The Origin of flower’s name

           HOW DID FLOWERS get their common names ? The gods and goddesses of the ancient Greeks and Romans were the sources of inspiration for the names of flowers. The iris, for example, is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow. Many flowers are named after people. With still other flowers, such as bluebells, the appearance of the flower gave the reason for the naming.

          Most flowers have more than one name. Many flowers are even called by different names in different parts of the same country. You can see why using only the common names of flowers can lead to confusion more than 200 years ago. He was Carl von Linne, better known by the Latin form of his name, Carolus Linnaeus. He developed a scientific method for sorting out, or classifying, living things, both plants and animals. This science is called taxonomy.

          The taxonomist classifies living things, or organisms, according to their structure, that is, the way they are built. A plant or animal must be observed with great care when it is being classified. In addition to studying both the inner and the outer structure of the organism, the taxonomist must compare it with other living things that are somewhat like it.

           After it has been classified, the organism is given a pair of Latin names. The first name gives the larger group, or genus, to which the plant belong. The second name gives the smaller group, or species, within the genus. Thus any botanist from any country, knows that when he read about Crysanthemum leucanthemum, a particular daisy is meant, and no other.

           Some plants are named after people, including scientists. Below are examples of some flowers that are named after people. Michel Begon was a French lawyer and amateur botanists of the late 17th century. Returning to France from the Carribean, he brought back some plant whose brightly coloured flowers made them favourite houseplants. The name of the flower is naturally begonia.

           Alexander Garden was a physician who practiced in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A. His great interest in botany led him to a correspondence with Linnaeus and other plant scientists. The flower named after him is a very fragrant one : gardenia.

           Louis Antoine de Bougainville was a French navigator and explorer who sailed around the world on a three-year voyage that began in 1766. He and his fellow explores mapped unknown areas of the Pacific Ocean, and made many botanical observations. A naturalist who took part in the expedition named a tripical plant after the navigator : bougainville.

            George Kamel, or Camellus in Latin, was a missionary in the Philippines. He wrote a book about the tropical plants of those islands. Linnaeus named a plant in his honour. What is the name of the plant and its flower ? Camelia, of course.
             Anders Dahl was a Swedish botanist, and from his name comes dahlia.

         The name of well-known garden plant, the tulip, has a connection with Turkish history. By the 16th century, after several hundreds years of war, the Turkish sultans had conquered North Africa, the Middle East and large parts of eastern and southern Europe. In 1554 the Turks were fighting againts the Austrians. The Austrian King Ferdinand I sent a special ambassador to the Sultan in the hope of arranging a peaceful agreement. The diplomat, Augier de Busbecq, carried out his mission successfully.