If you became a contestant on "Jeopardy!" and were given the answer, "This was the language of science during the 17th century," the correct question would be "What is Latin?" Latin in science is, of course, a legacy much associated with Carolus Linnaeus, who lived during the 18th century (1707-1778) but was still, in many ways, a man who belonged to the previous century. Linnaeus glorified classical languages and was an advocate of Aristotelian philosophy, wherein one first reasons theoretical principles about the natural world and then uses deductive reasoning, based on these basic principles, to interpret specific examples.
Linnaeus is credited first and foremost with having invented binomial nomenclature, the formalized system by which every known species is given a unique two-worded name. For his binomial system of naming organisms, Linnaeus used a form of Latin, which he considered a universal language. Now, when I first began learning about scientific names of plants, I was under the illusion that binomials are in fact Latin. Not so. What many people do not understand is that only a small percentage of the roots used by Linnaeus were genuine Latin names that had actually been used by the Romans. In fact, although the words sound Latin (because they are latinized by their endings), many of Linnaeus' generic names were Greek in origin. Of course, if you have knowledge of any Romance language that is, a language rooted in Latin), some of these roots are already part of your vocabulary.
One thing that I think can be extremely useful for interpreting plants that grow in our gardens is some knowledge about their commonly reoccurring latinized names. Permit me to share my newfound information on "Latin Rhythms" in what I hope will become a regular feature of the MEMBG newsletter. Maybe many of you will develop a similar fascination, and gain a greater appreciation of plants when you encounter their scientific names.
Sempervirens
In Latin, semper means: always, and virens means green; thus, sempervirens means evergreen. Perhaps you already know that siempre in Spanish means always, ever, or at all times. Or you may be familiar with the U. S. Marine Corps motto, semper fidelis , which means always faithful. Knowing that a plant is sempervirens--evergreen--helps the gardener select appropriate plants for specific locales. Here are some examples:
Sequoia sempervirens. The coastal redwood (family Taxodiaceae) was named after the Cherokee Sequoya (c. 1770-1843). Sequoya (Cherokee: Sikwayi) was the inventor of the Cherokee syllabary, a system of writing that used eighty-six symbols to represent all syllables. This redwood species is characterized by its flattened (i.e., plagiotropic) shoots with narrow, evergreen leaves that are green above and somewhat silvery beneath. It is a state tree of California. You can see that Sequoia actually is a latinized version of a person's name, which itself was not the original spelling.
Buxus sempervirens. The common box (family Buxaceae) is a compact evergreen shrub with opposite small, tough, elliptical leaves. You are very likely to see this species used as a hedge in formal gardens or for topiary, for example around a museum building or the Lincoln Monument, but is extremely widely planted in eastern North America, where it was introduced during early colonial times. Boxwood is a light-yellow, hard, fine-grained wood used in engravings and in fashioning musical instruments.
Gelsemium sempervirens. Called yellow jessamine or Carolina jessamine (family Loganiaceae), this is an evergreen twining vine with glossy, opposite, lanceolate (i.e., spear-shaped) leaves. Its fragrant, tubular, yellow blossom is the state flower of South Carolina, where this vine commonly grows along fence rows and roadsides.
JULIE RASKOFF, MEMBG Docent