Learning Trails

Understanding Scientific Names

Why plants have two names, and why that matters if you want to avoid mistaking one species for another.

  1. 1 Start with the core concept: what a scientific name actually is.
  2. 2 Not every scientific name still in circulation is the currently accepted one. Here's the difference.
  3. 3 Find out why the same plant can appear under more than one scientific name over time.
  4. 4 See it in practice: two different species that are easy to confuse because of their common names.
  5. 5 Now explore how scientific names are organized within entire families.

Get to Know a Botanical Family

A tour of the Lamiaceae, the mint and rosemary family, one of the largest in our collection.

  1. 1 Start by understanding what defines a botanical family.
  2. 2 See the Lamiaceae in the Family Explorer, along with how many species in our collection belong to it.
  3. 3 Meet the first species from this family: Lemon Balm.
  4. 4 Now another species from the same family: Rosemary.
  5. 5 To wrap up, learn about the level just below family: the genus.

Avoid Mix-Ups with Plant Names

Common names that lead to species mix-ups: four real cases from our collection.

  1. 1 Start with a reminder: it's the scientific name, not the common one, that reliably identifies a species.
  2. 2 First case: two "Dragon's Blood" species that are easy to mix up by their common name.
  3. 3 Second case: blueberry and bilberry, two species often mixed up because of their names.
  4. 4 Third case: galangal, which is also easy to confuse with a closely related species.
  5. 5 Last case: burdock and a wild thistle, another pair that is easy to confuse.