Intrigued about Latin plant names?
This isn't just about words, these names are storytellers; they are descriptive of the plant and some are almost poetic. Others describe colours, places, shapes and more.
Latin names are usually made up of two parts as a minimum, though sometimes they are a bit longer. This is called the binomial naming system and is a highly descriptive way to recognise plants. It is also used globally so the confusion created by local names and different languages is no longer a problem.
Once you start to understand them, Latin plant names are fun!
Here are some examples of Latin plant descriptors common to cacti:
Cereus: From the Latin word cereus, meaning a wax taper (candle).
Cleistocactus: From the Greek word cleistos, meaning closed.
Echinocactus: From the Greek words echinos, meaning hedgehog and kaktos, which means thistle.
Espostoa: Nicolas Esposto was a Peruvian botanist.
Gymnocactus: From the Greek word gymnos which means naked.
Heliocereus: From Greek, meaning sun cactus.
Lithops: From the Greek word lithos, meaning stone, and opis, meaning appearance.
Mammillaria: From the Latin word mammilla, meaning nipple or teat.
Notocactus : From the Greek word notos meaning "south".