Unlocking the Secrets of Plant Species Names

 

A plant’s botanical name, which consists of its genus and species name, may at first look unfamiliar and daunting to pronounce or to understand.  These names are Latinized and so follow the rules of Latin language.  They are intended to describe and give important information about the plants they name.  Botanical names help botanists, horticulturalists, gardeners, and those breeding and selling plants to communicate precisely about specific plants, their varieties, cultivars, and hybrids.  Every plant, historic or newly discovered, has its own specific name.  These names may change from time to time, however, as we learn more about each plant and its genetic fingerprint and relationship to other known plants.

While a genus can include hundreds of species, a particular species name may be applied to any number of plants across many different genera.  The species name is a descriptor that describes an important attribute about the plant.  The species name may tell how a plant grows, the color of its flowers or leaves, or whether it is evergreen or deciduous.  It may tell us something about a plant’s history; where on the planet it was first discovered and where it is considered native.  Sometimes the species name honors the person who discovered it, or someone that they admire.   Some species names are based on actual Latin words- usually adjectives used to describe the plant.  But proper names in other languages may be ‘Latinized’ with the addition of certain suffixes to transform a name into a properly formatted species name.

Once we understand that species names are descriptors, providing us with important information, we can begin to build our own vocabulary of species names that we recognize and understand.  We will discover that these names fall into related groups, frequently sharing certain syllables or root words which carry the meaning.

The genus name, which designates a group of plants that share things in common within a plant family, has a gender: male, female, or neuter.  The species name must follow the Latin spelling convention to agree in gender with the genus name.  Those who learned Latin, or related ‘romance languages’ like French or Spanish, understand the idea that each noun has a gender and requires other words used with it to agree with its gender.  This is something we don’t have in English language, and so it requires experience and practice to feel comfortable with these conventions.

 

 

For example, ‘albus’ a Latin term for ‘white.’  It is the male form of the word to be used to describe a ‘male’ gendered noun.  ‘alba’ is the female form, and ‘album’ the neuter (neither male nor female) form.  Any of these terms, used in a species name like Lonicera albiflora, indicates some part of the plant is white.  In this case, a honeysuckle, native in southern parts of the United States, which has white flowers.

Baptisia alba, a native indigo, has white flowers.  Salix alba, the white willow, has a silvery, whitish underside on its leaves.  Salix nigra, the black willow, native in our area, is named for its dark brown or black bark.  Quercus alba is the white oak, and Populus alba the white poplar.  Viscum album is the white fruited European mistletoe, while Symphoricarpos albus is a North American native shrub with white flowers and white fruits.

Gardeners, and other folks who love plants, may find it useful and interesting to learn some of these words so frequently used as species names for specific plants.  It can help in selecting plants to use in a garden, and it can help us know what to expect from a plant as it grows to maturity.  It can also help us to recognize native North American plant species and those that originate on another continent.

Learn more about plant names in the University of Chicago Press book by James Armitage, A Portable Latin for Gardeners:  More than 1500 Essential Plant Names and the Secrets They Contain.  This book is available as a digital book, as well as in hard copy, and offers pronunciation guides as well as explanations of common plant names.

 

Here are a few of the many names included in this resource:

 

Alpinus, alpina, alpinum, alpicola:  native to rocky regions, high altitude, as in Ribes alpinum

Americanus, americana, americanum: from North or South America, as in Agave americana

Arborescens, arboreus, arborea, arboreum:  A woody plant, like a tree, as in Amelanchier arborea

Arboricola:  Lives on trees, as in Heptapleurum arboricola

Argentatus, argentata, argenteum, argenteus:  Silver in color, as in Salvia argentea

Bicolor, discolor: Having two colors, as in Caladium bicolor

 

 

Borealis, boreale:  from the north, as in Polemonium boreale

Canadensis, canadense:  Having to do with, or from Canada or northern North America, as in Cercis canadensis

