Flora in Turkey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When writing the text, I have relied heavily on the websites turkiyebitkileri.com and Wikipedia, and to some degree on ibuflora.ibu.edu.tr and encyclopaedia.alpinegardensociety.net. The 2-volume book The most beautiful wild flowers of Turkey, by Erdoğan Tekin (2007), has also been of some usage. It contains many fine pictures, but unfortunately most of them are extreme close-ups, which cannot at all be used for identifying closely related species. There are no identification keys or any other methods to identify the plants. Furthermore, in several cases the pictures show wrong species, and there are also other errors in the work.

Nomenclature and distribution of plants largely follow Kew Gardens’ website Plants of the World Online (powo.science.kew.org). Regarding the etymology, I have relied on the website Wiktionary, and on an excellent book by Jens Corneliuson: Växternas namn. Vetenskapliga växtnamns etymologi. Språkligt ursprung och kulturell bakgrund (‘Etymology of scientific plant names’), Wahlström & Widstrand, 1999 (in Swedish).

This page shows a number of unidentified plants, and others are only tentatively identified. If you are able to identify any of these species, or should you encounter any errors, I would be happy to hear about it. You may use the address at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

This variety is reflected in the number of wild plants found in the country, almost 10,000 species, of which more than 3,000 are endemics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of Ancient Greek akanthos, meaning ‘with spiny flowers’, derived from ake (‘thorn’) and anthos (‘flower’).

A popular name of the genus is bear’s breeches. This strange name builds on a misunderstanding. A medieval Latin name of the plant, which Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) later named Acanthus mollis, was Acanthus sativus branca ursina (‘cultivated spiny flower (with) bear bracts’), alluding to the curved bracts of the inflorescence, which, to those who named the plant, apparently resembled a bear’s claws. Over time, branca was corrupted to breech, leading to the name bear’s breeches.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘hairy’, alluding to the hairy bracts.

 

 

 

 

 

The family name is derived from Ancient Greek aeizoon (‘houseleek’), from aei (‘forever’) and zoion (‘a living thing’), alluding to the succulent, long-living leaves of the members, similar to the houseleeks (Sempervivum).

The name midday flower stems from Polish merchant and naturalist Jacob Breyne (1637-1697), who named a genus of the family in 1684, using the spelling Mesembrianthemum, derived from the Greek mesembria (‘noon’) and anthemon (‘flower’), thus ‘midday flower’. He had noticed that plants of this genus mostly opened the flowers around noon.

However, in 1719 German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius (1684-1747) discovered that some members were flowering at night, so he changed the spelling to Mesembryanthemum, derived from the Greek mesos (‘middle’), embryon (‘pistil’), and again anthemon (‘flower’), thus ‘flower with the pistil in the centre’.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek karpos (‘fruit’) and brotos (‘edible’), like one of the common names referring to the edible fruit of some of the species.

 

It is native to southern Chile and Argentina, but is widely cultivated elsewhere due to the gorgeous flowers. However, it easily becomes naturalized and is regarded as an invasive pest in several areas, especially California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence of these plants is very distinctive, consisting of a compact globular umbel on an unbranched stem. Initially, the umbel is enclosed in a papery spathe, which splits into lobes, when the stalked flowers unfold.

The generic name is the classical Latin name of garlic (A. sativum), which is described in depth on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is found from Germany and European Russia southwards to Morocco, Jordan, and Iran, growing in disturbed places, including fields, along roads, open slopes, and beaches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek leukos (‘white’) and ion (‘violet’).

 

It grows to 60 cm tall, sometimes to 90 cm, leaves strap-shaped, to 60 cm long and 2 cm wide. The inflorescence is a terminal umbel with 3-7 nodding flowers on stalks to 7 cm long, corolla bell-shaped, to 4 cm long, petals white with a yellowish-green spot just below the tip.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of the summer’, alluding to the rather late flowering time of this species, compared to that of the spring snowflake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin term for C. coggygria (below), derived from Ancient Greek kotinos, the term for the wild olive tree (Olea europaea). The connection between these two trees is hard to see.

 

The elliptic or ovate leaves, to 8 cm long, are green or bluish-green, turning yellow, orange, or scarlet in autumn. The numerous flowers are in large clusters, to 30 cm long, each flower to 1 cm across, with five pale yellow petals. Later, pinkish or purplish, feathery plumes grow from the flowers, surrounding the drupe, to 3 mm across.

The wood yields yellow, reddish, and purple dyes.

The specific name is derived from the Ancient Greek name of this tree, kokkygea. The common name refers to the numerous feathery plumes around the fruits, which, when viewed from a distance, have been likened to smoke.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the true pistachio tree (P. vera), adapted from Ancient Greek pistakia.

 

The pinnately divided leaves are to 20 cm long, with 5-11 ovate, glossy leaflets, to 6 cm long and 3 cm wide. The small, reddish-purple flowers are clustered in panicles, to 15 cm long, appearing with the new leaves in spring. The fruit is a globular drupe to 7 mm across, red or black when ripe. The entire plant emits a strong, resinous smell.

Young shoots are cooked as a vegetable. The seeds are edible and sweet, raw or cooked. They are used in pastries. An edible oil is also obtained from the seeds. Unripe red fruits and fruit stems are preserved in vinegar and salt, used as a relish to wine during meals. A coffee-like drink is made from roasting the fruits.

Resin from the bark is widely used for treatment of many different ailments, including cancer. It is also used as chewing gum, and to burn as incense. Tannins and a red dye are obtained from galls on the leaves, caused by aphids. The wood is used for carpentry and to make cabinets.

The word turpentine is derived from terebinthos, the Ancient Greek name of this tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The word sumac is derived from Ancient Syriac summaq (‘red’), referring to the red fruits of the genus. They have an acrid taste and are used as a spice. In North America, the fruits of staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) are soaked in cold water to make ‘pink lemonade’, a refreshing beverage, rich in vitamin C.

 

It is a shrub, growing to 5 m tall, leaves pinnately divided, with 7-8 pairs of ovate leaflets. The inflorescence is a terminal cluster of small white flowers, which later become brownish-red or greenish-yellow drupes, with a very acidic taste. They are dried and crushed to be used as a spice, which, together with other spices, form a mixture called za’atar.

Leaves and bark contain tannic acid and were formerly used in leather tanning, hence the specific name, derived from the Latin coriarium (‘leather’ or ‘tanning’). Various parts of the plant yield red, yellow, black, or brown dyes. Oil from the seeds are utilized to make candles.

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence of this family is unique. In almost all species, the flowers are arranged in terminal umbels, which may be simple, usually with bracts at the base, and each of the stalks, the so-called primary rays, ending in a flower. More commonly, the umbel is compound, consisting of a number of primary rays, each ending in a secondary umbel. Each of these umbels usually has small bracts, bracteoles, at the base, and a number of secondary rays, each ending in a flower. Usually, the secondary umbels together form a flat-topped inflorescence, mostly with white, yellow, pink, or purple flowers, rarely blue or bright red. The flowers have five petals and stamens. This also accounts for the sepals, if they are present. They are usually missing, however.

The family name is derived from the name of honey bees, genus Apis, referring to the fact that many plants of the family are much visited by bees and other nectar-sucking insects, in particular hovering flies.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of anethon, the Ancient Greek name of dill (below).

 

It is widely used in European and Asian cuisines as a vegetable, in soups, sauces, and cakes, and as topping on cold dishes and sour cream products. The seeds are used as a spice, especially in pickles and vinegar. In Jutland, Denmark, dill, thyme, and bog myrtle were once added to a local liqueur. It is also utilized as perfume in soap production, and has been used as an insect repellent.

The specific name is Latin, derived from gravis (‘heavy’) and olens (‘smelling’).

 

 

 

 

 

Originally, the common poison hemlock (below) was called Cicuta in Latin and in several southern European languages, but as this name was also applied to another poisonous umbellifer, the water-hemlock (Cicuta virosa), Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) decided to call it Conium after the Greek name of the plant, koneion, from konas, to ‘whirl around’, as it causes vertigo and death when eaten.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘spotted’, referring to the reddish spots on the stem. According to a Christian legend, these spots represent the brand, which was applied to Cain’s brow after the killing of Abel.

The common name hemlock is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words hem (‘border’, ‘shore’) and leác (‘plant’). According to a 14th Century herbal book, there are two kinds of hemlock, one being the “grete homeloc, called kex, or wode whistle, being of no use except for poor men’s fuel, and children’s play.” The word kex may mean ‘with a hollow stem’, or it may stem from a Swedish name of the plant, käx, which possibly refers to the similarity of the umbel to a primitive basket for catching fish, called käx. Wode is Old English for ‘mad’ or ‘insane’.

Other common names include poison parsley, devil’s bread, and devil’s porridge, all referring to its great toxicity.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek koriannon (‘stink bug’) – a name that was probably given due to the very powerful fragrance of the common coriander (below).

 

All parts of the plant are edible, and the species is utilized as food in most parts of the world. The strongly aromatic fresh leaves are eaten as a vegetable, and the dried seeds are a very common spice, either whole or ground, especially in Indian cuisine, where it is called dhanya. It is one of the main ingredients in the popular spice mixture garam masala. The root is used in Thai cuisine.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sown’ or ‘planted’. The Spanish name cilantro is a corruption of Coriandrum, whereas the name Chinese parsley stems from the very popular usage of this herb in Chinese cuisine.

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit of these plants is characteristic, strongly compressed and ribbed, the lateral ribs with a broad wing. Inside the fruit are club-shaped resin canals, clearly visible against the light.

The generic name was applied in 1753 by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), alluding to the immensely strong Ancient Greek mythological hero Herakles (in Latin Hercules), undoubtedly referring to the profuse growth of many of these plants.

The common name hogweed is variously interpreted, either referring to pigs being fond of eating common hogweed (H. sphondylium), or as a derogatory term, a plant only fit for pigs. Cow-parsnip, used from about 1548, presumably alludes to the plant being eaten by cattle.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek platys (‘flat’) and tainia (‘ribbon’ or ‘tape’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek smyrnion (‘myrrh’). It may suggest that the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), who named the genus in 1753, found that the fragrance of members of the genus was similar to that of myrrh.

 

It is distributed from central and eastern Europe southwards to northern Africa, eastwards to the Caucasus, Turkey, and Syria.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing through the leaf’, referring to the way that each leaf encircles the stem.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek tordylion, originally tordylon, the name of T. officinale.

 

The specific name refers to Apulum, a site in the ancient kingdom of Dacia, located in present-day Romania.

 

 

 

 

 

The genus was named in honour of Russian statesman Alexander Turgenev (1784-1845), Director of the Department of the General Directorate of Religious Affairs of Foreign Faiths, appointed by Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1771-1844).

 

It grows in waste places and ditches, and along roads, found from central Europe eastwards to European Russia and Xinjiang, southwards to northern Africa, Iran, and Pakistan.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with broad leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

The family name is derived from Ancient Greek apo (‘away’) and kyon (‘dog’), alluding to the toxic dogbane (Cionura erecta), which was formerly utilized to poison dogs.

A large number of genera in this family formerly constituted the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae), which is today regarded as a subfamily, Asclepiadoideae, of the dogbane family. Many members of this subfamily are remarkable for the complex mechanisms they have developed for pollination. Some species group their pollen into pollinia, similar to orchids. The foul-smelling flowers of some genera attract flies, which pollinate the flowers. The flowers of some genera have 5 cup-like structures, called the corona. The cups are filled with nectar, which attracts insects. An amusing description of the peculiar pollination method in the genus Asclepias is found on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

It grows in a large variety of habitats, including shrubberies, slopes, river beds, beaches, and waste places, from sea level to altitudes around 1,100 m, from the Balkans eastwards across Turkey and Syria to Afghanistan.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows to 6 m tall, with numerous spreading stems. The leaves are in pairs or in whorls of 3, thick, leathery, lanceolate, pale green when young, later dark green, to 20 cm long and 3.5 cm wide. The flowers are in terminal clusters, red, pink, or sometimes white, to 5 cm across, deeply divided into 5 obovate lobes, and fringed around the corolla tube. The fruit is a narrow follicle, to 23 cm long, which splits open at maturity, releasing the downy seeds.

The generic name is derived from nerion, the Ancient Greek name of oleander. The specific name is the classical Latin name of the plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence is very distinctive, with a large, often brightly coloured blade, the spathe, which encircles a central club-shaped axis, the spadix, on which numerous tiny flowers are clustered, male flowers above, females below. The tip of the spadix often has a flowerless part, the appendage. In many species, the flowers are foul-smelling, attracting flies that pollinate the flowers. The fruit is a club-like cluster of berries, remaining on the spadix when the spathe has withered.

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin draco (‘dragon’) and the suffix ulus, which denotes something small. It is explained in different ways, one source says that the long spadix resembles a small dragon, hiding in the spathe, whereas another claims that it refers to the palmate leaves, which have been likened to dragon feet.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of these plants have racemes of dense, urn-shaped, dark blue, pale blue, violet, or whitish flowers, which, when young, resemble bunches of tiny grapes, hence the English name. In fruit, the inflorescence usually becomes elongated and lax.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek moskhos (‘musk’), referring to the scent of some of the species. The name can be traced back to 1601, to Flemish physician and botanist Charles de l’Écluse (1526-1609), also called Carolus Clusius, who was among the first to study the flora of the Alps. The name was formally established in 1754 by British botanist Philip Miller (1691-1771).

Many of the species are very difficult to distinguish, and some of the species below are only tentatively identified.

 

It is restricted to Greece and Turkey, and some authorities consider it threatened in the wild.

The specific name refers to Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows in woods, shrubberies, and meadows, from sea level to an elevation of about 2,700 m, found in the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, and the Caucasus. It was named after Armenia in eastern Turkey and the Caucasus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is endemic to western and southern Turkey, growing in mountain grasslands and on stony slopes, at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 m.

The specific name honours French naturalist Eugène Bourgeau (1813-1877), who collected plants in numerous places, including the Canary Islands, North Africa, Turkey, Rhodes, western Canada, and Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

It is easily identified by its tuft of bright blue or violet-blue, sterile flowers above brownish-green fertile flowers, which are dark blue as buds. This tuft has given rise to the English name. The flowering stem is to 60 cm tall, flowers long-stalked, fertile flowers to 1 cm long, stalk about the same length. At maturity, they are greenish with a brown tip, opening at the mouth, which has tiny paler lobes. The leaves are linear, to 1.5 cm wide.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with much hair’, presumably referring to the tuft.

Some authorities place this plant in the genus Leopoldia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The number of species is disputed, the acknowledged number varying between 50 and 300. As of 2023, Kew Gardens accepts 214. About 60 species are found in Turkey.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek ornis (‘bird’) and gala (‘milk’). Other plants with names including gala usually contain milky juice, but as this is not the case with this genus, the name may refer to the colour of the flowers of some members resembling bird droppings.

The English name refers to the star-shaped flowers, likened with the star which, according to legend, appeared over Bethlehem, when Jesus was born.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from England, Portugal, and Morocco eastwards to Ukraine, Turkey, and the Caucasus, growing in forests and meadows, from sea level up to altitudes around 1,400 m.

Young flower shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, with a taste similar to asparagus, hence the name Bath asparagus, which refers to the fact that this plant was once abundant near the city of Bath in England.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of Ancient Greek skilla, the classical name of plants of this genus, and also of the closely related Drimia maritima. The English name is a corruption of scilla.

Siberian squill (S. siberica) is considered an invasive weed in England.

 

This plant is found in central, southern, and eastern Europe, and in Turkey and Syria. It grows in deciduous woods and montane grasslands, at elevations up to around 2,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with 2 leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence is a long spike in most species, flowers star-shaped with 6 petals, usually with a darker mid-vein. The fruit is a globular or ovoid capsule.

The generic name is Ancient Greek, derived from Asphodelos, a closely related genus, whose name is of unknown origin. The English name refers to the straight, tall inflorescence of most of these plants.

 

It is endemic to south-western Turkey, growing in open forests or stony habitats, at elevations up to about 1,300 m.

The specific name refers to Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

The erect flowering stem is to 80 cm tall, leaves bluish, very narrow, growing all the way up to the inflorescence, which is a very dense, club-shaped terminal cluster, to 30 cm long, flowers white, petals to 1.5 cm long.

The specific name refers to Taurike, the Ancient Greek name of the Crimean Peninsula. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence consists of many individual flowers, called florets, which are grouped densely together to form a flower-like structure, the flowerhead, technically called the capitulum. The flowerhead is surrounded by an involucre, consisting of densely packed green bracts, often erroneously called a calyx. The central disc florets are symmetric, and the corolla is fused into a tube. The outer ray florets are asymmetric, the corolla having one large lobe, which is often erroneously called a petal. In some species, ray florets, or sometimes disk florets, are absent.

 

English herbalist John Gerard (c. 1545-1612) informs us that during the Trojan War the Greek hero Achilles used yarrow to stop bleeding on wounded soldiers. Hence, the name Achillea was applied to the genus by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). It was already mentioned as a medical herb in De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus, written by Greek-Roman physician, surgeon, and philosopher Aelius Galenus (c. 129-210 A.D.), also known as Claudius Galenus or Galen of Pergamon.

Various plants, including yarrow, were found in a 50-60,000-year-old Neanderthal grave in Iraq, perhaps indicating that these plants were used medicinally. (Source: G.P. Shipley & K. Kindscher 2016. Evidence for the Paleoethnobotany of the Neanderthal: A Review of the Literature. hindawi.com/journals/scientifica/2016/8927654)

The name yarrow is a corruption of gearwe, an ancient Anglo-Saxon name for common yarrow (A. millefolium).

 

It is distributed from Bulgaria eastwards across the Caucasus to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, southwards to Arabia and Pakistan. It grows in coniferous forests, dry meadows, and fallow fields, and on steppe and rocky slopes, at elevations between 350 and 3,450 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The stem is to 1 m tall, leaves undivided, lanceolate, pointed, margin double-toothed, sparsely hairy. There are between 5 and 20 flowerheads, altogether to about 12 cm wide, with stalks to 4.5 cm long. Involucre hemisphaerical, to 6 mm long, bracts ovate, with brownish margins, ray florets 7-8, white, to 8 mm long, disc florets up to 40, yellowish.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with double teeth’, referring to the leaf margin.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek anthemon (‘flower’).

