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Article: GARDENING: Learn Latin to know your plants.(Features)
- Article from:
- The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
- Article date:
- August 12, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Johnston Publishing Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How much can you tell about a plant from the name of it? Well, many gardeners find their plants easier to grow than to pronounce the Latin names, which often seem like a load of gobbledegook.
Let me put your mind at rest. It's not actually that difficult to make sense of some of the Latin and once you get the hang of it, the names can help identify the colour, habit, scent, flower and leaf style of the particular gem you find at the garden centre.
For instance, if a specimen has the word alba after it, then the flowers will be white. If it is labelled ...