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Glossary

Species names Genus names After people After places Botanical terms General terms

Named after people, mainly botanists

Latinised names for a genus or species often refer to plant collectors, nurserymen, botanists or mycologist. Sometimes because they discovered the plant, sometimes named by others in their honour.

  • Ansorgei - after Ansorge, noted by Trees and Shrubs Online, but not traceable, eg fagus sylvatica ansorgei
  • Armandii - after Armand David (Pere David), French botanist (1826-1900)
  • Augustinii - after Augustin Henry (1857 - 1930), Irish plantsman and sinologist. e.g. rhododendron augustinii
  • Azara - after 18th-century Spanish diplomat and patron of science José Nicolás de Azara (1730 - 1804) e.g. azara microphylla
  • Kashburner - after Kenneth Ashburner (1927–2010) from Devon, who traveled extensively in search of birches, crossing Japan, Korea, Russia, Siberia, the Himalayas, and Europe, as well as Canada and the United States. His specialist arboretum at Stone Lane was awarded National Collection status for both wild origin birch and alder.
  • Battandieri - after Jules Aime Battandier (1848-1922), botanist, pharmacist and expert on the flora of Algeria.
  • Baumann - after French botanist and scientific illustrator Constantin Auguste Napoléon Baumann (1804-1884)
  • Beauverdiana - after Swiss botanist Gustav Beauverd (1867–1942)
  • Beissneri - after Grman botanist Karl Beissner
  • Blijdenstein - after Benjamin Willem Blijdenstein (1834-1914), a Dutch banker who set up a pinetum in Haversum, Holland. e.g. Picea retroflexa Blijdenstein
  • Bolanderi - after Henry Nicholas Bolander, (1831-97) a German-American botanist. e.g. pinus contorta bolanderi.
  • Boydii - after William Brack Boyd (1831–1918), an amateur botanist and plant hunter, noted for collecting plants in Scotland and the Alps.
  • Bracken's brown beauty - a magnolia developed by Ray Bracken (1926 - 2014), a nurseryman in Easley, South Carolina.
  • Breweriana - after William Henry Brewer, American botanist (1828 - 1910)
  • Broussonetia - after French naturalist Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet, (1761 - 1807)
  • Buddleja - after Reverend Adam Buddle (1662-1715).
  • Bushii - after Benjamin Franklin Bush, American botanist and ornithologist (1858 - 1937) e.g. Aesculus bushii
  • Camellia - named after Georg Joseph Kamel, 1661-1706, a Jesuit missionary and botanist who worked in the Phillipines.
  • Campbellii - after Archibald Campbell, (1805-74), superintendant of Darjeeling
  • Choisya - after Jacques-Denis Choisy (1799–1859), a Swiss botanist and professor of philosophy in Geneva. e.g. Choisya dewitteana
  • Clanbrassiliana - after an Irish Earl and horticulturalist, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil (1730 - 1798) e.g.Picea abies clanbrassiliana
  • Coignetiae - after Mr and Mrs Coignet, who brought seeds of the crimson glory vine (vitis coignetiae) back from Japan.
  • Cossonii - after Ernst Saint-Charles Cosson, French botanist (1819-1889)
  • Coxii - after Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox (1893–1977), Scottish plant collector, botanist, and horticulturist
  • Cunninghamii - after Alan Cunningham, Englsih botanist and explorer (1791-1839)
  • Dalrympleana - after Richard Dalrymple-Hay, the first Commissioner of Forests in New South Wales, appointed in 1895
  • Dawsoniana - after Jackson Thornton Dawson (1841-1916), Yorkshire born who became superintendent of the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts.
  • Decaisneana - after Joseph Decaisne French botanist 1807-82
  • Daniellii - after William Daniell (1818-1865), a surgeon with the British forces stationed at Tientsin
  • Davidii - after Armand David (Pere David), French botanist (1826 - 1900)
  • Delavayii - after Fr Pierre Jean Marie Delavay (1834 - 1895), a French missionary and botanist. e.g. osmanthus delavayii
  • Deutzia - named by Carl Thunberg (1743-1828) after his friend and patron, Johann van der Deutz
  • Dicksonia - after James Dickson (1738–1822), Scottish nurseryman, plant collector, botanist and mycologist.
  • Dodonia - after Rembert Dodoens, (1517 - 85) Flemish botanist, sometimes called the father of botany.
  • Dovastonii - after John Freeman Milward Dovaston, British naturalist (1782 – 1854). e.g. Taxus baccata Dovastonii aurea, Dovaston's golden yew'
  • Dombeyi - after Joseph Dombey French botanist 1742 - 94
  • Drummondii - after Thomas Drummond Scottish botanist (1790 - 1855)
  • Duclouxiana - after the French missionary and plantsman Pere Francois Ducloux, 1864-1945
  • Ermanii - is probably after Georg Adolf Erman (1806 – 1877), a German physicist and traveller, but it is difficult to find definite confirmation of this attribution.
