An animal, plant, or human with a pigment deficit is called an albino, named from the Latin albus ("white"). Of course you also remember that albumen is egg white. Probably it would shock you to learn that "album" comes from the same Latin root word, likely referring to a white tablet.
For many plants, the common name "white" is translated in their scientific names, but it takes some botanical training to figure out what part of a plant is white. Populus alba, white poplar, has white leaf undersides, whereas Morus alba (white mulberry) has white fruits, Cornus alba (white dogwood) has whitish flowers and fruits, and Quercus alba (white oak) has light-colored wood. For any plant, a variety, cultivar, or subspecies name alba nearly always refers to a form with white flowers, and our horticultural books are filled with such names.
IN botany alb-, albi-, and albo- are used in compound words to signify white. Albidus, albicans, and albescens mean whitish, as in Acacia albida and Trillium albidum, which have off-white flowers, and in Asclepias albicans, which coincidentally has off-white flowers but, more importantly, is the white-stemmed milkweed of the Sonoran Desert. Aloe albiflora is easily interpreted as white-flowered. A native California species of clover, Trifolium albopurpureum, has white and purple flowers. Swertia albomarginata has white-margined leaves, whereas Chamaesyce albomarginata has white along the scalloped margin of the inflorescence. The whitebark pine is Pinus albicaulis, more literally, "white-stemmed." Acacia dealbata, silver wattle, means whitened, probably a reference to its grayish seeds.
In addition, there are more than a dozen other words expressive of white. In Greek leukos refers to white, as used in leukemia, a cancer that causes abnormal levels of white blood cells. Plant taxonomists commonly use leuco in compound words, such as leucophylla (white-leaved) and leucodermis (white-skinned). Leucadendron argenteum is the silver tree of South Africa, literally the "silvery-white white tree." Boehmeria nivea is ramie, the plant of China used to make fine blouses; nivea describes the brilliantly white leaf undersides.
JULIE RASKOFF, MEMBG Docent