THE NAME OF A PLANT. 09 



In very curly spring, sonus of tlio grasses begin to jint iorth 

 their green leiivcs, which are soon succeeded l)y tlie culms, wliich 

 carry the llowers. In the northern States Poa annua is the iirst 

 to unfold, its spikelets, and sjiread its ilowers, which arc soon 

 followed by Orijziipsis, Poa .sijlre.sfn'.s, sweet vernal and meadow 

 foxtail. In central ^Michigan, these and })erha|)S a few more, 

 blossom in May, Avhile June is as jjrofuse of grasses as it is (jf 

 roses. Quite a numljcr flower in July, and some delay till 

 August and September. The annuals arc nsually late in ilowcr- 

 iiig, tiiough some of the perennials are very hite ; for instancte 

 the ^luhh'nbcrgias, Andropogons and ChnjsopiKjon nntans. 



Tho \sillie of a IMsillt consists of two words, first the //r;/ry/6- 

 second tlic .s/icrijjr. These must lutve the Latin form. I'lie gen- 

 vr'w. name is substantive and singuhir, and very nearly answers to 

 the surname of a ])ers()n ; the specific name is most generally an 

 adjective (rarely a noun), and agi'ecs with the noun in gender 

 and number, "^f he Kj)ei'ilic nanus is followed by a mime or the 

 abbreviation of tlui name of the person who applied that name to 

 tlie ])lant nnder consideration. 



Latin names ai'cs often objected to by ])ersons who cannot see 

 why tlie common English names will not answer every purpose. 

 IJut suppose tlui (Jermans and tins Freiudi should say the same 

 thing of the plants they describe(|? Cierman and I-'rench names 

 arc not so <(asy for us as those in the Latin form, 'fhose in Latin 

 are often sliort ami easy, and have been adopted as the comnujn 

 nanu's, such as Dahlia, Crocus, Ixia, Orchis, and Iris. '^I'liere is 

 certainly an objection to using such mimes as Krai^chenmnikorid, 

 An(lr;:vi(}f,\kya, and Plcii r<isrhisviatnpu,s, names which havo 

 actually been thrust upon plants. 



In the nse of common nanu's, many take the liberty of nuiking 

 their own name, and then the same name is applied to more than 

 one iilant. 



A certain well known tree in some parts of the United States 



