL-ah MAY-jor*
* * * G * * *
Geranium sanguineum *je-RAY-nee-um san-GWIN-ee-um*
* * * H * * *
Hakonechloa macra *ha-KON-eh-klo-ah MAK-rah*
Hamelia patens *ham-EL-ee-ah PAT-enz*
Helianthus salicifolius *he-lee-AN-thus sah-lih-sih-FOE-lee-us*
Helleborus foetidus *hel-LEB-or-us FET-ih-dus*
Helleborus orientalis *hel-LEB-or-us o-ree-en-TAH-lis*
Hemerocallis *hem-er-o-KAL-us*
Hosta *HOSS-tah*
Hydrangea macrophylla *hy-DRAN-jah mak-ro-FYE-lah*
Hydrangea serrata *hy-DRAN-jah ser-RAH-tah*
Hymenoxys acaulis *hy-men-OX-iss ah-CALL-iss*
* * * I * * *
Ipomoea batatas *eye-poe-MEE-ah bah-TAH-tass*
* * * K * * *
Kalimeris pinnatifida *kal-ih-MER-iss pin-nah-TI-fi-dah*
Knautia macedonica *NOT-ee-ah mass-eh-DON-ih-cah*
Kniphofia *ny-FOE-fee-ah*
* * * L * * *
Lantana *lan-TAN-ah*
Lavandula angustifolia *la-VAN-dew-lah an-gus-ti-FO-lee-ah*
Liatris spicata *lee-AH-tris spih-KAH-tah*
Lysimachia nummularia *lye-si-MAK-ee-ah num-u-LAR-ee-ah*
* * * M * * *
Melianthus major *mel-ee-AN-thus MAY-jor*
Miscanthus sinensis *mis-KAN-thus si-NEN-sis*
Monarda didyma *mo-NAR-da DID-ih-mah*
* * * N * * *
Nicotiana alata *ni-KO-shi-ay-nah ah-LAY-tah*
* * * O * * *
Oenothera macrocarpa *ee-NOTH-er-ah mak-roe-KAR-pah*
Ophiopogon japonicus *oh-fee-oh-POE-gon jah-PON-ih-kus
Origanum vulgare *oh-RIG-an-um vul-GAR-ay*
Osteospermum *oss-tee-oh-SPERM-um*
* * * P * * *
Papaver nudicaule *pa-PAH-ver new-di-KAW-lee*
Papaver rhoeas *pa-PAH-ver RO-ee-ahs*
Papaver somniferum *pa-PAH-ver som-NIF-er-um*
Penstemon pinifolius *PEN-steh-mon pin-ih-FO-lee-us*
Perovskia atriplicifolia *per-OV-skee-ah at-trih-pliss-ih-FOE-lee-ah*
Persicaria amplexicaulis *per-si-KAR-ee-ah am-plex-i-KAWL-is*
Phlomis fruticosa *FLOW-miss fru-tih-KOE-sah*
Phlox paniculata *floks pah-nik-yew-LAY-tah*
Phygelius x rectus *fye-JEE-li-us ex REK-tus*
Picea glauca *py-SEE-ah GLOK-ah*
Plectranthus *plek-TRAN-thus*
Plumbago auriculata *plum-BAY-go or-ick-u-LAH-tah*
* * * R * *
Rudbeckia fulgida *rud-BEK-ee-ah FULL-jih-dah*
Ruellia elegans *roo-EL-ee-ah EL-eh-ganz*
* * * S * * *
Salvia greggii *SAL-vee-ah GREG-ee-eye*
Salvia nemorosa *SAL-vee-ah nem-or-O-sah*
Salvia splendens *SAL-vee-ah SPLEN-denz*
Santolina chamaecyparissus *san-toe-LEE-nah kam-ah-sip-ar-ISS-us*
Schizachyrium scoparium *skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um skoe-PAR-ee-um*
Sisyrinchium angustifolium *sis-i-RIN-kee-um an-gus-ti-FO-li-um*
Solenostemon scutellarioides*sol-en-oh-STEM-on skoot-el-lar-ee-OY-deez*
Solidago rugosa *sol-ih-DAY-go roo-GO-sah*
Strobilanthes dyerianus *stroe-bih-LAN-theez dy-err-ee-AY-nus*
* * * T * * *
Teucrium aroanium *TEW-kree-um a-RO-nee-um*
Thunbergia alata *thun-BER-jee-ah ah-LAY-tah*
Thymus pseudolanuginosus *TY-mus soo-doe-lan-oo-gan-OH-sus*
Tradescantia x andersoniana*trad-es-KAN-tee-ah ex an-der-so-nee-AH-nah*
Tsuga canadensis *SUE-gah kan-ah-DEN-sis*
* * * V * * *
Verbena bonariensis *ver-BEE-nah bon-ar-ee-EN-sis*
Veronica spicata *ver-ON-ih-kah spi-KAH-tah*
Veronicastrum virginicum *ver-on-ih-KAS-trum vir-JIN-ih-kum*
Viburnum rhytidophyllum *vy-BURN-um rih-tid-oh-FY-lum
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