acerb - harsh,
bitter, stinging - as in acerbic wit (acerbifolia)
aestiv -
referring to summer (aestivus),
also aestivation - like hibernation, but happens in the
summer to avoid the heat, earthworms do it as do
lungfishes.
alb -
white
albiflorens - white flowered, albidum / albomaculatum -
white spotted, albicans, albicaulis - white stemmed. Many white
varieties of flowering plants are given the suffix alba. Albino,
from the same root.
anemo - referring
to wind (Anemone - wind flower / anemometer)
angui
- referring to a snake shape. anguinus,
also Anguilla - eels.
bland -
mild, pleasant, blanda. Rather than the English meaning that veers
towards the dull.
cera
- referring
to a horn ceratiformis - in the form of a horn, platyceras -
broad/flat horn. Triceratops - three horned.
chamae -
dwarf,
low Chamaedorea - dwarf gift, a palm genus, referring to the fact
that most species are of short stature and, therefore, their fruit - the
gift is found at relatively low heights.
coco -
referring to a monkey (fr. Portuguese) Cocos
nucifera - the coconut palm, whose nut (fruit) with its three eyes
looks to some like a monkey's face. nucifera - nut-bearing.
delph - referring to the
dolphin, Delphinium, whose flowers supposedly resemble dolphins
(can't see it myself).
cep -
referring to a head, Cephalanthus - flowers in a head. Also Cephalopods,
octopuses / squid / cuttlefish, "Head - foots" the most highly
encephalized (literally "headed") group among the molluscs the
group that
contains the dear sweet slugs and snails.
dactyl - referring
to a finger (Phoenix dactylifera, the date palm,
finger-bearing, referring to shape of the fruit cluster).
equin - / equis -
referring to horses. Equisetum, the horsetail genus. Also, equine,
equestrian etc.
gracil -
graceful, slender gracilis /
gracilipes - slender + foot / stalk.
japonica
- from Japan. There are many plants of many genuses that
have the species name japonica, despite this
Chaenomeles japonica is sometimes referred to as
"japonica" - something that has always bugged me.
lavand - referring
to the genus Lavandula, the Lavender plant which name, itself,
comes from the Latin word to wash, the plant having been used since
ancient times in the bath water.
leuc - referring to the color white Leucadendron
- silver tree, leuconeura - white-nerved. Some animals such as blackbirds,
giraffes and penguins occasionally produce a white, but not albino specimen,
these are referred to as "leuchistic".
lign - referring to wood, lignosa. The material that forms wood and the woody
parts of all plants - even if it doesn't seem that way - like the stringy bits
in celery that get stuck between your teeth - and lines the water carrying vessels even in delicate leaves, is called
"lignin".
lyc - referring
to a wolf Lycopersicum (Lycopersicon) - wolf-peach - the tomato; the fruit was once considered
poisonous, which is probably the reason for the name.
mamm -
referring to breasts or nipples (ooh err!
missus!) mammifera - breast- bearing breasts or nipples. Mammillaria,
a great genus of cactus, because all the bodies of the plants bear many
nipple-like protuberances
mel- / mell -
referring to honey, melliodora - honey-scented, Melianthus -
honey flower. Euphorbia mellifera - the honey spurge, the summer flowers
have the smell of honey. Apis mellifera - the honey bee.
ob
- reverse, inverse, upside down, etc. (obovatus). The Baobab tree
of Africa which in legend was pulled up by
the devil in a rage (he really should get some therapy)
and stuck back into the ground leaves first and with the
root sticking out.
offic - official, recognized (usually from medicine or
commerce) officinalis
parthen -
referring to a virgin, i.e. asexual reproduction Parthenocissus
(Boston Ivy) - virgin's vine. Also aphids undergo something
called "parthenogenesis" or "virgin birth". This means
that female aphids are already born pregnant ready to give birth to the
next generation as soon as possible and totally take over your roses or
beans- cunning little varmints!
ped -
referring to a foot (shape), or, by extension,
a basal structure (pedicillatus - having a stalk) often also mean
palmate, which word, itself, refers not to a foot but to a hand, as in a
palmate leaf; (Pedilanthus - foot (shoe) flower), one common name
is Slipper Spurge (spurge is a general common name applied to many plants
in the Euphorbia Family).
phalae - referring
to a moth Phalaenopsis - the moth orchid.
phot - referring to light,
shining e.g. Photinia, because of the glossy foliage.
pter
- referring to a wing - tetraptera - four-winged. Pteradactyl,
flying dinosaur, literally wing-finger, the wings were flaps of skin
totally supported the elongated bones of the fingers. Also Greek for a
fern, this would seem to have come about via the resemblance of the
feather in close-up to a fern frond.
ran - referring to a frog, Rana
e.g. Ranunculus - little frog, buttercups and related species because
most of the species grow where frogs live, i.e., marshes, ponds.
salv - referring
to helping, saving, healing. Salvia, from the medicinal properties
of some species of this the Sage genus.
sagit - referring
to an arrow sagittarius. Usually refers to the pointed shape of leaves
e.g. Sagittaria - Arrowhead, a genus of mainly aquatic plants with
leaves of a very pronounced arrow shape. Hedera saggitifolia a
variety if ivy with pointed leaves.
sino - referring to
China, many plant names end in sinensis usually meaning that the
particular species was found originally in China. Also chinensis, the
number of words for China reflects the great number of garden plants that
were originally brought form China by plant collectors who found them in
the wild.
umbel - referring
to umbels, umbellifera - bearing umbels - an umbel is a flower cluster
generally in the form of an umbrella, i.e., the flowers radiate from a central
point. Cow parsley and the like that have flowers like umbrellas are members.
xyl
- referring to wood - Xylobium - wood + life, referring to the epiphytic
habit of these orchids. The woody vessels of plants that carry the water around
the plants is called the "xylem" these are what make woody plants
woody. Trees consist almost entirely of xylem.