Cardinalis, cardinale:  bright scarlet red, as in Lobelia cardinali

Cerealis, cereale:  relating to agriculture, likely edible, as in Secale cereale

Cinnamomeus, cinnamomea, cinnamomeum:  cinnamon brown, as in Osmunda cinnamomea

Citrinus, citrina, citrinum:  Lemon yellow, or like citrus, as in Melaleuca citrina

Coccineus, coccinea, coccineum:  Bright scarlet red, as in Quercus coccinea

Febrifugus, febrifuga, febrifugum:  something that can reduce fever, as in Psorospermum febrifugum

Flavens, flaveolus, flaveolum, flavescens, flavidus, flavida, flavidum, flavovirens, flavus, flava:  various kinds of yellow, as in Aesculus flava

Frutescens, fruticans, fruticosus, fruticosa, fruticosum:  bushy or shrubby, as in Chrysojasminum fruticans

Glaucus, glauca, glaucum:  Has a ‘bloom’ on the leaves, as in Canna glauca

Inebrians:  can intoxicate, as in Lagochilus inebrians

Japonicus, Japonica, nipponicus, nipponica, nipponicum: from, or having to do with Japan, as in Camellia japonica

Montanus, montana, montanum, montensis, montense, monticola: growing on mountains or mountainous regions, as in Clematis montana

Niger, nigra, nigrum, nigrescens, nigricans: black or dark brown, or turning black, as in Salix nigra

Occidentalis, occidentale:  relating to or from the Western hemisphere Platanus occidentalis

Officinalis, officinale, officinarum:  a useful plant often sold in stores or markets, as in Salvia officinalis

Orientalis, orientale: from, or relating to the Eastern hemisphere, as in Helleborus orientalis

Purpurascens, purpuratus, purpureus:  Purple or becoming purple, as in Asclepias purpurascens

 

 

Reptans, repens: has a creeping habit, as in Ajuga reptans

Sativus, sativa, sativum:  a cultivated, useful plant as in Crocus sativus

Semperflorens: blooms over a long season as in Begonia Semperflorens

Sempervirens:  evergreen, as in Buxus sempervirens

Sinensis, senense:  from China, as in Camellia sinensis

Socialis, sociale:  colony forming as in Ledebouria socialis

Somniferus, somnifera, somniferum: will induce sleep, may be hallucinogenic, as in Papaver somniferum

Stoloniferus, stolonifera, stoloniferum:  has runners that take root, as in Saxifraga stolonifera

Striatus, striata, striatum:  Has stripes, as in Bletilla striata

Sylvaticus, sylvatica, sylvaticum, sylvester, sylvestris, sylvestre, sylvicola: growing in or related to forests and woodlands, as in: Fagus sylvatica

Tectorum:  lives on the roof, as in Iris tectorum

Toxicarius, toxicaria, toxicarium:  poisonous, as in Rhus toxicarium

Variegatus, variegata, variegatum:  variegated, having several colors mixed in a pattern on a leaf or petal, as in Codiaeum variegatum

Venenosus, venenosa, venenosum:  poisonous, as in Sauromatum venosum

Versicolor:  with various colors, as in Iris versicolor

Virens, virescens, viridescens, viridis, viridiflorus, viridiflora, viridiflorum, viridulus, viridula, viridulum:  green, turning green, having green flowers, etc.  As in Santolina virens

Vulgaris, vulgare, vulgatus, vulgate, vulgatum:  Common, easy to find, as in Artemisia vulgaris

Zebrinus, zebrina, zebrinum:  striped, as in Tradescantia zebrina

 

Resources:

Armitage, James.  A Portable Latin for Gardeners:  More Than 1500 Essential Plant names and the Secrets They Contain.  The University of Chicago Press. 2016.

Bayton, Ross. The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names – with More than 5,000 Entries. Princeton University Press. 2020.

Harrison, Lorraine.  Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored.  University of Chicago Press.  2012.

Back to the Plant Literacy Main Page

 

Photos by E. L. McCoy, Master Gardener Tree Steward