Plant Curiosities

ROOTS OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES PLANT CURIOSITIES What do those cryptic scientific names mean? Before starting with the plant list, here are some names that occur in multiple species, so the details are put here and will not be repeated later. Names derived from people fremontii After John Charles Frémont (1813–1890), the “Pathfinder.” Frémont was an Army officer, a senator representing the new state of California in 1850, and in 1856 a presidential candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party. Apparently, he was also an avid and prolific plant collector on his four expeditions to the American West in the 1840s. nuttallii, nuttallianus, nuttallianum, nuttalliana After Thomas Nuttall (1786–1859), an English botanist and ornithologist who explored America from 1808 to 1841. parryi, parryii After Dr. Charles Christopher Parry (1823–1890), who, of course, named the Torrey Pine and the Chaparral Yucca, among numerous other plants that actually bear his name. Names related to places californica, californicus, californicum: California Suffixes meaning flowers -anthos, -anthus, from the Greek anthos, blossom -florum, -flora, from the Latin flos Suffixes meaning grasses -chloa, possibly from Greek, in which chloros is greenish Suffixes meaning leaves -folium, -folia, from the Latin word folium -phyllum, -phylla, from the Greek word phyllon Prefixes and names for specific features edulis-, edible; from the Latin edere, eat dumosum, dumosa, bushy, shrubby; from the Latin dumus, thorny bush 1 Eri-, Erio-, hairy or woolly; from the Greek erion fasciculata, fasciculatum, from Latin fasciculus, little bundle; also fascis, bundle longi-, long; from the Latin longus macro-, large maritima, maritimum, near, of, or from the sea oblongi-, oblong, from combining Latin ob-, for against or facing, and longus, long, so (not really long, just) somewhat long parvi-, small; from the Latin parvis or parvus, small, little pauci-, few; from the Latin paucus, few, small in quantity sessili-, without a stalk; from the Latin sessilis, sitting umbellata, umbellatum, in umbels, usually in describing an inflorescence; from the Latin umbella, parasol, shade Suffixes, meaning of Many suffixes mean related to, or resembling something else. So for many scientific names, especially species names, focus on the first part of a word for its meaning. There are many variations because a particular suffix depends on whether the word to be modified is singular or plural, masculine, feminine or neuter, and in what form and part of speech. -acea, -ea From Latin, indicating resemblance; -acea also for indicating position -ale, -alis, -aris From Latin, pertaining to -ana, -anum From Latin, indicating connection or association with -ans From Latin, assuming the appearance -ata, -atum, -atus From Latin, possessing -culus, -culum, -lus From Latin, diminutive -ellum, -ella From Latin, diminutive -ense, -ensis 2 From Latin, denoting (geographical) origin -estre, -estris From Latin, belonging to, living in, loving -eum From Greek, belonging to -ica, -icum From Latin, belonging to -idea, -idium From Greek, resembling; see also -oidea listed below -ina, -inum, -inus From Latin, property of, pertaining to -issima, issimum, issimus From Latin, most -ites From Greek, closely connected -ium From Latin, characteristic of; also used for indicating resemblance -oid, -oidea, -oides, -odes, -oeides From Greek, meaning resembling, or “like that.” There are many Latinized forms from variations of the Greek eidos, meaning form or likeness; idein, to know or to see; and eidenai, to know, literally to see. The “-o” is used as a connective. See also -idea listed above. -ola, -olus, olum From Latin, diminutive -osa, -osus From Latin, abundance -ula, -ulum, -ulus From Latin, diminutive. A suffix such as -ulatum is a combination of -ula and -atum, possessing. Same as -ulata, having a smaller version of something. The plants are ordered by their scientific names under ferns, monocots, and dicots. The common names may not cover what you are familiar with, but we have decided not to list all probable variations as the objective of this plant list is to understand the meaning of the scientific names. Nonnative plants have “(xN)” appended to their common names. 