What's in a Name?

      I find the naming and classification of plants to be a fascinating science.  Each plant is given a botanical name consisting of a capitalized genus name and a lower case species name, for example, Nepeta cataria (catnip).  The species name is descriptive ("pertaining to cats" in the case of catnip) and several of these descriptive species names reoccur frequently with a number of herbs.  Some of the more frequently occurring species names for herbs are:

          officinalis or officinale.  This is by far the most frequently seen species name among the herbs and was the name given to plants used for medicine and listed in official medical books or pharmacopoeia.  Herbs like Melissa officinalis (lemon balm), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), Salvia officinalis (sage) and Zingiber officinale (ginger) have long been recognized for their medicinal value.  Other herbs with this species name include betony, borage, calendula, comfrey, hyssop, marsh mallow, valerian, soapwort, vervain, lovage and dandelion.
          vulgaris or vulgare.  This is another frequently occurring species name, this one meaning "common" and used with such common herbs as Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), Origanum vulgare (oregano) and Thymus vulgaris (thyme).  Others include the botanical names for horehound, tansy and mugwort.
          graveolens.  Not surprisingly, the species name graveolens, meaning "heavily scented", shows up attached to several herbs:  Anethum graveolens (dill), Pelargonium graveolens (rose geranium), Ruta graveolens (rue) and Lippia graveolens (Mexican oregano).  A similar species name is suaveolens meaning "sweet-smelling", as in Mentha suaveolens (apple mint).
       (1) citrosa  (2) citrata, citratum, or citratus  and  (3) citriodora, citriodorum or citriodorus. Since there are lots of citrus-smelling herbs, it's not surprising that citrosa or citrata, "citrus-like" and citriodora "lemon-scented" are on this list. Aloysia citriodora (lemon verbena) is the lemoniest of the lemon herbs. Cymbopogon citratus  (lemongrass) also has a good lemon flavor. Many herbs have  notes of lemon to compliment their regular fragrance: Monarda citriodora (lemon beebalm), Ocimum x citriodorum (lemon basil),  Pelargonium x citrosum (Prince of Orange scented geranium),  Thymus x citriodorus  (lemon thyme),  Backhausia citriodora (lemon myrtle),  Eucalyptus citriodora (lemon eucalyptus), and Leptospermum citratum (lemon tea tree). [Note: these names are frequently used as varietal names, too,  as in Mentha x piperita 'citrata' (orange mint) or Nepeta cataria 'citriodora' (lemon catnip). ]
          odorata or odoratum. Another name meaning "fragrant" and used for Myrrhis odorata (sweet cicely), Viola odorata (violet) and Galium odoratum (sweet woodruff).
          sativum or sativus.  These are plants that are deliberately planted. These cultivated herbs include Coriandrum sativum (coriander/cilantro), Allium sativum (garlic) and Crocus sativus (saffron).

         Want to know the correct pronunciation of these and other botanical names? Try Fine Gardening's   Guide to Pronouncing Botanical Latin