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Joshua Peede
Landscape Designer & Gardener
ISCO Landscaping • Wilson, NC
SCC Landscape Gardening Graduate
910.
947.2244
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What’s In a Name?
by Joshua Peede
Have you ever been walking through an
educational garden, such as the Sandhills
Horticultural Gardens, and noticed those hard
to pronounce Latin names underneath the more
easily recognizable common names? Maybe you
wondered what the importance of having that
plant name was, especially in a dead language
that is not used in our everyday conversation.
But, the fact that Latin is a dead language is the
very reason that it is used for this purpose. As
we dive in a little deeper and take a trip back in
time to the 18th century, we begin to see how
this naming system came to be.
In 1707, there was a boy born in Sweden by
the name of Carl Linnaeus who would change the
way we classify plants forever. As a man of many
professions, Linnaeus is most remembered for
his impact on science, specifically in the area
of botany. His introduction of the binomial
nomenclature system would revolutionize the
way we see nature around us. Although Linnaeus
had predecessors that he would gain from, he
would introduce his idea for naming plants in
1753 as a way to simplify and unite scientists
and gardeners alike with a method that would
be universal, no matter from what continent
you originated.
The binomial system simply uses a two
part name, as indicated by the two roots of the
word above, “bi” meaning “two,” and “nomial”
meaning “name.” In the
taxonomy of plants, the
first name is the genus, and
the second is the species.
Linnaeus developed this
way of naming plants
that would not only bring
order, but also a unifying
worldwide that would not
be hindered by language
barriers. Now that we
know what the two names
represent in this binomial
system, we will further
examine the proper
capitalization as well as
additional classification
that can follow the genus
and species to help
better define the plant.
When writing out these botanical names, the
genus and species are always italicized or
underlined, but the first letter of the genus is
uppercase, whereas the entire species name
should be lowercase, such as in Acer rubrum,
or commonly known as the Red Maple. Varieties
and cultivars are two different classifications of
plants within certain genus and (or) species. A
variety is usually a plant that was found growing
in nature, and is selected for some noteworthy
characteristics that distinguish it from others. A
variety is also usually true to type and will hold
the interesting attributes through its offspring.
A cultivar typically is selected from a mutation
or non-typical shoot or leaf, or is a result of
crossing two different plants together to form a
new plant with attributes that are more desirable
to the breeder. Most of the plants that you see
on the shelves at the garden center today are
cultivars, as this is the most common method of
producing new introductions for market.
Even though memorizing a bunch of Latin
plant names might not interest you, it may be
surprising to see how many common plant
names that we use every day are actually part of
the botanical name itself. Some examples of this
include Forsythia, Gardenia, Hydrangea, and
Magnolia. In the four cases here, each name is
the genus of that particular plant. We know that
the species further defines the genus, and in
this first case, the botanical name for Southern
Magnolia is Magnolia grandiflora. Can you tell
anything about this plant by its Latin name?
Yes you can, and as usual, most species will
qualify or explain some characteristic about the
plant. In this case, the species is grandiflora,
where “grandi” refers to something large, and
“flora” explains what is large, the flower. So
many attributes about a plant can be learned by
studying its botanical name.
Let’s look at a few more examples quickly
to test your skills, starting with Juniperus
horizontalis. First of all, we see clearly from
the plant’s genus that it is a type of Juniper, and
secondly the species defines it to be a horizontal
growing plant. So without laying eyes on this
Juniper, we can gain from its name that it is
probably a groundcover or low shrub. In this
second example, let’s compare two different
plants with matching species, Betula nigra and
Quercus nigra. The common names are River
Birch and Water Oak. The species “nigra” has
direct ties to water, which is a location where
you would likely find one of these.
We looked earlier at the differences in
cultivars and varieties, but now we need to touch
briefly on how to properly write and understand
their names. When writing the name of a specific
plant variety, we always use “var.” immediately
after the plant species. After the “var,” there
will be another Latin name that describes
the variety, such as Berberis thunbergii var.
atropurpurea, or commonly known as Japanese
Purple Barberry. The “var.” is neither italicized
nor underlined, but the following variety name
should be. Cultivars should be properly labeled
as follows, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight.’
As you see in the case of this shrub, Limelight
Hydrangea, there is a set of single quotations
set around its cultivar name. Another thing you
may notice in a botanical name from time to
time, is the placement of an “x” before or after
the genus. If the “x” comes before the genus,
such as with x Fatshedera lizei, then you can
assume the plant was a result of crossing two
plants of separate genera together. x Fatshedera
lizei is actually a plant called Bush Ivy, which is a
cross of English Ivy (Hedera helix), and Japanese
Fatsia (Fatsia japonica). In a case where the “x”
follows the genus, then it means that two plants
within a genus, but having different species have
been crossed, such as Fosythia x intermedia, or
Border Forsythia.
I know this is a large amount of information
to absorb, but if you will consider these thoughts
as you make your next trip to pick out a plant
from the nursery, then you may even surprise
yourself to see how much you can figure out
about a plant, just by hearing its name! ☐
Latin name on plaque at the SCC gardens.
In the
taxonomy
of plants,
the first
name is
the genus,
and the
second
is the
species.
No. 134 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.29
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