Most peoples introduction to plant names come from seed packets, seed catalogues, and plant labels at the nursery or garden centre, and those were invariably common names.

The names given to plants in reference books are usually mistakenly referred to as 'Latin' names. If we look beyond the intimidating 'Latin' names for plants, a very simple classification system is revealed. All plants are identified according to a binomial system -- bi meaning two, nom meaning name. So all plants have two names (see, now, that was easy - that's all there is to it, really...) - the genus and the species.

Binomial names have the distinct advantage of referring to one and only one plant, with certain exceptions. The use of these names makes communication between widely scattered gardeners more precise and ensures that people know exactly what plant is being referred to. The binomial system of naming all organisms on this earth groups them into various kingdoms, divisions, orders, families, and genera. The genus is the basic grouping of similarity or relationship between organisms. It is at this level that we want to be more specific, and that is done by adding another word which is called the "specific epithet."

Just as you have a first name and a last name, so does every plant. Your last name identifies you generically as being part of a particular group - Smith, Jones, or Mentha. Your first name identifies you, specifically - Sally, George, or Piperata (Pip for short). When writing your name to be classified, as on a government form, you put your generic name first, followed by your specific name -- Smith, Sally; Jones, George; Mentha piperata (the species name is not capitalised in scientific names). So peppermint, Mentha piperata, is identified as being a mint by the generic, or genus, name mentha, and then is given individuality by the specific name piperata.

The combination of genus and specific epithet into a single phrase called the "species" is the basic component of botanical nomenclature. There are finer divisions such as cultivar, variety, and subspecies which describe minor variations, but "species" is the level at which gardeners operate.

Genus

Genus is the name given to a group of organisms whose physical characteristics are permanent and similar, and largely confined to that group. In Latin, it is a naming noun derived in part from medieval Latin, classical Latin, and Latinised versions of words in other languages, principally Greek.

Specific epithet

The second word in the botanical binomial is the specific epithet. It may indicate the location where the species was first discovered, it may indicate something about the habitat where a species happens to flourish or may honour a person. The specific epithet, when added to the genus to form the binomial, now becomes the species, and this is what sets one plant apart from another within the genus.

There are thousands of specific epithets. Some are used only once, and never applied to any other plant. Some are used across many different genera. To confuse things more, these epithets have 'prefixes', 'suffixes' and different endings depending upon other criteria.

Prefixes are numerous both in the Latin and the Greek languages. Atro, for example, is a qualifying word meaning "dark", as in atropurpureus. The prefix changes the meaning from purple to dark purple. Intra and endo, for example, are the Latin and Greek prefixes, respectively, meaning "within".

Suffixes permit a wide variety of words to be formed from a single word. Ulentus is a Latin suffix meaning "abundance", as in succulentus, "full of juice".

It does help to know the meaning of the most common prefixes and suffixes, because they will help you to understand the meaning of many specific epithets without have to look them up.

Unfortunately, Latin is a very complicated language, with different words meaning the same thing, e.g. Annuus, annua, and annuum all have exactly the same meaning, similarly, barbatus, barbata, barbatum have the same meaning. These are examples of endings of adjectives which reflect the gender of nouns. The ending will be different depending upon the gender of the genus name, i.e., masculine=(us), feminine=(a), or neutral=(um).

As you can see, unless the average gardener was to spend years learning Latin, the full understanding of binomial nomenclature is almost impossible.

To better understand the plants that you are growing forget Latin. Treat all botanical binomials as English names. Simply add these words to your vocabulary as you have occasion to use them. You might say, "but I don't know what they mean". There are probably hundreds of words that you use regularly, that you don't know their full meaning. By doing this you don't have to fill your head with definitions; you just have to remember the words themselves, and only those that you actually use.

If you adopt these names into your language, no matter what language you speak, everyone else will understand what plant you mean. If you wish to find a specific epithet a site which purports to have definitions of 15,000 botanical terms, including specific epithets uses a search function to explore its database. (Click here to connect to the database.)

Synonyms

In the world of botanical names, each name is required to be unique and refer to a single thing. In botanical terms a synonym is an illegitimate name for a plant. For example, suppose you discover a new plant - you give t a name. Somebody else discovers a new plant - they name it. Now if those two plants turn out to be the same plant there is a problem. According to the International Society on Botanical Nomenclature, the first given name should take precedence, the other names are rejected, and thereafter referred to as synonyms. Therefore a synonym is an illegitimate name, a name which has been rejected, and one which is not to be used, henceforth. Unfortunately, it can take years to sort out what name should be given to the plant and in the meantime, the use of the synonym may continue unabated for decades until the information filters all the way down to the average gardener like you and me. This is why you may sometimes look up a plant in a good reference book, only to find out it is not in the book. It probably is, but under the official name - not the synonym that you know it by.

I would therefore recommend that you get in the habit of recognising and avoiding the use of synonyms.

For those gardeners that do insist on using synonyms, I suggest that you replace your reference books regularly. The most recent published authority is always correct, for the moment.

If you need to find out the most up to date versions, on-line materials such as IPNI ( International Plant Names Index) ( http://www.ipni.org ) will be updated more often than printed materials, and is the joint effort of competing authorities, therefore the accuracy of this data will be continuously maintained. IPNI is the product of a collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium.

The variety is a subgroup name in which the plant differs only slightly from the species. This further delineates a specific plant. It is shown in Latin notation following the genus and species and the abbreviation var., as in Mentha piperata var. variegata, (the peppermint with the white-variegated leaves). A cultivar -- cultivated variety -- is a kind of variety that can only be maintained by human cultivation - it does not come true from seed or reproduce itself in nature. Hybrid plants are cultivars. The cultivar name is set off in one of three ways - by putting the abbreviation cv. before it, as in Ilex cornuta cv. Burfordii; by using boldface type; or most commonly, by enclosing it in single quotes, as in Camellia japonica `Debutante.'

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Last updated 10 March, 2002
© copyright 1999, P. A. Owen