| |
 Darwinii after the genus name of a plant, therefore commemorates the English scientist Charles Darwin (1809-82); douglassii denotes David Douglas (1798-1834), a Scotsman who collected many confiers in North America; farreri denotes the English collector and author, Reginald J. Farrer (1880-1920); fortunei is for the Scottish collector, Robert Fortune (1812-80); vetchii is for the English family nursery firm of Veitch, which flourished in Exeter and London between 1808 and 1914 and which sponsored several plant hunters; willmottiae is for Ellen Mary Willmott (1860-1934), and English gardener; and wilsonii for Ernest Henry ('Chinese') Wislon (1878-1931), English colletor and botanist.
Some names refer to the geographical area where a plant originated, although these are not always reliable. Botanists sometimes made mistakes. For example, several plants introduced as from Japan (japonica) were later found to be natives of China.
Linnaeus himself regarded Inadian (indica) and Chinese (sinensis) as virtually interchangeable. Geographical names often used include cambricus (Cambria or Wales), capensis (Cape of Good Hope), damascenus (Damascus), gallicus (Gaul or France), hispanicus (Hispania, Spain), lusitanicus, (Portugal) and neopolitanus (Naples).
There are hundres of names that simply describe aspects of the plant. Just a few are given in the table opposite. They are almost all of Latin origin. |
|
| Descriptive Latin Species Names |
|
| acaulis |
stemless |
|
lacteus |
milk-white |
| albus |
white |
|
maculatus |
spotted |
| amoenus |
pleasing |
|
meleagris |
speckled |
| argentus |
silvery |
|
nanus |
dwarf |
| atropurpureus |
dark purple |
|
niger |
black |
| azureus |
sky-blue |
|
nivalis |
snowy-white |
| baccatus |
berry-bearing |
|
occidentalis |
western |
| caeruleus |
dark blue |
|
parviflorus |
small-flowered |
| citriodorus |
lemon-scented |
|
plumosus |
feathery |
| cordatus |
heart-shaped |
|
retans |
creeping |
| coronatus |
crowned |
|
saggitifolius |
arrow-leaved |
| dentatus |
toothed |
|
scandens |
climbing |
| farinosus |
floury |
|
sinensis |
Chinese |
| flavus |
yellow |
|
speciosus |
showy |
| floribundus |
free-flowering |
|
spinosus |
thorny |
| fruticosus |
shrubby |
|
tomentosus |
woolly |
| fulgens |
shining |
|
tortuosus |
very twisted |
| glaber |
smooth |
|
uliginosus |
of marshy places |
| gladiatus |
sword-like |
|
venustus |
handsome |
| hybridus |
hybrid |
|
vernalis |
of spring |
| japonicus |
Japanese |
|
viridis |
green |
|
|
|
