the preceding account on animal names. You will notice that many plants do not have a common name,
hence the scientific name really comes to serve the purpose for
which it was intended – to transcend international language barriers.
Plants, if anything have more graphic scientific names than animals.
Acacia arabica = Arabian thorn or A. tortilis = twisted thorn.
Arnebia hispidissima = bristly-haired hare, presumably from ‘arneb’,
the Arabic for hare.
Avicennia marina = the marine tree named after the ‘prince of
physicians’ Abd Allah ibn Sina (980-1037) born in Bukhara, in
what is now Uzbekistan.
Calotropis procera = the ‘beautiful tall’ plant.
Chenopodium album = the white goosefoot; C. murale = wall-dwelling
goosefoot.
Euphorbia granulata; E. larica; E. serpens. After Euphorbius who
used the latex for medicinal purposes; E. granulata = granular;
E. larica = larch-like or E. serpens = creeping; serpentine.
Ficus salicifolia = willow-leaved fig. Ficus is the Latin name
for fig; Salix is the Willow genus.
Geranium mascatense = Muscat cranesbill; the fruit resembling
the head of a crane (Geranium).
Gypsophila bellidifolia = chalk-loving and daisy-leaved (rosettiform).
Heliotropium calcareum = (Flowers) turn-with-the-sun. Helios the
sun; and living on lime-rich soils (calcareum), although not strictly
true.
Juncus socotranus = the Socotra ‘Binder’.
Orobanche cernua = the drooping legume-strangler, apparently a
misnomer. Tomato (Solanum sp) is often host. Orobanche is literally
the legume-strangler.
Phoenix dactylifera = After Phoenicians who introduced the date
palm to the Greeks; dactyliferous is fingered.
Polycarpea repens = Many-fruited and creeping or stoloniferous.
Polypogon monspeliensis = ‘Many bearded’ (polypogon) of Montpellier
in southern France.
Portulaca oleracea = The edible Milk-carrier (portulaca). Oleraceous
is of cultivation, edible or aromatic. The form sativa is grown
for salads.
Pulicaria crispa; P. glutinosa; P. undulata. Plants which ‘ward
off fleas’. Pulex is the flea. P. crispa = with a wavy or curled
margin; P. glutinosa = sticky or P. undulata = wavy; not flat.
Sclerocephalus arabicus = Hard-headed and from Arabia Sclero-
is hard, cephalus the head.
Tetrapogon villosus = Four-bearded and villous i.e. shaggy; with
long soft hairs.
Tragus racemosus = Racemose Goat. A raceme is a flower spike with
the youngest flowers, which open last, at the tip. Tragus (or
trago-) is the goat.
Vicia monantha = Single-flowered Vetch. Vicia is the Latin name
for vetch.
Zygophyllum hamiense; Z. qatarense; Z. simplex. Zygophyllum is
the Yolk-leaved. Z. hamiense after ?? hamiense; Z. qatarense =
of Qatar or Z. simplex = simple or undivided.
