Coddenham, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK Tel. 01473 833187
Conservatory Plants Succulents Tender Perennials Hardy Perennials Ferns Grasses
Below is
what we hope to be a helpful aid to understanding the sometimes confusing
world of plants and their Latin names. Many people shy away from referring
to plants by Latin names because it seems too complicated or highbrow. In
all walks of life there are people who love to prove that they know more
about something than other people and the plant world is no exception but
Latin names are not for the reserve of these show-offs, they are for all
of us and such snobbery should be ignored. Knowing a plant by it's proper
name as accepted by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) www.rhs.org.uk
is the best way of finding plants and making sure you get exactly what you
are looking for. We check all of our plant names with the RHS every year.
As modern techniques for testing the genealogy of plants improves, some
plants have their name changed if they are found to have a different
origin than first thought. Many people don't realise how many Latin names
they know. Ask most people "Do you know what a Crane's Bill or a
Family-
Like people, all plants have family origins and if closely related can
share common characteristics. For example plants in the Aster family
(Asteraceae) usually have daisy flowers. Members of the Iris family
(Iridaceae) usually have distinctive sword shaped leaves and sometimes
have similar flowers. If you would like a list of plants in a particular
family please feel free to e-mail us with your request.
We will use Geranium
pratense for the following example to demonstrate how there can be
different versions of a single species.
Genus-
The Latin name given to a group of plants e.g. Geranium.
Species-
The Latin name given to different plants within a Genus e.g. Geranium
pratense.
Variety
(var)- The Latin name
given to a variety of a species e.g. Geranium pratense var.
stewartianum. Varieties differ from the species in a small number
of ways e.g. the flower colour and leaf shape may be different.
Subspecies
(subsp.)- The Latin
name given to a plant which differs in several characteristics from the
species due to its geographical location. These differences can be flower
colour, flower size, flowering period, ultimate height, leaf size and
shape, habit etc. e.g. Geranium pratense subsp. varifolium
(this does not exist, we have invented this subspecies for the purpose of
consistency for this example)
Form-
(f.) The Latin name given to
plants which differ only slightly in characteristics from the species e.g.
Geranium pratense f. albiflorum -This tells us that
this plant is identical to the species in every way except it has white
flowers.
Species,
Varieties, Subspecies and Forms occur naturally in the wild without human
intervention.
Cultivar-
(sometimes wrongly called variety) These are plants which do not occur
naturally and have been cultivated with the intervention of humans.
Sometimes this is the result of deliberate breeding, sometimes it can be a
chance seedling found in someone's garden. A sample is sent to the RHS to
be analysed and if found to be a new plant, the breeder/ owner is entitled
to name the plant whatever they wish. This is why we sometimes get plants
with quirky names like Campanula punctata 'Hot Lips'. Astrantia
'Hadspen Blood' and Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream' are
named after the nursery which introduced them. Papaver orientale 'Patty's
Hybrid-
A plant which has two known parents. This is indicated by an X e.g.
Geranium X magnificum (which is the offspring of Geranium
ibericum and Geranium platypetalum) Another example is Digitals
X mertonensis. The characteristics of both parents can easily be
seen in this plant. It has very similar flowers and habit to Digitalis
purpurea (the common Foxglove) but the flowers are much larger, which is
indicative of Digitalis grandiflora, the other parent. Sometimes the X
precedes the Genus e.g. X Heucheralla. These plants are a
cross between Heucheras and Tiarellas.