By Don Burnett
One of the comments I get when discussing plants is ‘how can you understand or even remember those difficult botanical names?’ Actually, until I was in my mid-thirties I hadn’t embraced this fascinating part of horticulture, in fact as many people are, I was somewhat afraid to dive in.
Calling a tree a cedar, or a flowering shrub a Rose of Sharron seemed quite sensible until one day when a customer came into the garden centre looking for a Rose of Sharron. They were directed to the rose department by a relatively new employee who came to the realization there must be a better way to describe plants. I knew of course that this shrub was not actually a rose however I didn’t know it was a Hibiscus.
At that time, I thought a Hibiscus was just the popular tropical florist Hibiscus not knowing that there are over 100 species of Hibiscus in that genus. During my recent trip to Australia I discovered two species of Hibiscus I didn’t know of, which almost doubled my then current list. The three that I was aware of prior to my trip were: Hibiscus rosa Sinensis the tropical florist plant, Hibiscus syriacus commonly known as Rose of Sharon, and Hibiscus moscheutos the beautiful hardy herbaceous plant.
While in Australia I was thrilled to see so many plants and trees I wasn’t familiar with including a popular tree called cotton tree. The last botanical name I thought of was Hibiscus until I had a close look at the yellow flower which actually looked like one. After checking it out I discovered it is Hibiscus tiliaceus. I did discover another one while on a drive north of the Sunshine Coast and after some searching on the internet deduced it was Hibiscus heterophylus, an Australian native.
Undoubtedly there are many more species to be found in the gardens and roadsides of Australia.
Knowing the botanical names of plants may not be for everyone however if plants are a part of your life, I encourage you to at least understand how the system of binomial nomenclature works so when you come across a plant name such as Acer japonicum you understand the first word is the genus (maple in this case) and the second is the species (Japanese). As well a third name is often seen and this is the variety or cultivar. All plants are formally named in this way as are animals and all living things.
Do you know our days are now over 35 minutes longer that they were at their shortest on Dec. 22 and they are rapidly getting longer; by the end of this month they will be nine hours and 20 minutes long. Spring is just around the corner.
Again, I want to remind you the North-West Flower and Garden Show in Seattle is early this year so time is limited for you to secure a seat on the bus. The trip never gets old for me and the show is full of surprises each year. Our Sun Fun Tour bus leaves Kelowna in the morning of Feb. 8 which is a Thursday and arrives back on Sunday the 11th. For details check out my Facebook page and/or call Sun Fun Tours (250) 763-6133. www.sunfuntours.ca
Listen to Don Burnett and Ken Salvail every Saturday Morning from 8am to 10am presenting the Garden Show on AM 1150 now in its 34th year.
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