  • Fargesii - named after Father Paul Guillaume Farges (1844–1912), a French missionary and botanist
  • Fitzroya - after Robert Fitzroy, (1805-1865) captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra del Fuego and the Southern Cone.
  • Forrestii - after Scottish plant hunter George Forrest (1873-1932). e.g. Abies forrestii georgii
  • Fortunei - after Robert Fortune (1812 - 1880), Scottish botanist and plant collector
  • Freemanii - after Oliver Miles Freeman (1891-1979) of the USA National Arboretum
  • Fuschia - after Leonhart Fuchs (1501 - 1566), German physician and botanist
  • Gleditsia - after Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch (1714 - 1786), German botanist and physicist.
  • Geraldii - after Gerald Loder, 1st Baron Wakehurst (1861-1936). e.g. Rhododendron x geraldii
  • Georgii - after Scottish plant hunter George Forrest (1873-1932). e.g. Abies forrestii georgii
  • Giraldii - after Giuseppe Giraldi (1848–1901), an Italian Catholic missionary and a botanical collector. e.g. Eleutherococcus giraldii
  • Gmelinii - after Johann Georg Gmelin (1709-1755),botanist and author of The Flora of Siberia e.g. Larix gmelinii
  • Halesia - named by John Ellis in 1759, after Stephen Hales (1677 - 1761), an English scientist, inventor, and physiologist.
  • Hardy - after Julien Alexandre Hardy (1787-1876), chief gardener at the Luxembourg gardens, Paris
  • Hedlundia - after Swedish botanist Johan Teodor Hedlund (1861–1953)
  • Heldreichii - after German botanist Theodor von Heldreich (1822 - 1922)
  • Holboellia - after Danish ornithologist Carl Peter Holboell (1795-1856)
  • Hornibrookii - after Irish botanist Murray Hornibrooke (1874 - 1949)
  • Jacquemontii - after Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832), French botanist.
  • Jeffreyi - after John Jeffrey (1826 – 1854), Scottish botanist and plant-hunter active in the United States.
  • Jury - after Mark Jury and his father Felix, who breeds magnolias in New Zealand. e.g. magnolia Felix Jury
  • Koelreutaria - after Joseph Gottlieb Kolreuter (1733-1806), German botanist
  • Kaempferi - after Engelbert Kaempfer (1651 - 1716) German naturaist, physicist and explorer
  • Kalmia - after Swedish botanist Pehr Kalm. (1716-1779) e.g. Kalmia
  • Lagerstroemia - after Swedish naturalist, director of the Swedish East Indies Company and patron of science, Magnus von Lagerstroem (1696-1759), who supplied his friend Linnaeus with the plant he collected.
  • Lavallei after Pierre Alphonse Martin Lavallée (1836-1884), a French botanist and horticulturist who established an arboretum at Segrez in France. e.g. Phellodendron lavallei
  • Lecontei - after John Eatton Le Conte, American naturalist (1784 - 1860)
  • Lennei - commemorating Peter Joseph Lenné (1789–1866), one of the foremost garden and landscape designers in the Prussian Empire
  • Leveilleana - after Augustin Abel Hector Léveillé (1864 - 1918), a French botanist and clergyman
  • Loebneri - after Max Lobner (1869-1947), garden inspector in Germany.
  • Lobbii - after William Lobb (1809 – 3 May 1864), or his brother Thomas (1817–1894), British plant collectors employed by Veitch Nurseries.
  • Lonicera - after German botanist Adam Lonicer (or Lonitzer) (1528 – 1586) e.g. lonicera xylosteum
  • Lorbergii - after the Lorberg nurseries in Germany, founded by Gottlob Heinrich Lorberg in 1843.
  • Maackii - after Richard Otto Maack, (1825-1886), a Russian naturalist. e.g. Prunus maackii, the Manchurian cherry.
  • Macabeanum - after Robert Blair McCabe, (1854-1897) an Indian civil servant. e.g. Rhododendron macabeanum
  • Mahonia - after Bernard McMahon, (1775-1816), an Irish American horticulturalist. e.g. Mahonia japonica, the Japanese mahonia.
  • Maximowiczii - after Carl Johann Maximovich (1827 - 1891), Russian botanist
  • Magnolia - after Pierre Magnol, French botanist 1638 - 1715
  • Merrill - after Elmer Drew Merrill, botanist and director of the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, 1876 - 1956
  • Menziesii - after Archibald Menzies, Scottish botanist and naval surgeon, 1754-1842
  • Meyeri - after Frank Nicholas Meyer (1875–1918),a Dutch-American plant explorer working for the US Department of Agriculture. e.g. syringa meyeri palibin
  • Michelia - after Pietro Antonio Micheli (1679-1737), a Florentine botanist.
  • (Directeur) Moerlands - after Carolus Philippus Moerlands (1874-1967), who was Director of the School of Horticulture at Boskoop in the Netherlands. e.g. Malus Directeur Moerlands.
  • Moltkei - after Helmut von Moltke (1800-1892), a general in the Prussian army. e.g. Tilia moltkei
  • Monbeigiana - commemorating French botanist and missionary Jean Théodore Monbeig-Audrieu (1875-1914). e.g Carpinus monbeigiana
  • Moorei - after Charles Moore (1820 - 1905), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney.
