THE FLOWER 213 
of the wild cannas is called Canna indica. If we were to use 
the word indica alone, it would not have any definite meaning, 
as other species in different genera are also named indica. 
When the name of a plant is written for exact scientific deter- 
mination, it is customary to place after it the name, or an ab- 
breviation of the name, of the man who gave the specific name 
to the plant. The name Cocos nucifera was given by Linnzeus, 
who is regarded as the father of systematic botany. His name 
is usually abbreviated L. or Linn. When exactness is required, 
the name of the coconut should be written Cocos nucifera L. or 
Cocos nucifera Linn. The necessity for this arises from the fact 
that in the development of botanical classification the same name 
has been applied by different authors to different plants. 
The use of scientific names is necessary in order to have 
names that will be generally understood in all languages, be- 
cause in different languages the same plant usually has differ- 
ent names. Also, the use of scientific names prevents confusion 
even in the same language, as in different regions the same 
common name may be applied to different kinds of plants, 
or the same plant may be known by different names. A very 
good example is the word corn. It may mean any small, hard 
seed, as that of the apple, coffee, or any one of the cereals, as 
wheat or rye. The name corn is also used specifically for an im- 
portant cereal crop of a given region. In England it is applied 
to wheat; in Scotland and Ireland, to oats; and in the United 
States, to Indian corn, or maize. It will be seen that one com- 
mon name may mean different things to different people, whereas 
the scientific name of Indian corn, which is Zea mays, has the 
same meaning to any botanist, no matter where he may be. 
The use of two names has many advantages. The generic 
name signifies the group to which the plant belongs, and the 
specific name the individual kind of plant. When the two are 
used together, we immediately know the individual plant, and 
we also have an idea as to what are its closest relatives. An- 
other important point is that it would be very difficult to find 
a sufficient number of names to enable us to give a different 
