Re: the meaning of fastigiata

In a message dated 99-08-22 12:02:00 EDT, Rose wrote:  

<< Janis and others,
  Do you know of a website or book where I can find the answer
 to questions like this?  It's the type that comes up often
 for me.  Thanks, <<
 
Rose, 

I mostly use 'A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names, Their Meanings and 
Origins' by A.W. Smith and 'Botanical Latin to English Definitions' published 
by Write Company. Many plant manuals also include plant name origins in their 
listings. I also still use my (very) old textbooks from Junior High Latin 
Classes.

Several others on the list have already given you some good recommendations.
I don't have a copy of 'Gardener's Latin' by Bill Neal but I've seen it an it 
looks very good.  

I especially liked Tom's web page.  And I must say that while I agree with 
Tom that it is not at all necessary to learn the meanings of plant names, 
doing so has certainly served me well.  I find knowing a little Latin has 
especially helped me to identify plants in the wild.

There was a recent discussion on the list about the genus Rudbeckia being 
named for 17th century botanist Olaf Rudbeck.  While that might be 
interesting, it is not at all useful.  But if you know a little Latin,  the 
five native species of Rudbeckia commonly found in  Missouri have very 
descriptive names.  R. hirta (Latin for hairy) is, you guessed it, very 
hairy.  R. triloba (= 3 lobes) has 3-parted leaves, and R. submentosa 
(=somewhat hairy) is also trifoliate but less hairy.  Laciniata means deeply 
cut, and R. laciniata is the one with deeply incised leaves.  Knowing that R. 
missouriensis was found in Missouri isn't particularly helpful here, but in 
order to tell all five apart all I had to learn was that R. missouriensis was 
like R. hirta, lance leaved and also hairy, but with much smaller leaves. 

As Tom so amusingly pointed out, plant nomenclature is often not quite as 
simple as the above.  But even if you are not going to be on a quiz show, 
knowing a little botanical Latin is also very helpful in reading those plant 
descriptions in botanical manuals. If the manual says a plant's leaves are 
submentose, you already know they are a little hairy and you don't have to 
look it up.  

It would be nice for us if we could just use English for plant names -- hairy 
black-eyed susan, cutleaved black-eyed susan, and so on.  But everyone 
doesn't speak English.  Latin may indeed be archaic, but it is still very 
useful as an international language for scientists, as demonstrated here 
early this month when the International Botanical Congress met in St. Louis.  
 It is a dead language which no one has spoken for centuries, but it is still 
handy for those who care to study it.

So, Rose, I enjoy studying Latin and I hope you do, too!  --Janis

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