Bona verba for gardeners
Susan Mahr, state Master Gardener Volunteer coordinator sends out a monthy newletter with tips, recipes and quirky information.
I’m mostly interested in the quirky.
From this month’s newsletter:
-Just what does “hypoleuca” or “vulgaris” mean? With the Dictionary of Botanical Epithets you can quickly find out – and maybe learn something about the plant in question, as those scientific names often are descriptive. Botanical Epithets
Since I’m an old person, I tend to like books.
Hedberg Public Library has William T. Stearn’s “Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners: A Handbook on the Origin and Meaning of the Botanical Names of Some Plants.”
Or you can check out “A Gardener’s Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins,” by Archibald W. Smith.
Or try, “Gardener's Latin” by Country Living Gardener Staff.
One of my favorites is “Gardener's Latin: A Lexicon” by Bill Neal. It’s not at the library, but you can order it at your favorite local bookstore.
Apr 1, 2011 at 1:44 p.m.
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Bona verba - thanks for teaching me a new phrase! I love knowing where gardening words come from. E.g. daylily is Hemerocallis, which is "for a day" and "beauty". Perfect description of that perennial!
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