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Why Latin names matter

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  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    "LOL"
    Devon.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    You cannot call people elitist and expect them to be happy about it. People on this forum are welcoming and friendly I have found and happy to agree to disagree in the most part. Accuracy is important when giving advice and people are trying to be helpful. Latin names are an excellent way to check that we are all talking about the same plant. 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Despite what MMM or WUM thinks, this thread is not about her/him. It's about the use of "latin" names.
    The "thistle" was another thread entirely,but it's MMM who won't let it go.
    Devon.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    I like the way a post on one thread can lead to another discussion being posted. That's how most people's minds work I find, an off the cuff remark leading to more in depth discussion, maybe even a heated debate. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Absolutely agree @debs64 ... on this forum we have Discussions .... like we do with friends and acquaintances in a village pub ... and the discussions meander and sometimes disagreements happen, but as long as no one is rude or unkind, and as long as everyone stands their round of drinks when it's their turn, most of us rub along quite well  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    For those lovers of Latin names for plants on this forum  ;) I'd like to point to a recent discussion here where I was given the ID of a plant in my garden.

    That plant was identified as the lesser swine cress, Latin name Lepidium didymum. But it also has close to 20 Latin name synonyms. B)<3:o:wink:

    Carara didyma (L.) Britton
    Coronopus didymus (L.) Sm.
    Senebiera didyma (L.) Pers.
    Senebiera pinnatifida DC.
    Crucifera pinnatifida (DC.) E.H.L.Krause
    Biscutella apetala Walter
    Cochlearia humifusa Michx.
    Coronopus incisus Hornem.
    Coronopus pinnatifidus Dulac
    Coronopus pinnatus Hornem.
    Crucifera senebiera E.H.L.Krause
    Lepidium americanum Vell.
    Lepidium anglicum Huds.
    Lepidium bonariense sensu Mill.
    Lepidium prostratum Savi
    Nasturtiolum castratum Medik.
    Senebiera incisa Willd.
    Senebiera supina Thore

    My preference goes to Biscutella apetala, vaguely evoking images of aperitif biscuits. It's an edible plant, after all.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2018
    Isn't it the other way around @Papi Jo ?  Don't you mean that there are approximately 20 different plants (all with their individual botanical names) whose common name is Swine cress ?  Or am I misunderstanding something?  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,718
    Going off on a tangent a bit I find the latin names very useful to cross reference birds/insects over her in France, so that I know I'm talking about the same critter with a french person. Their common names are not the same as the English!
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