How to understand Botanic plant names! A Latin master class with Stephen Ryan!

[@nivifer4172]

I love your channel. Perfect blend of practical gardening, botanical history, and fun. It's exactly what I needed. I found myself watching American gardening channels out of boredom to discover plants other than those grown in Europe, but honestly, I couldn't take it anymore. I kept thinking, 'Is this really how gardening is done elsewhere? You buy a huge container with the latest trendy cultivar of hydrangea (the least graceful one, of course, with enormous flowers), dig a hole with a thermal auger, throw in some chemical fertilizer, all while keeping your hair perfectly brushed?' So, I’m glad to have found your channel. I would really appreciate it if you could do a lesson one day on how cultivars are named; because I don't understand: they typically don't have a third Latin name, but we find variegated forms of species with a third Latin name, yet these are cultivars... By the way, regarding 'buddleja/buddleia', I don’t think Linnaeus made a mistake. If we take the name Buddle and add the suffix -ius, which indicates ownership, to form the botanical name, then the "i" is intervocalic, it's a semivowel, and it is noted "j" by Latinists since the Renaissance; the same goes for -u/-v. But in "modern" Latin, we no longer follow this graphic rule since it doesn't date back to classical antiquity, hence the -i that comes back in 'buddleia'. And Linné's first surname was indeed ‘Linnaeus’; it's a Latin name because when you wanted to pursue a career in administration, you needed a family name (which you didn't necessarily have since the family name didn't exist, you had a patronymic, the father's first name + 'son of' or 'daughter of'). The family chose this name because it's the latinised name of the family property, Linnegård ('linne' being a dialectal form of 'lind' meaning lime tree in Swedish). Linnaeus later took the name ‘Linné’ when he was ennobled, and it's the delatinized and frenchified form of Linnaeus because, I suppose, Sweden had strong political and cultural ties with France at that time. But of course its surname was still Linnaeus in its latin publications.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Great to hear your views on the prickly subject of Botanical Latin. Regards Stephen

[@judithcooke6979]

Alerted to your presentation by RBG Cranbourne. Thanks for your informative talk. I love all the stories attached to botanical plant names.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it. I’ve always felt that botanical names could be fun as well as useful. Regards Stephen

[@Kay-qt2id]

You two are a hoot. Love this segment could listen to this all day.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@jamus618]

I want the extended "uncut" version.. :D

[@shirleywilson5959]

wonderful, can hardly remember a word already, need to watch this one more than once! 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

What a good idea!

[@jeanneclark99]

Hey, I'm first! You two are hilarious. But also VERY informative--thanks!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching the EPIC!

[@Loogiemistress]

Thoroughly enjoyed ~ thanks!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@kerryjean2223]

I discovered yesterday whilst out plant shopping with my Mum, Sister and Niece that I have for quite some time pronounced Clivia the way Stephen Ryan does, but my Sister doesn't.... I gave it some thought but didn't say anything. Also, I discovered rare coloured plants for the state of South Australia at a third of the cost I paid mail order to have shipped from interstate, Victoria which also cost a fortune....how ironic that yellow, orange and gold flowering form's previously known as deciduous Azaleas now called Rhododendron's should suddenly show up at a particular nursery in the Barossa Valley. I noticed my first Rhododendron plant in the garden starting to open it's bloom's yesterday, a gorgeous wine coloured foliage with beautiful purple coloured flowers... woohoo

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad that our videos are giving you things to think about. Gardening is always about learning. Regards Stephen

[@johanneturner5933]

That was a wonderful episode. Thank you.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@brocktoon8]

Really enjoyed this episode!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@dianbedggood8361]

More please

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

I love the sound effects

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching - that's nature!

