commons in the
Latin plant names
The
botanical name tells something about the plant. The genus name is
usually a Greek or Roman classical name, or named after a person.
The species name is usually a descriptive name, e.g. grandiflora
is a large-flowered plant. It may tell about the place that the
plant comes from (e.g, africanus comes from Africa), the
color of the flower or leaves, or the form of the leaf. It may tell
the shape of the plant, or about any peculiarities that the plant
has, such as heart-shaped leaves, edible fruit, or if it grows tall
when fully grown.
|
|
Often the ending of the name provides the
meaning, for example:
-ensis means 'from the place, as chinensis
means 'from China';
-folia means 'leaves like another
plant', as acerifolia means 'leaves like an acer';
-iana, -i, or -ii means
named after a person, as bowdenii is named after Bowden.
NOTE:
Every Latin noun (including genus) has a gender, which has nothing
to do with the sex of a plant. Any adjective attached to the noun,
such as the species name, must have the same gender. The gender
endings are masculine (-us, -is), feminine (-a,
-is), and neuter (-um, -e), with some
exceptions. In the table below, the feminine form is the most
common.
|