Bud of David...and other Latin names

Today, I was thinking of ways to memorize or become more familiar with the Latin names of plants. I thought it might be fun to ask other new gardeners how they are becoming more familiar with the Latin names of the plants they love. Having a fondness for the Buddleia davidii helped me to want to know its Latin name so I went back into my brains dark recesses and dredged up an old high school memory, word association. When I look at Buddleia davidii, I think Bud of David, it's easier then.
Do any of you have tricks that have helped in becoming more familiar with Latin names? It might prove interesting and helpful to explore this as beginners. After all, we've got to catch up to our more advanced brethren and sisters.
Now, for all you who already speak Latin like Vatican personnel, come on, share, please. How did you get to the point where Latin rolls off your tongue so easily? Please, do tell.

Common goal/common ground.
Misty
:)

OK OK I'll be they first to embarrass myself.
The latin names have always been easier for me so I only have three examples that come to mind (it's really irritating because I have to look up the common names constantly just so I can convert them to latin! If I forget what buttonbush is one more time...)
I had a tough time remembering that pricklypear cactus is Opuntia so I pronounced it I'll-punch-ya ('cause those prickles pack a punch). The second one I can't spell-out for you here because I may be fussed at, but it was the only reason I can remember that Fagus americanus is American Beech (I have an uncle, whom I love dearly, who lives on the gulfcoast, with his boyfriend ;).
The last one involves a song that my boss and I put together. To the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody (starting at "I see a little...") it goes: Picea glauca it's a very prickly shrub, it's a spruce! it's a spruce! and they call it Alberta. Spidermites and browning very very frightening... :) There's more but I can't remember it offhand. I have it written down at work... I also sing a song about Heptacodium to the tune of Help Me Rhonda... I'm such a dork...

LOL, whatever works. See, this is fun and I'm laughing while I'm learning and to me, that's what gardening is all about. (I'll punch ya, I love it)
I must be a total dork. Maybe we should start a club...
Dork Gardeners has a nice ring to it and the same initials as this site we're on.
DG rocks!

I guess I just never saw much value in common names so I learned the Latin ones instead. I can't think of any memory tricks that I've used, basically I just learned the names a little at a time as I saw plants that I liked, after I'd seen their names a few times I usually remembered them. Plus I collect a lot of less common stuff, so often they either don't have common names or the common names are kind of weird, so it's just as easy (if not easier) to learn the Latin name for it.

The descriptive clues in botanical names arerewarding if you translate or understand the terms themselves.
Some names relate to flower colour, others to habit, and others to origin. This list may help!

A

alba (and derivatives) white
alpina alpine
angustifolius narrow leaved
apetala has no petals
arachnoides spider or spider webs
arboreus or aborescens tree like appearance
arenaria referring to plants from sandy places
argentea or argyraea silver or silvery
atro dark coloured as in 'atropurpureum'
attenuata narrows to a point
aurantica orange
aurea or aureus gold or golden
australis southern
azurea azure or sky blue

B
bellidioides daisy-like appearance, referring to bellis, the daisy
bicolour two coloured
Brachyglottis short tongued, referring to the short ray florets

C
caerulea dark blue
caerulecens bluish, blue tinged
campanulatus bell shaped
canadensis of Canada or North-eastern America
canina of dogs, usually means inferior plant (the Romans were not dog-lovers!)
cardinalis scarlet, cardinal red
carnea deep pink
cataria of cats, eg Nepeta cataria , catmint
carractae of waterfalls
chlorantha green flowered
cinerea ash colour, greyish
coccineum scarlet
columaris columnar
confertiflora flowers that are crowded together
cordata heart shaped
crassifolius/crassifolia/crassifolium with thick leaves

D
decora beautiful
discolor two different colours
dissecta deeply cut, usually of a leaf
domestica cultivated
Dracanena female dragon

E
Echinops a hedgehog, spiky
Echium vipers ( a snake)
Erodium heron's bill, referring to the shape of the seedpods
excelsa/excelsum/excelsus tall
eximia exceptional

F
fibrosa fibrous
flava clear yellow
florida (or -florus), flowering like ...
foetidus smelling, stinking
-folius of leaves
fragrans/fragrantissima fragrant
frutcosa shrubby
fulvida tawny coloured

H
hastata spear shaped
hortensia of gardens
horizontalis flat, horizontal
humilis low growing
G

Geranium crane's bill, referring to the shape of the seedpods
gracilis graceful
graminea grass-like

I
ilicifolia holly-like (from Ilex or Holly)
incana grey
indica of India
insignis notable
-issima very (as in 'bellissima')
isophylla equal sized leaves
ixioides ixia like

