Latin Names

Most people are familiar with the common names of plants. However botanists prefer to use a plant's scientific name which is composed of two major parts, the genus and the species. This cuts down on the confusion that may arise when different people use different common names for the same plant.

For example, Galium aparine is known variously as bedstraw, cleavers, stickywilly and probably by a number of other names. (And of course, that's only in English.) Or one name may connote an entirely different plant to two different people. An example is Pawpaw. To some, this name is used for the Papaya, while for others, it is used to talk about a species of small tree one of which is native to our area and produces a tasty fruit in late September.

Latin names can present their own problems, as occasionally, botanists will decide that a plant has been miscategorized and that the name needs to be changed. So, for example, the lovely Rue Anemone - Anemonella thalictroides - has recently had its genus changed to Thalictrum, as it was decided that it did not differ enough from plants of the genus ` to have its own separate genus. However, some people like to stick with the old names.... :-)

The genus comes first and begins with a capital letter. Included in a genus will be a group of very closely related plants. The name may honor a person (i.e. Jeffersonia), describe the plant (i.e. Osmorhiza = scented root), or be the "ancient name for some plant" (i.e. Pinus.) The second part of the name is the species ^[1]. This may describe some aspect of the plant (i.e. hirsuta), serve as a tribute either to the person who discovered the plant or some other person (i.e. michauxii - Michaux, early French plant exploror in America) or indicate its locale (i.e. virginiana).

Plants which are also quite closely related, though not so closely as to be in the same genus are said to be in the same family. Families also have both common and Latin names. For example, the Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) and the Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) are both in the Barberry family. The Latin name for this family is Berberidaceae. The modern names of plant families always end in -aceae. You will still see some family names in older books that end in other combinations of letters, but the botanist John Lindley introduced this standardizaion in 1850, and it just takes a little time for changes like this to propagate.

Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) drawing by Nicky Stanton of the Virginia Native Plant Society

Notes:

^[1] Species: Technically the second part of the name is the "specific epithet." Together, a genus name + a specific epithet make up a species.

Further Information:

• Vascular Plant Families, Smith, James Payne. Mad River Press, 1977.

• How to Identify Plants, Harrington, H.D. and Durrell, L. W. Swallow Press, 1957.

• Britannica article on Taxonomy