Plants and Sportscars

When I started gardening, learning Latin was the last thing on my mind. There were so many other new skills and practices to learn! And what difference does it really make? I’m not a botanist or researcher. If I told someone I was growing Firewheels, surely they would know what I was talking about. Even something a universal as a Sunflower, how could there be any confusion? Maybe if there was only one kind of sunflower. But according to Flora of North America, there are 70 lower taxa in the genus Helianthus (Greek helios “sun”, and anthos “flower”) (Source). Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants.

The history of scientific plant names traces back to the efforts of early botanists who sought a universal system to describe and classify plants. Before the 18th century, plant names were often long descriptive phrases in Latin, known as "polynomial names," which made communication confusing and inconsistent across regions. This changed in 1753 when Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus revolutionized plant classification with his work Species Plantarum. Linnaeus introduced the binomial (“bi-” two, “nomial” name) nomenclature system, giving each plant a two-part Latin name consisting of a genus and a species. This simple yet precise method allowed scientists worldwide to identify and study plants with greater accuracy and consistency. Over time, international codes and botanical congresses refined the rules for naming, ensuring that plant taxonomy remains a dynamic but organized field essential to botany, agriculture, and conservation.

Learn Binomial Names the Easy Way

So do you need to know Latin to understand plant names. Definitely not! You are not learning Latin verbs, conjugations, or grammar. Just learning new names, like new friends, and I promise you already understand how binomial nomenclature works. Let me show you:

What kind of car do you drive? What is your dream car? Is it a sedan, SUV, or truck? What color is it?

If you said Toyota Corolla, Jeep Wrangler, or Ford F-150 you are already using binomial naming by referring to the manufacturer and the model.

But let’s say you drive a Mazda MX-5 Miata ST Sport. Clearly you have good taste in automobiles! How you would break that name down? Mazda is the manufacturer and MX-5 Miata is the model. “ST” stands for soft top and is different from the “RF”, the retractable fastback hardtop. “Sport” is one of four trims available for the ST. Then of course there is a paint color. Really, only the Mazda engineers and salespeople know all the detailed nuances of each vehicle combination. But if you tell a Mazda enthusiast you just bought a Mazda MX-5 Miata ST Sport in the Soul Red Crystal Metallic they may look at you with admiration because they understand you just got a red sportscar and not a white truck. They may even ask to see you new red sportscar the next time they stop by your house to see your garden!

From Cars to Plants

The binomial nomenclature system works the same way to classify plants with similar characteristics. Except the manufacturer is the Genus and the model is the Species. Any words after that are used to describe natural varieties or cultivated varieties (“cultivars”). Mother Nature and plant breeders are working like those Mazda engineers to create new and interesting plants all the time.

If your car was a plant it might have a common name Red Sportscar and a scientific name (Mazda mx-5miata var. ST ‘Sport’) . That’s quite a mouthful which is why we often say or write common names when talking about plants. “I drive a red sportscar” is fine for most conversations. But I don’t have to tell you that there is a difference between say a Mazda Miata and a Lamborghini Temerario even if they are both red sportscars. Which is why when we need to be specific about what kind of plant we are talking about or planning to use, it’s important that we at least know it’s binomial name by sight even if you do not know how to pronounce it.

Let’s step away from sportscars and back to the plant world and look again at our humble sunflower. The common sunflower, grown in thousands of gardens around the world is Helianthus annuus from the Greek helios “sun”, and anthos “flower” and from the Latin annus for “year”. Often, the genus name is shortened to the first letter in writing so you may see H. annuus. There are many cultivated varieties, called hybrids, of H. annuus. Some you may have heard of for cut-flower sunflowers are ProCut, Sunrich, SunFill, Sunbright, etc. There are also branching types that produce many blooms over a longer period of time than single stem types. There are so many varieties in fact that I often have to refer to the seed companies themselves, as experts aka the “engineers”. Johnny’s Selected Seeds has a superb comparison chart and guides for choosing the right sunflower for your space. I also buy a lot of my H. annuus seeds from Sunflower Selections.