3 FERNS AND FERN-ALLIES Polypodiaceae Polypodium californicum California Polypody Poly-, Greek for many -podium, from the Greek podion, little foot Polypodium, many feet, referring to the rhizome and its branches. Pteridaceae Pellaea andromedifolia Coffee Fern, Coffee Cliffbrake Pellaea, from the Greek pellaio, dark colored, here referring to the dark stalks of this fern. andro-, shortened form of andromedea, referring to Andromeda, daughter of Ethiopian king Cepheus. andromedifolia, having leaves like those of Andromeda polifolia, the bog rosemary. Selaginellaceae Selaginella cinerascens Mesa Spikemoss, Gray Spikemoss, Ashy Spikemoss Selaginella, resembling a small Selago, a plant with moss-like features. cinerascens, gray or ashy-gray, from the Latin cinerarius, pertaining to ashes; cinis means ashes, or spent love. MONOCOTS Amaryllidaceae Amaryllis Allium haematochiton Red-Skin Onion, Wild Onion Allium, Latin for garlic haemato-, pertaining to blood; from the Greek haimo, blood or meaning blood red. -chiton, from Ancient Greek khiton and Latin chiton, tunic. A chiton was a loose, woolen tunic in Ancient Greece. Here chiton refers to the coating or skin of the bulb. haematochiton, blood-red skin Asparagaceae Agave shawii var. shawii 4 Shaw's Agave, Coastal Agave Agave, from the Greek agauós, noble, illustrious; here referring to the tall flower stalk. shawii, in honor of Henry Shaw (1800 – 1899), English born industrialist, philanthropist, and founder of the Missouri Botanical Garden. In Greek mythology, Agave was the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Pentheus. And there is another shawii as in Lycium shawii, which is named after W. B. Kennedy Shaw (1901– ?), an English-born forester in the Sudan. What makes tequila? Agave tequilana, blue agave (agave azul) down in Mexico. Chlorogalum parviflorum Small-flower Soap Plant, Coast Soap Plant, Amole Chloro-, from the Greek chloros, greenish -galum, from the Greek gala, milk Chlorogalum, green milk parvi-, small parviflorum, small flower The “green milk” most likely refers to whitish soap from a green plant, not that the (root) soap is green. Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum Blue Dicks, Wild Hyacinth Dichelo-, from the Greek dichelo-, meaning cloven (hoof) -ostemma, from the Latin stemma, a wreath or garland (crown) Dichelostemma, a “toothed crown” capitatum, a “knob-shaped head” from the Latin capitatus, headed, or capit-, caput head; generally in reference to the inflorescence being a cluster at the end of a (mostly bare) stem. So here, this is a plant with a toothed crown headed flower. The toothed crown could also refer to pointed appendages on the stamens. Hesperoyucca whipplei (syn. Yucca whipplei) Chaparral Yucca, Our Lord's Candle Hespero-, from the Latin hespero or hespera, meaning western Hesperoyucca, a western yucca plant (see below for Yucca) whipplei, named after Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple by Charles Parry during the U.S.-Mexican Boundary Survey. Later Whipple was the topographical surveyor in charge of the 1853-4 Pacific Railroad Survey. Yucca schidigera Mohave Yucca, Spanish Dagger Yucca, a variant of yuca, from the Spanish for cassava in the Caribbean; presumably because Carl Linnaeus and others confused it with that plant. schidi-, from the Latin schidia or Ancient Greek scheggia, splinter 5 -gera, has multiple usages, but roughly can mean “making.” Together, schidigera can mean fiber making. Iridaceae Iris The family name is based on the genus Iris, which is taken from Ancient Greek Iris, the messenger of the gods but also known as the goddess of the sea and the sky, or more notably the goddess of the rainbow. Sisyrinchium bellum Blue-Eyed Grass, Western Blue Eyed Grass Sisy-, from the Greek sys or Latin sus, allegedly meant to be a preface for pig, which is choiros. -rinchium, from the Greek rynchos, snout Sisyrinchium, literally pig snout. Pliny used the Greek Sisyrinchion for the Barbary nut iris (Moraea sisyrinchium). Here, the genus name refers to the roots being consumed by swine. bellum, from the Latin bellus, pretty, handsome Juncaceae Rush Juncus acutus ssp. leopoldii Southwestern Spiny Rush, Spike Rush Juncus, Latin for rush. The name is possibly derived from iungere also jungere, to join or bind, because the stems were used for binding. acutus, Latin for sharp, sharpened, pointed. leopoldii, named after Leopold II (1797–1870), Grand Duke of Tuscan, by the Italian botanist Filippo Parlatore (1816–1877). Liliaceae Lily is from the Greek lilium. Calochortus splendens Splendid Mariposa Lily, Lilac Mariposa Lily Calo-, from the Greek kalos, good or beautiful -chortus, grass; taken from Chorto, a seaside village in Greece, and by implication pasture or grass Calochortus, beautiful grass splendens, from the Latin splendere, shine, glitter, or splendor, brilliance So the plant is a beautiful, splendid grass, likely a reference to the long, basal leaves and the succeeding showy flower. Calochortus weedii var. weedii Weed's Mariposa Lily, Yellow Mariposa Lily weedii, named after John (James) Tweedie (1775–1862), Scottish botanist who 6 began his exploration of Argentina when he was 52 years old. Melanthiaceae Toxicoscordion fremontii (syn. Zigadenus fremontii) Fremont's Camas, Star Lily, Fremont Death Camas Toxico-, from the Latin toxicum or Greek toxicon, poison

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