epeimz3348 2012-10-17 18:47
abercrombie pas cher &ldquo
A Scottish bluebell is a harebell in England and Wales – but in all three countries, it’s known in Latin as [i]Campanula rotundifolia. [/i]
The new RHS Latin for Gardeners book
The real genius of the Latin is that it defines plants in just two words – unlike their rambling English equivalents. Carl Linnaeus was the 18th-century Swedish botanist who invented the two-word, or binomial, system.
Before he came along, there were Latin names for flowers – but they were often long strings of words, clumsy to use and tricky to correlate.
Under Linnaeus&rsquo,[url=http://fradoudounesmonclerdesoldes.fr]doudoune moncler pas cher[/url];s system, plants with lots of features in common were divided up by species, genus and family. The species (the plural is also species) are the tightest little groups, normally found in the same area. They don’t tend to interbreed, although they can; witness the victory of the coarse Spanish bluebell over the delicate English version.
If the species have enough characteristics in common, they are grouped together into a genus (plural, genera). And genera with features in common are called families, like orchids or bamboo.
So, with the [i]Digitalis lutea[/i] – or yellow foxglove – [i]Digitalis[/i] (from digitus, the Latin for finger, because of the plant’s long, curving shape) is the genus. And [i]Digitalis lutea[/i] (from [i]luteus[/i], meaning yellow) is the species name. Just at a glance, then, you know that [i]Digitalis purpurea[/i] – the purple foxglove – comes from the same genus as – but is a different species from – [i]Digitalis lutea[/i]. And they both belong to the same plant family – [i]Scrophulariaceae[/i]; helpfully, all plant family names end in -[i]aceae[/i].
It doesn’t end there, however. The prefix “subsp.” after the species name means “subspecies”, i.e. another group within the species group, as in [i]Acer negundo[/i] subsp. [i]mexicanum[/i] ([i]mexicanum [/i]meaning “connected with Mexico”). If the species name has “var.”(short for &ldquo,[url=http://frasacslongchampsdesoldes.fr]longchamp pliage[/url];varietas”) in front of it, that means the plant has a slight variation in its botanical structure, like [i]Acer palmatum [/i]var. [i]coreanum [/i](meaning “connected with Korea”). If the Latin word has a descriptive or English proper name after it – like Rosa 'Chevy Chase’ – then it’s a garden cultivar. That means the plant’s been cultivated for colour, smell or foliage, and given a special name by its cultivator to sum up its special quality.
On top of all this, the “forma” (“f.” for short) distinguishes minor variations like the colour of the flower, as in[i] Acer mono f. ambiguum[/i] (meaning “doubtful”). And a hybrid – marked with a multiplication sign – means a cross between species, like [i]Hamamelis[/i] x i[i]ntermedia [/i](meaning “intermediate in colour, form or habitat”).
But, still, stick just to genus and species, and you’ll get a long way. As you learn more and more classical terms, wonderfully descriptive little stories emerge from those two brief words. So, [i]Eucalyptus pulverulenta[/i] comes from Greek and Latin. [i]Eucalyptus[/i] is derived from the two Greek words[i] eu [/i](“well”) and [i]kalyptos [/i](“hidden”), after the calyx that hides the plant’s flowers; while [i]pulverulenta [/i]comes from [i]pulvis[/i], the Latin for dust – because the plant has a grey, dusty patina to it.
You’ll end up learning some exceptionally beautiful words. The genus [i]Oenanthe[/i] comes from the Greek, meaning “wine flower”. When the stems are crushed, they produce a scent that smells like wine (rather nicer than plants described as [i]zibethinus [/i]– “as disgusting-smelling as a civet cat”).
[i]Oenanthe fistulosa [/i](from [i]fistulosus[/i], meaning hollow), the tubular dropwort, is a native British wildflower, often found on marshy ground,[url=http://frnairjordnndemagasinn.fr]jordan pas cher[/url]. Be careful, though: all oenanthes are poisonous, and [i]Oenanthe crocata [/i](from crocatus, &ldquo,[url=http://frnairjordnndemagasinn.fr]air jordan pas cher[/url];saffron yellow”), or the hemlock water dropwort, is one of the most poisonous of all British plants.
