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Have you ever wondered about the
origin of the names of some of our bulbous plants genera? Here are
some interesting ones:
- Agapanthus - agape = love;
anthos = flower.
- Haemanthus
- haima = blood; anthos = a flower. Colour of the perianth in some
species.
- Lachenalia -
After Werner de Lachenal (1736-1800), professor of botany at Basel.
- Moraea - Linnaeus married Sara Elisabeth Moraea, physician's
daughter from Falun, Sweden.
- Ornithogalum -
In Greek, ornithos = bird; gala = milk (pigeon's milk)
- Oxalis - Refering to the
oxalic acid contents of the bulbs.
- Romulea - After Romulus,
co-founder and first king of Rome; genus also in Italy.
- Spiloxene - In Greek, spilos
= stain; xenos = host. This refers to the spotted base of tepals in
some species.
- Watsonia - After Sir William
Watson (1715-1787), London physician and naturalist.
- Wurmbea - After F von
Wurmb, a Dutch merchant in Java.
- Zanthedeschia - After
Francesco Zanthedeschi (1773-1846). Italian physician and botanist.
Reference:
"Botanical Names: Origin and Meaning: Wild Flowers of the Cape
Peninsula", compiled by Deon Kesting. This book is available at the
Kirstenbosch shop or through the Friends of the Silvermine area.
Please follow the link below for more interesting and
entertaining information about bulbs:
Interesting facts about bulbs 1
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