What is Perovski atriplicifolia? Answer: Russian Sage. Does anyone else find the language of botany confusing? I work in the plant industry and although I spend a large amount of time reading about plants I still cannot come to terms with the complicated language of botany. The latin language of botany dates back to 1867 when an internationl standard was agreed apon. The rules and regulations of plant naming are called : The international Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The most important levels of classification and identification in horticulture are:
Genus -A genus is a group of plants that all share some common characteristics
Species- a large group of plants that exhibit similar charactoristics. Family names end in "aceae"Cultivar- these plants freely interbreed maintaining the same charactoristics from generation to generation.
But thats enough about that. How about this name - Helictotrichon or Rhodochiton Astrosanguineus. Just one more to confuse you - Molopospermum peloponnesiacum. I could go on but for some reason these names are so complicated and intimidating that they take all the fun out of gardening. I'm going to stick to my common names even at the risk of being considered a Botanical ignoramous. So bring on the bell flowers, and the daylilys. I'm going outside to enjoy my garden.
Coming Next - Flea Market Treasures.
Coming Next - Flea Market Treasures.
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