The book also tells some of the charming classical stories behind plant names. Acanthus – the prickly leaved plant that clusters around the top of Corinthian and composite column capitals – comes from the Greek for thorn. In the Greek myths, the god Apollo took a real shine to the nymph Acantha. When she scratched his face as he pounced on her, he took his revenge by turning her into the spiky acanthus plant.
In an ideal world, it’s best to know both the English and the Latin name, as is the case with the snake’s head fritillary ([i]Fritillaria meleagris[/i]). This lovely wildflower, found in British meadows, does indeed look like a snake with its bobbing flower head. The Latin tells a different story – meleagris means spotted like a guineafowl. But, once you know both stories, how could you fail to recognise something shaped like a snake’s head, with guineafowl spots? Again and again, it makes logical – and romantic – sense for plant lovers to become Latin lovers.
Harry Mount studied Classics at Oxford. He is the author of [i]Amo, Amas, Amat… and All That [/i](Short Books, £7.99),[url=http://frsabercromfitchdesoldes.fr]abercrombie france[/url]. His latest book is [i]How England Made the English[/i] (Viking, £20)
Latin for beginners
Latin gardening tips
Very often, the species – or the second of a plant’s two Latin names – will give away where it’s from, where it likes to be planted and what it’ll look like when fully grown.
Geographical
[i]borealis[/i] – northern
[i]australis[/i] – southern (as in Australia)
[i]orientalis [/i]– eastern
[i]occidentalis[/i] – western
Planting conditions
[i]ammophilus[/i] – likes sandy places
[i]salinus[/i] – keen on salt
[i]monticolus[/i] – found growing wild in the mountains
How it’ll end up looking
[i]scandens[/i] – a climber
[i]repens[/i] – a creeper
[i]nanus[/i] – dwarf
[i]cyclops and titanus[/i] – enormous
[i]orbicularis[/i] – flat and round, like a disc
[i]mollis[/i] – soft, as in Alchemilla mollis
[i]superciliaris[/i] – shaped like an eyebrow, as in the orchid Cypripedium x superciliare
Some Latin pitfalls…
Each adjective has a masculine, feminine and neuter form, even if they are similar: so, [i]albus[/i] is the masculine for white,[url=http://fradoudounesmonclerdesoldes.fr]moncler[/url];[i] alba[/i] the feminine; [i]album [/i]the neuter. Also, there are often many different words meaning very nearly the same thing, particularly if it’s a colour that the Romans used a lot in their dyes. So[i] flavens[/i],[i] flaveolus[/i], [i]flavescens[/i] and[i] flavidus [/i]all mean yellowish; only [i]flavus [/i]means pure yellow.
“Rugby World Cups should not be just about the finances,” Leicester chief executive Simon Cohen told [i]Telegraph[/i] [i]Sport[/i]. “It should be a battle for the heart and soul of rugby people and you would like to think that rugby stadiums would play their part in that battle. As far as Leicester and the Leicester fans are concerned, I think they have missed that opportunity.
“We have played against Argentina, South Africa and Australia here.
“Rugby World Cup may well have their criteria but it is a shame those criteria are such that Welford Road is excluded.”
FULL LIST OF PROVISIONAL VENUES
• Villa Park, Birmingham
• Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
• Ashton Gate, Bristol
• Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• Coventry Stadium, Coventry
• Pride Park, Derby
&bull,[url=http://fradoudounesmonclerdesoldes.fr]veste moncler[/url]; Kingsholm, Gloucester
• Elland Road, Leeds
• Leicester City Stadium, Leicester
• Olympic Stadium, London
• Twickenham Stadium, London
• Wembley Stadium, London
• Old Trafford, Manchester
• Stadiummk, Milton Keynes
• St James’ Park, Newcastle
• St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
•Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Related articles：
[url=http://bobtech.org.uk/wiki/User:Ruolu6514#christian_louboutin_pas_cher_BNNxoQ]christian louboutin pas cher BNNxoQ[/url]
[url=http://www.oneoptiongaming.com/entry.php/36767-longchamp-pas-cher-NXJxlV]longchamp pas cher NXJxlV[/url]
[url=http://loveabideswithin.com/member/blog_post_view.php?postId=8421]veste ralph lauren XUTshX[/url]
在线客服(1)