Property:Etymology
A
Presumably Arabic habb-el-misk, musk seed, alluding to scented seeds +
Latin abietis, of conifer genus Abies, and - ella, diminutive, alluding to habit aspect +
for Peder Chritian Abildgaard, 1740–1801, Danish professor of verterinary medicine +
Greek akalephe, stinging nettle, from a-, without, kalos, good, and haphe, touch, alluding to some species resembling Urtica (though not stinging) +
Greek akamptos, stiff or unbending, and pappus, alluding to thick pappus elements +
Greek akantha, thorn, and Cereus, a genus of cacti +
Greek acantha, thorn, and scyphos, cup, alluding to awn on involucre +
Greek acantha, prickle, and sperma, seed, alluding to prickly “fruits” +
Greek achyron, scale, and Latin achaenium, fruit, alluding to cypselae +
Greek achyron, chaff, and anthos, flower +
Greek achuron, chaff, and onyx, onychos, nail or fingernail, alluding to the chaffy sepals +
Greek a-, without, coelo, hollow, and raphe, in reference to shape of the seed +
Greek acon, whetstone, and gone, seed, perhaps alluding to rough seeds +
Greek akros, top, and poros, pore, possibly alluding to tubulose points of branches +
Greek akron, tip, and ptilon, feather, describing the pappus bristles +
Greek acros, at the end, tip, and stichos, row, referring to the distal spore-bearing pinnae +
Greek aktis, ray, and stachys, spike, referring to the rays of the fertile leaves +
Greek aden, gland, and kaulos, stem +
Greek adeno, gland, and phyllon, leaf +
Greek a den, gland, and stoma, mouth, alluding to gland at rim of hypanthium +
Greek mythology: sprouted from blood of Adonis, lover of Aphrodite, based on the blood red flowers +
A mythi-cal hermaphrodite monster, in reference to the original inclusion in Menispermaceae, where it was the only genus with bisexual flowers +
Greek Argemone from argemos, cataract of eye, alluding to supposed curative properties of plant for eye disease +
Greek agros, field, and stemma, crown or wreath, alluding to the flowers’ use in garlands +
Arabic name alkemelyeh, perhaps alluding to alchemists' interest in reputed marvelous powers of its dew +
Greek aletris, a female slave who ground corn, alluding to the mealy texture of the perianths +
for Robert Allen Rolfe, English botanist, 1855–1921 +
Genus Allium, garlic or onion, and Latin –aria, connection, alluding to odor of crushed plant +
Greek allos, other or different, and tropos, turn or direction, alluding to inflorescence +
Greek allo- , different, and genus Wissadula +
For Almut G. Jones, b. 1923, American Aster specialist +
for Clas Alströmer, 1736–1794, Swedish naturalist and pupil of Linnaeus +
Latin alternans, alternating, and anthera, anther, referring to the alternation of pseudostaminodes and stamens +
For Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras, ca. 1485 – 1541, member of Cortez’s expedition to Mexico +
Greek amarantos, unfading, nonwith ering +
Generic name Amauria, and Greek - opsis, resembling +
Pre-Linnaean genus name Amberboi Vaillant, cited by Linnaeus in his original publication of Centaurea +
Greek ambly, blunt, and lepis, scale +
Greek ambly -, blunt, and pappos, pappus +
Greek amblys, blunt, and stege, roof, alluding to obtuse operculum +
Old Savoy name for Amelanchier ovalis Medikus +
America plus orchis, from the American distribution of this close relative of Eurasian Orchis +
merged Greek amiantos, unsoiled, and anthos, flower, alluding to the glandless tepals +
Greek ampelos, vine, alluding to habit, and generic name Aster +
Greek ampelos, grapevine, and -opsis, similarity +
Greek amphi -, around, and achyron, chaff or husks, alluding to ring of pappus elements +
Variant of Amphoridium (nomenclaturally unavailable), diminutive of Greek amphora, flask, alluding to capsule shape +
Greek amphi- , double or two, and pappos, pappus alluding to dimorphic pappi, ray cypselae and disc cypselae +
Greek amphi- , doubtful, ambiguous, and Latin scirpus, bulrush +
Greek ana- , back, kamptos, bent, and odon, tooth, alluding to reflexed exostome teeth +
Greek ankistron, fish hook, referring to hooked centr al spines, and Cactus, an old genus name +
Greek ankistros, fishhook, and karphos, chaff, alluding to staminate paleae of type species +
Genus Andreaea and Greek bryon, moss, alluding to anomalous resemblance +
Greek andros, stamen, and stephanos, crown, alluding to the apical appendages of the united filaments +
For Aven Nelson, 1859–1952, American botanist who studied the flora of Wyoming and neighboring states +
Greek aneimon, without clothing, referring to the absence of blade protection for the sporangia +
Greek anisos, unequal or dissimilar, and karpos, fruit, alluding to contrasting ray (fertile) and disc (sterile) ovaries in type species +
Greek anoiktos, opened, and angos, container, alluding to wide-mouthed capsule +
Greek anomos, lawless or different, and bryon, moss, alluding to somewhat hypnaceous distal laminal cells +
Latin antenna, and aria, connection to or possession of, alluding to similarity of clavate pappus bristles in staminate florets to antennae of some insects +
Greek anti, like or resembling, and rhinos, nose, alluding to shape of corolla +
