List of plant genus names with etymologies (A–C)
Since the first printing of Carl Linnaeus's Species Plantarum in 1753, related plant species have been grouped according to genus (plural genera).[1] These genera have been catalogued in a variety of works, including Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners. William Stearn (1911–2001) was one of the pre-eminent British botanists of the 20th century: a Librarian of the Royal Horticultural Society, a president of the Linnean Society and the original drafter of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.[2][3]
The first column below lists vascular plant genera from Stearn's Dictionary, excluding those names that no longer appear in more modern works, such as Plants of the World by Maarten J. M. Christenhusz (lead author), Michael F. Fay and Mark W. Chase.[4] Plants of the World is also used for the family and order classification for each genus. The second column gives either a meaning or the derivation of the word, such as a namesake or a language of origin. The last two columns indicate citations to The A to Z of Plant Names by Allen Coombes and The Names of Plants by David Gledhill.[5][6] The four-volume CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names by Umberto Quattrocchi is also a source for every genus in the table except Brya.
Key
- G = Greek
- A = listed in Coombes's The A to Z of Plant Names
- N = listed in Gledhill's The Names of Plants
Genera
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See also
- Glossary of botanical terms
- List of descriptive plant epithets (A–H)
- List of descriptive plant epithets (I–Z)
- List of Greek and Latin roots in English
- List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
Notes
Citations
References
- Christenhusz, Maarten (2017). Plants of the World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Vascular Plants. Chicago, US: Kew Publishing and The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-52292-0.
- Coombes, Allen (2012). The A to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants. Portland, OR, US: Timber Press. ISBN 978-1-60469-196-2.
- Cullen, Katherine E. (2006). Biology: The People Behind the Science. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8160-7221-7.
- Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3.
- The Linnean Society (August 1992). "Publications by William T. Stearn on bibliographical, botanical and horticultural subjects, 1977–1991; a chronological list". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 109 (4): 443–451. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1992.tb01443.x. ISSN 0024-4074.
- Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names, Volume I, A–C. Boca Raton, FL, US: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2.
- Stearn, William (2002). Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners. London, UK: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-36469-5.
Further reading
- Brown, Roland (1956). Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 9781560988489.
- Lewis, Charlton (1891). An Elementary Latin Dictionary. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199102051. Available online at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (2013). An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon. Mansfield Centre, CT, US: Martino Fine Books. ISBN 9781614273974. Reprint of the 1888/1889 edition. Available online at the Perseus Digital Library.