Friday, April 17, 2009 4:08 PM CDT
Yard and Garden: Plant Latin for dummies -- A short glossary of terms to help identify plants
By Jacqueline Record, Master Gardener
The common names of plants differ all over the world, but they also differ by region in the U.S., or even by neighborhood. What my mother called five o’clocks are four o’clocks in Illinois, and for all I know are six or seven o’clocks somewhere in the plant world.
The spiky, semi-succulent plant known to most of us as mother-in-law’s tongue is properly Sansevieria trifasciata. But it is called snake plant in some places and I recently saw it growing wild in a tropical bird sanctuary. There it was named the equivalent of “serpent’s tongue.”
Back in the 18th century a Swedish scientist named Carl von Linne found this confusion of names very upsetting. Von Linne was a botanist, explorer and medical doctor and a very precise man who thought the fact that his countrymen didn’t always know a daisy from a chrysanthemum was unsettling, to say the least.
He began to classify, in Latin (the scientific language of that day and this) all the known plants of his time, just a few thousand, according to the reference materials I have seen.
After years of research Carolus Linnaeus, as he became known, published “Species Plantarum,” setting forth the classification system that is still the basis for the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature used all over the world today.
To change these scientific names actually requires special action by the International Botanical Congress. That does happen from time to time, as when it was decided several years ago to change the classification of the plant some of us still call chrysanthemum, but which is now officially named dendranthema. The botanical powers that be decreed that the plant had been misclassified, but that is another story.
We can understand why a uniform classification and naming system is imperative for commercial and academic horticultural purposes, but why should this matter to you?
Perhaps it doesn’t, but imagine that you want to replace a lavender plant or two, as I did last year. I had saved the label, L. (for avandula) augustifolia “Vera,” but we couldn’t find the exact plant. “Hidcote” and “Munstead” were available, but no “Vera,” which, of course, has a slightly different leaf and a very different bloom.
We finally tracked it down in a plant catalog but for a while I thought we were going to have to live with a little hedge with a gap or a plant that bloomed out of sequence.
The Linnaeus classification system is relatively simple once you understand the first name printed is the genus or family of plants. Genus names are usually printed in italics, with the first letter capitalized.
The second name printed is the species name, which further differentiates it from other plants and is printed in lower-case italics. A varietal name may follow the species name. Hence, Rosaceae, rosa. “New Dawn.”
If you read about a new plant variety or want the plant of the year, you now know how to select just the one you want. For example, the 2009 Perennial Plant of the Year is Hakemechloa macra “Aureola” (golden hakone grass).
OK, once again for us non-botanists, this is how it works. Hakenechloa is the genus, macra is the species and “Aureola” is the variety. There might be other large-leafed Japanese grasses but “Aureola” is the one that was named plant of the year because of its beauty, hardiness and usefulness in the landscape. If you see an ” x” before the name of the plant, that usually means it is a hybrid.
There are many species and varietal names that you can easily recognize even if you never sat in Mrs. Smith’s Latin class or have forgotten everything except “veni, vidi, vici.” Here is my short glossary of Latin words to help you identify some plants from their labels or just show off to your family and friends:
Elegans – elegant; erecta – upright; fragrans means it smells good.
Grandiflora is large-flowered; maxima is the largest variety; minor or minus is smaller; rubrum means red and any flower described as alba is going to be white
A plant with Montana in its name is from the mountains; Japonica is from Japan, and so on.
Vulgaris means common and Variegata is, of course, variegated. You get the idea. It’s easier than pig Latin.
Upcoming events
April 18 is 4-H Pork Chop Barbecue day at the Coles County Fairgrounds, and if you reserved your dinner in advance you can drive up to collect it. If you forgot to reserve, try to plan ahead for next year because the 4-H kids pork chops are really good.
And don’t forget that Mattoon’s Herbfest is coming up right away, April 25. The U of I Extension master gardeners of Coles County will be at the corner of Ninth and Broadway. Stop by to have your gardening questions answered, as well as check out the variety of plants for sale.
In addition, the master gardeners will have plant markers and gardening gloves available. Proceeds from the booth are used to support U of I Extension agriculture and natural resources programming in the county.
Also, the Whiteside Garden Walk will be held on Memorial Day Weekend in May. Mark your calendar now and save Saturday or Sunday for a walk in the most unusual private garden in central Illinois. Watch this newspaper for details.
If you have any horticulture questions, call the local U of I Extension office Monday through Friday at 345-7034. Volunteer Master Gardeners will be in the office from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays. This column is based on information and materials at the U of I Extension office, located at 707 Windsor Road, Suite A., Charleston, 61920; phone 345-7034; or Web site: www.extension.uiuc.edu/coles/.
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Rohn Gordon wrote on Apr 19, 2009 2:12 PM: