Understanding Botanical Names

Another important fact is that a botanical name may tell you much more about a plant than a common name. There is a meaning associated with each part of the name. This will be clear in the following. The botanical names consist of two parts (or epithets), genus and the specific epithet (species for short):

Calliandra - Calli = beautiful Andra = Male flower parts or stamens. This means, plant with beautiful stamens.
haematocephala - haema - blood red cephale head; front. This means, one with blood-red head or front.
To see how all this agrees with the flower, click here. This example shows that just knowing the name gives one lots of information about the flower.
This system was developed by Carl Linnaeus, an 18th century botanist. Today, the name of a plant is coined by the botanists who first describe (identify as new) the plant, after analyzing the characters and attributes of the plant. The rules of naming are governed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). The ICBN is in turn updated from time to time by a world-wide group of botanists.

Colors of Flowers/Foliage alba, albus - white arg, argenteus - silvery ater - black aurantiaca - orange aureus - golden aure, aurea, aureum - gold azurea, azureus - azure, sky blue caesius - blue gray caerula - deep blue candidus - pure white, shiny canus - ashy gray, hoary carneus - flesh colored citrinus - yellow coeruleus - dark blue coccineus - scarlet concolor - one color croceus - yellow cruentus - bloody discolor - two or separate colors flava, flavum - yellow glaucus - covered with gray bloom griseum - gray incanus - gray, hoary lutea, luteus - reddish yellow miniata - of a reddish color nigra - black purpurea, purpureus - purple rosea - rose-colored rubens, ruber - red, ruddy rubra, rubrum - red rufus - ruddy sanguinea - blood-red viridis - green

Leaf Form acerifolius - maplelike leaves abr - delicate leaved angustifolius - narrow leaves aquifolius - spiney leaves buxifolius - leaves like boxwood ilicifolius - hollylike leaves lanceolata - lance-shaped lauriflolius - laurel-like leaves longifolia - long-leaved macrophylla - large-leaved microphylla - small-leaved parvifolia - small-leaved parvifolius - small leaves palmate, palmatum - hand-shaped leaves populifolius - poplarlike leaves rotundifolia - round-leaved salicifolius - willowlike leaves Plant Smell, Taste amara, amarus - bitter arom - odor dulce - sweet foetida - foul smelling fragrans - fragrant fragrantissima - very fragrant mosch - musk odor odorata - scented

Plant Peculiarities acaulis - stemless amabile, amabilis - beautiful blanda - pleasent communis - common contorta - contorted growth habit cordata - heart-shaped crispa - finely waved, curled florida, floridus - flowering gracilis - graceful grandiflora - large-flowered hybridus - hybrid incana - gray-haired lactea - milky laevis - smooth maculata - spotted majus - larger maxima - largest millefolium - thousand-leaved minor, minus - smaller minim - very small minut, minutus - very small mollis - soft and/or hairy mon - one (one leaf, one flower) multiflora - many-flowered nitida, nitidum - shining officinalis - used as perenne, perennis - perennial pictum - painted pulchella - pretty punctata - spotted semperflorens - everblooming sempervirens - evergreen speciosa - showy spectabilis - spectacular spinosissimus - spiniest spinosus - spiny superbum - superb tomentosa, tomentosum - hairy umbellata - having flowers in umbels variegata - variegated villosa, villosum - softly hairy vulgaris - common

Plant Shape arborescens - treelike elata - tall elegans - elegant, slender, willowy recta, erecta - upright, erect fruticosa - shrublike grand, grandi - big humilis - low-growing nana - dwarf, miniature pendula -drooping, pendulous prostrat, prostratum, procumbens - prostrate pumilia - low-growing, dwarf repens, reptans - creeping scandens - climbing Origin of Species aethiopium - Africa alpin - alpine regions andi - Andes antill - West Indies australis - southern barbadensis - native to Barbados borealis - northern campestris - of the field or plains canadensis - from Canada or America canariensis - from the Canary Islands capensis - from the Cape of Good Hope chilensis - from Chile chinensis - from China europa - from Europe hortensis - of the garden indica - from India insularis - of the island japonica - japonicum - from Japan littoralis - of the seashore maritima - from near the sea montana, montanus - from the mountains palustris - from marshes or wetlands riparius - of river banks rivalis, rivularis - of brooks saxatilis - inhabiting rocks virginiana - from Virginia