Latin names can be fun

I know the majority of people here are against Latin names but some plants have names which when translated will stick in the mind.

GALANTHUS which is the name for snowdrops actually means MILK FLOWER

RANUNCULUS which is the name for the buttercup family means LIKE A FROG. thats because Ranuculus like to live in damp ground.

HELIANTHUS literally means SUN FLOWER

any plant with OIDES at a end means LOOKS LIKE eg Heliopsis helianthoides means looks like a sun flower.

I hope you remember these!!

Mark

This message was edited Tuesday, Feb 5th 10:22 AM

Good call Mark!

I'm sure once people can relate to what a name means its much easier to remember.

The names ARE fascinating; the project Baa and I (and Copperbaron and MsBatt) are working on has proven that to me repeatedly.

But...I don't know if I would agree that people (here or anywhere else) are necessarily 'against' Latin names. In my opinion, any foreign language, especially such a formal one, is intimidating to a lot of people - including me.

I'm still reluctant to speak aloud many of the names for fear I'll bungle them. (And now you know my motivation behind this project - a selfish desire to broaden my vocabulary :)

It isn't at all that we are against them, it's just as Vols says, we are intimidated. As long as we know we aren't being thrust into Latin without a common name life preserver, it's fine, we can take it at our individual pace. There is a tendency to think of people using Latin names in a superior and exclusionary manner, like a status symbol, and I will resist that attitude. In fact, if I encounter it, I might resort to pig latin! (Note, I didn't originate that idea.)

Aimee

There are very few people who use botanical names to be exclusive or superior. Here in Europe we use botanical names much more often probably because of the language and alphabet differences of our near neighbours. In the UK we have many, many common names for individual plants due to the geographical closeness of our different regional dialects.

I was lightly told off in the chat room the other day for using botanical names, I wasn't trying to be exclusive but its hard to try and think of a common name which you may use in your country!

For Finns, Tipuana tipu sounds very funny...

By the way, does any of you know a cucumber variety named Paska? It is Finnish and means manure! Cool.. I wonder what they taste ;)

Here's a list of odd names I have found:

Vitex agnus-castus
Arbutus andra-chne
Crossandra infundibuliformis
Anarrhinum bellidifolium
Taraxacum koksaghyz
Paliurus spina-christi
Bubo bubo
Vincetoxicum hirundinaria
Tamus communis
Fritillaria messanensis
Dipcadi serotinum
Urtica pilulifera
Emex spinosa
Salsola kalo
Evax pygmaea
Xanthium spinosum
Cakile maritima
Rhamnus ludovici-salvatoris

Hated being made to learn latin, but after getting interested in gardening and wild life, i've actually found myself picking up the meanings whenever i can. It helps such a lot in so many ways - knowing what the plant may look like, or something of its habits, or where it likes to grow, or, as mark says, if it resembles another plant. Last but not least it's a universal code that people anywhere can learn so as pinpoint an exact species and be certain your talking about the same plant.
It's a shame some people feel it's elitist. Really perhaps it's better viewed as a key to greater understanding between different people, an aid to communication....

Sorry guys, getting carried away. I'll get off my soapbox now and readily admit i often can't remember the common names let alone the scientific ones lol, and there's loads of latin i don't understand. And as for pronunciation - noone knows how the people who spoke it pronounced it, so in my book anything goes. Ignore the people who 'correct' you. They never spoke to a roman. We're all here to enjoy our plants whatever they're called {:>)
Whoops didn't intend to write all this - you all still awake out there?

Bubu bubu is the eagle owl - I think?

Mark

yes it is.... Bubo bubo ;)

it really doesnt matter how a name is said
eg
I call a CELANDINE a sell-an-dine but a friend calls it a kel-an-deen. we both know what we are on about. I'm not critical about how he says it and he doesnt correct me.

eg2
the species Geranium wallichianum cant be bought by any other name unless you buy a cultivar. wallichianum can be said 2 ways
wall-itch-e-ain-um
wall-ik-e-ain-um
both ways are acceptable.