J
jucundum attractive example

K

L
laetus/laetum milky
latifolius/latifolia broad leaved
lineata striped, with lines
lucida/lucens shining, bright
lutea yellow
lutescens becoming yellow

M
macrantha having large flowers
marcrocarpa having large fruit
marcophylla having large leaves
meleagris spotted like a guinea fowl as in Fritillaria meleagris
melissa honey bee
microphylla very small leaved
montana/montanum of the mountains
moschatum musky scented
myosotis mouse's ear

N
nigra black

O
officinalis sold as a herb
orientalis eastern

P
paniculata having flowers in panicles
Pelargonium stork's bill, referring to the shape of the seedpods
praecox early, of flowering
procumbens prostrate
procurrens spreading
prolifera prolific or free flowering
prostrata prostrate or lying on the ground
pumila/pumilo dwarf
purpurea purple (Echinea purpurea)
purpurascens purplish, tinged purple

R
Ranunculus frog, because both like marshy, boggy ground
recta upright
reflexa bent backwards
reptans or repens creeping
rigens/rigida rigid or stiff habit
roseum rose colour
rotundata rounded
rotundifolia having round-shaped leaves
rubra/rubrum red
rugosa/rugosum wrinkled
rupestris growing in rocks

S
salicina/salicifolia willow like
sanguinea blood red
scandens climbing
serotina late flowering or late ripening
serpens creeping
spictata in spikes
stans/stricta erect or upright
supine supine or prostrate

T
trigida spotted like a tiger

U
umbellatus flowers appearing to be in umbels
ursinum a bear, referring to shaggy appearance

V
vernus of spring
viridis/virens green
viridfolius green leaved
versicolor multi coloured
vulgaris common

Z
Zebrina zebra, referring to the stripes

Often plants are named after the person that "discovered" them!

OMG, this is wonderful! I don't where you pulled it from and I don't care BUT it is WONDERFUL!!!
WOW!!!
I'm going to copy and paste this to my memory, long term (LOL)
This is so COOL!!! This is what I call a cheat sheet. It makes something that appears difficult much easier to memorize.
WOWOWOWOWOW!!!
Gratefully,
Misty

I thought Florida meant it originated in FLA, USA.
(Silly me)

Great thread, Misty! Thanks for giving me a heads-up about it. I don't check this forum as often as I'd like. :-)

I have to admit, some of the latin names "roll off my tongue" a lot more readily than others... and for that matter, I can recognize or even spell more of them than I can pronounce correctly, I'm sure!

Don't forget, we have a great resource in DG's Botanary. Most of the entries include the history or derivation of the term (like Tuink's great list above). The roots do make the names easier to remember, especially if you can think of English words with the same roots (like humilis = low growing... think of "humble").

I think Jeremy (JaxFlaGardener) is working on a "Latin Roots" article... that'll be a fun one!

For anybody who didn't catch them, here's the link to the article I did about using Latin names http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/707/, and here's the link to shearson's article on the history of botanical Latin http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/575/.

And when you look up a plant in Plant Files and click the "Info" link next to the name of the genus or species, that takes you right to the botanary link for that Latin word so you can see what it means very easily.

Hey Misty, I thought the same thing about "florida" until I learned that things from Florida are given the specific epithet "floridanum" as in Illicium floridanum (Florida Anise).

Oh, this is wonderful. I was really delighted Critter stuck her head in the door as she inspired this whole train of thought toward "Learning the Latin."
Maybe I won't have to continue to rack my brain, reaching beyond the cobwebs, trying to remember my jr. high school Latin after all. What was that teacher's name again? Oh, you mean this dead language REALLY is relevant, all these years later...who would have thought it?
and here I thought Old Mrs. Whats-Her-Name was pulling my leg when she said, You're going to need this Latin one day. (LOL) and I thought to adolescent self, as long as the pharmacist will fill the bill...'

Thanks everyone for your posts, I was inspired to start this post after reading critter's article a couple of weeks ago.
Notice how the people living 'down south' (like me) think Florida means, er, uh, Florida.
I like Tuink's list as it's a compilation.
Also, it's good to be reminded the Botanary is there too. whenever we need it.
Anxious to see Jax's article.

Misty

Maybe Florida (the state) got its name from all the big tropical blooms in that climate... ?

You hit the nail on the head, Critter! That's exactly what the Spanish thought when they discovered this state and their language stems directly from Latin!

I want some florida, hmmm, blooms, pretty. I am a little, OK a lot excited because today I saw my first rose blooms. YEAH!!!
.