 

A variable species, branched from the base, stems decumbent or erect, to 40 cm long/tall, downy. Leaves once or twice pinnately divided, to 3.5 cm long and 1.6 cm wide, oblong or oblanceolate in outline, segments linear or oblanceolate, about 0.5 mm broad, pointed. Flower stalks to 15 cm long, involucre to 1.3 cm broad, densely or sparsely hairy. Ray florets 5-20, white, to 1.5 cm long, disc florets yellow, to 4 mm long.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in fields’.

Some species in this genus are very much alike and difficult to distinguish, and some of the pictures below may depict other species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, probably derived from Proto-Indo-European kars, which is ultimately from Sanskrit kaṣati (‘to scratch’ or ‘to rub’). The name naturally refers to the extremely spiny leaves and stems.

 

It may grow to more than 2.5 m tall, stem often woolly, winged, heavily armed with green or whitish spines, to 1 cm long, less armed above, where it may be completely thornless. All leaves are very spiny, basal ones tapering to winged stalks, blade to 4 cm long, once or twice pinnately lobed, stem leaves stalkless, shorter. Flowerheads borne singly at the end of the stem or on spreading branches, to 4 cm across, initially upright, later often nodding. Involucre hemispheric, to 6 cm long and 7 cm wide, bracts lanceolate to ovate, stiff, spreading or reflexed, to 1 cm long. Ray florets absent, disc florets very numerous, purplish-red, to 2.8 cm long.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘nodding’, referring to the often nodding flowerheads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name can be traced back to classical Syriac qurtema‎, the name of the safflower (C. tinctorius), originally from qartem (‘to cut off gently’), alluding to the picking of the florets of this species, which are used for dyeing. The common name presumably refers to these plants being used as distaffs, i.e. a device to keep the unspun fibres from being entangled before they were spun into thread.

 

It is native from the British Isles eastwards to Belarus and Kazakhstan, southwards to northern Africa, Iran, and the Himalaya, growing in dry areas, including fallow fields and waste places.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘woolly’, referring to the densely woolly lower stem.

Some authorities place this plant in the genus Phonus.

 

 

 

 

 

These plants do not have ray florets, but are characterized by most species possessing two types of disc florets, the outer ones much larger, fringed, sterile, acting as attractors to pollinators.

The generic name is derived from the Greek kentauros (‘centaur’), referring to Chiron the Centaur. According to Greek mythology, Chiron once had a festering wound on his foot, made by an arrow dipped in blood of Hydra, a many-headed serpentine monster with a poisonous breath and blood so virulent that even its scent was deadly. Chiron cured himself by dressing the wound with a member of this genus.

These plants have many common names, including centaury, knapweed, starthistle, and cornflower, the latter usually referring to two blue-flowered species, C. cyanus and C. montana, both described on the page In praise of the colour blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is endemic to the Ala Dağları Mountains, growing on stony slopes at elevations between 1,000 and 2,200 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek khrysos (‘gold’), alluding to the golden-yellow flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kirsion, according to Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.) the name of a kind of thistle, derived from kirsos (‘swollen vein’), alluding to its usage against swollen veins.

 

 

 

 

 

These plants were previously included in the genus Anthemis (above).

 

It is found from almost the entire Europe eastwards to eastern Siberia, southwards to Jordan, Iran, and Kyrgyzstan, growing along roads, on exposed slopes, and among scree, from sea level to altitudes around 1,300 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘used in dyeing’, derived from tingo (‘soak in dye’), alluding to the former usage of this plant for dyeing.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin gleba (‘soil’) and ionis (‘characteristic of’). It is not clear what it refers to.

The common name is derived from Old English dæges eage (‘day’s eye’), referring to the fact that the flowers open in the morning and close at night.

These plants were previously included in the genus Chrysanthemum.

 

Stem erect, to 70 cm tall, unbranched or with a few branches above. Basal leaves soon wither. Stem leaves are sessile, blade oblong or narrowly elliptic in outline, to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide, once, twice or sometimes thrice pinnately divided. Leaves are gradually smaller up the stem. Flowerheads terminal, solitary or few together, with a stalk to 20 cm long. Involucre cup-shaped, to 3 cm across. Disc florets are yellow, whereas ray florets come in two forms, yellow, or white with a yellow base. The yellow-flowered form resembles corn daisy (below), but may at once be identified by its deeply divided leaves.

In Crete, tender parts are eaten raw or steamed.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘crowned’, alluding to its usage in wreaths in Roman times.

 

 

 

 

 

It closely resembles the crown daisy (above), but its flowers are always bright yellow, and the leaves are toothed, not pinnately divided.

The specific name is derived from the Latin seges (‘crop’), referring to its cultivation.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek helios (‘sun’) and khrysos (‘gold’), alluding to shape and colour of the flowerheads of several species.

The common name refers to the withered plants, which last for a very long time.

 

The entire plant is covered in greyish, woolly hairs. Stems several, sterile as well as flower-bearing, to 45 cm tall, grow from the thickened base. Basal leaves are often crowded, linear, elliptic, or spathulate, to 6 cm long and 8 mm wide, stem leaves linear, a little smaller, often with wavy margins. The numerous flowerheads are almost globular, to 4 mm across, in loose umbels, florets golden yellow, orange, or red. Three subspecies occur in Turkey, rubicundum, erzincanicum, and aucheri.

It grows in dry calcareous or sandy soils, grasslands, and heaths, from sea level up to elevations around 3,200 m.

The plant is used as a diuretic, and in treatment of gall bladder disorders, rheumatism, and skin problems. In Russia, it was formerly called ‘immortality herb’ due to its medicinal properties. Its leaves were also used as flavouring in meat dishes.

The specific name is derived from the Latin harena (‘sand’), earlier hasena, possibly from Etruscan. The name refers to the fact that this species often grows in sandy areas.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is an anagram of the specific name salmantica (below).

 

It has the same distribution as the genus.

Alexandrian mathematician, astronomer, and geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus (c. 100-170 A.D.) mentions a city in Spain, called Salmatica or Salmantica, which was founded by a Celtic tribe, the Vaccei. (Other sources say it was founded by the Vettones.) This name refers to the modern city of Salamanca.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows to about 1 m tall, leaves spirally arranged on the stem, deeply lobed, grey-green or dark green with white veins and very sharp spines on lobes and apex. Flowerheads to 2 cm across, bracts numerous, spiny, ray florets absent, disc florets reddish-purple.

In Crete, the tender shoots are peeled and eaten raw.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek notos (‘spine’ – anatomical) and vasis (‘base’), hence ‘based on the spine’. This strange name alludes to the compressed achenes attached by the base of their upper side. The specific name refers to Syria. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek onos (‘donkey’) and perdo (‘to fart’). This strange name dates back to French botanist Sébastien Vaillant (1669-1722) who named the genus in 1718, referring to a claim that “these plants induce farts in the donkeys that eat them.”

 

The stem is erect, branched, winged, and spiny, sometimes reaching a height of 2.5 m. The spiny leaves may be up to 50 cm long, shallowly or deeply pinnately lobed, with 8-10 pairs of triangular lobes, which may again be lobed. Flowerheads are several, singly at the tip of branches, more or less globular, to 7 cm across, involucre lined with broad, lanceolate or ovate spines, to 5 cm long, woolly or with cobweb-like hairs. Ray florets are absent, disc florets reddish-purple, to 3.5 cm long.

The specific name alludes to Illyria, a kingdom, which existed from about 400 to 167 B.C., in a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. In Greek mythology, Illyrius was the son of Cadmus and Harmonia, who eventually ruled Illyria and became ancestor of the Illyrians.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin palea, derived from Sanskrit palava (‘chaff’), referring to the lobes of the receptacle, which somewhat resemble husks.

This species has the same distribution as the genus.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘spiny’, alluding to the spiny bracts surrounding the flowerhead.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean region eastwards across to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek pyknos (‘dense’ or ‘thickly’) and nomos (‘pasture’), referring to the fact that this plant is often abundant in pastures. The specific name is a Latinized form of Ancient Greek akorna, a name applied to a kind of thistle by Greek scholar and botanist Theophrastos (c. 371-287 B.C.).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek silybos (‘tassel’ or ‘tuft’), presumably alluding to the numerous disc florets.

 

The stem is erect, to 2 m tall, grooved, sometimes downy, leaves oblong or lanceolate in outline, to 60 cm long, pinnately lobed, spiny, green with milk-white veins and blotches. The flowerheads, to 12 cm long, are solitary at the end of the stems. They are surrounded by stiff, triangular, spreading bracts, to 4 cm long, which have small spines along the margin and a stout yellow spine at the tip. Ray florets are absent, disc florets numerous, to 3.5 cm long, reddish-purple.

It has been cultivated as a medicinal plant for thousands of years, and in some places young parts are eaten as a vegetable.

The specific name refers to a legend that the white blotches on the leaves arose from milk that dropped from the breasts of the Virgin Mary, when she was nursing her child during the flight to Egypt. This legend gave rise to another common name of the plant, St. Mary’s thistle.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem and leaves of these plants contain a milky sap.

The generic name is a Latinized form of sonkhos, the ancient Greek name for sow-thistles. The common name refers to the fact that pigs like to eat these plants, and to the leaves, which resemble young thistle leaves.

 

This species presumably originates from the Mediterranean region, but has become naturalized in most parts of the world.

In Nepal, a paste of the plant is applied to wounds and boils. It is also collected for fodder, and tender parts are cooked as a vegetable. They may also be eaten raw as a salad.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘rough’ or ‘coarse’, naturally alluding to the leaves.

Other pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the pages Plants: Himalayan flora 1, and Plants: Urban plant life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disc florets are yellow, whereas ray florets are missing in most species. When present, they are mostly white.

The generic name is Latin, adapted from Ancient Greek athanatos (‘immortal’), probably referring to the persistence of these plants. The common name was adapted from Old French tanesie, a corruption of the Latin name.

 

Stems single or up to 3 together, to 80 cm tall, erect, branched, ridged. Leaves are mainly stalked stem leaves, once or twice pinnately lobed, to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. Flowerheads 5-20, sometimes more, in an umbel-like cluster, involucre to 7 mm across, ray florets 10-20, white, to 1.2 cm long, disc florets yellow, to 2 mm long.

T. partheniifolium is native from Turkey and Ukraine eastwards to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and northern Iran, mainly growing in dry or sandy areas, from sea level up to elevations around 2,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek tragos (‘goat’) and pogon (‘beard’). In some species, the involucral bracts contract before noon, closing the flowerhead, which has given rise to the popular name Jack-go-to-bed-by-noon. During this contraction, the seeds protrude from the flowerhead, hereby resembling a goat’s beard. The name salsify is a corruption of late 17th Century French salsifis, from obsolete Italian salsefica, which is of unknown origin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant flowers early in spring, long before the leaves develop. The flowering stems, to 10 cm tall, are covered in whitish down, with scaly, purplish bracts. Flowerheads are solitary, terminal, to 3 cm across, nodding before and after flowering. The involucre is bell-shaped, covered in white down, to 1.8 cm long at fruiting. The bright yellow ray florets are very numerous, narrow, to 1 cm long, disc florets are orange-yellow.

The leaves, all basal, appear after the flowers have withered. They are long-stalked, green above, white-woolly below, very broadly heart-shaped, almost circular in outline, to 14 cm across, margin wavy, with many or few teeth.

Leaves and young flowerheads are used medicinally for cough. In China, the plant is also cultivated as a honey plant.

The generic name, from the Latin tussis (’to cough’), refers to the usage of the leaves. The specific name is from farfarum, the classical Latin name of the plant. The common name was given in allusion to the shape of the leaves. An old name for the plant was Filius ante patrem (‘the son before the father’), referring to the fact that the flowers appear long before the leaves.

The role of colt’s-foot in European folklore is related on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants have pretty, yellow flowers, which later turn into red, blue, or blackish berries.

The wood of many species is a source of a yellow dye, used for dyeing leather. Others are utilized medicinally. The Naga people of north-eastern India tie barberry spines together in a bamboo clip, called azialangba, using them as needles for tattooing.

The generic name was probably the classical Latin name of these plants, and the common name is a derivation of this name.

 

It grows to about 2 m tall, leaves obovate, pointed, with a small thorn at the end, inflorescences pendent clusters of yellow flowers. The fruits are initially red, later purple or black. They are edible raw and are rich in vitamin C. Juice, jam and jelly is also made from them, and they are used in soups and tea. Medicinally, they are utilized as a diuretic. Otherwise, the plant is used in treatment of jaundice, haemorrhoids, and fever. The fresh and dried root and bark are the source of a dye.

The specific name is derived from Crataegus (hawthorn), and the suffix ina, which denotes a similar, but smaller organism, thus ‘the small hawthorn’, alluding to the spines, of course.

 

 

 

 

 

Most members of the family are native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, with some species in tropical mountains and in the Andes. Male and female flowers are borne in separate inflorescences, males in pendulous catkins and females mostly in upright spikes. The seed is a nut or a winged nutlet.

 

The generic name is the Ancient Greek name of the European hop-hornbeam (below), of unknown origin and meaning.

The common name refers to the leaves of European hop-hornbeam, which resemble those of European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), and to the fruits, which resemble hops.

 

The bark on old trees is dark brown, fissured, and flaking. Leaves are short-stalked, ovate or oblong, pointed, to 9 cm long and 4.5 cm wide, strongly toothed, hairy along the veins on the underside. Male catkins to 10 cm long, female catkins to 6 cm. Fruits are in pendulous clusters, to 8 cm long, having 6-20 ovoid nuts, to 5 mm long, fully enclosed in a bladder-like involucre, to 2 cm long, initially yellow, later turning brown.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Carpinus‘ (hornbeam).

 

 

 

 

 

The family was named after the borage (Borago officinalis), native to the Mediterranean area and widely cultivated as a food plant and an ornamental. The popular name of the family is explained on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name stems from Arabic al-hinna, the name of henna (Lawsonia inermis), from which a reddish-brown dye is extracted. In Moorish Spain, it was corrupted to alkanna, which became the name of dyer’s alkanet (A. tinctoria), whose root yields a red dye.

 

It is native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and Iran, southwards to Yemen, growing in stony places and on steppe, from sea level up to altitudes around 2,400 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek ankhousa, the name of Alkanna tinctoria, which was used as a cosmetic. The name bugloss stems from Ancient Greek bouglosson, the name of A. azurea (below), from bous (‘ox’) and glossa (‘tongue’), referring to the leaves, which are shaped like an ox-tongue and have a rough surface – just like the tongue of an ox.

 

It is distributed from the Mediterranean region eastwards to Kazakhstan, and thence southwards to Arabia and northern Pakistan.

The flowers are much visited by bees. They are edible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek echis, meaning ‘viper’.Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.), author of De Materia Medica, 5 volumes dealing with herbal medicine, noted the resemblance between the shape of the nutlets and a viper’s head. The long stamens, sticking out of the flower, also resemble a viper’s tongue. The name bugloss is explained above under Anchusa.

Formerly, it was believed that these plants could be used as a cure for snake bite. British herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) says: “It is a most gallant herb of the sun; it is a pity it is no more in use than it is. It is an especial remedy against the biting of the viper, and all other venomous beasts, or serpents; as also against poison, or poisonous herbs. Dioscorides and others say that whosoever shall take of the herb or root before they be bitten, they shall not be hurt by the poison of any serpent.”

 

It is pyramidal in shape, stem densely hairy, to about 90 cm tall, leaves linear or narrowly oblong, basal ones short-stalked, to 25 cm long and 2 cm wide, stem leaves smaller, sessile. The inflorescence is pyramidal, the lowest branches arising from the axils of lower stem leaves. The corolla is usually whitish, pale pink, or pale blue, occasionally pale purple, to 1 cm long, stamens mostly exserted.

In Tunisia, young leaves are mixed with leaves of Rumex species and eaten in soup. Medicinally, the plant is used as a sedative, anti-inflammatory, andantioxidant, and for treating wounds, blisters, and bruises. In eastern Turkey, crushed leaves are applied to treat abscesses and rheumatic pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is native from France, Portugal, and Morocco eastwards to southern European Russia, the Caucasus, and northern Arabia, but has become naturalized in a number of countries elsewhere. It is regarded as invasive in Australia, South Africa, and the United States. It grows in grassy and rocky places, on waste ground and river banks, and in fields, from sea level to elevations around 2,400 m.

It contains alkaloids, which are poisonous to non-ruminant grazers, such as horses, causing liver damage, which results in reduced weight, and death in severe cases.

The specific name refers to the leaves, which resemble those of certain species of plantain (Plantago).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek helios (‘sun’) and trepein (‘to turn’), stemming from an old superstition that these plants turned their inflorescences to the Sun.

 

 

 

 

 

The origin of the names Myosotis and forget-me-not, and the role of these plants in folklore, is described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

The erect stems may grow to 45 cm tall, but are often much lower, sometimes tufted, covered in soft hairs. Basal and lower stem leaves stalked, narrowly oblanceolate or linear, to 8 cm long and 1.2 cm wide, hairy, upper stem leaves sessile, smaller. Inflorescences are scorpoid cymes, to 15 cm long, corolla blue, to 8 mm across, with white throat, encircled by 5 white or yellow scales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have several photos from Turkey, depicting members of this genus, but I have only been able to identify a single species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white-and rose-coloured’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek symphyo (’to make grow together’) and phyton (’plant’), like the common names comfrey (a corruption of the French conserve), boneset, knitbone, knitback, and bruisewort referring to the bone- and bruise-healing properties of common comfrey (S. officinale).

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek brakhys (‘short’) and kalyx (‘case of a bud’).

 

 

 

 

 

The family name stems from Brassica, the classical Latin term for cabbage. Petals are always 4 in number, arranged cross-wise, which has given rise to the alternative family name Cruciferae, from the Latin crux (‘cross’) and‎ ferae (‘bearing’).

The fruit is a carpel, splitting into 2 valves, either less than 3 times as long as broad (a silicula), or more than 3 times as long as broad (a siliqua). A very difficult family, in which ripe fruits are often necessary for identification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek aitho (‘to kindle’), here probably meaning ‘scorched’, and nema (‘thread’), here probably meaning ‘filament’. Maybe some members of the genus have black filaments.

 

It is found in Turkey, Syria, and the Caucasus, growing on stony slopes at elevations between 800 and 1,700 m.

