Ross Bayton - The Gardeners Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names - with More than 5,000 Entries

The following line provides the feminine and neuter versions of the name, if applicable, followed by the etymology of the word. This will explain the meaning (or meanings) behind the Latin term. For the genus entries, the family name is also included in parentheses at the end. An example of a plant name that features the term is also supplied. Where variations in spelling occur, they are grouped together, as in: cashmerianus kash-meer-ee-AH-nus cashmeriana, cashmerianum cashmirianus kash-meer-ee-AH-nus cashmiriana, cashmirianum cashmiriensis kash-meer-ee-EN-sis cashmiriensis, cashmiriense From or of Kashmir, as in Cupressus cashmeriana Where a genus term can also be used for a species, it is included in parentheses afterward. At the end of the book is an index of 2,000 of some of the most frequently used common names.

Here, you can look up a plant that you know by its common name and find the Latin name. You can then look up what the Latin term means in the alphabetical listings section. Pronunciation of botanical Latin can vary, so the examples provided here are a guide rather than a definitive directive. Capital letters indicate where the stress should fall. Where gender variations occur, pronunciation is given for only the masculine version. Most gardeners will have encountered plants that seem to have not only numerous common names but also variations in their Latin appellations.

Some epithets, which were once in wide usage, have now become obsolete, perhaps due to reclassification of the plants to which they were once applied. However, because these names may still sometimes be found in old horticultural works, as synonyms in modern texts, or when browsing the varied sources of the Internet, they have been included for completeness. The RHS Plant Finder by the Royal Horticultural Society in England provides a general guide to current nomenclatural opinion, if required, that is often used internationally as a reliable up-to-date source, but you can also check the USDA plants database for plants by their scientific or common names. Helped by an informed understanding of botanical nomenclature, it is hoped that gardeners will be able to make better gardens filled with better plants; plants that sit well in their site, thrive in the conditions provided for them, and have the form, habit, and color that make for the most aesthetically pleasing association with their neighbors.