*The Meaning of Latin Plant Names*

        The purpose of the Latin or botanical name of plants is to
        provide some information about a particular plant that
        distinguishes it from other plants. The adjective applied to the
        plant, the specific epithet, is often helpful in describing the
        plant. The specific epithet can tell us the colour of the
        flowers, the height of the plant, whether the leaves are long
        and thin or short and fat, whether the plant is prickly, where
        it comes from (which might give us a clue as to how hardy it
        is), what sort of conditions it occurs in naturally, how big it
        is, whether it's a climber or whether it's creeping, whether
        it's deciduous, has a bulb, is edible - or whatever else the
        person who found it thought most remarkable, noteworthy and
        unique about it.

        Like many other languages, Latin assigns genders to all its
        nouns, and adjectives have to agree with the gender of the noun
        they describe. In plant names, therefore, those that are deemed
        masculine will end in -us, those that are feminine will end in
        -a, and those that are neuter will end in -um (plus some odd
        ones with other endings). To simplify things, only the feminine
        endings have been used here, but if you come across a plant with
        much the same name, but ending in -us or -um, it means the same

        These are some of the Latin specific epithets often applied to
        plants we grow in our gardens.

            *abyssinica* = from Abysinnia (Ethiopia) (North Africa)
            *acaulis* = stemless
            *aestivalis* = flowering in spring
            *alba* = white
            *alpestris* = from mountains
            *alpicola* = from mountains
            *alpina* = from the alps
            *altissima* = tallest
            *america* = from America
            *angustifolia* = narrow-leaved
            *annua* = annual
            *-antha* = -flowered (e.g. micrantha = small-flowered)
            *arboricola* = living on trees
            *arctica* = from the arctic
            *arenaria* = from sandy places
            *argentea* = silvery
            *armata* = prickly
            *arvensis* = of the field
            *aurantiaca* = orange
            *aurea* = golden, yellow
            *australis* = from the south (not necessarily Australia)
            *autumnalis* = of autumn
            *azurea* = blue
            *barbata* = bearded, hairy
            *bellidifolia* = with leaves like those of a daisy
            *borealis* = from the north
            *bulbifera* = bearing bulbs
            *bulgarica* = from Bulgaria
            *caerulea* = blue
            *caespitosa* = dense
            *campanulata* = campanulate, like a bell
            *campestris* = of the field
            *canadensis* = from Canada
            *canariensis* = from the Canary Isles
            *capensis* = from the Cape, South Africa
            *chilensis* = from Chile
            *chinensis* = from China
            *chrysantha* = yellow
            *clivora* = from the hills
            *coccinea* = red
            *compacta* = compact
            *decidua* = deciduous
            *densiflora* = dense-flowered
            *digitata* = (leaves) like a hand, with five lobes
            *edulis* = edible
            *esculenta* = edible
            *farinosa* = floury, powdery
            *ficifolia* = like a fig leaf
            *flava* = yellow
            *-flora* = -flowered (e.g. viridiflora = green-flowered)
            *flore plena* = with double flowers
            *florida* = floriferous
            *foetida* = with an unpleasant smell
            *-folia* = -leaved (e.g. tenuifolia = narrow-leaved)
            *foliosa* = leafy
            *fruticosa* = shrubby
            *gigantea* = giant
            *glabra* = smooth
            *glacialis* = from cold areas
            *glutinosa* = sticky
            *graeca* = from Greece
            *graminifolia* = with grassy leaves
            *grandiflora* = large-flowered
            *grandis* = big
            *helvetica* = from Switzerland
            *hirsuta* = hairy
            *hispida* = bristly
            *humilis* = short
            *hyemalis* = of winter
            *incana* = grey
            *inodora* = unscented
            *integrifolia* = entire, undivided (leaves)
            *japonica* = from Japan
            *lanata* = woolly
            *lanceolata* = lance-shaped (leaves)