The specific name alludes to Armenia. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek alysson, from a– (‘without’) and lyssa (‘madness’). Previously, it was believed that members of this genus could cure rabies.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Ancient Greek term for Lepidium draba, another member of Brassicaceae.

 

 

 

 

 

It was named in honour of French artist Claude Aubriet (c. 1665-1742), who worked as a botanical illustrator at the Jardin du Roi (Royal Botanical Garden) in Paris. From 1700 to 1702, he accompanied French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708) and German physician and botanist Andreas von Gundelsheimer (c. 1668-1715) on an expedition to the Middle East, where he made drawings of flora and historical sites.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘covered in white or grey hairs’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of Ancient Greek krambe, a type of cabbage.

 

It grows in grasslands and fallow fields, and on stony slopes, from the Czech Republic and Italy eastwards to south-western Siberia and Kazakhstan, southwards to Turkey and the Caucasus, found at altitudes between 900 and 1,400 m.

Leaves and young stems are edible, raw or cooked, usually blanched. The fleshy root is also edible, with a sweet taste. It is used raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable. It can be dried and ground into powder, which is mixed with flour to make bread.

The specific name refers to an area in Asia, formerly inhabited by Tatar-speaking Turkic peoples, from the Volga River and Crimea eastwards to western Siberia and Kazakhstan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of erysimon, the classical Greek name of a species of hedge-mustard, Sisymbrium polyceratium. Some authorities suggest that it stems from erymai (‘to protect’ or ‘to save’), presumably alluding to the usage of Sisymbrium species to cure inflammation of the throat.

 

The specific name is from the Latin thyrsus, in a botanical contaxt referring to a dense panicle, and oideus (‘resembling’). The word thyrsus originally stems from Ancient Greek thyrsos, a staff, topped with a conical ornament, carried by Dionysos, the god of wine and fertility, or by his followers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In many species, the outer petals are much larger than the inner ones.

The generic name is the classical Greek word for a kind of pepperwort. The common name has nothing to do with sweets, but refers to Candia, the Ancient name of the city of Iraklion, Crete.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Greek word for the widespread dyer’s woad (I. tinctoria), described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry. The common name is derived from Proto-Indo-European woyd, of unknown meaning.

 

It is very similar to dyer’s woad, which also occurs in Turkey, but the leaves are less stem-clasping.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘smooth’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Greek word for dittander (L. latifolium).

 

It is native from eastern Europe and Turkey across Central Asia to northern China, southwards to northern Africa, Iran, and Pakistan, but has been accidentally introduced in many other places, including Europe, Australia, and North America. It grows in fields and waste places, and on stony slopes and steppes, from sea level up to altitudes around 1,400 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing through the leaf’, referring to the way that each leaf encircles the stem.

 

 

 

 

 

It was named in honour of Italian physician and naturalist Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501-1577), who described more than a hundred new plant species, and translated De Materia Medica, a 5-volume work on herbal medicine, written by Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.).

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from north-western Africa eastwards across the Near East to Iran, and also in Greece and Arabia, growing in open areas.

The common name alludes to the pleasant scent that this plant emits in the evening and throughout the night.

 

 

 

 

 

It is an annual herb, to 1.5 m tall or more, usually branched from the middle. The lower part of the stem is covered with bristly hairs, but is smooth in the inflorescence. Basal leaves are stalked, lyrate or pinnately divided, with a large terminal lobe, hairy on both surfaces. The upper leaves are oblong or linear, entire, smooth. Petals are bright yellow, to 8 mm long and 4 mm wide, siliquas to 1.7 cm long and 2 mm wide. It grows in waste places and fields, and along roads.

At an early stage, it was introduced to many other parts of the world and has become naturalized in numerous countries. It is classified as invasive in California, Hawaii, and some of the Great Lakes states in the U.S., in New Zealand, and on off-shore islands in Chile.

 

 

 

 

 

The family includes lobelias and allies, comprising about 1,200 species previously placed in a separate family, Lobeliaceae, which is now regarded as a subfamily, Lobelioideae, of Campanulaceae.

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ’little bell’, given in allusion to the bell-shaped flowers of this genus.

Several species are described on the pages Plants: Flora of the Alps and the Pyrenees, and Plants: Himalayan flora 1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from central Europe eastwards to European Russia, southwards to northern Africa, Jordan, and Iran, growing in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, fields, dry meadows, waste places, and along roads, from sea level up to elevations around 2,000 m.

It was once widely cultivated in Europe for its leaves, which were cooked like spinach, and its parsnip-like root, which was used like a radish.

The fairy tale Rapunzel, published by the Grimm Brothers in 1812, took its name from this plant. A short version of this tale is related on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

The specific name is a diminutive of rapa, the Latin word for turnip, thus ‘little turnip’, referring to the shape of the root.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘covered in rough hairs’, alluding to the dense hair cover. The alternative name ephesia means ‘from Ephesus’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of French author and academician Bénigne Legouz de Gerland (1695-1774), who founded the botanical garden in Dijon. The common name alludes to the very shiny seeds of the genus, resembling tiny mirrors.

 

It grows in dry open places and fields, from sea level up to around 2,000 m, distributed from Bulgaria and Greece eastwards to the Caucasus, southwards to Jordan, northern Iraq, and western Iran.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek pentagonos (‘five-angled’), from pente (‘five’) and gonos (‘angled’), perhaps referring to the corolla having 5 lobes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A large number of plants, which were previously included in this family, have been moved to other families.

 

The generic name is of Oriental origin, from the Persian word for caper, kabar.

 

It is distributed from southern Europe and North Africa across the Middle East to the Himalaya and Central Asia.

Locally, the leaves are lopped for fodder, whereas flower-buds and fruits are pickled or cooked as a vegetable. Medicinally, a paste of the root is applied to cure rheumatism, and juice of the root is used to expel intestinal worms.

The specific name alludes to the spiny stem.

 

 

 

 

 

The family name is derived from Caprifolium, an older synonym for the genus Lonicera, from Proto-Indo-European kapros (‘goat’) and the Latin folium (‘leaf’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An unidentified species of Lomelosia, Manisa. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

 

 

 

Previously, these plants were placed in the family Valerianaceae, which has now been reduced to a subfamily, Valerianoideae, of the honeysuckle family.

The generic name is derived from the Latin valere (‘to be strong, healthy’), alluding to the medicinal properties of many valerian species.

 

The native range of this species is from Turkey to Caucasus and northern Iran. It grows in forests, and on open slopes, at elevations between 1,000 and 3,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Alliaria‘ (garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata).

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in a variety of habitats, including dry, sandy or rocky places, and on walls, from sea level up to altitudes around 1,000 m. It is native from western Europe and Morocco eastwards to Turkey, but has been introduced to many other places as a garden plant. It has escaped and become naturalized in many countries, including the British Isles, Australia, South Africa, and the United States, and is regarded as invasive in the latter two countries.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘red’, alluding to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

The family name refers to the clove pink (Dianthus caryophyllus), which has a clove-like fragrance. The Ancient Greek name of the clove-tree was karyophyllon, derived from karyon (‘nut’) and phyllon (‘leaf’), which was adopted by early botanists in the form Caryophyllus aromatica (today Syzygium aromaticum). The family name was linked to the clove pink by French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (1748-1836), known as the first person to publish a natural classification of flowering plants.

The genus Dianthus is presented below, where the terms pink and carnation are also explained.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek agros (‘field’) and stemma (‘garland’), alluding to one of the habitats of the common corn cockle (A. githago), and to its pretty flowers. The origin of the word cockle is obscure.

 

This species is restricted to Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, growing in fields and on slopes, at elevations between 200 and 1,600 m.

It is very similar to the widespread common corn cockle, but the flowers are paler, and the calyx lobes are shorter than the petals. The specific name refers to these lobes, derived from Ancient Greek brakhys (‘short’) and lobos (‘lobe’).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek dios (‘divine’) and anthos (‘flower’), applied by Greek scholar and botanist Theophrastos (c. 371-287 B.C.). As for the common names, the verb ‘to pink’ dates from the 14th Century, meaning to decorate with a perforated or zigzag pattern. The flowers of many members of the genus Dianthus have numerous fringes on the petals, so they were named pinks. This means that the colour pink derives its name from the colour of the petals of many of these flowers, not the other way around. The term carnation is believed to have been derived from the Latin corona-ae (‘wreath, garland, crown’), as these flowers were often used in Greek and Roman ceremonial wreaths.

 

The native range of this species is from the East Aegean Islands eastwards to the Caucasus, southwards to Syria and northern Iraq. It grows in stony places at elevations between 700 and 2,000 m.

The specific name alludes to the ring around the throat, dividing the petals into zones.

 

 

 

 

 

It is an erect, many-branched herb, to 60 cm tall, stems 4-angled, downy. Leaves are greyish-green, smooth, sessile, opposite, successive pairs borne at right angles to each other, lower leaves narrowly lanceolate or oblong, often rather crowded, to 3 cm long and 5 mm wide, upper leaves lanceolate, pointed, to 6 cm long and 1 cm wide. The white, long-stalked flowers grow from the leaf axils, to 3 cm across, petals 5, to about 1.5 cm long, split about halfway to the base, sepals about 8 mm long.

It is distributed in the entire Europe, eastwards to central Siberia, southwards to northern Africa, Iran, and Afghanistan, growing in woodlands, shrubberies, and grasslands, and along roads, from sea level to an elevation of about 1,600 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek holosteon, which literally means ‘entire bone’. This is undoubtedly meant ironically, referring to the brittleness of the weak stems of this plant – one of the many jokes of Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who named the plant Stellaria holostea in 1753. He was known to be quite imaginative when naming species.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name refers to the Greek woodland god Silenus, a satyr with ears and tail like a horse. He was the tutor of Dionysos, the god of wine. Silenus is often depicted drunk, covered in sticky foam from the wine. His name is derived from the Greek sialon (‘saliva’). The connection to the plant genus is that the female flowers of some species, including red campion (S. dioica), secrete a frothy foam, which aids in capturing pollen from visiting insects.

The popular name catchfly refers to the strongly glandular-hairy stem and leaves in many species, where small insects often get stuck.

 

It is distributed from the Balkans eastwards to the Caucasus, southwards to Jordan and Iran, growing on open slopes and in stony areas, at elevations between 800 and 3,100 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek khloros (‘green’), and the Latin folium (‘leaf’).

 

 

 

 

 

It has an ascending or erect, glandular-hairy, greyish-green stem, to 50 cm tall, basal leaves linear or spatulate, forming a rosette, stem leaves opposite, linear or narrowly lanceolate, to 5 cm long and 6 mm wide, tip pointed. Flowers are terminal, stalked, often few in a spreading panicle, sometimes up to 10, petals pink, reddish-violet, or sometimes white, to 1.3 cm long, shallowly 2-lobed. The sepals are fused, forming a greyish-green, inflated, urn-shaped, glandular-hairy calyx, to 1.8 cm long, with 25-30 raised, purplish veins and at the tip 5 pointed lobes, to 8 mm long.

The specific name refers to the inflated calyx.

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves are opposite, dark green, hairy, blade lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or almost linear, margin entire, lower leaves to 10 cm long, gradually smaller up the stem. Sepals are fused, forming a green, slightly inflated, 10-veined, hairy, cylindric calyx, to 1.8 cm long. The inflorescence is a many-flowered raceme, flowers almost stalkless, nodding, fragrant, corolla white or sometimes red, to 4 cm across, petals 5, deeply notched, the throat having small lobes.

It is distributed from southern and eastern Europe eastwards to western Siberia, southwards to Jordan and Iran.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem erect, to 80 cm tall, hairy, sticky above. Basal leaves stalked, spatulate, obovate, or oblanceolate, forming a rosette, stem leaves sessile, almost linear, margin fringed with very short hairs. The inflorescence is a terminal panicle, with branches from each node, flowers yellowish or pale green, stalked, to 5 mm across, petals to 4 mm long, tongue-shaped, margin entire, calyx bell-shaped, papery, smooth, to 6 mm long, with 10 narrow, faint veins.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek ous (‘ear’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

A very widespread plant, found in North Africa and almost all of Europe, across temperate areas of Asia eastwards to Mongolia and northern China.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek eus (‘good’) and onoma (‘name’). It is not clear why Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) applied this name to this genus.

 

It is found from central Europe eastwards to the Caucasus and northern Iran, southwards to North Africa and Syria.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘broad-leaved’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of kistos, the classical Greek name of these bushes.

 

It is found from Italy eastwards to Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, growing in shrubberies and on open slopes, from sea level to elevations around 1,000 m.

A sticky brown resin, called labdanum, or ladanum, is obtained from this bush. It has been used medicinally for thousands of years, and is still used in certain perfumes and vermouths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The branches of this bush are erect, with reddish bark that often peels in strips. As its specific and common names imply, the leaves resemble those of the laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). They are stalked, dark green, ovate, sometimes lanceolate, pointed, to 9 cm long, upper surface more or less smooth, very sticky, lower surface grey or whitish, densely downy-haired. Inflorescences are long-stalked, with 3-5 flowers, to 5 cm across, petals white with a yellow base around the orange-yellow stamens.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows on calcareous soils in shrubberies and on open slopes, from sea level to elevations around 500 m. it is distributed around the Mediterranean, eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Salvia’ (sage).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name, derived from the Greek helios (‘sun’) and anthemon (‘flower’), refers to the fact that most members of the genus grow in sunny places.

New World species, which were formerly placed in this genus, have been transferred to the genus Crocanthemum.

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence is mostly a one-sided, few-flowered raceme, flowers to 2 cm across, petals 5, lemon-yellow or golden-yellow, stamens numerous. Sepals lanceolate, very hairy, green, often with reddish-brown edge. The individual flower is short-lived, but throughout the summer the plant produces an abundance of them. They only open in sunshine, at temperatures above 20 degrees.

This plant is distributed in the major part of Europe, and also in Turkey and the Caucasus, growing in heaths, and on dry slopes and rocks.

The specific name is from the Latin nummulus (‘little coin’), referring to the flowers, which shine like golden coins in the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

 

The stems of the major part of these plants are winding, hence the family name, from the Latin convolvere, ‘to wind’.

In his delightful book All about Weeds, American botanist Edwin Spencer (1881-1964) writes: “The vines wind themselves around the growing cornstalks, soy beans, cotton plants, and even around weeds that should be able to cope with such weak little plants as the morning glories seem to be. But they are not weak. Like snakes, those slender vines crawl up over the plants they select for their trellises, and soon the big morning glory leaves are shading the leaves of the trellising plants, and very soon after that those glorious flowers will be smiling on all the world like a big woman obstructing the view of a small boy at the movies.”

A large number of members of this family are described on the page Plants: Morning-glories and bindweeds.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kalyx (‘cup’) and stegos (‘covering’), thus ‘a covering cup’, referring to the shape of the calyx. The name bindweed refers to the tough stems formerly being used to tie sheafs after reaping.

Previously, these plants were included in the genus Convolvulus, which they closely resemble, only differing in minute botanical characters.

 

This species is a native around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, but is often cultivated as an ornamental and has escaped in many places, especially Australia and New Zealand, where it is regarded as an invasive plant. It grows in shrubberies, hedges, and forest margins, from sea level to elevations up to 1,500 m.

According to Kew Gardens, ssp. orientalis occurs in China, and ssp. fraterniflora in North America. I find it quite puzzling that populations of this plant should be distributed so far apart. They may be 3 different species.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘found in forests’, derived from silva (‘forest’).

 

 

 

 

 

The etymology of the generic name is explained above under family name, and of the common name under Calystegia.

 

Stems to 8 cm tall, leaves sparsely hairy, linear or spatulate, pointed, to 2 cm long and 4 mm wide. Flowers terminal, to 2.5 cm across, usually solitary, sometimes in few-flowered clusters, corolla rose-pink.

It grown on stony open slopes and in grasslands, at altitudes between 750 and 2,100 m.

The specific name refers to Assyria, a Semitic kingdom, which existed c. 2500-600 B.C., centered around what is today northern Iraq and Syria.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is native in southern Europe, northern Africa, Ukraine, southern European Russia, and the Middle East, eastwards to Iran and Afghanistan, growing on calcareous soils in dry grasslands, woods, and rocky places, and along roads, from sea level up to altitudes around 1,700 m.

The specific name refers to Cantabria, an autonomous region in the Basque Country, northern Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A prostrate plant, densely covered in short hairs, leaves stalked, broadly ovate, base heart-shaped, tip blunt or pointed, margin wavy, with rounded or sharp teeth. Flowers to 3.5 cm across, axillary, solitary or in 2-4-flowered clusters, corolla pink or purple, or a combination, with white throat.

The specific name refers to Galatia, a province of Ancient Rome, situated in what is today central Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

It is endemic to Turkey, growing in grasslands and open pine forests, at altitudes between 850 and 1,200 m.

The specific name refers to Phrygia, a kingdom in the western part of Anatolia, reaching its peak around 700 B.C.

 

 

 

 

 

They are distributed almost worldwide, with the greatest concentration in the tropics and subtropics. Temperate areas have much fewer species, including northern Europe, where only 4 species are native. Around 18 species are found in Turkey.

These plants twine around other plants, often completely enveloping them in their yellow or reddish stems. A dodder seed starts its life like most other seeds by sending roots into the soil, from which grow stems, whose leaves are reduced to scales. When a stem gets into contact with a suitable plant, it wraps itself around it, inserting haustoria into the plant, through which the dodder obtains water and nutrients. Its root in the ground then dies.

Their strange appearance taken into consideration, it is hardly surprising that dodders have many folk names, including strangleweed, scaldweed, beggarweed, lady’s laces, wizard’s net, devil’s guts, devil’s hair, devil’s ringlet, goldthread, hailweed, hairweed, hellbine, pull-down, angel’s hair, and witch’s hair.

The generic name is derived from the Arabic name of dodders, kusuta, or kuskut, which, in the form Cuscuta, was applied to them by Rufinus, an Italian monk and botanist, who was the author of De virtutibus herbarum, completed c. 1287, which listed nearly a thousand medicinal materials, mostly plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are native to temperate areas of Eurasia and North America, with China, Japan, and the south-eastern United States as core areas. 2 species are found in Turkey.

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘horn’, alluding to the hard wood of the genus. It was the classical name of the species Cornus mas. The prefix dog may imply that the fruits of common dogwood (below) are of little value, due to their bitter taste. Alternatively, it may refer to the former usage of dogwood shoots, which were sharpened and used by farmers as cattle prods, called dags. Skewers were also made from the tough and durable wood.