Sunflower Sportscars

You have probably grown lots of Helianthus annuus, the Honda Civic of sunflowers, over the years. They’re dependable, your know what you’re getting, and it does what it says on the seed packet. You’ve mastered H. annuus and are ready to try something new. May I suggest the Silverleaf Sunflower (Helianthus argophyllus) Argophyllus comes from Ancient Greek (ărgós, “shining, glistening, white”) +‎ -phyllum n (“leaf”), literally “whiteleaf”. And this sunflower has very fuzzy white leaves and stems. It’s soft to touch and kids love it! It is a branching type with multiple blooms over the long season from May-August in my garden. The fine silver coating on the flower buds reminds me of spider’s silk.

You can also easily get seeds for the two sunflowers below. They are native to Harris county. I’ve grown both of these in my garden and they are especially important to the native bees, moths, and butterflies. They also make long-lasting cut-flowers and add to the diversity of your garden.

Maximilian Sunflower Helianthus maximiliani . It was named for the naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, Germany, who led an expedition into the American West in the 1830s.

Narrowleaf Sunflower Helianthus angustifolius from the Latin angustus “narrow” and folium “leaf”.

Pop quiz- What are the common names for Echinacea angustifolia and Zinnia angustifolia?
(answer at the end)

Pronunciation and why it doesn’t really matter

Now what about that tricky Latin pronunciation? Well, the good news is even the experts don’t agree on how to pronounce them sometimes! No one is sure how old Latin sounded. Ever heard gardeners say both “Daaa-lia" and “Day-lia” for Dahlia pinnata? (Which also has the common name simply Dahlia) As a rule of thumb, I go off phonetic or something from my background studying Spanish and Italian in college. About 90% of the time my mind just glances over the name in writing and I don’t need to say it. And thanks to autocorrect, I don’t need to even spell it perfectly. Google “Helianthos maximillion” and you’ll get it!

Why binomial names really matter- avoiding invasive species

If you’ve read this fare, you may be wondering, why bother learning the binomial name when there is a common name and pronunciation doesn’t matter. Well, for one reason I alluded to above. Sometimes we need to be very specific about the species of a genus we are going to grow, buy, or introduce to the garden. I’ll give you just one example- Lantana. Lantana urticoides (is also called the Texas Lantana. The flowers are orange and yellow and is a super tough, drought tolerant small shrub. Its evil cousin from the West Indies, Lantana camara, is so aggressive and outcompetes the native species that it has earned a place on the Texas Invasives website. L. camara comes in many bright colors, most often here in pink with pale yellow centers (called Ham and Eggs), but also solid yellow, pink, orange, and white. It’s often sold in many large chain nurseries. But I implore you to reconsider purchasing this species and if you have it, consider removing it completely (good luck with that, it’s pernicious). Although they are both species of the genus Lantana, the urticoides will be a good friend and neighbor to your other plants while the camara will give you nothing but headaches.

Always ask if the plant label or seed packet is not clear. At the bare minimum, get the genus and species binomial name. That way you can be sure you’re growing or planting the right plant for your garden. Only knowing the common name is like only knowing the manufacturer of your car. If you go to a car dealership and say “I want a Toyota” you may end up being sold a large truck, like a Toyota Tundra, that won’t fit in your garage, when you really needed a Toyota Camry Hybrid (pun intended).

And remember the internet is your best friend in searching for genus and species. I discovered different types of Zinnia recently (another common name/genus name) and it saves me time searching for the binomial name instead of the common name when I don’t know the common names yet (Zinnia elegans, Zinnia haageana, Zinnia angustifolia to name a few). So get out there, take note of the scientific names and use them when needed. It’s as easy as naming the cars you see on the road. And have fun with it! It’s like learning a new language or memorizing new friends names- a little tough at first but easier with practice.

Quiz answer- Echinacea angustifolia is “Narrow-leaf Coneflower” and Zinnia angustifolia is “Narrow-leaf Zinnia”.