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common vs. scientific/latin names

there's been some grumbling about the use (or lack of) latin names when
talking about plants.  whenever possible, i try to use both scientific
and common name, if any.  i use the scientific name so that there won't
be confusion about which plant i'm talking about; as others have pointed
out, some common names apply to different plants.  and precision in names
is important, including the spelling.  for example, a while ago there was
a lot of controversy in the orchid list re: the importance of correct
spelling.  as an example, there is a  Dendrobium johnsoniae and a
Dendrobium johannis.  2 different plants with totally different cultural
requirements and yet if someone mi-spells the name, we wouldn't know
which one they were talking about.

the trouble is that many plants don't have common names. so when i use a
scientific name, it is not to be snobbish.   and many folks don't realize
that lots of other plants have their latin names adopted as common names.
 for example, cyclamen, gardenia, clivia, begonia, these are all their
latin names that later got adopted as a common name because they didn't
have one to start with.  so i think folks should be more patient about
names and try to learn both.

tsuh yang chen, new york city

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