 

This plant is partial to sunny places, although it can tolerate some shade. Towards the southern limit of its distribution, it is restricted to mountains.

It is native to the major part of Europe, from Ireland, Scotland, and southern Norway southwards to Spain, southern Italy and Greece, eastwards to western Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the Caucasus, and the Alborz Mountains of northern Iran. Elsewhere, it is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its reddish stems, which are quite showy, when the leaves have been shed.

In 1991, the well-preserved body of a Stone Age hunter was discovered in a glacier in the Alps. Ötzi the Iceman, as he was dubbed, died about 5,300 years ago, presumably caught in a snowstorm. His arrow shafts were made from wood of dogwood and viburnum (Adoxaceae). (Source: K. Spindler 1994. The Man in the Ice)

In former days, oil from the fruits was used as lamp fuel. Medicinally, they were utilized as an emetic, whereas the astringent bark was used as a febrifuge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most species are prostrate plants, which grow in dry areas, for instance in sand, among scree, or on rocks.

The generic name is the classical Latin term for houseleek (Sempervivum), another genus in the stonecrop family. Why it was applied to this genus is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

It is found in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, growing on rocks, from sea level to elevations around 900 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with flowers pressed close together’.

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs in Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, growing on calcareous rocks, from sea level to altitudes around 600 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek erion (‘wool’) and karpos (¨fruit’), alluding to the hairy fruit of this plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The way this plant spreads its seeds is very unusual. When the fruit is ripe, it explodes, squirting a stream of liquid, containing its seeds, up to a distance of 5 m.

It is the only member of the genus, native around the Mediterranean, and further east to Uzbekistan and Iran. It grows in disturbed areas, such as empty plots, fields, stony areas, river banks, and roadsides, from sea level up to elevations around 600 m.

It is used medicinally, but is quite poisonous.

The classical Greek name of this plant was elaterion, derived from elaterios (‘to drive away’), alluding to the way it spreads its seeds. The generic name is also Ancient Greek, from ekballein (‘to throw’), of course also referring to the seed dispersal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants form underground tubers, and some species also form bulbils in the leaf axils. These bulbils fall to the ground when ripe, and may sprout to a new plant. The tubers of some species are of great economic importance, consumed as food in some places, and ingrediences in traditional and modern medicine are produced from others.

The generic name honours Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.), who was the author of De Materia Medica, five volumes dealing with herbal medicine. The common name dates from the late 16th Century, either from Portuguese inhame or Spanish iñame, probably of West African origin.

 

Stems slender, to 4 m long, rarely branched, smooth, twining anticlockwise. The stalked leaves are spirally arranged, dark green, smooth, to 10 cm long and 8 cm broad, either ovate or heart-shaped (ssp. communis), or arrow-shaped with 3 lobes, lateral lobes rounded, terminal lobe lanceolate (ssp. cretica). Both subspecies occur in Turkey.

This plant is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, male flowers in slender racemes, to 10 cm long, female flowers in shorter clusters. The small flowers, to 6 mm across, are greenish-yellow, with 6 petals. The fruit is a rounded berry, initially green, later bright red, to 1.5 cm across.

It is found around the Mediterranean, and thence northwards to England and Germany, eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran, growing in forests and shrubberies.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, but a poultice of it is used for bruises and inflamed joints. When cooked, young shoots are edible, commonly eaten in southern France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, and Greece.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin equus (‘horse’), and seta, which has several meanings, including ‘rough’, ‘brush’, or ‘hair’. The latter part can refer to the rough, silica-containing stems of these plants, but together with equus, the word means ’horse hair’. With a bit of imagination, a bunch of drying stems do resemble a horsetail.

In former days, horsetail stems were used to polish pewter and wood, which gave rise to the popular name pewterwort, and they were also used to strengthen fingernails. Due to their high content of silica, they can be used as an abrasive.

 

It grows in damp places, preferably springs in open woodlands, where it often forms large clones. It is native to Europe, except the northernmost parts, and thence eastwards almost to the Ural Mountains, southwards to northern Africa and Iran. It may be found up to elevations around 1,200 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek telma (‘marsh’), alluding to this plant growing in wet places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Ancient Greek, rhododendron means ‘rose tree’, and, from a distance, the flower clusters of certain species may resemble roses.

Pictures, depicting rhododendrons from other parts of the world, are presented on the page Plants: Rhododendron.

 

Yellow azalea is distributed from Poland southwards through Austria to the Balkans, and thence eastwards to the Caucasus. It grows in forests and on grassy slopes, from sea level to elevations around 2,000 m.

Its sweet-smelling flowers attract bees, but the honey produced from them is actually toxic, and reports of people being poisoned by consuming this honey date as far back as Ancient Greece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a large shrub, occasionally to 10 m tall, leaves elliptic or obovate, to 17 cm long and 4.5 cm wide, initially downy below, later almost smooth, but glandular hairs are persistent. The terminal inflorescences have up to 20 stalked, bell-shaped flowers, pink, purplish, or sometimes white with purplish base, tube to 2.5 cm long, with 5 spreading lobes to 2.5 cm long, pointed or rounded, one of which has yellow dots. The fruit is a capsule, to 2.8 cm long.

In 1763, Pontic rhododendron was introduced to Britain as an ornamental, and it was also planted as cover for game birds. It quickly became naturalized, spreading by suckers on the tips of the branches. Today, in England, Wales, and Ireland, it is a widespread menace, which has colonized numerous hillsides, moorlands, and shady woodlands, often replacing local plant species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The floral structure of these plants, the cyathium, is cup-like, consisting of fused bracts with nectary glands along the margin. These bracts are surrounding a ring of male flowers, each with one stamen, and a single female flower is in the centre. Together, these flowers resemble a single flower. The fruit is a capsule, with 3 valves.

King Juba II (c. 50 B.C. – 19 A.D.) of Numidia (in present-day Algeria and Tunisia) had an interest in plants and often described them, including a thorny, succulent plant from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, whose latex was a powerful laxative. He named this plant Euphorbea in honour of his Greek chief physician, Euphorbus. In 1753, Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) adopted this name, in the form Euphorbia, for the entire genus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is native from central and southern Europe eastwards to Kamchatka, southwards to Spain, Syria, Iran, and China. It has also become naturalized in Scandinavia, England, and the United States. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, including shrubberies, fields, river banks, grassy hillsides, and stony areas, from sea level up to altitudes around 2,100 m.

 

 

 

 

 

It is found around the Mediterranean, and thence northwards to Ukraine, eastwards to the Caucasus and northern Iran, growing in open pine forests, shrubberies, open areas, grasslands, and fields, from sea level up to elevations around 2,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘stiff’, alluding to the woody stems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in forests, shrubberies, grasslands, and fields, on stony slopes, and along streams and roads, from sea level up to altitudes around 1,900 m, distributed from central and southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan, southwards to Iran and Pakistan.

The specific name may pertain to French statesman Pierre Séguier (1588-1672), chancellor of France from 1635.

 

 

 

 

 

According to the latest revision, it now includes 6 subfamilies, of which only Faboideae (Papilionoideae) is dealt with here. Flowers of this subfamily have five petals, forming a unique structure. The upper petal, called the standard, is large and often reflexed, covering and protecting stamens and pistil. The two lateral petals, called the wings, are of equal size, surrounding the two bottom petals, which are free at the base, but fused at the tip, forming what is called the keel, as it resembles the keel of a boat. They enclose stamens and pistil.

Leaves are pinnate in most species, but may also be trifoliate or palmate. The fruit, the legume or pod, is usually much longer than broad, splitting open along 2 seams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek anthyllio, diminutive of anthos (‘flower’).

 

This perennial, with ascending or upright stems, varies from dwarf plants 5 cm tall to shrubby herbs that may reach a height of 40 cm. Basal leaves often have only a terminal elliptic leaflet, to 8 cm long, lateral leaflets 1-4 pairs, much reduced in size, or often missing. Stem leaves have 2-7 pairs of leaflets, ovate, elliptic, or lanceolate, lateral ones to 2.5 cm long and 8 mm wide, terminal leaflet to 6 cm long and 2 cm wide, rounded.

The inflorescence is a compact flowerhead with numerous flowers, to 1.9 cm long, golden-yellow in most subspecies, occasionally whitish, orange, or red. The white-haired calyx is inflated, with uneven teeth. The pod is ovoid, hairy, dark, one-seeded.

This plant is distributed in the entire Europe, eastwards to the Ural Mountains, southwards to northern Africa and Iran, with an isolated occurrence in Ethiopian mountains, growing in dry grasslands and coastal dunes, along roads and embankments, and in other disturbed areas, preferably on calcareous soils, from the lowland up to alpine regions.

The specific name is derived from the Latin vulnus (‘wound’), alluding to the former usage of the plant for healing wounds. It was also used for cough.

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are very variable, from soft-haired herbs to spiny shrublets. The leaves of the vast majority are pinnate, with numerous leaflets. The calyx is tubular, with 5 short teeth or lobes, often of unequal length. The keel of the flower is blunt-tipped, as opposed to members of the genus Oxytropis, which are very similar, but whose keel has a beaked tip. The pod is often longitudinally divided into 2 chambers.

In Ancient Greece, astragalos was the term applied to one of the bones in the ankle joint, called the ball bone. Dice were made from the ball bones of certain animals. However, astragalos was also the name for the black pea (Lathyrus niger). A possible explanation is that to the Greeks, the seeds of this plant resembled the dice made from the ball bones.

The name vetch stems from Anglo-Norman French veche, a corruption of the Latin vicia. Milk-vetches are quite similar to true vetches of the genus Vicia. The prefix milk refers to an old belief that cows fed with milk-vetch would yield more milk.

 

It is distributed in the Balkans, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria, growing in dry, stony areas.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with narrow leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek khamai (‘on the ground’, i.e. ‘low’) and kytisos, the classical name of Medicago arborea, another member of Fabaceae.

 

 

 

 

 

English herbalist John Gerard (c. 1545-1612) pointed out that these plants are not true senna, “though we have followed others in giving it to name Bastard Sena, which name is very unproper to it.”

The generic name is a Latinized form of Ancient Greek kolutea, a name used for these plants by Greek scholar and botanist Theophrastos (c. 371-287 B.C.).

 

It is distributed from Bulgaria, Greece, Crimea, and the Caucasus southwards to Syria, northern Iraq, and north-western Iran, growing in woods, shrubberies, grasslands, and maquis, from sea level to altitudes around 2,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘from Cilicia’, in Roman times an area in south-eastern Turkey, which was famous for production of cilice, haircloth made from the hair of Cilician goats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin corona (‘crown’), and the Catalan diminutive suffix illa, thus ‘small crown’, alluding to the rounded inflorescence resembling a coronet.

 

It is found from central and southern Europe eastwards to European Russia, and thence southwards to Iran, but is cultivated in many other places for soil rehabilitation and erosion control. It is regarded as an invasive plant in several American states.

It is toxic to horses and other non-ruminants because of the presence of nitroglycosides. If consumed in large amounts, it can cause slow growth, paralysis, or even death. However, this is not true for ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep, which are able to neutralize the poison.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘diverse’, presumably alluding to the flowers having several colours.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin word for a type of hard wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros. Why it was applied to this genus of soft-haired herbs is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek glykyrrhiza, from glykys (‘sweet’) and rhiza (‘root’), referring to the sweet, aromatic flavouring, extracted from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra (below). This word was corrupted to liquiritia in Latin, and later to liquorice in English.

 

It grows in a variety of open habitats, including fields, roadsides, along rivers, and in sand dunes, from sea level up to around 1,800 m.

It is native from the Mediterranean eastwards to south-central Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China, southwards to Arabia and Pakistan, but is widely cultivated elsewhere for its root, which has been utilized in traditional medicine for thousands of years. Today, it is used in pharmaceuticals, and as a flavouring in cakes, sweets, beverages, and tobacco.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘smooth’, alluding to the smooth stem and pods of this species.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek hedysaron (‘axe-weed’), the name of a plant described by Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.), author of De Materia Medica, five volumes dealing with herbal medicine. The allusion to this genus is obscure.

 

 

 

 

 

Most of these plants are climbing herbs, with tendrils at the tip of the leaves, but some are erect shrubs. When the pods are mature, the two halves twist into spirals, hereby spreading the seeds a considerable distance.

The generic name is a Latinized version of Ancient Greek lathyros, the classical name of the chickling pea (Lathyrus sativus).

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Ukraine and the Caucasus southwards to Greece and Syria, growing in forests and shrubberies at elevations between 1,500 and 2,000 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin aurum (‘gold’) and the suffix ous, which denotes a quality, thus ‘golden’, referring to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from southern Europe and northern Africa eastwards to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan, growing in pine forests, shrubberies, and fallow fields, and on stony slopes, from sea level to elevations around 2,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘like Cicer‘ (chickpea).

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Italy eastwards to Crimea and the Caucasus, southwards to Syria and Iran, growing in deciduous forests and shrubberies.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with wide space between the flowers’ – an odd name, as this is far from obvious.

 

 

 

 

 

A smooth climber, sometimes to 2 m long, leaves with 1-4 pairs of leaflets, entire or toothed, with a terminal tendril. Stipules are very large, obliquely ovate, to 8 cm long, toothed, stem-clasping. Flower stalks grow from the leaf axils, to 10 cm long, with 1-3 flowers, to 3 cm long, corolla variable in colour, standard usually pale lilac with darker streaks, wings and keel dark purple, or all parts white. Calyx to 1.5 cm long, teeth longer than tube, ovate or lanceolate. The pod is linear, spherical, to 7 cm long and 1.7 cm wide.

The specific name is derived from the Latin holus (‘vegetable’) and the suffix aceus (‘resembling’), a term used for many types of edible plants. The former generic name Pisum is the classical Latin word for the garden pea.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek onobrykhis, from onos (‘ass’) and brykho (‘to eat greedily’). Presumably, some Ancient Greek noticed asses greedily eating these plants. Through the ages, they have been much used as fodder, and one species, O. viciifolia, has become naturalized in numerous countries.

The popular name is derived from Old French sain foin (‘healthy hay’). In the 1500s, French scientist Olivier de Serres wrote: “The herb is called sain-foin in France, in Italy herba medica, in Provençe and the Languedoc luzerne. From the inordinate praise the plant has been given, for its medical virtues and for fattening the livestock that graze on it, comes the term sain.”

In most northern European languages, the name of the plant usually derives from esparceto, the Provençal term for the similar-looking and closely related sweetvetches (Hedysarum, above).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from the Caucasus and Turkey eastwards to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan, growing in stony places and among scree, at elevations between 1,200 and 3,100 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having horns’. It may refer to the hard spines, dividing at an angle of c. 60 degrees, thus resembling a pair of horns.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Ancient Greek word for the common restharrow (O. spinosa). The common name also refers to this species. It often grows as a weed on fields, and its tough stems would sometimes stop the harrow.

 

It is widely distributed around the Mediterranean, eastwards to Iran.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sticky’, derived from viscum, a birdlime made from the mistletoe (Viscum album).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Arabic sufayra, the term for trees in the pea family.

 

It is distributed from European Russia, Turkey, and Syria eastwards across the Middle East and Central Asia to China, growing in grasslands, deserts, and margins of fields, from sea level up to elevations around 1,750 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek alopex (‘fox’), oura (‘tail’), and oides (‘resembling’), presumably alluding to the long inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to the Mediterranean area, but has been widely introduced to other places. It is regarded as an invasive species in California, Oregon, Hawaii, central Chile, south-eastern Australia, the Western Cape Province in South Africa, the Canary Islands, and the Azores. It grows mainly in dry areas, from sea level up to elevations around 600 m.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek sparton (‘rope’), referring to the usage of the stems to make rope. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘rush-like’, alluding to the shoots, which somewhat resemble stems of certain species of rush (Juncus).

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves are trifoliate, and the pod is small, containing a single seed.

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘with 3 leaves’, referring to the leaflets. It was the classical name of clover.

 

This species grows in dry sandy soils, along roads, at the edge of fields, in grasslands, waste areas, and sand dunes, from sea level to elevations around 2,300 m. It is native to all of Europe, except Arctic regions, eastwards to central Siberia, southwards to North Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, and Kazakhstan.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of the fields’.

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to the Mediterranean area, eastwards to Iran, growing in open areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is native from the Mediterranean area eastwards to Afghanistan and the Himalaya. It is an important hay crop in Iran and Afghanistan, and is also cultivated elsewhere. It grows in open areas, such as fields, roadsides, and waste places, in Turkey found from sea level up to altitudes around 1,500 m, in the Himalaya up to about 2,700 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in open, sunny areas, such as shrubberies and fields, and along roads, from sea level to elevations around 900 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for vetch.

 

It is very variable, with numerous entangled, slender branches, sometimes to 2 m long, smooth or sparsely hairy. The leaves are to 8 cm long, pinnately divided, with 8-16 pairs of leaflets, linear, oblong, or ovate, to 4 cm long in some subspecies, but usually only about 1 cm, tendrils branched. The stipules are slender, somewhat spear-shaped, entire. The long-stalked, dense or lax racemes, growing from the leaf axils, have 10-40 violet or lilac flowers, to 1.8 cm long, sometimes with a whitish keel, standard twice as long as keel. The pod is to 3 cm long, smooth.

The specific name is the classical Latin term for a wild species of vetch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from the Mediterranean area and Ukraine eastwards to Iran, but is cultivated elsewhere for use as fodder and hay, and may sometimes be observed as an escape, growing in open areas like fallow fields and along roads, from sea level to elevations around 1,300 m.

The specific name refers to Pannonia, a province in the Roman Empire, in the western part of present-day Hungary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from kastana, the classical Greek name of the sweet chestnut (below).

 

It grows to 35 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 2 m or occasionally more. The leaves are short-stalked, oblong or elliptic, to 27 cm long and 7 cm broad, base rounded, tip pointed, serrated along the margin with up to 25 teeth on each side, smooth above, downy below. The cupule is spherical, to 6 cm across, pale yellowish-brown, covered with long spines.