            *latifolia* = wide-leaved
            *longiflora* = with long flowers
            *longifolia* = with long leaves
            *lutea* = yellow
            *macrantha* = large flowered
            *macro-* = large- (e.g. macrorhiza = large-rooted)
            *macrocarpa* = large-fruited
            *macrophylla* = with large leaves
            *macrorrhiza* = with large roots
            *maculata* = spotted
            *magellanica* = from the south of South America
            *magenta* = magenta
            *magna* = big
            *majus* = bigger
            *maritima* = maritime, near the sea
            *maxima* = biggest
            *mexicana* = from Mexico
            *micrantha* = small flowered
            *microphylla* = with small leaves
            *millefolia* = with many (thousands of) leaves
            *minima* = small
            *minor* = smaller
            *montana* = from mountains
            *multiflora* = many flowered
            *muralis* = growing on walls
            *nana* = small
            *nocturna* = nocturnal
            *ochroleuca* = cream
            *odorata* = perfumed
            *officinalis* = with herbal uses
            *ovalifolia* = with oval leaves
            *pallida* = cream
            *palustris* = from marshes
            *parvi-* = small- (e.g. parivflora = small-flowered)
            *parviflora* = small flowered
            *parvifolia* = with small leaves
            *pauci-* = few- (e.g. pauciflora =few-flowered)
            *pauciflora* = few-flowered
            *paucifolia* = with few leaves
            *pendula* = hanging
            *perennis* = perennial
            *phoenicea* = purple
            *-phylla* = -leaved (e.g. macrophylla = large-leaved)
            *pinnata* = with pinnate leaves
            *poly-* = many (e.g polyantha = many-flowered)
            *polyphylla* = with many leaves, leafy
            *praecox* = early, of spring
            *pratensis* = field
            *procumbens* = creeping
            *prostrata* = prostrate
            *pulverulenta* = dusty
            *pumila* = small
            *punica* = red
            *purpurea* = deep pink
            *pygmaea* = small
            *quercifolia* = oak=leaved
            *rediviva* = perennial
            *rivalis* = from near rivers
            *rivularis* = from near rivers
            *rosea* = rose pink
            *rotundifolia* = round-leaved
            *rubra* = red
            *rupestris* = of hills
            *rupicola* = of hills
            *russica* = from Russia
            *sanguinea* = blood-red
            *sativa* = cultivated
            *saxatilis* = of rocks
            *scaber* = climbing
            *scandens* = climbing
            *semperviva* = perennial
            *sibirica* = from Siberia
            *sinense* = from China
            *somnifera* = inducing sleep
            *spicata* = spiked
            *spinosa* = spiny
            *stellata* = starry
            *sulphurea* = yellow
            *sylvestris* = of woods
            *tenuifolia* = with thin, narrow leaves
            *texensis* = from Texas
            *tomentosa* = tomentose, woolly
            *trifoliata* = trifoliate, with three-lobed leaves
            *umbellata* = unbellate, with flowers in an umbel
            *velutina* = velvety
            *vernalis* = of spring
            *villosa* = hairy
            *violacea* = violet
            *viridis* = green
            *viscosa* = sticky
            *vitifolia* = with leaves like a vine
            *volubilis* = twining
            *vulgaris* = common

    (With grateful thanks to whoever writes the Chiltern Seeds
    catalogue, who taught me all the botanical Latin I know!)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    *Other entries with information on this topic*

        Perennial or Annual? <perennialannuals.html> - some popular
        plants with their common and Latin names
        Common Names <common.html> and the Latin names of some popular
        garden plants
        Common Names Index <commonindex.html> - the common names of
        plants mentioned in these pages, with their Latin name
        Plant Families <families.html> - an introduction to Plant Families

    *and a brilliant website: *

        California Plant Names
        <http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/index.html> - detailed
        explanation of the origins of Latin and Greek plant names and
        the people they're named after

Back to the Index of Technical Terms <botany.html>