PLANT NAMES 309 



for plants. The Latin form is now a part of the technical 

 system of plant and animal nomenclature, and is accepted 

 in all countries; and the Latin language is as good as any- 

 other. In the Latin language all plant-names have gender, 

 and the termination of the word usually differs in each gender. 

 The species-name must agree with the genus-name in 

 gender. Acer is neuter: so are A. rubrum and A. nigrum. 

 Cyperus is masculine; so is C. niger. Quercus is feminine, 

 although masculine in form, but trees and shrubs are feminine 

 in Latin: so we write Q. nigra. Masculine, feminine, and 

 neuter endings are seen in Rubus sativus, Pastinaca sativa, 

 Pisum sativum. "Sati-vus" means cultivated. 



The name of a species not only identifies the species, but 

 classifies it. Thus, if a plant is named in the genus Acer, 

 it belongs to the maples; if it is named in Fragaria, it belongs 

 to the strawberries; if it is named in Pyrus, it is allied to 

 apples and pears ; if it is HeUanthus, it is one of the sunflowers. 



Use of Knowing Plant-names. — The name is an intro- 

 duction to the plant, as it is to a person. It is an index 

 to its history and literature. It enables us to think and 

 to speak about the plant with directness and precision. It 

 brings us nearer to the plant and increases our interest in it. 



The name is a means, not an end. Merely to know the 

 name is of little use or satisfaction. Knowing the name 

 should be only one step in knowing the plant. Of late 

 years, the determining of the names of plants has been 

 discouraged as a school-exercise. This is because all in- 

 quiry stopped when the name was secured. A name was a 

 stone wall when it should have been a gate. 



How to Find Out the Names of Plants. — There can 

 be no short-cut to the names of plants, for names cannot 

 be known accurately until the plant is known. The name 

 and the plant should be indissolubly associated in the mind. 

 Study first the plant. If one does not know the plant, there 

 is no occasion for knowing its name. 