This tree may live for 500 or 600 years, and some cultivated specimens are reputedly 1,000 years old. It is widely cultivated for its edible nuts and for its wood. Raw chestnuts are covered by a tough skin, which has an unpleasant, astringent taste. They are usually roasted, which makes it easier to remove the skin. Chestnut orchards are commonly found in Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and elsewhere.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘cultivated’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ripe fruit of these plants splits into five segments, each with a long, spirally twisting style, with a seed attached at the base. As the style twists, it is able to drill the seed into the soil.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek eroidios (‘heron’), referring to the resemblance of the fruit of many species to a heron’s bill.

In England, these plants are known as stork’s-bills, whereas they are called heron’s bills in North America, and also filarees, a corruption of Spanish alfilerillo, derived from alfiler (‘pin’). These names all refer to the shape of the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stipules are often distinct on these plants. After flowering, the style forms a long, straight or up-curved beak, which separates into 5 elastic spring-like coils, each containing a single seed that is expelled, usually when the style is touched.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek geranos (‘crane’), alluding to the fruit, whose shape resembles a crane’s bill.

 

This species is native to Europe, northern Africa, and Arabia, and from the Middle East eastwards to the Himalaya. It has also been introduced to North America as a garden plant and has become naturalized in many places, particularly along the Pacific, where it is regarded as an invasive species.

It grows in shady places, often on limestone rocks, from sea level to altitudes around 1,700 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘shining’, like the common name alluding to the shining leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in a variety of habitats, including open forests, meadows, grazing grounds, and wastelands, from sea level up to altitudes around 2,400 m. It is native to mountains of central and southern Europe and North Africa, eastwards to Ukraine, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, but is widely cultivated elsewhere and has become naturalized in numerous countries, northwards to Scandinavia, Finland, and European Russia, and also in north-eastern North America and Australia.

The specific name refers to the Pyrenees. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

The stem is to 50 cm tall, much-branched, hairy or smooth. Leaves are palmate, long-stalked, deeply dissected, to 4 cm long and 7.5 cm wide. The stem is often reddish, and the leaves turn red towards the end of the flowering season. The small flowers, to 1.5 cm across, are terminal, usually in pairs, petals pink, to 1.4 cm long.

When touched, the entire plant exudes a strong, unpleasant smell, hence the popular name stinking Bob. This smell is due to the presence of an essential oil.

In former days, this species was known as Saint Robert’s herb, like the specific name referring to French abbot and herbalist Robert de Molesme (c. 1028-1111), one of the founders of the Cistercian Order. He used it to cure people, suffering from various diseases, including diarrhea, liver and gall bladder problems, toothache, and wounds. American native tribes also utilized it medicinally.

In his booklet Chrut und Uchrut (in English called Weeds – a useful booklet on medicinal herbs), from 1911, Swiss priest and herbalist Johann Künzle (1857-1945) states the following: “The application of Herb Robin is also very effective against abscesses and inflammations of cattle. Glory be to God.”

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows in open forests and meadows, from the lowland up to elevations of about 2,300 m. It is distributed in the entire Europe, from Iceland and the British Isles eastwards to central Siberia and Kazakhstan, southwards to Spain, Turkey, and northern Iran. It has also been encountered in southern Greenland, but may be introduced there.

The specific name means ‘growing in woods’, derived from the Latin silva (‘forest’).

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is widely distributed around the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas, eastwards to Turkmenistan, southwards to the Sinai Peninsula and Iran.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with a tuberous root’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The major part of the species have yellow flowers with numerous and prominent stamens. Leaves and flowers are often dotted with glands.

The generic name is derived from the Greek hyper (‘above’) and eikon (‘picture’), alluding to an old belief, that if these plants were hung above pictures, they would ward off evil spirits.

The popular name refers to Saint John the Baptist. In the Middle Ages, the blood-red juice of some species was seen as a symbol of the blood from the Saint’s beheading. John the Baptist had reproached King Herod for marrying his brother’s wife Herodias, hereby incurring Herodias’ wrath. Cunningly, her daughter persuaded the king to promise her anything she wanted, and, on request from her mother, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a tray. (Mark, 6:18-28)

 

This species is distributed from the British Isles, Portugal, and Morocco eastwards to Turkmenistan and Iran, growing at forest edges and along streams, at elevations between 250 and 1,300 m.

The specific name is a Latinized form of Ancient Greek androsaimos, a word that was used for plants with red sap, derived from andros (‘man’) and haima (‘blood’).

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed in south-eastern Bulgaria and northern Turkey, growing in woods, forest edges, and on open slopes, from sea level up to altitudes around 1,200 m. It is a popular garden plant, and many cultivars and hybrids have been derived from it.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having a pronounced or notable calyx’. Maybe it refers to the sepals being persistent. To me, they are not very conspicuous.

 

 

 

 

 

The native range of this species is from Crimea and Turkey eastwards to Kazakhstan and Xinjiang.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘long, compared to width’, thus ‘long and slender’, referring to the inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found around the Mediterranean, and also on Madeira and the Canary Islands. It grows in shady places, along forest edges, and in meadows, from sea level up to elevations around 900 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing through the leaf’, referring to the leaves mostly joined at the stem, giving the impression that the stem grows through the leaf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants have long, sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of flowers, subtended by two green bracts. Sepals and petals, which are almost identical, are united at their base, forming a tube. The fruit is a capsule.

The generic name is Latin, a diminutive of gladius (‘sword’), alluding to the shape of the leaves.

 

Stem erect, to 1 m tall, leaves 4-5, sword-shaped, dark green, to 1.2 cm wide. The inflorescence is a lax, one-sided spike with up to 16 flowers, each to 5 cm long, pale pink, purplish-red, or magenta, lower petals with pale spots, surrounded by magenta, stamens and style protruding. The tube is slightly curved, to 1.4 cm long.

 

 

 

 

 

The flower structure of these plants is unique. The flowers are borne in axils of 2-3 bracts, the spathes. Petals 6, often strongly coloured, separated into 3 outer, spreading or curved falls, and 3 inner, usually erect standards, which are fused to form the corolla-tube. In the centre, falls may have a ridge, the crest, or a tuft of hairs, the beard. The fruit is a large capsule, splitting length-wise.

Irises are poisonous, and therefore avoided by grazing animals, often forming large growths in high-altitude meadows and grazing grounds.

The genus is named for Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, undoubtedly because of the colourful flowers of many species.

 

It grows to 45 cm tall, with narrow, grass-like leaves, to 30 cm long and 4 mm wide. The stem is unbranched, with 2-4 terminal flowers, bracts to 8.5 cm long, tube to 1 cm, flowers cream-coloured or very pale yellow, with a large deep yellow spot on the strongly recurved, elliptic falls, to 6.5 cm long, standards to 5.5 cm long and 1 cm wide.

The specific name honours German pharmacist and botanical collector Heinrich Carl Haussknecht (1838-1903), who collected plants in various areas, including Greece and Turkey. The alternative specific name was given in honour of Austrian botanist Anton Kerner Ritter von Marilaun (1831-1898), who was professor at the University of Vienna.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows to 1.5 m tall, with erect leaves to 90 cm long and 3 cm broad. Stem simple or branched, each branch bearing 1-3 flowers, to 10 cm across, with bracts to 7.5 cm. The flowers are bright yellow with brownish markings or veins in the centre of the falls, which are to 7.5 cm long. The capsule is to 7 cm long.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘the false Acorus’, referring to the similarity of its leaves to those of sweet flag (Acorus calamus).

 

 

 

 

 

Stem erect, to 30 cm tall, ending in a single large, fragrant flower, to 10 cm across, leaves 5-7, slightly curved or sometimes bent like a sickle, to 1 cm broad. Bracts to 10 cm long, tube to 2.5 cm, falls elliptic, rounded, to 8 cm long and 4.5 cm wide, cream-coloured with numerous reddish-brown, purple, or chocolate-brown veins, in the centre with a golden-yellow beard, and a deep maroon, reddish-brown, or reddish-purple blotch beneath the beard, margin wavy. The upright standards are obovate or rounded, to 8.5 cm long and 5.8 cm wide, often darker than the falls, net-veined. The capsule is to 6 cm long and 2.3 cm broad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek pteron (‘wing’) and karyon (‘nut’), alluding to the nut, which has a wing on each side.

 

It is distributed from Turkey and the Caucasus eastwards to northern Iran, growing in moist forests, mostly along rivers.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Fraxinus‘ (ash).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name in fact stems from a writing error. It should have been abiga, from abigo (‘to force birth’ or ‘to cause an abortion’), alluding to the yellow bugle (below), which was used medicinally to induce an abortion. The common name was given in reference to the tubular flowers.

 

It occurs from central and southern Europe eastwards to Kazakhstan, southwards to northern Africa, Arabia, and Iran, growing in open grasslands and sandy areas.

In traditional medicine, the leaves are used as a diuretic and stimulant, and formerly the plant was used in treatment of a number of ailments, including rheumatism, dropsy, and jaundice.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek chamai (‘on the ground’) and pitys (‘pine’), thus ‘low pine’, alluding to the leaves, which, when crushed, have a smell similar to that of pine needles, giving rise to the alternative name.

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers are arranged in whorls up the stem, the upper lip forming a hood over stamens and style.

The generic name is from the Greek lamia (‘gaping mouth’), alluding to the shape of the flowers. The common name refers to the nettle-like leaves, which do not sting.

 

This species is distributed from the Mediterranean region eastwards to Kazakhstan, southwards to Arabia and Iran.

Subspecies pictum has been used in Kurdish traditional medicine for stomach inflammation.

The specific name refers to Gargano, a peninsula on the coast of southern Italy, north of Bari. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The native range of this species is from Turkey southwards to Jordan. It grows in open areas, including dry stony hillsides, grasslands, fields, vineyards, and along roads, at elevations between 700 and 1,650 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, probably derived from lavo (‘to wash’), referring to the former usage of lavender when washing clothes.

 

This plant is native around the Mediterranean, growing in pine forests, maquis, and sandy places, on rocky slopes, and along roads, from sea level up to altitudes around 700 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek stoichas, the classical name for this species. It means ‘in rows’, alluding to the flowers being arranged in vertical rows.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek floga (‘flame’), probably referring to the former usage of the hairy leaves of members of the genus as lamp wicks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many species of these attractive plants are cultivated as ornamentals.

The generic name is derived from the Latin salvere (‘to make well or healthy’), referring to the healing properties of common sage (S. officinalis).

 

Stem erect, unbranched, to 50 cm tall, usually hairy and glandular-hairy, rarely smooth. Leaves long-stalked, ovate or elliptic, to 4 cm long, downy, tip pointed or rounded, margin with rounded teeth. Flowers are in many whorls up the stem, calyx very conspicuous, yellowish-green, broadly ovate, often hairy, to 1.7 cm long, enlarging in fruit, upper lip generally longer than lower, corolla white, pinkish, or pale purple, to 1.8 cm long, tube straight, to 1.2 cm long.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with hidden flowers’, alluding to the flowers sometimes being hidden inside the large calyx.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from southern Europe eastwards to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and thence southwards to Iran. It has also been introduced to western United States. It grows in grasslands, shrubberies, and fallow fields, on open slopes, and along roads, from sea level to elevations around 2,100 m.

The specific name refers to Ethiopia, which is a mistake, as it is not found there. Presumably, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when he named the plant in 1753, was told that the type specimen was collected in this country.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was previously regarded as a derivation of scutellum, diminutive of scutum (’shield’). It was thought that it referred to the hump on the upper lip of the calyx, which may resemble a small shield. However, Scutellaria is derived from scutella, which was the term for a small offering cup, scutella being the diminutive of scutra (’bowl’). The name refers to the rounded lower lip of the calyx, where the nut-like seeds lie in a small ‘bowl’, after the upper lip of the calyx has fallen off.

 

It is distributed from the Czech Republic and Italy eastwards to southern European Russia, and thence southwards across the Caucasus to Turkey, growing at forest edges and on rocky slopes, from sea level to elevations around 800 m.

The specific name is Latin, derived from altos (‘tall’) and the suffix issimus (‘most’), thus ‘very tall’.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found around the Mediterranean, eastwards to southern European Russia, and thence southwards to Iran. Its main habitat is rocky areas on calcareous soils.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is endemic to Turkey, growing in various habitats, including open coniferous and oak forests, maquis, and stony slopes, at altitudes from 400 to 1,900 m.

It has been used in traditional medicine for treatment of gastric ailments.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Salvia’ (sage).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Ancient Greek name of the downy woundwort (S. germanica). The popular name woundwort refers to the former usage of several species in this genus for healing wounds, hedge-nettle to the nettle-like leaves of many of the species.

 

Besides flowering stems, this species has basal leaf rosettes, with stalked, oblong, spatulate, or broadly lanceolate leaves, to 10 cm long and 3.5 cm wide, usually densely hairy, tip blunt, margin entire or with blunt teeth. The flowering stems are to 1 m tall, often 4-angled, densely woolly-hairy or downy, sometimes sparsely branched, stem leaves opposite, lanceolate, sessile, to 5 cm long and 1 cm wide. The whorls, each containing 15-20 flowers, are usually remote below, dense above, calyx somewhat bell-shaped, 10-veined, to 1.2 cm long, with broadly triangular teeth, to 3 mm long, corolla pink or pale lilac, to 1.4 cm long.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek Byzantion, the classical name for Istanbul. The common name refers to the densely hairy leaves, which may resemble a lamb’s ears.

 

 

 

 

 

They are mostly creeping dwarf shrubs with a strong fragrance. Leaves and flowers of some species are used as a spice.

The generic name is the classical Greek name of these plants.

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to Greenland, Iceland, most of Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, growing in stony areas. In Turkey, it is found inland, at elevations between 1,000 and 3,600 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin prae (‘before’) and coquo (‘to cook’), presumably alluding to the leaves and flowers used as a spice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of linon, the Ancient Greek name of flax.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is hairy on all parts, rarely sparsely hairy, stems erect or prostrate, branching, to 40 cm tall/long, leaves oblong, linear, or spatulate, with 1-5 nerves, to 2.5 cm long and 1.2 cm broad, often with stalked glands along the margin. Inflorescences widely spreading, with few or many flowers, sepals ovate or lanceolate, to 1 cm long, long-pointed, glandular-hairy along the margin, petals pale blue, lilac, pink, purple, or white, to 3 cm long.

 

 

 

 

 

Stems erect, stiff, to 60 cm tall, smooth. Leaves stiff, blue-green, 3-nerved, lanceolate, to 4.5 cm long and 8 mm wide. Inflorescence lax, branches divergent, with up to 17 flowers, sepals lanceolate, pointed, to 1.1 cm long, petals pale blue or sky-blue, to 2.5 cm long, with dark-blue or purple streaks radiating from the throat.

The specific name refers to the 3-nerved leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

It is found from central and southern Europe eastwards to the Caucasus, and thence southwards to Jordan and Iran, growing on calcareous soils in grasslands and open pine forests, and on open slopes, at elevations between 200 and 1,700 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with thin leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the pomegranate, being a short form of malum punicum (‘Punic apple’), referring to the Phoenician Punic Empire, which was situated in present-day Tunisia.

 

This species is usually long-lived, with some specimens known to be more than 200 years old. It is possibly originally native from Turkey eastwards to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but this is hard to ascertain, as it has been cultivated for thousands of years and has become widely naturalized, especially around the Mediterranean.

The specific name is derived from Italian granata (‘maroon’), referring to the fruit colour of some varieties. The common name is derived from the French pomme (‘apple’), and again Italian granata.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The former Malvaceae, to which the plants presented below belong, has been reduced to a subfamily, Malvoideae, which contains about 115 genera. In these plants, the numerous filaments form a tube around the styles, which have 5 lobed stigmas. There are nectaries at the base of the petals, which attract pollinators like bees and hover flies. The fruits are mostly capsules. Numerous species of this subfamily are presented on the page Plants: Mallows and allies.

 

In classical Greek, the word alkea denotes a species in the mallow family, derived from alalkein (‘fend off’), alluding to its usage to cure wounds and eye problems.

When the common hollyhock (below) was imported to England, herbalist William Turner (c. 1509-1568) named it holihocke, from holi (‘holy’) and hoc, the Old English name for marsh-mallow (Althaea officinalis).

 

It is distributed from the Czech Republic and Austria eastwards to Ukraine, southwards to Greece and Turkey, growing in grasslands and fields, and along roads and banks, at elevations between 300 and 1,500 m. It has also been reported from a single location in eastern France, possibly an escape. It is very common in Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At a very early stage, it was imported to Europe, possibly before the 15th Century. Today, it is cultivated almost worldwide, coming in an abundance of flower colours, of which several are shown on the page Plants: Mallows and allies.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for mallow, adapted from the Greek word for the same plants, malakhe, originally from Hebrew malluah, a plant used as salad. The common name is a corruption of Old English mealwe, an adaptation of the Latin name. The word for the colour mauve was adapted from the French name of these plants.

 

This plant grows in open areas on disturbed ground. It is indigenous to the major part of Europe eastwards to the Ural Mountains, and from North Africa across the Arabian Peninsula to Kazakhstan and the western Himalaya.

Leaves and stalks can be cooked as a vegetable, young seeds may be eaten raw, and mature seeds can be cooked together with grains. The leaves are chewed for sore throat.

The specific name means ‘being ignored’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in shrubberies and open areas, including fallow fields, and along hedgerows and roads, from France and Algeria eastwards to the Caucasus, Iran, and Turkmenistan.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘dotted’, alluding to the spots on the stem.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in open areas, including fallow fields, along hedges, and on the inner part of beaches. Stem to 1 m long, erect or ascending, leaves roundish, toothed, with 5-7 lobes, flowers in axillary clusters, petals pale violet or bright pinkish-purple with darker veins.

Several places around the Mediterranean, the leaves are steamed with garlic and tomatoes, eaten as an appetizer or a salad. In Egypt, the leaves are made into a stew-like vegetable dish, known as khobeiza. The leaves were also eaten as a vegetable in Europe in the 19th Century. The flowers were spread on doorways and woven into garlands for celebrating May Day.

In traditional medicine, the seeds were taken internally in tea to relieve irritation or inflammation of the mucous membranes, and the leaves were used in a poultices to soften the skin. A yellow dye can be obtained from the plant.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in woods’ – not an appropriate name, as it grows in open areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One group of fig trees are the so-called strangler figs. Most seeds of these species begin their life as an epiphyte in a tree, the seed sprouting in a crack, or often in a pile of bird dung, delivered by the bird that ate the fig fruit. (The seed is not harmed by passing through the gut of the bird.)

