What do Latin botanic names really mean?

Latin names conveniently exclude the uninitiated but they do have a more straight-forward purpose.

A person walks into a car showroom and says “I want to buy a car.” The salesperson says, “Do you mean that red Mini with the black stripes, two doors, grey interior and low profile tyres?”.

It’s the same with plants. You have to be specific.

A garden owner once said to me, “…the ones with the spiky brownish leaves near the front gate.” Then there was the customer in the garden centre who said (and this is true), “I am looking for a plant to buy - something green.”

By way of contrast there was a time, I was told at the Wisley plant centre, if someone mentioned a plant by its common name they would respond with a haughty air: “Oh you mean an Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens” - or whatever the plant was.

The point is that there are so many plant choices that by using the Latin botanic name you can be ultra specific. Otherwise we’re all struggling to focus on the right thing.

Do you need to have an encyclopedic knowledge of botanic names? Absolutely not. Just an awareness, or an online reference will do.

My neighbour talks to me about her ‘Red Robin’. I knew exactly what she means and that’s fine (and it wasn’t the cute, friendly bird at the end of the garden). But if I was to order that large shrub then I need to be 100% specific with the supplier. So that when the Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ turns up it’s smiles all round, not tears and arguments about what was wanted.