Why is it important know a plant’s correct botanical name? Well, most people who use botanical names are not trying to impress you. It's simply a way to make sure you get the right plant. For instance, it you were to wander in to your local garden centre and ask for a viburnum, the first thing they'd ask you is, “What kind of viburnum?” The problem is there are more than 200 species of viburnum. Unless say specifically which one you want, you are more than likely to come away with one you don’t want. (Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' is the one pictures here) You'll find the same problem if you use only common names. For instance, if you ask for a

pink geranium, the person at the garden centre will want to know whether you really want a geranium or do you mean a pelargonium (which is the correct name for what most people call geraniums) or are you looking for a hardy geranium (which is a true geranium, see left) and if so, which kind? There's no reason to be alarmed. Staff at most garden centres are very helpful in these matters, but it makes a world of difference if you can walk confidently into your garden centre and ask for the plant you want by its

botanical name. This eliminates 90 per cent of the risk of coming away with the wrong plant. (There is, of course, also the possibility of mislabeling but that is happening less and less.) Botanical names can be a pain in the neck. They are often difficult to say and even more challenging to remember. You will be surprised, however, how quickly you pick up the habit of saying them and how beautiful some of them sound as they roll off the tongue.

The secret is to say the name three times in a row. By the third time, you will have it down pat and it will be safely stored in your memory. When it comes to botanical names, there are things you need to know, and certain things that are really not worth worrying about. You need to know that each plant belongs to a specific group called a genus. This is indicated by the plant’s first name. Acer, for example, is the genus name for maples. So you know whenever you are looking at an Acer, you are looking at some kind of maple. Think of it as a kind of surname. Now within that group of maples, there are many kinds, or species.

To narrow things down to the precise species we are talking about, each plant has been given a second (species) name – for instance, Acer griseum, Acer davidii and Acer palmatum. But if you went to the garden centre and asked for an Acer palmatum, they would then ask you, ‘What cultivar?” This is why plants often have a third name, which is the cultivar name.

This appears in single quotation marks – Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’, for example. With this information, you can ask for precisely the plant you want and get it. You need all three names to be sure. Botanical names get more complicated after this. Sometimes a plant has an extra latinized name after the species names that indicates something about the plant’s growth habit (fastigiata – erect; pendula – weeping), color (alba –white; glauca – blue green), flowers (campanulata – bell-shaped; stellata – star-shaped), or geographical origins (japonica – of Japan; sinensis – of China).

This does not change very much – all you really need for shopping is a plant’s first name (genus), second name (species) and third name (cultivar). When a plant is a hybrid between two or more species, taxonomists use a multiplication sign to let you know. Epimedium x rubrum, for example, is a hybrid produced by crossing Epimedium alpinum with Epimedium grandiflorum.

Do you care? Probably not. Most home gardeners don’t. If you go to your garden center and ask for Epimedium rubrum and neglect to include the multiplication sign, you will still come away with the right plant. Pictured above (top to bottom): Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' Acer griseum (paperbark maple), Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' and Camellia japonica 'Kramer's Supreme'