Why We Use Scientific Names For Plants
 (Read 250+ times)
By Glory Lennon
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You go to the garden center and grab that Sugar Maple tree. You have the perfect spot picked out for it and it’ll look perfect there. You know it’s a Sugar Maple because you’ve seen them growing everywhere since you were a kid. Of course you know what a Sugar Maple looks like even without taking a glance at the label and good thing too. Recognizing plants by sight is great. It makes you a knowledgeable gardener, not just some novice. But maybe you should grab that label and read it anyway before you get to the counter to pay for it. Just humor me.
“Acer Saccharinum” the label says. So, what? Hmm, I hate to tell you this but that’s not a Sugar Maple. It is a Maple, yes, but a Silver Maple instead. Yes, they look very similar when so young and only just beginning to leaf out. Not your fault. Now look for a label that says, “Acer Saccharum”. They are very similar names so look carefully. Found it? Yes, that one is the Sugar Maple.
It may not be the end of the world if you did plant that Silver Maple instead of the Sugar Maple but it might annoy you after a while. You were looking forward to the brilliant autumn color that only a Sugar Maple can provide and you wanted a tree that only reached 60 feet at maturity not 100 feet like the Silver gets to. And you wanted a tree with that distinctive round canopy and bright green leaves not those silvery leaves that almost look white in bright sun.
The Silver Maple, though very nice, attractive, great for birds to nest in and fast growing to provide ample shade, it does not have the awesome fall colors you so wanted and it has aggressive roots. The one thing you expressly didn’t want as it was to be planted near the sidewalk. Now you have to worry about the sidewalk getting busted. Not to mention that Silver Maples have weak wood and branches that break off easily. Any car parked under it would be in trouble during a rough storm. As a whole, the Silver Maple is the least desirable Maple there is. It is not nearly as good as the Sugar Maple. Now aren’t you glad I made you look at that label?
That is exactly why we use scientific names. We don’t want to mix up our variety of plants. All plants are categorized according to family, genus, species so we all are on the same page. There are many common names for plants and not everybody can know that a plant in the United States called Monk’s Hood is known as Wolfsbane in Europe and Aconite somewhere else. But when we all know the scientific name in addition to the common name, we will know exactly what we’re all talking about, Aconitum.
No, it is not necessary to know scientific names in order to have a spectacular yard but it does make things easier in the long run. You won’t have to call an arborist to remove that nuisance Silver Maple tree, for instance.
You may be asking why we had to use Latin. It’s so confusing, so complicated and headache-provoking. Now, you’re just saying that because you never really tried to learn some of the plant names. Once you learn one or two the rest comes more easily. Latin is, after all, the basis of many languages. If you take a really good look you will see that most Latin words sound or look very similar to words in English, Spanish, French, Italian, or German, languages you may already be somewhat familiar with.
You’re already on your way to learning, you know. Don’t forget you already know “Acer” means of the Maple family. That’s the first tentative step to learning garden Latin, the scientific names for plants. That wasn’t so bad, was it? Next time you go to the nursery, do yourself a favor and just look at the scientific name in addition to the common name. It won’t hurt and it might do you and your landscape some good.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 For more fun in the garden and silly stories please visit http://www.helium.com/user/32782.
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