When you go plant shopping and look at a plant tag, you’ll most likely see the common name (like Dwarf Balsam Fir) and the botanical name (Abies balsamea ‘Nana’) listed. Since common plant names can differ from place to place, some nurseries or garden stores will strictly use botanical names to curb any confusion. For that same reason we label all of our planting plans with botanical names.
If you haven’t caught up on your Latin recently, botanical names are even more confusing to figure out. Each botanical name will help give you a clue into what it looks like or how it grows. We’ll separate these into categories: growth habit, color, foliage types, flower types, and origin/habitat. While this isn’t an all-inclusive list, these are some of the most common words you’ll see while out and about this spring. Happy plant shopping!
Growth Habit
Nana/Nanus– Dwarf (i.e. Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’ – Dwarf Hinoki Cypress)
Fastigiata/Fastigiate– Upright branching (i.e. Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Fastigiata’ – Upright Plum Yew)
Elatus/Exaltus/Excelsior/Excelsa– Tall or grows upward (i.e. Thuja plicata ‘Excelsa’- Excelsa Western Red Cedar)
Prostrata/Procumbens/Repens/Reptans– Flat on the ground or Creeping (i.e. Gaultheria procumbens- Wintergreen)
Contorta/Contortus– Twisted (i.e. Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ for Contorted Filbert)
Pendula/Pendulus– Weeping or Hanging (i.e. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’- Weeping Nootka Cypress)
Color
Alba/Albus– White (i.e. Thymus serpyllum ‘Alba’- White Thyme)
Aurea/Aureus– Golden (i.e. Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’ – Southern Catalpa)
Coccineus– Scarlet (i.e. Thymus serpyllum ‘Coccineus’- Red Thyme)
Purpurea/Purpureus– Purple (Atropurpurea would be a dark purple) (i.e. Echinacea purpurea)
Rubra– Red (i.e. Epimedium rubrum- Red Barrenwort)
Nigra/Nigrum/Nigrescens– Black (i.e. Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ – Black Mondo Grass)
Variegata/Variegatum/Variegatus– Variegated or marbled foliage (i.e. Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’ – Variegated Maiden Grass)
Foliage Types
Rotundifolius– round leaves (i.e. Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Rotundifolius’- Roundleaf Holly Olive)
Angustifolia– narrow leaves (i.e. Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’- Hidcote Lavender)
Macrophylla– large leaves (i.e. Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’- Jack Frost Brunnera)
Lanceolata– lanced leaves (i.e. Drimys lanceolata- Pepper Tree)
Latifolia– wide leaves (i.e. Kalmia latifolia ‘Carousel’- Carousel Mountain Laurel)
Serrata– serrated leaves (i.e. Zelkova serrata ‘City Sprite’- City Sprite Japanese Zelkova)
Flower Types
Paniculata– Flowers grow in panicles/tufts of flowers (i.e. Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lime’ – Little Lime Hyrdangea)
Odoratum/Odoratus/Fragrans/Aromaticus– Flower or foliage has a fragrance. Inodorus means no fragrance and foetidus means it has a stinky fragrance. (i.e. Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’- Variegated Solomon’s Seal)
Umbellata– flowers grow in an umbel (umbrella shape) (i.e. Iberis umbellata- Garden Candytuft)
Grandiflora– Large flowers (i.e. Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’- Little Gem Dwarf Southern Magnolia)
Origin or Habitat
Japonica/Japonicum/Japonicus– Japan (i.e. Fatsia japonica- Japanese Aralia)
Alpinus– Alpine regions, grows in areas located above the tree line (i.e. Aster alpinus- Alpine Aster)
Orientalis/Orientale– East/Asia (i.e. Helleborus orientalis ‘Winter Jewels Berry Swirl’- Winter Jewels Berry Swirl Hellebore)
Occidentalis– West/North America (i.e. Cercis occidentalis- Western Redbud)
Chinensus/Chinense– China (i.e. Loropetalum chinense ‘Jazz Hands Bold’- Jazz Hands Bold Chinese Fringe Flower)
Montana– Mountains (i.e. Clematis montana ‘Elizabeth’- Elizabeth Anemone Clematis)
Sylvestris/Sylvaticus/Sylvatica- Woodland (i.e. Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’- Dawyck Purple European Beach)
Another naming convention you’ll see often is a genus name followed by an ‘x’ (like Hosta x ‘Great Expectations’). This indicates that it’s a hybrid and that species were crossed to create this plant. This is seen a lot in perennials like Hellebores, Hostas, Echinacea, Crocosmia, etc which is how we get so many wonderful color combinations to work with in our gardens.
While you don’t have to know botanical plant names to grow beautiful plants, it can be so helpful when learning about new plants or talking with other gardeners. We won’t test you but we hope this list helps you decipher some of those tricky plant names while you’re out plant shopping this season or reviewing your landscape plans!
~Colleen