Over the years, aerial roots of the young strangler fig grow down to the ground, where they take root, while other roots wrap themselves around and over time completely enveloping the host tree, which is eventually strangled to death. As its trunk decays, the fig tree is left as a hollow cylinder of aerial roots.

Many of the strangler figs not only grow on trees, they also very often sprouts in cracks on buildings. If they are left in peace, their roots will destroy the building.

Fig flowers are unique, hidden inside a syconium, a globular or pear-shaped receptacle with a very small opening, during which tiny fig wasps enter, belonging to various families in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Each of these fig wasps only enter one species of fig.

Inside the syconium, the females lay eggs in sterile female flowers, which serve as food for the larvae. At the same time, they fertilize other female flowers with pollen, which was deposited on them just inside the opening, where the male flowers are situated. Later, the receptacle swells up, forming the fig, which contains many seeds.

The generic name is the classical Latin word for fig.

Many members of the genus are described on the page Plants: Fig trees.

 

It is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, to 10 m tall, with smooth white bark. The leaves are large, to 25 cm long and 18 cm wide, with 3 or 5 deep lobes. The fruit is tear-shaped, to 5 cm long, intially green, which turns to purple or brown at maturity. The soft reddish or brown flesh is sweet-tasting and contains many tiny seeds. The fruits are eaten fresh or dried, or processed into jam or various types of desserts.

The common fig has also been used medicinally. The latex is a laxative, and the latex from unripe fruits was a remedy for warts and internal parasites.

The world production of figs was about 1.2 million tonnes in 2020, with Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt as the largest producers.

The specific name is the feminine form of the adjective Caricus, a shortening of Caria and ficus (‘fig’), thus ‘the fig from Caria’, in Ancient Greek Karia, a Greek province in present-day south-western Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for mulberry.

 

The edible and sweet berries are white at first, later dark purple, resembling fruits of bramble (Rubus fruticosus). Some cultivated forms have pink fruits.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’, alluding to the initial fruit colour of this species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek peganon, the name of a kind of rue (Ruta), alluding to the rue-like foliage of these plants.

 

This species occurs from southern Europe eastwards to Mongolia and northern China, southwards to North Africa, Arabia, and Ladakh, north-western Himalaya, growing on saline flats and in dry, sandy areas. In Tibet, it may be found up to elevations around 3,600 m.

In 1928, it was introduced to the United States, when a farmer in New Mexico wanted to produce a dye named ‘Turkish red’ from its seeds, which is utilized in the Middle East to dye textiles and carpets. It soon escaped and has become an invasive plant in many areas of south-western United States.

In Tibet, the seeds are used for fever, stomach trouble, eye disorders, measles, asthma, menstrual disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatism, and also as a disinfectant, as a narcotic, called harmal, and as incense. Burning leaves can be used as an insecticide. A dye is obtained from the plant.

The specific name refers to a narcotic, harmal, extracted from the plant. The names Syrian rue and African rue refer to the similarity of its leaves to those of the common rue (Ruta graveolens).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for privets. The English name is of unknown origin.

 

It is distributed from Ireland eastwards to Ukraine, and from Scandinavia southwards to Morocco, Turkey, and Iran, growing in mixed forests and shrubberies, from sea level to altitudes around 1,500 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek elaia, the classical name of the common olive tree (below).

 

It is a small evergreen tree or shrub, sometimes growing to 15 m tall, the trunk becoming gnarled and twisted with age. The leaves are silvery-green, oblong, to 10 cm long and 3 cm wide. The white flowers are tiny, borne in racemes from the leaf axils. The fruit is a drupe to 2.5 cm long, initially green, later turning purple.

Olive trees can live for more than 2000 years. Some specimens in the Gethsemane Garden, beneath the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, were young trees, when Jesus wandered in this area.

The role of the olive tree in folklore and traditional medicine is described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orchids are divided into terrestrial species, growing in soil, and epiphytic species, growing on trees (sometimes on rocks or fallen tree trunks). The latter develop aerial roots that absorb nutrients and moisture from the air, and many species from both groups have pseudobulbs, swollen, fibrous, bulb-like stems that store water and nutrients.

The flower structure of this family is unique. There are 3 sepals, often coloured and shaped like 2 of the 3 petals. The third petal forms the lower lip, usually differering very much from the other petals in size and shape, and sometimes in colour, often with a spur. Stamens and ovary are fused, forming the so-called column. Anthers and stigma are separated by a beak-like structure, the rostellum. The anthers produce so-called pollinia, small ‘bags’ which contain pollen. These pollinia easily stick to visiting insects by a sticky secrete, and the insects then transport them to the next flower where they get attached to the stigma. Other species are self-pollinating. The fruit is a capsule, containing countless tiny seeds, spread by the wind.

Most of these plants live in symbiosis with the mycelium of underground fungi, which is attached to the rhizome or root of the orchid. When a seed is about to germinate, it is completely dependent on this mycelium, as it has virtually no energy reserve, obtaining the necessary carbon from the fungus. Some orchids are dependent on the mycelium their entire life, but their relationship is symbiotic, as the orchid delivers crucial water and salts to the fungus. However, some species do not contain chlorophyll, being parasites on the fungus.

Hybrids are very common in this family, often making identification difficult.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek anakampto (‘bent back’), referring to the shape of the spur.

 

This species, previously known as Orchis coriophora, occurs from central and southern Europe and northern Africa eastwards to European Russia and Iran, growing in wet meadows, near streams, and also in drier sandy places and open forests, from sea level to elevations around 1,900 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek, meaning ‘carrying bugs’, alluding to the often rather unpleasant smell of the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs from central and southern Europe and Morocco eastwards to Kazakhstan and Iran, growing in wet meadows and marshes, from sea level up to elevations around 1,400 m.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem slender, erect, to 60 cm tall, basal leaves linear-lanceolate, to 25 cm long, getting smaller up the stem, upper ones bract-like. The inflorescence is a pyramid-shaped, dense, many-flowered spike, bracts long, narrowly lanceolate, dark purple, flower colour varying from pale pink to purple, rarely white, with a foxy scent. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, to 8 mm long and 3 mm wide, upper one joining the two upper petals, laterals ones spreading, lip to 9 mm long, 3-lobed, centre usually whitish with 2 longitudinal ridges, spur thin, to 1.5 cm long, straight or slightly curved upwards.

The specific name refers to the shape of the inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek kephale (‘head’) and antheros (‘anther’), alluding to the anther that sits on the column like a head. The common name is Old English, denoting various plants supposed to cure madness, derived from Ancient Greek helleboros, of unknown meaning. The same name is used for members of the genus Epipactis.

 

It grows in oak forests, coniferous forest, and maquis, mainly on calcareous soil, from sea level up to about 1,500 m, occurring in Turkey, the Caucasus, northern Iraq, and western Iran.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek dactylos (‘finger’) and rhiza (‘root’), alluding to the two divided, finger-like tubers. The genus was previously included in the genus Orchis, which, however, may be identified by having two round tubers, reflected in the name, which is derived from the Greek orkhis (‘testicle’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of Italian botanist Vincenzo Tineo (1791-1856), who was director of Palermo Botanical Garden and later the chancellor of Palermo University. His published a number of works, including Plantarum rariorum Sicilae (1817) and Catalogus plantarum horti (1827).

 

Its native range is from central and southern Europe eastwards to the Caucasus, and thence southwards to Jordan and Iran, growing in grasslands, maqui, and shrubberies, from sea level to elevations around 1,800 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘three-toothed’, alluding to the pointed lobes of the lip.

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers of these plants look remarkably like certain female insects, thereby attracting males, which copulate with the flowers, thus pollinating them. Furthermore, some species also emit pheromones resembling those of the female insects, which to a much larger degree attract the males.

The generic name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘eyebrow’, referring to the furry edges of the lips of several species. The common name alludes to the flowers of some species, which resemble the furry bodies of bees and other insects.

These plants were first mentioned by Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) in his monumental work Naturalis Historia, the first 10 volumes finished by 77 A.D. However, the remaining work was interrupted by his death during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, and was later published by his nephew, Pliny the Younger (c. 61-113 A.D.).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek orkhis (‘testicle’), alluding to the paired underground tubers of these plants, which resemble testicles.

 

It grows in montane or subalpine meadows and forest glades, at elevations between 1,000 and 2,400 m, found from central and southern Europe eastwards to Ukraine and the Caucasus, and thence southwards to Turkey.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘pale’, alluding to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

It is found from central and southern Europe eastwards to Ukraine and the Caucasus, and thence southwards to Turkey, growing in open forests, at forest edges, and in shrubberies, on calcareous soil, at elevations up to about 1,750 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name refers to Serapis, a Greek god, which evolved from the worship of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis. This new god was promoted by the Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter with the aim to unify the Greek and Egyptian subjects of his kingdom.

 

This species occurs in southern Europe, Turkey, and Morocco.

The specific name is derived from the Latin vomer (‘ploughshare’) and the suffix aceus (‘resembling’), alluding to the shape of the apical portion of the lip.

 

 

 

 

 

Many genera in the family are hemiparasites, i.e. they contain chlorophyll, making them able to partly sustain themselves. These hemiparasites were formerly included in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae), but, following extensive DNA research, they have been moved to the broomrape family.

 

It is native around the Mediterranean, eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran, and thence southwards to Yemen and Kenya, and also on the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, with an isolated occurrence in South Africa. It has been introduced to western and southern United States and several South American countries, and is regarded as an invasive in some areas. It grows in a variety of habitats, including shrubberies, fields, maquis, open slopes, meadows, and sandy areas, from sea level to elevations around 1,200 m.

Stem erect, usually simple, to 70 cm tall, glandular-hairy above, leaves glandular-hairy, linear or oblong, to 9 cm long, sessile, margin strongly toothed or pinnately divided. The inflorescence is terminal, bracts leaf-like, heart-shaped, pointed, longer than the calyx, which is to 1.2 cm long, upper lip of corolla pink or purple, smaller than the lower lip, which is white or yellow, 3-lobed, to 2.3 cm long, tube to 1.7 cm long.

The generic name was given in honour of Italian physician and botanist Carlo Antonio Lodovico Bellardi (1741-1826), professor at the University of Turin.

The meaning of the specific name is obscure. It may stem from Ancient Greek thrix (‘hair’), alluding to the plant being glandular-hairy, or from Ancient Greek trixos (‘triple’), referring to the lower lip having 3 lobes.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek orobos (‘bean’) and ankhein (‘to strangle’), alluding to the bean broomrape (O. crenata, see below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from Turkey and the Caucasus southwards to Syria, northern Iraq, and northern Iran, growing exclusively on species of sage (Salvia), at elevations between 400 and 2,500 m.

The specific name refers to Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

Stem stout, to 80 cm tall, spike many-flowered, bracts narrowly lanceolate, long-pointed, glandular-hairy, brown or purplish, about the same length as the corolla tube. Calyx lobes 2, separated, each with 2 narrow, divergent teeth. Corolla to 3 cm long, white or pale lilac, or a combination, often with many darker violet, longitudunal streaks, orange-yellow in the throat, lips having broad lobes, which have rounded teeth along the wavy margin.

In Apulia, southern Italy, its stems, called sporchia, are eaten. (Source: E. Luard 2004. European peasant cookery, Grub Street)

The specific name is Latin, in a botanical context meaning ‘with blunt teeth along the margin’, in this case referring to the corolla tube.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is parasitic mainly on members of the pea family (Fabaceae), including clover (Trifolium) and sainfoin (Onobrychis). It grows in grassy areas on a wide variety of soils, acid, neutral, or alkaline, in the open or in semi-shade. It is native to central and southern Europe, eastwards to Ukraine, Turkey, northern Iraq, and the Caucasus, and also to the Arabian Peninsula, and northern and eastern Africa. It has become naturalized in several South American countries.

Formerly, this plant was utilized to treat various health problems.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of Pope Nicholas V (1397-1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli.

 

It is distributed in the British Isles and around the Mediterranean, eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran, and also on the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, growing in meadows and other humid places, from sea level to elevations around 900 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sticky’, derived from viscum, a birdlime made from the mistletoe (Viscum album), here referring to the numerous glandular hairs on this plant.

 

 

 

 

 

The corolla of these plants is 2-lipped, the upper lip compressed sideways, forming a helmet- or trunk-like structure, called the beak, whereas the lower lip is usually broad, lobed, flat or curved.

The generic name is derived from the Latin pediculus (‘louse’). According to an old superstition, louseworts could transfer lice to people and cattle, or, according to another belief, the exact opposite was the case, namely that they were able to rid people and cattle of lice! In Denmark, a decoction of these plants was used to expel lice from clothes.

If you shake a lousewort capsule that contains ripe seeds, you may hear a rattling sound from the seeds, which has given rise to the popular name rattle of these plants.

Usually, animals do not graze on louseworts, as they contain poisonous glycosides. Nevertheless, in former times, children at various places in Great Britain would suck out the nectar of the flowers. In Donegal, the plant was known as honey-cap or honey-cup, and in Shetland as bee-sookies or hinney-flo’er.

 

This plant is distributed in central and southern Europe, and Turkey, growing at forest edges, and in meadows and stony slopes, usually on calcareous soil, at elevations between 1,000 and 3,600 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘very hairy’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is quite similar to the previous species, but the leaves are dissected into finer segments, and the flowers are a darker yellow.

It is native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran, found in coniferous forests, rhododendron shrubberies, and grasslands, and on rocky slopes, at elevations between 1,400 and 3,200 m.

It has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘compressed’, alluding to the dense inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These gorgeous plants are native to temperate and subtropical areas of southern Europe, North Africa, Asia, and western North America. Due to their showy flowers, many species are cultivated elsewhere as ornamentals.

The generic name is the Ancient Greek word for peony, ultimately from Paean, the physician of the gods, who was changed into a flower by Pluto. The name refers to the medical properties of several members of the genus.

 

It occurs in southern Europe, and from Turkey, Syria, and Jordan eastwards to Iran, growing in shrubberies, forests, and on north-facing slopes, from sea level to elevations around 1,600 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin masculinus (‘male’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

Many genera of the family have gorgeous flowers, including true poppies (Papaver, below), which often have bright red flowers, Himalayan poppies (Meconopsis), and horned poppies (Glaucium, below). Several Himalayan poppies are presented on the page Plants: Flora in the Himalaya 2.

Two groups of plants, which were formerly regarded as separate families, are now included in the poppy family, namely Fumariaceae, which includes corydalises, fumitories, and bleeding hearts, and Pteridophyllaceae, with only one genus and one species, Pteridophyllum racemosum, found in Japan.

 

The fruit, called a siliqua, is very long and narrow, pod-like, and, with a bit of imagination, resembles a small horn, hence the common name.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek glaukos (‘greyish-green’ or ‘bluish-green’), alluding to the leaf colour of G. flavum (below).

Several species are much alike and difficult to distinguish.

 

This plant occurs from southern Europe eastwards to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, southwards to northern Africa, Arabia, and Iran, and also in Australia, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.

The specific name is derived from the Latin corniculum, a diminutive of cornu (‘horn’), and atus, an adjective-forming suffix, thus ‘shaped like a small horn’, referring to the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to almost the entire Europe, northern Africa, and from the Near East eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran.

The specfic name is Latin, meaning ‘yellow’, referring to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

It is found from Greece and Egypt eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran.

The specfic name is Latin, meaning ‘large-flowered’ – not an appropriate name, is its flowers are not larger than those of G. corniculatum.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed in Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, growing in stony areas at medium elevations.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek leios (‘smooth’) and karpos (‘fruit’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in open stony areas and waste places, and along sea shores, found in all countries around the Mediterranean, and also in Iraq.

In a botanical context, the specific name means ‘trailing along the ground’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit is a cylindric capsule with a cap-like top, seeds spreading through openings beneath the disk.

Many species are very similar and difficult to distinguish. I make no attempt to identify the species in the pictures below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves are linear, needle-like, and when falling they leave a scar. Mature female cones are woody, between 1.5 and 60 cm long, with numerous scales arranged in spirals, with 2 winged seeds on each scale. The male cones are small, 0.5-6 cm long, falling soon after pollination. Many species exude a sticky, fragrant resin.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kedros, which stems from an ancient Indo-European word, meaning ‘incense’. For millenia, needles and wood of cedar species have been used as incense.

 

Lebanon cedar is mentioned several times in the Old Testament:

Moses told Hebrew priests to use the bark of this tree to cure leprosy. (Leviticus 14:1-4)

Hebrew prophet Isaiah used the Lebanon cedar as a metaphor for the haughty pride of humans. (Isaiah 2:13)

King Solomon ordered the Temple of Jerusalem to be built of cedar timber.

And, finally, the Song of Solomon, 5:15, “His legs are like marble pillars, set in sockets of finest gold. His posture is stately, like the noble cedars of Mount Lebanon.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for pines, maybe originally stemming from Sanskrit pitu (‘sap’, ‘resin’), alluding to the ample production of resin in this genus.

 

It may grow to 35 m tall, with a trunk diameter up to 1 m, occasionally to 2 m. The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base, thin and flaky near the top. The needles are in pairs, slender, to 16 cm long, bright green. The cone is stout, to 11 cm long and 5 cm wide, green at first, but over the next two years changing to glossy red-brown.

The name Calabrian pine stems from a naturalized population in Calabria, the southernmost part of the Italian Peninsula. When this pine was first described, the type specimen was from this region. In ancient times, Calabria was known as Brutium, reflected in the specific name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derieved from Ancient Greek antirrhinon, strictly speaking ‘the false nose’, from anti (‘false’) and rhis (‘nose’), but in daily language meaning ‘calf’s snout’, a term used for Antirrhinum orontium, today known as Misopates orontium.

If the flower is pressed from both sides, it opens up, which in folklore has been likened to a dragon, opening and closing its mouth – hence the common name.

 

Stem to 1 m tall, rarely to 2 m, leaves linear or lanceolate, to 7 cm long and 2.5 cm broad, opposite, spirally arranged up the stem, upper leaves much smaller, linear. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme, dense or lax, smooth or glandular-hairy, with up to 30 flowers, bracts ovate, calyx lobes ovate or oblong, blunt, to 6 mm long, much shorter than the corolla tube, corolla to 4.5 cm long, pink or purplish, with a large white or yellow spot , or a combination, on the lower lip near the throat. Occasionally, other flower colours are found on escaped plants.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘large’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin name of these plants, originally digitalis herba (‘a plant relating to the finger’), from digitus (‘finger’), alluding to the shape of the flower resembling a thimble.