[@gavinmatthews5618]

Great chatting on the phone today, really positive spin on what can be a tough subject for some.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you approve and hopefully we will catch up in person soon. Regards Stephen

[@angelahorlock9920]

Really helpful thNks

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@SoulEarthy]

This was the first video that actually helped me understand this concept! So much personality and information 😁😁 Thank you!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad it was helpful! Regards Stephen

[@jamus618]

Oh my God it's like a breath of fresh air listening to you Stephen. I agree with all your pronunciations (except Chaenomeles perhaps) and when you're surrounded by people who pronounce things oddly you do start to doubt yourself! Thanks for this video, very enjoyable.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

took me quite a while to use a soft c for Christmas and I still lapse occasionally. thanks for the positive feed back. Regards Stephen

[@katewalker6951]

That was really useful and interesting. Thank you.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@merryhaveman353]

Very fun episode and thanks for the book recommendation.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

A pleasure

[@anjastracey-pijnappels7332]

🎉😊thank you for this one. And yes I find it a little bit grrrr-ing 😉to have to learn new names. But hey I guess there must be reasons for it. Informative and fun, as all your videos.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@heathicusmaximus8170]

I'm just dipping my feet into taxonomy and this was so helpful. It clarified some of my confusion!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Excellent! Thanks for finding us!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad we could help. Regards Stephen

[@kerryjean2223]

I've come back to this video to comment on something I'm thinking about and spotted your reply to my earlier comment and thanks for that. I love Sempervivums , I bought a couple a few days ago because a local nursery just got a heap of different coloured ones in and I'll be going back for quite a few more hopefully during my next pay period, but for the second time now I've noticed that your pronunciation of the 'i' is different, so now knowing what you have taught me in recent months, I shall adjust to copy you knowing full well that your pronouciation must be correct. Adelaide South Australia. Kind regards Kerry.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed the video but just remember that botanic Latin is a written language and there will always be disagreements about how one should pronounce words. Regards Stephen

[@annebeck2208]

So much great info! My mother being in the medical field drop Latin names all the time, but you tied that with plants nicely. Montana is now stuck in my mind and will be super helpful.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thank you for watching!

[@mellfraze8112]

Great episode, as always, thanks. I bought The Gardeners Botanical by Ross Bayton earlier this year & have found it to be a great resource on botanical names.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@jucjuc314]

Great video thank you for the informations! 😊 I started using scientific plant names when I moved from Hungary to Germany and started watching english gardeners on KZbin.. I found out, searching for common names and trying to translate them and find information about them just doesn't work as effectively as using their latin names 😊Same story with birds in 3 languages.. 🤦😄

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching! It certainly is MUCH easier using the Latin names to search for information....even if they can be a mouthful!

[@dianwilliams239]

Hi Stephen, sooo interesting. However I’m a little confused - Wollemia is the genus and nobilis is the species but you mentioned aucarua, I’m not sure where that name fits in.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

It’s in the family Araucaraceae which isn’t part of its name but shows what it is related to. Hope that clears it up! Regards Stephen

[@gbengaishere]

Really enjoyed this - your style is engaging and makes the topic approachable. Would it be ok to reach out directly to yourselves to speak more? I can't see any social media links or an email address, but let me know what might be the best way to contact

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Hi there - you can find 'Stephen Ryan' on twitter and Instagram. Thanks for watching!

[@gbengaishere]

@@thehorti-culturalists Thanks - I've sent a DM via Instagram

[@MDA-rs4uf]

is the brown color of the brown agathis in any way related to a conifers winter color ...??. i have one fir that is very coppery and lots of people think it is dead..... i love the winter color of many of the conifers....m

[@thehorti-culturalists]

The colour in Agathis australis is thought to be protective. the giant Moa bird was the only native large plant eater and birds apparently don’t see brown very well. Regards Stephen

[@marlaberg-vivit4289]

These two, just make me laugh!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars]

Good episode guys . It sure beats used car salesmen and fingernail models planting a Sempervivum bowl 🙄...Show Matt a plant of Lobelia siphilitica ! a Cardinal and an actress may be involved.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I could have gone down that road but this is a child friendly channel!

[@dianefields6056]

The worst taxonomy decision, in my opinion, was changing the name of the trees you Aussies called wattle to Acacia, and we poor Africans who called our acacias 'Acacia' for eons now have to remember the name Vachellia. How did they justify that one?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

By we Australians forcing the issue at conference which was held here in Australia, it was completely wrong and I feel justice will be Africas in the end, the decision went completely against the rules and we should be ashamed. Regards Stephen

[@1marcelo]

Absolutely nothing in Latin (early or late, or high, or low, or vulgate) ends with the pronunciation "eye". That's English and it's wrong.