  • Mougeotii - after French botanist, Jean-Baptiste Mougeot (1776-1858). e.g Sorbus mougeotii.
  • Moyesii - named by botanist Ernest Henry. Wilson (1876-1930) after Reverend James Moyes of the China inland mission.
  • Nordmann - after Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish botanist (1803-1866)
  • Ohlendorffii - after Johann Heinrich Ohlendorff (1788–1857), German botanist. e.g. Thuja occidentalis Ohlendorffii
  • Oliveri - after Daniel Oliver (1830 - 1916), a Kew botanist. e.g. Tilia oliveri
  • Ovens - Major John Ovens (1788-1825) was an Irishman who as a soldier and engineer went to Australia. Ovens Valley in Victoria is named after him. Ovens wattle originates there
  • Palibin - after Ivan Vladimirovich Palibin (1872–1949), a Russian botanist and explorer who specialized in the flora of Asia. e.g. syringa meyeri palibin
  • Pallasiana - after Peter Simon Pallas FRS FRSE (1741-1811) a Prussian botanist and explorer amongst other things. e.g. pinus nigra ssp. pallisiana.
  • Pančić - after Serbian botanist Josif Pančić (1814-1888). e.g. Pančić spruce (Serbian spruce)
  • Paulownia - honours Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen Consort of the Netherlands from 1840 to 1849.
  • Parrotia - in honour of German naturalist Georg Friedrich Parrot (1767 - 1852).
  • Perriniana - after George Perrin (1847-1900), Conservator of Forests in Victoria, Australia. eg Eucalyptus perriniana, the spinning gum
  • Prattii - after English plant collector Antwerp Edgar Pratt (1852-1924). e.g. sorbus prattii
  • Raulstonii - from the J C Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina. James Chester Raulston (1940-1996). eg Calycanthus raulstonii
  • Ririei - after Rev. B Ririe of the Chinese Inland Missions and friend of E.H. Wilson.
  • Robinia - after James Robin (1550 - 1629) French herbalist to Henry IV and Louis XIII of France.
  • Rutgersensis - developed by Elwin Orton of Rutgers University (New Jersey). Colonel Henry Rutger (1745-1830 )was a New York philanthropist and revolutionary war hero.
  • Sargentii - after Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927), American botanist, 1st director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.
  • Sieboldianum - after Philip Franz von Siebold (1796 - 1866), German physicist and botanist
  • Shirasawanum - after Japanese botanist Homi Shirasawa (1868-1947) e.g. Acer shirasawanum, Japanese Full Moon maple
  • Shrenkiana - after German/Russian botanist Alexander Gustav von Schrenk (1816-1876). e.g. picea schrenkiana.
  • Shwedleri - after Carl Heinz Schwedler (1807–1880), a garden supervisor for Prince Hohenlohe of Slawentitz, Poland. e.g acer platanoides schwedleri
  • Smithiana - after James Edward Smith, (1759-1828), an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. e.g. Picea smithiana
  • Soulangeana - after Etienne Soulange-Bodin, a cavalry officer in Napoleon's army (1774-1846)
  • Spaethiana - after Ludwig Spaeth (1793-1883) or his son, German botanist and nurserymen.
  • Stewartia after John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), Britih Prime minister 1760-3, and plant collector. e.g. stewartia, and butea
  • Stylesii - after Brian Thomas Styles, English botanist and taxonomist at the Oxford Forestry Institute (1934-1993).
  • Thunbergii - after Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828), who published an early flora of Japan
  • Tschonoski - commemorates Sukawa Chōnosuke (1841-1925), a 19th-century Japanese herbarium specimen collector, whose name was transliterated through Russian to "Tschonoski". e.g. acer tschonoski
  • Van Volxem - after a Belgian nurseryman Jean Van Volxem (1870s). e.g. Acer velvetinum van Volxem
  • Veitchii - after John Gould Veitch (1839 – 1870) was a British horticulturist and traveller. e.g.Abies veitchii
  • Vilmorinii - after the French seed company Vilmorin, started by botany enthusiast Philippe-Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin (1746-1804). e.g. sorbus vilmorinii
  • Voss - after Andreas Voss (1857–1924), a German botanist and horticulturist.
  • Wallichiana - after Nathaniel Wolff Wallich (1786 – 1854), Danish surgeon and botanist.
  • Weigela - after Christian Ehrenfried von Weigel (1748 – 1831), Swedish born German professor at the University of Greifswald
  • Weyeriana after Major William John Bates van de Weyer (1870– 1946), a British Militia officer who hybridizes a South American species of Buddleja with an Asiatic species while on leave during World War I. e.g. buddleja weyeriana
  • Winteri - after John Winter (c.1540-96), who navigated round Cape Horn with Francis Drake
  • Wisselii - After Dutch grower F van der Wissel (1880s)
  • Wisteria - after Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Youngii - after Maurice Young, (1800s) an English nurseryman who found a chance seedling in Surrey.