Latin Plant Names: Are They Descriptive & Helpful Or Smoke And Mirrors? Let Me Explain What They Mean.
Latin plant names are usually made up of two parts as a minimum, though sometimes they are a it longer. This is called the binomial naming system and is a highly descriptive way to describe plants.
Best of all it is used globally so the confusion created by local names or foreign languages is no longer a problem.
Once you start to understand them Latin plant names are a real delight.
And they aren’t so difficult to understand once you remember many words we use everyday come from Latin. So where a plant has the word orientalis as part of its Latin name you’ll recognise it’s something to do with the orient or east. And if the plant is obesus you might guess it’s a bit fat. Likewise a plant with the name equinus is something to do with equines (horses). Often these words will be linked to others to tell us which part is obesus or equinus.
Some Latin plant names are descriptive of the plant, some are almost poetic. Others describe colours, places, leaf shape and so much more.
As well as being descriptive Latin plant ones are international. So if we speak to a French person, a Brit or someone from China, we know we are all speaking about the same plant.
Scan through this list of around 900 words and discover what the two word / binomial plant name tells us about plants.
NB The info in the table has been sourced from numerous sources and are still being verified. If you find an error please make a comment below .. we welcome amendment opportunities.
There are more articles on Latin plant names, including some that have been published nationally, via the link.