I certainly dont consider myself better than any other gardener just because I know the latin name of plants amd I dont feel inferior if someone knows more latin names than I do.

this debate will run for the life span of DG and every other gardening site.

I will continue to post latin names that translate into funny English names.

PLEASE lets have some fun with this thread.

Mark

Baa, maybe in your part of the world they don't, but I have encountered it all too often here to deny it. Yes, there are leagues of people who like to use the Latin and then watch you squirm if you don't know what it is. I have dealt with them in various ways, depending how much I can remember at the time, but mostly I try to avoid them. When I use Latin, it is, indeed, to promote understanding, or to make sure we are on the same page. "In another life", in my younger years, I enjoyed the ease with which I could recall and pronounce more, but I don't think I was ever guilty of feeling superior because of it. I pity those who must resort to such a mean tactic to feel good about themselves, but I know they aren't rare.

Here's one that I thought was kinda cool: Campanula rapunculoides or Creeping Bellflower.

I guess this is one plant where the common and botanical names both allude to the same mythical history. According to some research I did, a common name for Creeping Bellflower in Europe is Rampion, which comes from the plant's Latin name. Rampion figures prominently in Old World fairy tales.

Rapunzel is named after the flower, and her exile to the tower is a witch's punishment to the girl's father, who stole rampion from her magic garden to help his wife in childbirth. In another story, a maid who digs up a rampion plant discovers a staircase that leads to a magnificent underground palace.

I use botanical names as often I don't even know the english name! That's why I think ti is veyr important to use them. Sometimes it makes me really mad when there's someone talking about some plant without an botanical name... sorry =)

Since I had to take two years of Latin (along with Spanish and German)in school I enjoy reading the Latin names for plants. It makes me feel better that all of the studying I did as a youngster may have finally paid off after all, since I wasn't able to complete my education to attend medical school due to family circumstances. I am enjoying the posts so please keep them coming!

In the spirit of Mark's original post, do you all know about this page:
http://garden-gate.prairienet.org/botrts.htm ?

I've used it often and find it does help. I had one year of highschool Latin and then the teacher left and was replaced by a French teacher - NOT THE SAME THING AT ALL. I took French I in highschool, French I in college and decided that Pig-Latin was as close as I was going to get to a foreign language in this lifetime. I speak Border Collie, Bovine in a Holstein western NY dialect, some cat, chickadee and a smattering of botanical Latin - usually just enough to get me in trouble. I am fascinated by words and their origins - can't help myself, being a writer and all - and when I do learn something it is usually for once and for all. I do know some of those folks who throw botanical names around just to prove they know more than anyone else, but I usually start off by asking just what plant it is they're referring to if I don't recognise it and then I often end up going on about whatever being a native of whereever and discover that all they really knew was a name!

chicka dee dee dee
chicka dee dee dee

LOL

Mark

Hey - you speak it too!!!!

LOL, don't forget the springtime whistle - all those agitated little fellows!!

I enjoy trying to learn the latin names...I've shied away from them for yrs until the past 3 yrs or so.
There is a man here in town who teaches Spanish to folks who want to learn...you come into the class from day one along with folks who've been in it for several yrs...he has a great system. He feels, and has proven, that to be around the language it is like being in a fine misty rain! You are exposed to it, it trickles on you, and you absorb some of it at a time until it just becomes part of you. That is like learning the Latin plant names also. You pick up a new one here, another there...pretty soon you are a bit more familiar with them.
Altho I used to consider myself "Horseshoe-imus stupidus" I am now looking at myself as "Horseshoe-imus nonstupidus" these days...I'm learning!!!

Horseshow you are so right.

Mark

Mark, you're saying I'm right about me now being "Horseshoe-imus nonstupidus"? Why thank you! Er, uhhhh, were you referring to the example mentioned above? (hehhehe).
'Tis true. We tend to get sprinkled on with a bit of knowledge (or life's experiences), then one day we find we've become saturated with it. To me, that's a mighty fine position to wake up, eh?
Sprinkle me! But keep doing it so one day I'll be drenched!

oooh er Mrs!!! LOL