666 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



That Botanical Chap 



FLORUM AMATOR 



THERE came into our office not long ago one of 

 those botanical enthusiasts, a stalwart young fellow 

 closely approaching the seventies, who descants 

 freely and easily upon the beauty and loveliness, and 

 sweetness and the simplicity and grandeur of the vege- 

 table kingdom. He points out incidentallv that the ani- 

 mal kingdom cannot exist without the vegetable, and 

 raises the question whether after all the vegetable king- 

 dom and not the animal, is the highest work of God's cre- 

 ation, inasmuch as the former never commits such hor- 

 rible crimes as that branch of the latter, called the human 

 race, perpetrates. This botanist especially emphasizes the 

 pleasure, and advantage of a thorough botanical knowl- 

 edge of the vegetable kingdom and what a good habit 

 it is to know from your youth up and call all plants by 

 their scientific botanical names. 



As soon as we had a chance to get a word in edgewise 

 we ventured to say that we found it difficult enough to 

 recall the common botanical names of plants without 

 burdening our memory with scientific botanical nomen- 

 clature. He at once warmly assured us that it was just 

 as easy to recall such botanical names as Asclef'ias tiibc- 

 rosa, Liriodcndron tiilipifcra, Acer ruhruin. Geranium 

 maculatum. particularly if we note, as told in all good 

 botanies, why the plants are called those names, as it is 

 to remember ButterHv Weed, Tulip Tree. Red Swamp 

 Maple and Crane's Bill, or Connecticut, Missouri, Dakota 

 and Arkansas, and that a child of seven years learns the 

 former names as easily as the latter or as the names of 

 the States mentioned. We saw at once that his position 

 on this question was impregnable and declined to argue 

 the matter. 



Next this botanical chap produced from back of his 

 chair — he was awaiting us in our office where we ar- 

 rived — a suit case, which he deliberately ojiened. This 

 was crowded full of wild plants, most of which were in 

 bloom, but some in fruit, and a few with foliage only. 

 Either unconscious of the fact that we began hitching 

 about in our chair, and reaching for a huge pile of papers 

 which we had to go through or ignoring this, he picked 

 u]) a plant and began talking and this is what he said : 

 "This is Scutellaria laterifloia: its generic name comes 

 from scutclla, a dish, its calyx having a dish-shaped 

 appendage, and its specific name from latus, side, and 

 fios, a flower, because the flowers are mostly on the sides 

 of the plant. Now after possessing yourself of this 

 knowledge you should be alile to readily remember the 

 name, especiallv, if you studied Latin when in school, as 

 every child ought to. because of its use in the sciences. 

 The common name of this plant, which it is well also 

 to note because we always remember a group of as- 

 sociated names easier than one. is Mad-Dog Skull Cap 

 the first part given it because at one time the herbalist 

 school of physicians believed this plant to be a cure for 

 a mad-dog's bite, and the appendage to the calyx pre- 

 viously mentioned resembles a skull-cap as well as a 

 dish. Now you have the little story, you can easilv 

 remember the name, can you not?'' \\'e mumbled our 

 assent, and, encouraged by this, he took up plant after 

 plant and remarked on them rapidly. 



"This." he said, "is Sapoiiaria otliciiHilis ; its first or 

 generic name comes from sapo, soap, because the muci- 

 laginous juice of this plant form a lather in water, and 

 its second, or specific name, comes from officina, a shop. 



because this species of this plant either entire or some 

 part of it. can he found usually in apothecary shops. This- 

 name is in fact given to the species of many plants, kept 

 entire or in part. i.e. root, leaves, flowers or seed, in apoth- 

 ecary shops, e.g.. Xasliirtiiiin officinale, where the word 

 has the neuter ending e to agree with A'asturfinm which 

 is neuter ; instead of the ending is, which is both mascu- 

 line and feminine. Now keep this fact about officinalis 

 under your hat : it's useful knowledge. The common 

 names of this plant are Soapwort, given for an obvious 

 reason, and Bouncing Bet, because, we suppose, the chil- 

 dren are wont to pull out the corolla from the tubular 

 caly.x and pinching the top of the calyx together with their 

 fingers bounce it on the back of their hand causing the 

 calyx to explode with a sharp report. Tliere is another 

 group of facts to remember; easy enough, too. 



"This is Mentha z'iridis, and this Mentha piperita. 

 Mentha is from Mintlie, the name of a nymph changed 

 according to the fable into this plant by the goddess 

 Proserpine. J'iridis means green, and piperita pungent, 

 or peppery. The common name of the first is Spearmint, 

 and of the second Peppermint. Note that the stems of 

 these mints are square : this is true of nearly all plants 

 in the Labiatcc or Mint family. Your twelve year old 

 daughter Helen would easily remember these names and 

 facts, and. of course, you are stowing them away in your 

 head readily." Again we murmured very weakly an 

 affirmative, at the same time thanking our lucky stars 

 that when this botanist first began we had winked to our 

 best stenographer, and she was taking down his talk z'cr- 

 batiiii. 



Continuing he said. "Ceaitothns .-iinerieanns is the 

 name of this shrub: unfortunately the meaning of Cea- 

 iiulhiis is obscure, so you will have to remember it as an 

 isolated name unless you are clever enough to associate 

 some other name with it: its specific name Ainericanus is, 

 perhaps, given it because its leaves were used in place of 

 tea during the .\merican Revolution, and even after that 

 war the preparation of these leaves for tea was revived 

 in a commercial way in Pennsylvania, we think. The 

 common names are New Jersey Tea and Red-Root, the 

 latter given it because its roots are dark red. Speaking 

 of remembering through association reminds us that we 

 could not remember the name Mohair, that cloth out of 

 which men's Summer suits are often made, till we asso- 

 ciate<l it with the words bald head and we have had no 

 trouble since; a bald head needs Mo(re)hair. 



"A pretty little ])lant this : you will find it growing in 

 waste sandy fields or in abandoned country roads. Ana- 

 gallis arvcnsis is its name. Anagallis comes from ana- 

 gallo, a Greek word, meaning T delight in.' and truly 

 this tiny scarlet flower sometimes varying in color to blue, 

 purple or white is delightfully pretty, is it not? Its sec- 

 ond, properly speaking, specific name, arz'cnsis, comes 

 from an'uiH; a field. AMien you see the blooms of this 

 little plant close up in full daylight, take along your rain- 

 coat, umbrella and overshoes with you for the flowers of 

 this plant have the habit of closing quicklv on the ap- 

 proach of bad weather, hence its common English name. 

 Poor Man's Weather-glass. 



"This ]ilant which grows in wet meadows is Mimiiliis 

 ringeiis. The generic name .\[inrulus is a diminutive 

 form of uiiniiis. a buffoon, this name being given this 

 plant on account of its grinning flowers, and ringeiis 



