Sunday, March 27, 2016

Are there Queen's Tears?

Wake Up on the Bright Side


The Grimsby Garden Club will have a speaker on Monday whose topic is the naming of flowers.  My experience so far is that most plants are named after plant discoverers.  Common names, though, seem to relate to how the plant looks or behaves.

This first plant has a common name of Firecracker Plant.  It looks like firecrackers amongst the green foliage.  It also has the name of Coral Plant. 

This second flower, a Bilbergia, has the common name of Queen's Tears.  The flowers are known to drip nectar when touched.  

In comparison to common names, the Latin names of plants seems complicated and extensive. The origins and current day naming are in Latin - references go back to 370 B.C. with Theophrastus, who was Greek. I wonder how it was that Latin has been the universal scientific language from such an early time.  Perhaps Monday's speaker has all the answers.


Have a Happy Easter Weekend!

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