From Sarah’s garden to yours

Like everything in our world, plants have names to help recognise and identify them. Common names are generally derived from distinguishing features that make perfect sense when you look at the plant, for example the String of Pearls, Senecio rowleyanus, is a succulent commonly grown as a hanging houseplant that looks like necklaces cascading out of a jewellery box. Lamb’s Ear, Stachys byzantine, with its soft velvety leaves are reminiscent of a young lamb’s ear.

How the plant is used can also determine its name. Selfheal, Prunella vulgaris, which is actually a weed, has a long history extolling its healing properties and Soapwort, Saponaria officinalis, has historically been used as a soap to clean bodies and fabrics.

Even a plant’s place in folklore from the depths of time can become its moniker.  Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum biflorum, has marks on its roots that resemble the ancient Hebrew seal of King Solomon and Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota, is said to be named after the British monarch who was adept at lacemaking but as with many old tales, there are many variations to the story. The reputation of strained marital family relationships gives Mother-in-law's tongue, Dracaena trifasciata, the universal understanding that the long, stiff, sharp leaves are a fitting representation of the stereotypical acerbic tongue of a judgemental mother-in-law.

Identifying plants based on where they like to grow makes good sense and it’s unsurprising to observe Sea Holly, an Eryngium, flourishes in coastal conditions, Water Lilies from the Nymphaeaceae family grow in water and the Rocky Mountain Juniper, Juniperus scopulorum, leaves you in no doubt where it likes to grow. Likewise, the place of origin logically finds its way into the common names of many plants. The California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is native to California, USA and the Cedar of Lebanon Tree, Cedrus libani, hails from the mountains of Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

However, as logical as this system may seem, it comes undone with regional variations and some plants found in multiple locations can end up with more than one common name resulting with no end of confusion. A great example of this is Galium aparine, that sticky weed that clings to anything that brushes against it. You may recognise it by one of these names: Cleavers, Clivers, Bedstraw, Goosegrass, Catchweed, Sticky Weed and Sticky Willy.

It can also go the other way, and different plants can end up with the same name, like Flax. This is the accepted name of the European flax, Linum usitatissimum and also the New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax. But they are completely different plants. A Lime can be a Citrus or a Linden, depending on where you come from.

This confusion was resolved in the 18th Century when Carl Linnaeus developed the system known as Binomial Nomenclature, which is basically allocating every plant with a scientific name. The first official list was published in 1753.

It is based on a system that every living thing is on a common family tree and like ancestors and distant cousins, plants can share the same lineage but when it gets close, different plants end up with two names, like we do, with a first and last name, a genus and a species to uniquely identify it. The genus is like the surname and the species is the individual name. Other names can be added to the end, like nicknames that can separate plants even further to describe varietal differences and proprietary names for specifically bred plants.

There are internationally agreed rules around these names. They should be written in italics with the genus coming first and capitalised. It was recognised that active languages often adapt to meet the changing needs of the community. However Latin, the language predominantly used by the scientific community since the Middle Ages, was a dead language with no living native Latin speakers, so it was decided this language was stable enough not to evolve over time to become the standard language for an accurate naming system. This has proven to be a good system for centuries, however with the advent of DNA testing a lot of names have recently changed to move plants into family groups they are technically more suited to.

For the average gardener, common names can feel more familiar and easier to say but can cause misunderstanding at the garden centre and you may not get the plant you actually want. It can help to familiarise yourself with some basic Latin to work out what a plant will be like. Some basic examples include:

Basic colours:

• White: Albi / Albo / Albus
• Gold: Aureus
• Red: Rubens
• Green: Virens
• Black: Nigra

Growth Habit:

• Crowded: Conglomeratus
• Thick and Fleshy: Crassus
• Shrubby: Frutescens
• Loose: Laxus
• Tube: Tubiferus
• Hanging: Pendulous
• Growing Flat: Prostratus
• Round: Globusus
• Heart Shaped: Cordartus

Type of Flower:

• Large: Grandiflorus
• Very Free Flowering: Floribundus
• Short Clusters: Brachybotrys

A nod to the place of origin helps provide the right growing conditions:

• Alpinus: high rocky regions
• Campestris: fields or open plains
• Fluvialis: running water
• Littoralis: by the sea
• Umbrosus: in the shade

There is so much more information that can be found within the Latin names including the qualities and benefits of the plant, as well as the country of origin and the person who ‘discovered’ it. The name may also give a hint of attributes best avoided such as toxicarius (toxic) or foetidus (bad smell). 

There can also be a bit of snobbery around pronunciation. Is a Dahlia a “Day-Lee-A” or a “Dar-Lee-A”? You say ‘Tomayto’, I say ‘Tomarto’… So, it can be intimidating to attempt wrapping your tongue around a complicated language you know nothing about. Just remember that Latin is a dead language, there is no one alive who heard it originally spoken so there is no real proof that anyone is saying it properly so don’t let anyone correct you on your pronunciation.

Just give it a go, even if ancient Romans roll over in their graves!