What's in a Name?

 Virtually every plant has at least two names:  the common name that we usually refer to it by, and its scientific name.  There are no rules about how common names are used but each scientific name can belong to only one plant.  So, it's a good idea to know at least a little bit about scientific names or you could get yourself into trouble. 


Baptisia australis

One good example is a plant we commonly call "False Indigo" here in North Dakota.  When I go to a garden center looking for "False Indigo", I am thinking of a gorgeous herbaceous perennial member of the pea family that blooms with beautiful bright blue flowers in early spring, appropriately known as Baptisia australis. 






Amorpha fruticosa

What I might accidentally take home, though, is another "False Indigo" that will turn out to be a scraggly, semi-invasive, blah looking shrub, more appropriately known as Amorpha fruticosa.  Both Baptisia australis and Amorpha fruticosa are members of the pea family, so their immature foliage is very similar.  Without checking scientific names of the two, you might take that Amorpha fruticosa home and not even know that's what you have until you discover this somewhat unsightly shrub attempting to take over your world.

Common names are made up by anyone who wants to call a plant something.  For example, years ago I planted an herb called valerian (Valeriana officinalis), also commonly called All-Heal plant, for its supposed medicinal qualities.  The first year, I fondly called this plant "my valerian".  The second year, I simply called it "valerian", and not quite as fondly.  Over time, that plant has become commonly known in my garden as "That Dang Plant" as in "What's That Dang Plant doing here?".    That is my "common" name for that plant, and it is not traceable to anyone but me.  Eventually, those with whom I unknowingly shared my valerian in the first years of its existence may also come to call it "That Dang Plant".  But, no one will be able to trace from where that name originated.

Scientific names, on the other hand, must comply with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) and there is very specific documentation that is maintained to assure the plants are always identified correctly.    The scientific name is always a two-part name.  The first word, e.g. Baptisia, designates the genus, or a major sub part of a plant family.  Australis is the species name, which distinguishes this plant from all others, even in the same genus.  In "official" literature, both the genus name and the species name are italicized and the genus name is always capitalized and the species name is not. 

Every plant is also classified into a plant "family", which, in the case of Baptisia australis and Amorpha fruticosa, is the Fabaceae, or legume, family.  Most of the time, the "family" name is not used as part of the plant's name.  If you see any word ending in "aceae", you'll know that is the name of the "family" to which the plant belongs.  Then there are "orders' and "classes" and "divisions", all the way up to the "Plant Kingdom".  But, unless you are a serious botanist or horticulturalist, having a basic understanding of family, genus, and species is sufficient.

So, to put it in terms of the number of plants you might find in each grouping, the "family" will be the largest.  There are virtually hundreds of plants in any given family and they all share common characteristics, even though the plants may appear very different.  Then, within the family, you will have the large sub-group "genus", which is a grouping of plants that are in the same family but share even more common characteristics than others in the family.  These plants will often look similar enough that we can readily recognize that they are like other plants we've seen.  The final classification is the species, and there is only one plant that is known by the species name.  Again using my Baptisia as an example, I know when I see Baptisia australis, that my plant will have indigo blue flowers.  That is the only plant that can be called Baptisia australis.  If I want the same plant with yellow flowers, I will look for Baptisia tinctoria, or for white flowers, I will look for Baptisia alba.

And, if I am careful to look for the correct genus and species name, I won't come home with a homely shrub when I really wanted a beautiful perennial.