May 2009

The Leonard J. Buck Garden, Far Hills, NJ

The more informed we are on a subject the better our chances are at becoming successful at it and gardening is no exception. As gardening grows in popularity, the number of gardeners taking root in this earthy hobby increases.

To succeed in gardening you should know your plants with more certainty: enter Latin. Latin is everywhere in the garden: from seed packs to your favorite nursery catalogues. Latin words describe and distinguish plants and flowers; they tell you the color of a flower, the shape of a leaf or its native habitat. The use of Latin for plant names can be confusing when first encountered, but once you notice the same names over and over they will become familiar and helpful.

We owe our system of naming plants to Carl Linnaeus, often called the Father of Taxonomy. Linnaeus’ idea was to divide plants into groups based on shared physical characteristics. In the early 18th century, scientific names for plant species were already in Latin and sometimes Greek. They were often long, unwieldy and varied from author to author.

Linnaeus gave all the plants known at that time a simpler name in two parts, known as a binomial. The first part was the genus, followed by the species. The genus name (capitalized) was a noun in the nominative singular, the species (in lower case) an adjective describing the noun.

Example: Acer palmatum the noun Acer is described by the adjective palmatum, meaning shaped like a hand, referring to the shape of the leaves. Sometimes there is a third Latin name denoting a subspecies or a naturally occurring variety, for example, Acer palmatum dissectum. Dissectum describes the palmate leaves as finely dissected, like threads.

A capitalized name in single quotations following the genus and species indicates a cultivar. A cultivar is produced by human intervention. Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Waterfall’ is a beautiful weeping Japanese maple bred for its weeping branch structure. As the foliage cascades it gives the appearance of a waterfall. You can find this wonderful specimen in Buck Garden along Moggy Brook.

Some plant sellers skip over the species name and use just the genus and cultivar. This is a shame because it is this Latin name that tells you the most about the plant. The species can tell you a plants shape, size, color, and its cultural conditions.

You don’t have to learn the entire Latin language before you head out into the garden. Just learn how it works. Following are some examples you can find in flower at the Leonard J. Buck Garden. The Latin names are in bold. Their definitions follow, ending with the plant’s common name and its location in the garden.