Learn Scientific Names to Understand Your Plants Better
2023-03-07
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1Plant lovers often look at lists of plants or seeds for sale in the winter to plan their gardens for the coming year.
2Those lists usually have two names for each plant: a common name and a botanical, or scientific name.
3The botanical name is not in English, which makes a lot of people unsure about what it means or how to say it.
4The language is Latin. Its purpose is to help growers be sure that the plant they bring home is the one they wanted to buy.
5The problem with common names is that they are nicknames, or informal names, for plants.
6Many plants can share a common name.
7One plant can also have many common names. You can see how this can cause misunderstandings.
8For example, you may have heard the name "geranium."
9The common name for the true Geranium is perennial cranesbill.
10The container plant people call the geranium is actually a Pelargonium.
11The Latin system of naming goes back to the 1700s and Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus.
12His books Systema Naturae and Fundamenta Botanica created rules for classifying and naming plants in botanical Latin.
13For this reason, gardeners should try to become familiar with it.
14Linnaeus spent his life giving every plant and animal that he knew a two-part, or binomial, name.
15The two parts are: genus and species.
16These names are often based on the appearance of parts of the plant or animal.
17Linnaeus' International Code of Botanical Nomenclature sets rules for how plants should be named. They include:
18A plant name must start with a capitalized genus,
19The second part of the name is the species, written in lower-case, usual letter.
20Next, the name includes either a variety (if the plant is found in nature), cultivar (if the plant is created by a breeder) or hybrid name (if it is a cross between two plants, an "x" is used).
21The International Botanical Congress has gathered every six years to examine and decide on new naming questions.
22The questions come up because of new genetic research and scientific findings.
23After all, Linnaeus did not have modern microscopes or DNA testing laboratories to decide which plants are related.
24For example, bleeding hearts, once officially called Dicentra spectabilis, were moved into the newly created Lamprocapnos genus several years ago.
25Their name is now Lamprocapnos spectabilis.
26The snapdragon, a popular garden flower, was once in the Antirrhinum genus.
27The Congress moved it into the plantain family, Plantaginaceae.
28Since no group controls the use of common names, the same plant may have several.
29Take Rudbeckia hirta. Some call it a black-eyed Susan, others say it is a yellow-oxeye daisy and others know it as the gloriosa daisy.
30Ask a garden center employee for a snowball bush, and you might walk out with a Hydrangea arborescens or a Viburnum plicatum.
31There is a big difference. The first one has large round flower heads that bloom in the summer.
32The second one has groups of smaller flowers and blooms in the spring.
33But both are beautiful.
34How can you learn the botanical name for a plant before you buy it?
35Search for the common name in the Royal Horticultural Society's free online Garden Plant Finder and get a list of the botanical names.
36You can also search for a botanical name and learn the common names.
37I'm Jill Robbins.
1Plant lovers often look at lists of plants or seeds for sale in the winter to plan their gardens for the coming year. 2Those lists usually have two names for each plant: a common name and a botanical, or scientific name. The botanical name is not in English, which makes a lot of people unsure about what it means or how to say it. 3The language is Latin. Its purpose is to help growers be sure that the plant they bring home is the one they wanted to buy. The problem with common names is that they are nicknames, or informal names, for plants. Many plants can share a common name. One plant can also have many common names. You can see how this can cause misunderstandings. 4For example, you may have heard the name "geranium." The common name for the true Geranium is perennial cranesbill. The container plant people call the geranium is actually a Pelargonium. 5History of Botanical Latin 6The Latin system of naming goes back to the 1700s and Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus. His books Systema Naturae and Fundamenta Botanica created rules for classifying and naming plants in botanical Latin. For this reason, gardeners should try to become familiar with it. 7Linnaeus spent his life giving every plant and animal that he knew a two-part, or binomial, name. The two parts are: genus and species. These names are often based on the appearance of parts of the plant or animal. 8Linnaeus' International Code of Botanical Nomenclature sets rules for how plants should be named. They include: 9A plant name must start with a capitalized genus, 10The second part of the name is the species, written in lower-case, usual letter. 11Next, the name includes either a variety (if the plant is found in nature), cultivar (if the plant is created by a breeder) or hybrid name (if it is a cross between two plants, an "x" is used). 12Who chooses the scientific name? 13The International Botanical Congress has gathered every six years to examine and decide on new naming questions. The questions come up because of new genetic research and scientific findings. After all, Linnaeus did not have modern microscopes or DNA testing laboratories to decide which plants are related. 14For example, bleeding hearts, once officially called Dicentra spectabilis, were moved into the newly created Lamprocapnos genus several years ago. Their name is now Lamprocapnos spectabilis. 15The snapdragon, a popular garden flower, was once in the Antirrhinum genus. The Congress moved it into the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. 16No control over common names 17Since no group controls the use of common names, the same plant may have several. Take Rudbeckia hirta. Some call it a black-eyed Susan, others say it is a yellow-oxeye daisy and others know it as the gloriosa daisy. 18Ask a garden center employee for a snowball bush, and you might walk out with a Hydrangea arborescens or a Viburnum plicatum. There is a big difference. The first one has large round flower heads that bloom in the summer. The second one has groups of smaller flowers and blooms in the spring. But both are beautiful. 19How can you learn the botanical name for a plant before you buy it? Search for the common name in the Royal Horticultural Society's free online Garden Plant Finder and get a list of the botanical names. You can also search for a botanical name and learn the common names. 20I'm Jill Robbins. 21Jessica Damiano wrote this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 22___________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24botanical - adj. of plants or plant life 25classify -v. to order in groups based systematically on qualities of one kind or another 26genus - n. a major category in the classification of animals, plants, and the like, ranking above a species and below a family: it can include one species or many similar species 27species - n. a class of plants or animals whose members have the same main characteristics and are able to breed with each other. 28variety - n. a kind of animal or plant produced by artificial breeding 29cultivar - n. a variety of plant that began and continued under cultivation 30hybrid - n. an animal or plant resulting from a cross between genetically unlike individuals 31_____________________________________________________________________ 32What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them.