PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF BOTANICAL NAMES. 
This Vocabulary contains the Botanical names of the orders, genera and species or sub-species that are men- 
tioned in the Floral Guide and Flower and Vegetable Garden. It does not include the names of varieties. 
The accent (') shows the accented syllable. 
The words are divided into syllables, and each syllable should be separately pronounced in the usual manner 
of such combinations of letters. 
In some cases, the division into syllables has been made to indicate the correct sounds rather than to be critically 
exact. In names derived from the names of persons, the form of the proper name has been preserved, without 
reference to the exact division of the syllables, in all cases where it could be done, and at the same time the correct 
pronunciation indicated. 
The letter a at the end of a word has always the sound of a in papa ; e final, or preceding a final consonant has 
its long sound ; i unaccented, if final, sounds as if written eye, but when it ends a syllable, not final, it has the 
sound of e, as Drummondii, (Drummond e eye.) ; y is subject to the same rules as i. 
The diphthongs ce and oe have the sound of e ; and ch has the sound of k. 
Formation of some Botanical Names. — Names of genera are sometimes formed from those of pensons, to 
compliment or commemorate them ; in such cases the termination a or ia is added, as Mandevilla from Mandeville, 
Bouvardia from Bouvard. 
The name of a species is sometimes derived from the name of its discoverer, or of the person who first described 
it, in which case the name terminates in i or ii, as Sanfordii from Sanford. When commemorative names are 
given merely in compliment to a person they terminate in ianus^ iaiia or ianum, as Hookeriana. Sometimes 
this termination is also given to the names of countries, as Arkansianum, Africanum, &c. 
A MA ryl' lis — The name of a Nymph celebrated by 
the poet Virgil. 
A me li o ra'ta — Improved. 
A MEL LO i' dEs — Resembling the Amellus. 
A mer I ca' na — American. 
Am mo' bi um — From a^imos^ sand, and bio, to live ; 
in reference to the situation where the plants grow. 
A mo' mum — From a privative, and moinos, impurity ; 
in allusion to the supposed qualities of some species 
as poison antidotes. 
A na gal' lis — As the plants of this genus were for- 
merly supposed to possess the power of removing 
despondency they were named from the word anage- 
lao, to laugh. 
An dro' me da — Named after the virgin, Andromeda. 
An dro po' gon — From ane7\ a man, and pogon, a 
beard ; the little tufts of hairs on the flowers re- 
semble a man's beard. 
A nem' o ne — From anemos, the wind; many of the 
species inhabit elevated, windy places. [The 
common instead of the original and correct pronun- 
ciation, An e mo' ne.J 
A nem o ne flo' ra — Anemone-flowered ; flowers re- 
sembling the Anemone. 
An gel' i ca — Named after its supposed angelic virtues. 
An' gli ca — English. 
An tir rhi' num — From anti^ similar, and rhin, a nose ; 
because the flowers of most of the species bear a re- 
semblance to the snout of some animal. 
A PI a' ce IE. — A natural order, of which the genus Apium 
is the prominent representative; name derived from 
the Celtic word apon, water ; in allusion to the place 
where the plants grow. 
A PI cu la' tum, (i short) — Resembling a bee, from 
apiczila, a little bee. 
A PO CY na' ce ^ — A natural order of which the Apo- 
cynum is a representative ; name derived from apo, 
away, and kyon, a dog; supposed to be mortal if 
eaten by dogs Most plants of this order contain 
acrid, milky juices, very poisonous. 
A QUI le' gi a — From aqidla^ an eagle ; alluding to the 
form of the petal. 
Ar e na' ri a — From arena, 'sand; most of the species 
grow in sand or sandy places. 
Ar ge mo' ne, (g hard) — Named from argema, cataract 
of the eye ; in allusion to its supposed medicinal prop- 
erties. 
Ar gen' te um — Silvery. 
A BRo' NX A — From the Greek word, abros^ delicate; 
referring to the involucre. 
A Bu' ti lon — An ancient name of a plant of the same 
family, now transferred to this one. 
A CAN tha' ce ^ — A natural order, of which the 
genus Acanthus is a type ; name derived from akan- 
thos, a spine, some of the species being spiny. 
A CAu' lis — Stemless. 
Ac Ro CLi' Ni um (i short) — Derivation unknown. 
Ad lu' mi A — Named in honor of John Adlum. 
A do' nis — This plant is fabled to have sprung from 
the blood of Adonis, when wounded by a wild boar ; 
alluding to the blood-red color of some of the species. 
M! GI LOPS — A Latin name of a Jdisease of the eye, 
for which this plant has been supposed to be useful. 
M.'i, TI va' LIS, M,%' TI VUM — Pertaining to summer. 
Af fi' nis — Allied or related to. 
Af ri ca' nus — African. 
A' GA TKA — Pleasant, pleasing or pretty. 
A GE ra' TUM — Name a compound of a privative, and 
geras, old; as applied to this plant the meaning is 
not to fade — the colors of the flowers remain always 
clear. 
A GRO stem' ma — From agros, a field, and stemma a 
crown ; literally the crown of the field ; in reference 
to the beauty of the flowers. 
A GROs' Tis — This is the Greek name for grass. 
A ja' CIS — Pertaining to Ajax ; the marks on the front 
of Delphinium Ajacis were fancied to read AIAI, in 
which form the name Ajax was sometimes written. 
A ke' bi a — A latinized form of the Japanese name of 
one of the species of this genus. 
A la' ta — Furnished with wings ; winged. 
Al' bus — White. 
Al BI flo' rum — White -flowered. 
A lon' so a — Named after Alonso, a Spanish botanist. 
Al pes' tris — Alpine. 
Al ter ni fo' li us — Alternate-leaved. 
Al th^' a — From altJieo, to cure ; from the medicinal 
qualities of some species. 
A LYs' sum — Compound of a privative, and lyssa, rage ; 
from a notion of the ancients that the plant had the 
power of allaying rage. 
A ma' bi lis — Lovely. 
A MA RAN ta' CE ^ — A natural order of which the 
genus Amaranthus is a type. 
A MA ran' thus — From the Greek word amarantos, 
unfading. 
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