Botanical Latin holds the key to understanding the nature of plants, and their stories. “Botanical Latin is really useful,” says Dr. Ross Bayton, Director of the Heronswood Garden in Kingston and author of The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names. “It gives us a standard name that everyone can use.”

Botanical nomenclature is based on Species Plantarum, written in 1753 by Swedish medical doctor Carl Linnaeus. Each plant known at the time was given a long description in Latin. In the margin, he noted a two-word summary. This summary, called a Linnaean binomial, is still used today for consistent plant naming around the world.

The Linnaean binomial, always written in italics, defines the Genus and species of each plant. “The Latin name is always telling you something,” explains Dr. Bayton. “Some tell you about flower color, leaf shape, habitat, geography, the history of the plant, or the history of the people who named it.” 

For example, Helianthus petiolaris is the binomial for the prairie sunflower, plains sunflower, or lesser sunflower. Helianthus is derived from the Greek helios, or sun, and petiolaris comes from the Latin for little foot, meaning a long petiole or leaf stalk. 

The binomial may contain words derived from Latin, but can also include Latinized versions of words from other languages. Picea sitchensis derives from Sitka, a place-name from the Tlingit tribe of coastal British Columbia and Alaska. Common names include Sitka spruce, coast spruce, or tideland spruce.

The Linnaean binomial helps avoid confusion. The same plant may have different English names, and different plants might have the same English name. Caltha palustris is known as marsh marigold, kingcup, cowslip, cowflock, molly blobs, or water boots. “Dead man’s fingers” can refer to Maihueniopsis clavarioides (a cactus), Decaisnea fargesii (a shrub), or Xylaria polymorpha (a fungus).

Sometimes, botanical names change as new information comes to light. To botanists, plant names define relationships between plants. So when DNA analysis recently showed that Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) is part of the genus Salvia, the name was changed to Salvia rosmarinus to accurately reflect the phylogenetic relationship.

Learning a few common Latin words is a good way to start. Colors might be purpurea (purple), flava or citrinus (yellow), or albus (white). Shapes can be indicated by stellata (star), campanula (bell), or peltata (umbrella). Leaves might be punctata (spotted), lanata (woolly), or spinosa (spiny). Growth habits are pendula (pendulous), fruticosa (shrub), or dendro (tree-like).

Some binomials indicate their geographic habitat: alpina (high mountains), montana (mountains), or rivale (river). Their geographic origin or place of discovery can be indicated as well, as in canadensis (Canada), gallica (France) or cathaya (China). 

Blooming season could be indicated by autumnale (fall), aestivum (summer), hyemale (winter), or verna (spring). The plant’s fragrance can be noted as foetidum (unpleasant), fragrans or odora (sweetly fragranced). 

Additional levels of diversity are described with names for subspecies, varieties, forms, cultivars, trade names, and hybrids. Dr. Bayton illustrates with a plant grown at Heronswood: Symphyotrichum ericoides var. prostratus ’Snow Flurry.’ 

The genus derives from the Greek “symph,” coming together, and “trich,” meaning hair, possibly in reference to the flower’s antlers. The species name comes from its resemblance to the genus Erica or heather. The variety prostratus refers to its lateral growth habit, and ‘Snow Flurry’ is the cultivar.

Each part of the name offers information and clues, but Dr. Bayton advises that “at its heart, the two-word Linnaean binomial is the most important bit.” 

He offers a practical tip: save your plant tags, and organize them in small bags or folders for each planting bed (or take a snapshot of each tag). Every year, he goes through all the bags and updates the groups as needed. It’s a good way to remember the names and care details of each plant, building your vocabulary and knowledge over time. 

Dr. Bayton sums it up: “By learning and using botanical Latin, you can find a whole world of information in greater depth, and understand your garden in a new way.”

For more information, the Royal Botanic Garden’s Plants of the World Online is a good reference for plant names, descriptions, and images: https://powo.science.kew.org/

Spokane County Master Gardeners offer a summary of common botanical names and their meanings:  https://www.pnwmg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Meaning-Botanical-Names.pdf 

Barbara Faurot is a Jefferson County Master Gardener and Master Pruner, working with other volunteers who serve as community educators in gardening and environmental stewardship.