Silybum marianum...I'm sorry, what?? Oh, it's just the scientific name for the Milk Thistle of course.
You'll find most plants have a label -something like the one here - giving information about how to care for it, what conditions it likes and most confusingly...a scientific name. But what do these scientific names mean and why do plants have them? Most importantly, why are they important for you?
If I ask someone in an English speaking country to name the plant below, likelihood is that they will call it a daisy. The common name for this plant seems to be the same in most English speaking countries.
However, if I ask what the following plant is, depending on the country, I may get the answer 'coriander' or 'cilantro' - the same plant has multiple common names whereas the scientific name Coriandrum sativum will be the same in every country, regardless of language spoken.
Another example is the common name 'Rose of Sharon' - if you ask an American to point out a 'Rose of Sharon', they would likely show you Hibiscus syriacus whereas a 'Rose of Sharon' in the UK might be a Hypericum. Two different plants called the same common name. Confused yet?
A commonly confused plant is a geranium. In garden centres you may see plants advertised as Geraniums like the one to the left.
These are actually Pelargoniums, their scientific name will be something like Pelargonium 'Lord Bute' or Pelargonium 'Dark Secret' - this name should be on the plant label as well. People have commonly called Pelargoniums, Geraniums, for a long time and many places still advertise them incorrectly. A true Geranium (like Geranium x magnificum below) is a very different plant which needs different conditions and will most likely be winter hardy rather than the Pelargoniums which cannot be left outside in a UK winter.
So you can see that it's useful to use the scientific name sometimes in order to get the correct plant and to stop confusion. What do they mean though? Well to keep things simple, there are usually two main parts to the scientific name. The first word (starting with a capital letter) is the genus and the second word is the species. There will be many plants in each genus, for example: Rosa rugosa, Rosa canina and Rosa glauca (all part of the Rosa, or Rose genus) so the second word, the species identifies the specific rose. There are more complicated plant names so sometimes you will see longer scientific names but generally they will still follow the basic rules above.
Rosa (genus) glauca (species)
The scientific name can help you identify some characteristics of the plant too. 'Glauca' in Rosa glauca for example means blue and the leaves of Rosa glauca are blue tinged. Some ones to look out for are:
alba/albus – white
alpina/alpinus – alpine
angustifolia – narrow leaves
argentea – silver caerulea – blue
chinensis – from China
dentata – toothed
fragans/fragrantissima – scented
japonica – from Japan maritima – from the coast montana – from the mountains
odorata – perfumed officinalis – medicinal/herbal use
orientalis – from Asia
sylvatica – from a forest
Hopefully, now you understand a little bit more about plant names and why knowing the scientific ones can be more helpful that the common names. As a garden designer, I have learnt the scientific names for hundreds of plants so that you don't have to! It means that when I choose plants for your garden and give this list to a plant nursery, they will know the exact plant I am referring to. If you'd like to know more about my planting design services, please see the Planting Design page.
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