In England, in the old days, the common foxglove (D. purpurea) was regarded as a magical herb. The original name of the plant was folk’s glove, the glove of the ‘good folk’, or fairies, and it was believed that fairies lived in the flowers, the dark markings on the inside being their fingerprints. It was also said that fairies taught the fox how to muffle his footprints with foxglove flowers, in this way being able to surprise chickens.

All other common names of the plant, including fairies’ glove, fairy caps, fairy thimbles, gloves of Our Lady, Virgin’s glove, witches’ gloves, bloody fingers, and dead men’s bells, also refer to the flower shape.

 

Stems several, to 80 cm tall, leaves linear, smooth, to 11 cm long and 1 cm broad, getting gradually smaller up the stem. The inflorescence is a terminal, dense, many-flowered raceme, bracts leaf-like, lanceolate, longer than flowers, calyx lobes ovate, glandular-hairy, apruptly tapering into a tiny spine, corolla to 1.5 cm long, glandular-hairy, with a net-like pattern of pale yellowish-brown nerves outside, darker inside, lower lobe broady ovate, blunt, down-curved, usually white, sometimes yellowish-brown, to 1 cm long.

 

 

 

 

 

As their generic and popular names imply, the flowerheads are globular. The flower colour varies from blue to purple, violet, pink, or white.

Formerly, these plants constituted a separate family, Globulariaceae.

 

It is found on stony and grassy slopes, on calcareous rocks, and in grasslands and forest clearings, at elevations between 200 and 2,500 m, from Bulgaria, Crimea, and the Caucasus southwards to Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

The specific name is derived from the Greek trichos (‘hairy’) and anthos (‘flower’), alluding to the fringed lips of the corolla.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin linum (‘linen’, ‘flax’), thus ‘resembling flax’, alluding to the leaves of some species, which superficially resemble those of flax. The toad part of the common name has various explanations. In his Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes, English herbalist John Gerard (c. 1545-1612) writes that this name was applied to these plants, because the flowers “be yellow, having a mouth unto a frog’s mouth.” Some 60 years later, English herbalist William Coles (1626-1662), in his work Adam in Eden, or the Paradise of Plants, claims that the name arose “because toads will sometimes shelter themselves amongst the branches of it.”

 

This plant is endemic to Turkey, growing in grasslands, fallow fields, and other open habitats, and on stony calcareous slopes, from sea level to elevations around 2,200 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin corium (‘leather’ or ‘whip’) and folium (‘leaf’), presumably alluding to the very thin, whip-like leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs from eastern and southern Europe eastwards to central Siberia, southwards to Syria, Uzbekistan, and Xinjiang.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Genista‘ (broom).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name probably refers to the Biblical Veronica, who, according to legend, wiped the face of Jesus on his way to Golgotha. The flowers supposedly resemble the markings left on the cloth which was used. The common name is Old English, meaning ‘to thrive’, referring to the vigorous growth of many Veronica species.

More about this genus may be found on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant occurs on the Balkans and in Turkey, growing in open forests and pastures, at low altitudes.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘hairy’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fruits are very distinctive, ball-shaped, to 4 cm across, consisting of numerous small nut-like achenes, each ending in a spike. They are arranged in pendent clusters, up to 12 together.

The generic name is a Latinized version of Ancient Greek platanos, which was the name of maple trees (Acer). It refers to the maple-like leaves of the oriental plane tree (below). Some North American species are called sycamores, likewise referring to the leaves, which resemble those of the European sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus).

 

It is distributed from the Balkans and Turkey southwards to Jordan, but may be a native as far west as Italy, and as far east as Kashmir, where it is very commonly planted up to an elevation of about 2,400 m.

The bark is used medicinally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are characterized by having hollow stems, except at the nodes, popularly called knees. Each leaf grows from a node, the lower part enclosing the stem and forming a sheath. The stem is usually circular, sometimes flattened, but never triangular like the sedges (Carex).

The inflorescence may be a spike, consisting of a long row of stalkless spikelets, each with one or several flowers, or a panicle, an often pendent, many-branched inflorescence with stalked spikelets. The stamens are characteristic, the anthers hanging from the end of a very thin, thread-like filament, often pulling it downwards.

The bract that surrounds the seed is called chaff, and in many species a more or less stiff hair, the awn, grows out from the base of the chaff.

Numerous grass species are described on the page Plants: Grasses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin term for oat.

 

The specific name may refer to the long awns, or to the tuft of hairs at their base.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in open areas and is a common weed in fields and plantations, found from sea level up to altitudes around 1,500 m.

It is believed to have originated in Central Asia and has been associated with the cultivation of the common oat (A. sativa) and other cereals since the early Iron Age. Wild oat also has edible seeds, but is unsuitable for cultivation due to the fact that as soon as the kernels are ripe they fall to the ground, as opposed to the cultivated oat.

In former days, wild oat was so numerous that in certain areas it would lower the yield of crops by 40%. In Denmark, it was declared an outlaw in 1956, to be “removed from all cultivated and un-cultivated areas by the owner or the user.”

Before the introduction of chemical herbicides, the plants had to be removed by hand, which was a very time-consuming task. However, it was an advantage that wild oat is often taller than the surrounding crop, making it relatively easy to spot.

Today, wild oat is still is a serious pest in many countries, and as it is highly adaptable to various environments, it has become naturalized in numerous places. It is regarded as being among the world’s worst agricultural weeds. (Sources: D.P. Jones (ed.) 1976. Wild oats in world agriculture. An interpretative review of world literature. Agricultural Research Council. London; and L.G. Holm et al. 1977. The World’s Worst Weeds. Distribution and Biology. University Press of Hawaii)

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘tasteless’ – an odd name, as the seeds are edible. The name is probably derogatory, alluding to the seeds falling off soon after ripening, thus being worthless.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for barley, derived from Proto-Italic horzdeom (‘bristly’), alluding to the long, prickly awns of these plants.

 

The stem is unbranched, to 40 cm tall, spikes pale green or yellowish, spikelets in groups of 3, awn short, to 2 cm long, pointing outward at maturity.

The specific name is derived from the Latin murus (‘wall’), alluding to the fact that this plant often grows along stone fences and house walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a tuft-forming species, growing to 50 cm tall, with pale green leaves and numerous short, ovate inflorescences, which turn buff or white when ripe.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (‘hare’) and oura (‘tail’), referring to the fluffy inflorescence. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘ovate’, alluding to the shape of the inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek phragma (‘fence’, ‘screen’), alluding to the usage of the common reed (below) to make fences.

 

It has an almost cosmopolitan distribution, only absent from some tropical areas, including rainforests, and from Antarctica and some Arctic regions.

Reeds have been utilized by Man for thousands of years, especially for house-making, thatching, and production of mats and baskets. A recent usage is for the so-called phyto-remediation water treatment. Sewage water trickles through a constructed reed bed, where bacteria on the rhizomes remove most of the nutrients.

Young stems and rhizomes can be dried and ground into flour, and the rhizomes are also utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for various ailments, including cough and phlegm.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘southern’ – indeed a strange name. Southern compared to what?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flower structure of these plants is unique. Of a total of 6 sepals, 4 are small and green, whereas the 2 larger lateral ones are coloured like the petals, wing-like, almost enveloping the entire flower. The 8 filaments are fused to form a tube, and united with this tube are 2 tiny petals, one on either side. The third petal is larger, fringed, forming a boat-like structure on the underside of the flower. It serves as a ‘landing place’ for visiting insects like bees and butterflies.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek polys (‘many’, ‘much’) and gala (‘milk’), alluding to an old belief that these plants would increase milk yield in cattle.

 

It is found from Bulgaria and Greece eastwards to the Caucasus, southwards to Syria and Iran, growing in open areas, from sea level to elevations around 2,500 m.

The specific name refers to Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey.

 

 

 

 

 

It occurs from Scandinavia eastwards to eastern Siberia, southwards to the Mediterranean, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and north-eastern China.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with many hairs’, alluding to the flower buds.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed in the Balkans, Crimea, the Caucasus, Turkey, and Syria, growing in open forests and stony places, from sea level to elevations around 2,500 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘lying down’.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found in the entire Europe, eastwards to the Ural Mountains, southwards to Spain and Turkey, found from sea level up to elevations around 1,800 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek lysimakhos, from lysis (’release from’) and makhe (’strife’), thus meaning ‘to end a strife’, in English corrupted to loosestrife. In Ancient Greece and Rome, a popular belief was that loosestrife was an effective remedy to calm down furious persons. Pliny the Elder says that if two bullocks start a fight and don’t want to be under the same yoke, you calm them down by placing loosestrife on the yoke.

 

This species is restricted to the Balkans and Turkey, growing in open areas, including maquis, rocky slopes, fields, and roadsides, from sea level to elevations around 1,000 m.

The specific name is derived from Proto-Italic atros (‘dark’), and the Latin purpureus (‘purple’), thus ‘dark purple’, alluding to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves of these plants are arranged in a basal rosette, and the flowers are usually in terminal umbels on a leafless stalk. The petals are usually fused, forming a tube with 5 terminal, spreading lobes.

A large number are very hardy, reflected in the generic name, which is a diminutive of the Latin prima (’first’), referring to the early flowering of several species. The name primrose is from the Latin, prima rosa, meaning ‘the first rose’, although primroses are not even distantly related to roses.

According to some authorities, the name cowslip is a corruption of an Old English word, cuslyppe (‘cow dung’). This probably refers to the favoured habitat of the common cowslip (P. veris), namely dry slopes, grazed by cattle. Others claim that the word is a corruption of cow’s leek, derived from the Anglo-Saxon word leac (‘plant’).

It has been said that the name oxlip, which is a corruption of ox and slip, refers to the fact that oxlip, like cowslip, often grows on cattle grazing grounds. This may be a wrong presumption, as true oxlip (P. elatior) – at least in the northern part of its distribution area – mainly grows in forests.

The role of these plants in folklore and traditional medicine is described on the page Plants: Primroses.

 

This plant is native from Turkey and the Caucasus eastwards to Afghanistan, growing in moist meadows and along streams and lake shores, at elevations between 1,200 and 3,200 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘eared’, perhaps alluding to the leaves, which somewhat resemble ears.

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to Europe, from Norway southwards to North Africa, and from Ireland and Portugal eastwards to European Russia, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. The number and names of subspecies vary greatly, according to various sources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flower colour in this genus is very variable, scarlet, orange, yellow, white, or blue. The fruit is a long, cylindric cluster of achenes.

The generic name refers to the Greek god Adonis, who died of his wounds while hunting wild boar, and was transformed by the goddess Aphrodite into a blood-red flower, stained by his blood. Some species in this genus have scarlet flowers, including the 2 species below.

The common name also alludes to the scarlet flowers, which often have a dark centre.

 

This plant is distributed from central and southern Europe and northern Africa eastwards to European Russia and the Himalaya.

It has been widely used in traditional medicine to treat various ailments, including heart problems, cough, spasms, and rheumatism.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of the summer’.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant was once considered a troublesome weed in corn fields, but has almost disappeared from fields due to modern farming practices with intensified usage of chemical fertilizers and herbicides. Today, it mainly grows in fallow fields, along roads, and on waste ground.

It occurs in southern Europe, north-western Africa, and from Turkey and Jordan eastwards to Iran, growing from sea level to altitudes around 500 m.

The specific name indicates that it is an annual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit is a cluster of tiny, nut-like achenes, in some species hidden among woolly hairs.

The name anemone is often linked to the Greek word anemos (’wind’), and windflower is a common English name of these plants. The connection, however, is hard to see, and, as indicated below, it is probably a wrong assumption.

According to Philip K. Hitti, in his book History of Syria including Lebanon and Palestine (1951), the Arabic name of the crown anemone (A. coronaria) is shaqa’iq an-Nu’man, which literally translates as ‘the wounds, or pieces, of Nu’man’. Nu’man probably refers to the Sumerian god of food and vegetation, Tammuz, whose Phoenician name was Nea’man. It is generally believed that the Arabic an-Nu’man became anemos in the Greek, and that Tammuz was adopted by the Greeks as Adonis, who died of his wounds while hunting wild boar, and was transformed into a blood-red flower, stained by his blood. In the Near East, the crown anemone is often of the blood-red variety.

Lately, many species of this genus have been transferred to the genera Eriocapitella, Anemonoides, and Anemonastrum by Kew Gardens. This is a bit of a mystery to me, and, for the time being, I retain the old systematics.

 

It grows to about 25 cm tall, basal leaves tripartite, segments deeply lobed with rounded or sharp teeth along the margin, green above, usually purplish beneath. Involucral leaves are stalked, tripartite, segments similar to those of the basal leaves. Flowers solitary, with 12-15 narrowly oblong sepals/petals, dark blue, pale blue, reddish-purple, or white, to 2.5 cm long.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘pleasant’.

 

 

 

 

 

In his monumental work Naturalis Historia, Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) states that “Caltha is a plant with yellow flowers.” The word is possibly derived from Ancient Greek kalthe (‘of yellow colour’).

 

Flowers appear early in spring, but blooming may also take place later in the summer, especially at higher elevations. Self-pollination occurs in rainy weather, as the flowers fill with water, and anthers and stigma are at the same height. The plant may also spread by rooting at the nodes.

As its name implies, this is a plant of marshy areas, in meadows, ditches, wet forests, and along streams. Its distribution is circumpolar in subarctic and temperate areas, southwards to Oregon, South Carolina, the Mediterranean, Iran, and northern Indochina.

The specific name is derived from the Latin palus (‘swamp’), alluding to its preferred habitat.

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers are irregular, with 5 sepals, the upper one with a large, back-pointing spur, and 4 inner petals, of which the upper 2 have nectar-producing spurs that are enclosed in the larger spur.

Despite being extremely poisonous, these plants were previously much used in folk medicine as a sedative, and to treat various ailments, including fluid retention, poor appetite, and insomnia, and to get rid of intestinal worms. Some members were formerly included in the genus Consolida, the name derived from the fact that these plants were used in the Middle Ages to help consolidate (i.e. coagulate) blood. They are deadly if consumed by livestock.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek delphinion (‘dolphin’). In his De Materia Medica, Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.) says that the these plants are named for their dolphin-shaped flowers. The English names refer to the long spur.

 

It is distributed from southern Europe eastwards across the Middle East and Arabia to the Himalaya and southern Tibet, but is widely cultivated elsewhere and often becomes naturalized. It grows in fallow and cultivated fields, along roads, and in other open areas, from sea level up to elevations around 1,900 m. Cultivated forms have many flower colours, including pink and white.

The specific name refers to ajacine, an alkaloid found in various Delphinium species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers of these plants have 5 petal-like sepals, surrounding a ring of small, cup-like nectaries, which are actually modified petals. The sepals remain on the plant, sometimes for many months.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek helleboros, which was the classical name for H. orientalis (below), possibly constructed from the words helein (‘to injure’) and bora (‘food’), presumably referring to the toxicity of this species.

 

Stem leafless, to 60 cm tall, basal leaves evergreen, long-stalked, digitate, with 7-10 narrowly elliptic, coarsely toothed segments, sepals ovate, greenish-white, sometimes fading to purplish, to 3 cm long.

This plant is widely cultivated in Europe, and the flowers of cultivated forms have many colours, but always with yellow stamens. Like all members of the genus, it is very poisonous. Sap coming into contact with the skin causes irritation, while ingestion may cause burning of mouth and throat, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhoea.

The common name alludes to its early flowering, the Lent being a period of 40 days prior to Easter.

 

 

 

 

 

These plants have pinnately divided, thread-like leaves. The coloured part of the flower is the sepals, whereas the petals are minute, located at the base of the stamens. The fruit is a large, inflated capsule, composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous black seeds.

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘blackish’, referring to the black seeds. The common name alludes to the lace-like bracts, surrounding the flower.

 

This species is restricted to Turkey and Syria, growing in fields and other open areas, from sea level to elevations around 600 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘star-like’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a diminutive of rana (’frog’), thus ’little frog’, referring to the fact that many buttercup species grow in wet areas, where frogs live. The English name refers to the butter-yellow flowers of many species, and the tiny ‘cup’, formed by the petals. The name crowfoot was given in allusion to the tripartite leaves of some species, which somewhat resemble a bird’s foot, whereas spearwort alludes to species with long, undivided leaves.

When left unharmed, many buttercup species may cover huge areas. Grazing animals avoid them, as they contain the toxic anemonol. However, when dried as hay, the toxicity disappears.

According to an old belief, cows grazing on buttercups would produce the sweetest and most flavourful milk, rich in cream. Of course, this is pure superstition, as cows avoid these plants due to their toxicity. Rather, the richness of the milk would stem from the succulent grass in the meadows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.), the name is derived from resedo (‘I soothe’), presumably referring to some medicinal usage of the genus.

The common name is derived from French mignonnette, from mignon (‘dainty’, i.e. ‘elegant’ or ‘pretty’), and the diminutive suffix ette. The name was applied to Reseda odorata, a plant with greyish-green flowers, which emit a delicious fragrance.

 

This species is widespread, ranging from the British Isles and Denmark southwards to the Canary Islands, Western Sahara, and the Arabian Peninsula, eastwards to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, with an isolated occurrence in South Africa. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, especially in North America and Australia. In the latter country, it has been declared a noxious weed and a pest in agricultural crops.

It often grows in nutritious grasslands, but is also a colonizer of wastelands, stony slopes, roadsides, railway gravel, and quarries, from sea level to elevations around 2,000 m.

Since the first millennium B.C., its leaves and flowers have been used to make a yellow dye called weld, although its close relative R. luteola was more commonly used for this purpose.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘yellow’, referring to the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Greek name of Thorn-of-Christ (below). The origin of the word is unknown.

 

It is distributed from the Mediterranean eastwards to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, southwards to Jordan and Iran, growing in shrubberies and open areas, from sea level to elevations around 1,400 m. It often forms impenetrable thickets, especially where forest has been destroyed.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘the thorn of Christ’. An old belief had it that the crown of thorns, which Jesus was wearing on his way to Golgatha, was made from the spiny branches of this shrub.

