Descriptive Value
The name of the plant gives the gardeners a lot of useful information. To give an example look at the generic name “Saxifrage”, this come from the two Latin words of “Saxum” meaning stone and “frangere” meaning break. This is explaining that the plant grows in the breaks between stones. Some names have thrilling stories that go with them. The common prefix “arachna”, meaning like the cobweb of a spider, was derived from Greek mythology. Arachnae was a needlewoman who hung herself because she was constantly being pestered by the Goddess Minerva. As a result, Minerva changed her into a spider out of pity, also changing the cord where she hung herself into a web. Spiders still have the name arachna today. Take a look at the name Campanula Hispanica, Campanula Raineri and Campanula Hispanica Alba. The first name, the generic name is Campanula, which comes from the word campana, which means “little bell”. There are over 1500 different species of this plant. Campanula Raineri comes from the discoverer, hispanica indicated where the plant comes from, and the third name, Alba, suggest a white color as opposed to the purple coloring of the plain hispanica.
Correct Plant Name
By understanding and using the correct plant name, it will help you to understand our plants better, and develop a better knowledge of botany and gardening. Unusually the names of the plants are pronounced similarly to the spelling, but if you have trouble pronouncing a name, write it down before you buy it!
Common Specific Names
There are common names of plants that will help you identify them easily. Sometimes there are variations due to different colors. Often these variations are a result of the “sex” of a plant. Gold is aureus, but when masculine it becomes auream or aurea for feminine. You will see terms for size as well, like maxiumus for large and minor for small, and minimus for dwarf sized or very small varieties. When it comes to plant colors it is common to see alba for white, aurea for gold, lilacina for lilac, carnea for deep pink, palens for pale, and sulpherea for yellow. Common terms for the country may include africanus for Africa, americanus for America, germanicus for Germany, chinensis for china, and Helvetica for Switzerland.
