Unravelling the mystery of plant names
By Mary Fran McClure
WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardener
A good ole name such as Iris most everyone knows. Its simplicity is understated and has the added benefit that its botanical name is the same as its common name. Another example of easy names is the exquisite native Lewisia named in honor of Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame, thanks to his detailed drawings of it.
This doesn’t hold true for most plants. For instance, consider Rudbeckia. This Latin name honors Olof Rudbeck, the17th century Swedish botanist who identified the plant. The plant’s Latin name doesn’t exactly roll off one’s tongue, does it? So how about simply black-eyed Susan?
There are different species in the Rudbeckia genus, including R. hirta and R. tribola. I’ll explain genus and species later after tackling this plant name.
Common names for some of the species of this popular perennial and biennial include black-eyed Susan (R. hirta) and brown-eyed Susan (R. tribola). Most Rudbeckias have dark raised center cones, but not all do. For example, some oddballs sport green central cones, like Prairie Sun (R. laciniata). So much for the common name black-eyed Susan unless you are meaning that particular species.
Botanical names include genus and species. Genus is a group of plants with common structural characteristics. Within that genus are groups of plants that are further broken down into specific features, named species. Often species are descriptive names, such as origin of the plant (japonica), color of flower (alba), type of structure (compacta) or other featured characteristics (fragrans).
Both Latin and common names of plants are important. During the 16th and 17th centuries, when many plants were being named, Latin and Greek were familiar languages. Not so today. Even so, it’s imperative to identify one plant from another.
Echinacea (coneflower is its common name) has similar characteristics to the Rudbeckias for viewers like us. Taxonomists examine traits like leaf shape, flower structure and many other tiny characteristics to classify plants by family, genus and species.
Kniphofia (pronounced nee-FOF-ee-a) came by that moniker as attributed to 18th century botanist Johann Kniphof. Luckily its common name, red hot poker or torch lily, is much more descriptive. But torch lily could easily be applied to several very different plants with similar tubular flowers and an upright structure.
There are botanical name changes even today when taxonomists discover a certain plant is classified incorrectly.
Some plants are further divided into either variety or cultivar. A variety is a further plant subgroup that consistently grows the same. A cultivar is a hybridization or selection of a plant with clearly distinct characteristics from other varieties.
Hybrids are a distinct plant resulting from two varieties or species being crossed. For instance, my favorite zinnia is called Profusion, a hybrid cross between Zinnia elegans and Zinnia augustifolia. It is outstanding at producing profuse blooms and no deadheading is needed. An added plus is its disease resistance. These are happy results that reflect the best traits of each variety. Be aware that hybrid seeds will not produce uniform offspring.
There are good reasons for both scientific and common names. Common names are most likely more comfortable for most of us, although knowing the Latin name is the most accurate, even if less pronounceable.
A WSU Chelan-Douglas County Master Gardener column appears weekly in The Wenatchee World. To learn more, visit bit.ly/MGchelandouglas or call (509) 667-6540.