Greek anti, opposite, and thrix, hair, alluding to endostome segments opposite exostome teeth +
Latin anulus, ring, and caule, stem, in reference to the sticky internodal rings +
For Johan Ångström, 1813–1879, Swedish bryologist +
Greek aphanes, unseen, invisible, alluding to inconspicuous nature of plants and/or flowers +
Greek, aphanes, invisible,and rhegma, fracture, alluding to inconspicuous line of capsule dehiscence +
Greek aphanes, obscure, and stephanos, crown, apparently alluding to low coronal pappus of some species +
Greek a-, not or without, and phragma, septum, alluding to its lack in fruit of some species +
Greek a- , without, podos, foot, and anthera, anther, alluding to sessile anthers +
Greek, from aquatic habitat +
Genus Arabis and Greek opsis, resembling +
Greek arceuthos, juniper, and bios, life, alluding to A. oxycedri, which parasitizes that host +
Greek arche, primitive form or nature, alluding to small, simple plants and cleistocarpous capsule +
Greek arktos, northern, and anthemon, flower, alluding to arctic range +
Greek arktos, bear, alluding to the long-pilose pubescence, and mekon, poppy +
Greek arktos, bear, and staphyle, bunch of grapes, alluding to common name for A. uva-ursi +
Greek arktos, brown bear, and theke, case, capsule, container, alluding to dense, woolly tomentum of cypselae of some species +
Greek arktos, brown bear, and ous, otos, ear, perhaps alluding to shape of pappus scales +
Greek argyros, silver, and chosma, powder, referring to whitish farina covering the abaxial surface of leaf blades in most species +
Greek argyros, silver-white, and thamnos, shrub, alluding to trunk and branches covered with whitish bark +
The genus Aria and Greek karpos, fruit, referring to the Aria -like fruit +
Greek aris, plant name used by Pliny, and haima, blood, in reference to the red-spotted leaves of some species +
Latin arista, awn, and capsa, box, alluding to awned involucres +
Greek aristolocheia, birthwort, from aristos, best, and lochia, delivery, in reference to ancient use of herb as aid in childbirth +
Ancient Greek name for horseradish, or perhaps Celtic ar, near, mor, sea, and rich, against, alluding to habitat +
Greek Aria, name for whitebeam (formerly a species of Sorbus), alluding to resemblance to chokeberry fruit +
Greek, arrhen, strong, and pteron, feather or wing, possibly alluding to featherlike evenness of leaf arrangement +
Greek arthro- , jointed, and cneme, leg, between knee and ankle, internode, referring to the jointed appearance of the branches +
Greek arunkos, goat’s beard, alluding to showy fingerlike clusters forming feathery flowers +
Greek a, absence, and semion, sign or flag, alluding to distinctness from Polygala in absence of vexillum +
Greek asphodelos, flower of Hades and the dead +
Greek aspis, shield, and karpos, fruit, alluding to shape of nutlet of A. hirtella in abaxial view +
Greek a-, without, and stilbo, sheen, alluding to foliage otherwise resembling that of Aruncus +
Greek astron, star, and anthos, flower, alluding to head as seen from above +
Greek astro, star, and lepis, scale, in reference to the starlike scales on the adaxial blade surface +
Greek asteros, star, in reference to the star-shaped stem cross section of the type species, and phyton, plant +
For Atamisco region of Chile +
Greek a- , without, trichos, hair, and seris, chicory, alluding to lack of pappus +
Greek aulax, furrow, and mnion, moss, alluding to sulcate capsules +
Latin aureolus, golden, and -arius, possession, alluding to corolla +
Greek axyros (a, not, and xyrios, razor), blunt, not cutting, in reference to the mild taste +
B
For Jacob Whitman Bailey, 1811–1857, researcher of diatomaceous algae at the U.S. Military Academy +
For Saint Barbara, fourth-century, or perhaps alluding to being the only plants available for food on Saint Barbara’s Day (4 December) +
For Theodore M. Barkley, 1934–2004, North American botanist +
For John Russell Bartlett, 1805–1886, United States Commissioner of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary Survey +
Genus Bartramia and Greek -opsis, resembling +
Greek basis, base, and phyllon, leaf, referring to the single basal leaf +
For David M. Bates, b. 1935 American botanist, and Latin malva, mallow +
apparently based on a vernacular name in western India +
For Carlo Antonio Lodovico Bellardi, 1741–1826, professor of botany at University of Turin +
Latin bellus, beautiful, and genus Barbula +
Greek (Latinized) belos, arrow, and glotta, tongue, possibly alluding to sagittate lip +
For Gilbert Thereon Benson, 1896–1928, Stanford University botanist +
For Jacob Pierre Berthoud van Berchem, eighteenth-century Dutch mineralogist and naturalist +
for Alwin Berger, 1871–1931, German cactologist and horticulturist at La Mortola, Italy, and Cactus, an old genus name +
For Jean Louis Berlandier, 1805–1851, Belgian explorer in North America +
For Carlo Giuseppe Bertero, 1789–1831, Italian physician and botanist who settled in Chile +
For Billie Lee Turner, b. 1925, American botanist +
Greek blennos, mucus, and sperma, seed, alluding to cypselae becoming mucilaginous when wetted +