During the Danish expedition to Arabia 1761-63, Swedish naturalist Pehr Forsskål (1732-1763) spent some days on Malta. Following a visit to the San Giovanni Church in Valletta, he declared that a relic in this church, which was claimed to be a thorn from the Crown of Thorns of Christ, could not stem from Rhamnus spinosa (today Paliurus spina-christi), and therefore had to be a forgery.

Forsskål’s short, but eventful life is described on the page People: Pehr Forsskål – brilliant Swedish scientist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the latest revision, 3 subfamilies are recognized.

Amygdaloideae contains about 55 genera, including tribes Amygdaleae (plum-like species of the genus Prunus), Maleae (apple-like species of the genera Malus, Sorbus, Crataegus, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, etc.), and Spiraeeae (Spiraea-like plants, including the genera Spiraea and Aruncus).

Dryadoideae contains one tribe, Dryadeae, with 4 genera.

Rosoideae contains 6 tribes with about 43 genera.

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek kratos, meaning ‘hardness’ (of the wood). The prefix haw is an old word for ‘enclosure’ or ‘hedge’, and hawthorn was formerly widely used as a hedge plant. The name whitethorn arose from the whiteness of the bark, whereas the name mayflower refers to the main blooming time of these plants. Incidentally, the first ship to bring English settlers to North America, in 1620, was named Mayflower.

The role of hawthorns in folklore and traditional medicine is described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

It is a shrub or small tree to 10 m tall, with a dense crown. Younger branches have sharp thorns in the leaf axils and among the leaves, to 2 cm long. Leaves with a stalk to 3 cm long, blade ovate or obovate in outline, to 5 cm long and 4 cm wide, dark green above, bluish-green beneath, smooth, deeply lobed, sometimes almost to the midrib, lobes 3-5, more or less pointed, spreading at a wide angle. Inflorescences lax, growing from the leaf axils, 10-18-flowered, flowers white or with a pink flush, to 1.5 cm across, sepals triangular, reflexed in fruit. The fruit is scarlet, or sometimes brownish-red, ovoid or sometimes almost globular, smooth, to 1 cm long/across.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek monos (‘single’) and gyne (‘woman’), alluding to the flowers of this species having only a single style.

 

 

 

 

 

It is a deciduous shrub or small tree, growing to 8 m tall, with an erect trunk, or sometimes branched from ground level, often spiny, spines about 1 cm long, twigs hairy when young, later becoming smooth, leaves oblong, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or obovate, to 12 cm long and 6 cm wide, entire or finely toothed, downy or smooth above, downy beneath, especially along the midrib. Inflorescences are terminal on leafy short shoots, with 1-2 white flowers, to 4 cm across, calyx densely hairy, sepals longer than the petals. The apple-like fruit is to 3.5 cm across, brownish.

This species is probably native to the Caucasus, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northern Iran, but as it has been cultivated for thousands of years for its edible fruit, this cannot be ascertained with certainty. It grows in open forests, shrubberies, and maquis, and on open slopes, from sea level to elevations around 1,600 m.

The generic name is derived from mespilon, the classical Greek name of this species. The English name stems from a French corruption of the Latin name of the plant, mespilum.

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit is a drupe, with a fleshy outer layer and an inner hard stone, enclosing the seed.

The generic name is a Latinized version of the Ancient Greek name of the plum tree, prounos.

 

This plant is native to countries around the Mediterranean, eastwards to northern Iran. It grows in open, rocky places, usually above altitudes of c. 1,000 m, occasionally lower. In some areas, it may be encountered at elevations as high as 4,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘lying down’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek pyr (‘fire’) and akanthos (‘thorn’), alluding to the sharp thorns and the red fruits of these plants. Thus, the English name is a direct translation of the Latin name.

 

It occurs from southern Europe eastwards to the Caucasus and northern Iran, growing in open forests and shrubberies, and on open slopes, from sea level to altitudes around 1,800 m. It has been cultivated in northern Europe since the 1500s, and has also been introduced elsewhere as an ornamental.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek kokkinos (‘scarlet’), alluding to the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are widely distributed in temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with a few tropical species in eastern Africa and southern and south-eastern Asia. Elsewhere, numerous species and cultivars are grown as ornamentals. There are about 30 species in Turkey.

The generic name is the classical Latin name of these plants.

 

It is found in the entire Europe (except Iceland), eastwards to Kazakhstan, southwards to northern Africa, Jordan, and Pakistan, growing in a variety of open habitats and shrubberies, more rarely in forests, from sea level to elevations around 2,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘dog’, like the English name derogative, i.e. this common species was regarded as being inferior to the ‘finer’ cultivated roses.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found from Turkey and Syria eastwards to Kyrgyzstan and south-western Xinjiang, but is widely cultivated elsewhere. It grows in open areas, including slopes, fallow fields, and along roads.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with a bad smell’, alluding to the odour of the flowers, which some people find unpleasant, others not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin crux (‘cross’), like the English name referring to the leaves, which are often arranged cross-wise up the stem.

 

It is distributed in the major part of Europe and in northern Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, and the western Himalaya, growing in meadows and shrubberies, and along roads and riverbanks, usually on calcareous soils, from sea level to elevations around 1,700 m.

Previously, this plant was much utilized in traditional medicine for ruptures, rheumatism, dropsy, and headache.

The specific name is derived from the Latin levis (‘light’) and pes (‘foot’). What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

It is endemic to Turkey, found in shrubberies and open areas, at elevations between 700 and 1,200 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘mixed’. It is not clear what it refers to.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek gala (’milk’), alluding to the usage of yellow bedstraw (G. verum) in rennet, as its flowers are able to coagulate milk to make cheese. In his book Herbal Simples, Dr. William T. Fernie (1830-1914) writes: “The people in Cheshire, especially about Nantwich, where the best cheese is made, do use it [yellow bedstraw] in their rennet, esteeming greatly of that cheese above other made without it.”

 

In his delightful book All about Weeds, American botanist Edwin Spencer (1881-1964) has the following comment about this plant: “When one walks into some loose, trailing weeds, and they all seem glad to be torn from their roots in order to ride away clinging to his trousers, he has made contact with one of the many bedstraws (…) but if the stems cling to the clothing, the chances are that the find is one of two of them, Galium aparine or Galium asprillum. These are the two with the rough stems – the two that have this unique way of scattering their seeds. For of course those straws cling to the sheep’s wool and the dog’s hair just as they do to clothing, and sometimes they and their seeds are carried a long way by animals.”

Cleavers is also known by many other names, which allude to is hooked seeds and its scrambling habit, including catchweed, sticky bob, robin-run-the-hedge, and sticky willy.

It is native to the major part of Europe, North Africa, and Temperate Asia, eastwards to Japan. It may also be indigenous in North America, and has become naturalized in Mexico, Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek haplóos (‘simple’) and phyllon (‘leaf’), alluding to the entire leaf margin of these plants.

 

This species is restricted to the East Aegean Islands and Turkey, growing on open limestone slopes, often near pine woods, found at elevations between 400 and 2,300 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek mega (‘large’) and anthos (‘flower’).

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in dry grasslands and stony areas, usually on calcareous soil, from the Balkans eastwards to the Caucasus, and from Ukraine southwards to Syria.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘fragrant’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves are broad, mostly heart-shaped, with a long, slender stalk, which is flattened, making the leaf rustle in the wind. Inflorescences are pendent catkins, with numerous tiny flowers clustered around a central axis, each flower surrounded by papery bracts. The flowers are wind-pollinated, seeds fluffy, spread by the wind.

Several species display brilliant yellow foliage in the autumn, examples of which are shown on the page In praise of the colour yellow.

The generic name is the classical Latin word for poplars. The common name cottonwood alludes to the fluffy seeds. The name aspen is derived from Old English æspe, originally from Proto-Germanic aspe (‘shaking’), alluding to the fluttering leaves of European aspen (P. tremula).

 

It is native from central and southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and Kazakhstan, southwards to northern Africa, Syria, and Xinjiang. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere, mainly the slender, columnar form italica.

In Ladakh, northern India, it is the chief source of timber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Latin name of the sessile oak (Quercus petraea), possibly derived from aigilops, the Greek name of an oak with edible acorns. As horsechestnut fruits are poisonous, it is indeed a bit of a mystery, why Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) named the genus Aesculus. However, it must be pointed out that the meal is edible after boiling the fruits, and it was formerly used as cattle and chicken feed.

The common name horsechestnut comes in part from the Turkish name of the European species, at kestanesi, and the horse-part stems from the usage of the fruits to treat ailments in horses, including excessive wind. The American common name buckeye stems from an American indigenous tribe, who called the nut hetuck, which means buck-eye, alluding to the markings on the nut, which resembles the eye of a deer.

An American species, the California buckeye (A. californica), is presented on the page Plants: Plants of Sierra Nevada, whereas Indian horsechestnut (A. indica) is dealt with on the page In praise of the colour yellow.

 

It is a large tree, sometimes growing to 40 m tall, with stout branches. The leaves are opposite, with a stalk to 20 cm long, palmately divided, to 60 cm across, with 5-7 leaflets, to 30 cm long. The inflorescences are erect, many-flowered panicles, to 30 cm long, petals white with a yellow, pink, or red spot at the base. The fruit is a green, spiky capsule with a single large, dark brown, shining nut, to 4 cm across.

The specific name is derived from the Greek hippos (‘horse’), and the Turkish name of the plant, see genus above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literally, the generic name means ‘stone-breaker’, from the Latin saxum (‘rock’) and frangere (‘to break’). Rather than referring to the rocky habitat of many saxifrage species, it probably indicates the usage of one or more species for treatment of kidney stones and the like.

 

This species is found in the Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, with isolated occurrences in Romania and Algeria, growing in humid, shady places along streams or on damp rocks, from sea level to altitudes around 2,300 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek kymbalon (‘cymbal-shaped’), from kymbe (‘bowl’), presumably alluding to the leaf-shape.

 

 

 

 

 

Previously, the family was much larger, comprising about 275 genera with more than 5,000 species. Following genetic research, the major part has been moved to other families, especially Plantaginaceae and Orobanchaceae.

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin scrofulae, i.e. glandular swellings in the throat. These plants have lumps on the roots, which resemble scrofula swellings. Therefore, according to the Doctrine of Signatures, the Almighty God had placed these lumps to inform people of their usage against scrofula. Others maintain that it was the throat-like shape of the flowers of these plants that caused followers of the Doctrine to use it for scrofula.

The word scrofulae is Latin, a diminutive of scrofa (‘a breeding sow’), stemming from the belief that swine were often subject to this disease. Another, quite fanciful interpretation, compares the glandular swellings to little pigs.

The English name comes from the obsolete word fig (‘piles’) and wort. Presumably, the common figwort (S. nodosa) was used as a treatment for piles, also called haemorrhoids.

 

 

 

 

 

It is restricted to Turkey and western Caucasus, mainly growing on rocks, cliffs, and ruins, at elevations between 600 and 2,400 m.

The specific name honours Austrian botanist and explorer Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy (1813-1866), born in Poland as Teodor Koczy, who went on numerous botanical expeditions between 1836 and 1862, to Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, and Egypt, collecting more than 300,000 plant specimens. In 1843, he climbed Damavand, at 5609 m the highest peak in Iran – probably the first European to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

These plants have large flowers with 5 petals and 4-5 stamens, the filaments usually dense woolly-haired and often brightly coloured.

The generic name is probably a corruption of barbascum, from the Latin barba (‘beard’), in allusion to the shaggy foliage of many of the species, or maybe to the often woolly filaments. In his book The Popular Names of British Plants, Richard Chandler Prior (1809-1902) states that the word mullein was moleyn in Anglo-Saxon, and malen in Old French, derived from the Latin malandrium, i.e. the malanders (leprosy). He continues: “The term malandre became also applied to diseases of cattle, to lung diseases among the rest, and the plant being used as a remedy, acquired its names of mullein and bullock’s lungwort.”

The role of these plants in folklore and traditional medicine is described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

I have only been able to identify 2 species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The native range of this species is from central Europe eastwards to Xinjiang and Afghanistan, southwards to northern Africa and Iran. It grows in a variety of open habitats, including maqui, roadsides, waste places, and sand dunes, from sea level to elevations around 1,300 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin blatta (‘cockroach’), referring to the former usage of this plant to repel these insects. The common name alludes to the 2 curved, furry stamens, which resemble the antennae of a moth.

 

 

 

 

 

This species is restricted to Greece and Turkey, growing in open areas, including shrubberies, fallow fields, grasslands, and roadsides, found from sea level to altitudes around 1,200 m.

In a botanical context, the specific name means ‘abruptly narrowed to a tapering point’, alluding to the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Ancient Greek name of an unknown plant. The common names are derived from Old English brer, a term for thorny bushes.

 

Distributed from Bulgaria and Greece eastwards across Turkey and Syria to the Caucasus and Iran, growing in forests, shrubberies, and river valleys, from sea level to elevations around 800 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘lofty’, i.e. ‘tall’.

In an article in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (1924), Austrian botanist Otto Stapf (1857-1933) writes: “This noble liane is one of the most striking features in the lower sylvan belt of the southern littoral of the Caspian Sea and throughout the Caucasus and the Pontic ranges as far as the Sea of Marmora. Farther west it appears in isolated areas in Thrace* and in southern and eastern Bulgaria, often accompanied, as in its Asiatic home, by the grape-vine. In Ghilan** I have seen it climbing into the crowns of the tallest trees, garlanding their boughs and hanging down in long swaying festoons.”

In 1887, Stapf published the results of an expedition that Austrian physician Jakob Eduard Polak (1818-1891), who was the personal physician of Nasr al-Din, the Shah of Persia, had conducted in 1882, and a survey of plants, collected in Lycia*** and Mesopotamia 1881-1883 by Austrian physician, anthropologist, and archaeologist Felix Ritter von Luschan (1854-1924). In 1885, Polak sponsored Stapf to conduct a botanical expedition of his own in Persia, which led to the discovery of numerous new species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek hys (‘swine’) and kyamos (‘bean’), thus ‘hog bean’. It was told that pigs could eat this plant without being harmed. The English name seems to imply that chickens die from eating the plant.

 

The stem is sticky-hairy, to 50 cm tall, leaves ovate, lobed or entire, to about 10 cm long, flowers to 3 cm long, tubular, with 5 spreading lobes, white, cream, or yellowish, with a greenish or purple throat.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’, referring to the often white flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

It is native from the Mediterranean eastwards across the Middle East to central Siberia, Central Asia, and China, but has become naturalized in almost the entire Europe, the Americas, and Australia. In the Himalaya, it occurs up to elevations around 3,600 m.

All parts of this plant are very poisonous. Leaves and seeds are used for treatment of spasms, pain, asthma, and whooping cough. Soap is made from the seeds. The role of the plant in European folklore and traditional medicine is related on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘black’, presumably referring to the dark throat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamarisks have slender branches and grey-green, scale-like leaves, which resemble leaves of junipers (Juniperus) or American cedars (Chamaecyparis), hence the common name salt cedar.

The generic name is the classical Latin term for these plants, of unknown origin.

 

It is distributed from the Balkans across Crimea, the Caucasus, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran to Afghanistan, growing in river valleys, from sea level to altitudes around 1,300 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek tetra (‘four’) and andros (‘man’ or ‘male’), alluding to the flowers having 4 stamens (as opposed to the very similar T. smyrnensis, which has 5 stamens and 5 petals).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Ancient Persian word for yew, taxs (‘bow’), indicating that the Persians, and also the Scythians, made bows from its wood. The English name is derived from an ancient Proto-Indo-European word for these trees.

 

It grows to about 20 m tall, with reddish bark, which often peels off in large flakes. Needles are linear, flat, dark green above, pale green below, to 4 cm long and 3 mm broad. The cones are highly modified, each one containing only a single seed, surrounded by a bright red, fleshy, berry-like aril, which is edible. The seed, however, is very poisonous.

Yews can grow extremely old, possibly more than 2,000 years. Some old specimens are shown on the page Plants: Ancient and huge trees.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with berries’, derived from bacca (’berry’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many species are widely cultivated due to their extremely fragrant flowers. The fruit is a berry-like drupe.

The generic name is the classical Greek name of the laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). The name was given in allusion to the leaves of D. laureola, whose leaves resemble laurel leaves.

In Greek mythology, Daphne was a naiad, who was loved by the god Apollon. He pursued her until she grew exhausted and cried out to Gaia for help. The goddess transformed her into a laurel tree, which Apollon then adopted as his sacred plant.

The name paper plant refers to the fact that paper is made from the inner bark of certain species.

 

It is native to countries around the Mediterranean, often growing on calcareous rocks and rocky slopes, at altitudes between 1,700 and 2,300 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘olive-like’, presumably alluding to the leaf shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin paries (‘wall’), alluding to the fact that members of this genus often grows on walls, which is also reflected in the English name.

 

It is a many-branched herb, creeping or sometimes ascending, to 50 cm long, leaves alternate, ovate or elliptic, to 7 cm long, pointed. Inflorescences numerous, in 2 small clusters at each leaf axil, flowers tiny.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘Jewish’, originally from Hebrew Yehuda (‘Judah’).

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in a variety of habitats, including forests, shrubberies, and stony places, ranging from central and southern Europe eastwards through Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Turkey to northern Iran and Turkmenistan, found from sea level to elevations around 1,200 m. It has also become naturalized in northern Europe and elsewhere.

Originally, the word officinalis was derived from officina (‘workshop’ or ‘office’), and the suffix alis, which, together with a noun, forms an adjective, thus ‘made in a workshop’. However, in a botanical context, the word denotes plants species that were sold in pharmacies due to their medicinal properties. This species has been used for over 2,000 years for various ailments, and also as a balm for wounds and burns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers have 5 very unequal petals, the lower one larger, spurred. The fruit is a capsule, splitting along 3 seams.

The generic name is the classical Latin term for violets. The name pansy is explained on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

This species occurs around the eastern Mediterranean, in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Crimea, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Syria. It often grows in shady places or near streams, from sea level to elevations around 1,800 m.

The specific name is a misnomer. It refers to the city of Siegen in Germany, a region where this species was intially recorded. However, it does not occur at all in Germany, and the type specimen could have been imported from elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male organs in a flower are called stamens, divided into a long, thread-like filament and a terminal anther, from which the pollen, tiny grains containing the male cells, is spread.

The female organ is called a carpel, comprising the egg-producing ovary, an often long, columnar style, on the end of which sits the stigma, which receives the pollen during fertilization.