A Rose by Any Other Name...

What do these four plants have in common?

All of have different flowers and different colors. So what do they have in common?

ANSWER

In my early gardening years I rarely used a plant’s Latin name. As long as I lived in the town where I grew up and only expanded the family garden by division and cuttings I didn’t feel I need to know a plant’s “formal” name. Then I moved to other cities and countries and saw all kinds of new and wonderful plants—with the same name as plants back home! How could this be? I decided it was time to get “formal” with my plants so that I could know who they were and make sure I was buying the plants I truly wanted.

Gardeners too often say they don’t understand or are intimidated by Latin names. They don’t realize that they are already referring to many of their plants by their Latin name—Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, Begonia, Canna, Clematis, Delphinium, Euphorbia, Geranium, Gladiolus, Hydrangea—to name just a few.

If you walked into the grocery store and asked for pasta they would ask if you wanted linguini, fettuccini, spaghetti, angel hair…you get the picture. Precision helps us make sure that we get exactly what we want.

A plant’s Latin name (binomial nomenclature) has three primary parts: Genus species ‘Cultivar’

Genus—A group of closely related plants with common characteristics. Rosa, Dahlia, etc. The genus name is always capitalized.

species—Specific plant with unique characteristics. The species name is always written in lower case.

‘Cultivar’—is a cultivated variety, a plant not found in nature. A plant that does not have a Cultivar name is a “native” species. Asclepias tuberosa is an original species. Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet' is a white cultivar. The ‘Cultivar Name’ is always in title case and surrounded by single quotes and not italicized.

Latin names are more than just sexy and intimidating. They are informative, telling us a little about where the plant is from, its structure, its habitat and more. Camellia japonica—is from Japan, alba=white, brevis=short, chinensis=Chinese, purpurea=purple—you get the idea.

Okay, that is great but how am I supposed to wrap my tongue around Zantedeschia albomaculata . Can’t I just say Calla Lily? The cool thing about Latin and Latinized words is that they are almost always self pronouncing if you know the basic rules. In any case, pronunciation is not always a hard and fast rule. But give it a try, zan-teh-DES-kee-ah albo-mac-u-LA-tah. Now you sound sexy too. People are attracted to accents and foreign languages—here is your chance to add a little sexy to your repertoire.

So what are the butterfly plants in the pictures? Asclepias tuberosa, Buddleia davidii ‘White Ball’, Cassia bicapsularis, Buddlia alternafolia.

In short, a rose by any other name…isn’t a rose. Hooked? Want to know more?...