In praise of the colours violet, purple and lilac

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The word violet stems from Old French violete, which refers to the flower colour of many species of violet (Viola), presumably originally sweet violet (V. odorata), which has been a popular garden plant for hundreds of years due to its fragrant flowers. This means that the term for the colour violet stems from the flower colour, not the other way around.

The genus Viola contains no less than 550-600 species, and members are found almost worldwide, with the highest diversity in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The flowers have 5 very unequal petals, the lower one larger and spurred. The fruit is a capsule, splitting along 3 seams.

The flowers of most wild violets are various shade of blue or violet, but species with yellow and white flowers are also common (see page In praise of the colour yellow). Many species are popular garden plants, often called pansies, and this name is also used for 2 wild Eurasian species. It is a corruption of the French pensée, meaning ‘thought’ – these plants were regarded as a symbol of remembrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in broad-leaved forests, woodlands, and along roads. It is distributed in almost all of Europe, eastwards to the Baltic States and Ukraine, southwards to North Africa, Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran.

The specific name was given in honour of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (1823-1889), a German specialist in tropical orchids. The prefix dog– is derogatory, indicating that these violets are scentless, and thus inferior to the sweet violet (above).

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name honours German physician and botanist August Bachmann (1652-1723), also known as Augustus Quirinus Rivinus, who improved classification of plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like with other dog-violets, the name is derogative, reflected in the specific name, which is Latin, meaning ‘pertaining to a dog’.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found in the Alps, from France eastwards to Slovenia, and also on the Balkan Peninsula, southwards to Macedonia. It grows in grassy areas at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,800 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having a spur’, alluding to the long spur of this species.

 

 

 

 

 

It is widespread in eastern Canada and the United States, westwards to Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘arrow-shaped’. However, in this connection it refers to the leaves, which resemble those of certain species of arrowhead (Sagittaria), which do not have arrow-shaped leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

By some authorities, the plants in Japan and Taiwan are regarded as a local subspecies, nagasakiensis, but this subspecies is not recognized by Kew Gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin cucullus (‘hood’) and the suffix atus (‘having a beard’), presumably alluding to the white tuft of hairs in the mouth of the flower.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name alludes to the flowers having 3 colours: violet, yellow, and white.

 

 

 

 

 

The tuberous vervain (Verbena rigida), also called slender vervain, is native to South America, from Bolivia and south-eastern Brazil southwards to northern Argentina. Elsewhere, it is a popular garden plant, which has become naturalized in numerous warmer areas around the world. The popular name alludes to its undergrond tuber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves are all basal, oblong or spoon-shaped, to 15 cm long and 4 cm wide, dark green above, paler below. The flower stalk, which grows to 40 cm tall, is much-branched, each branch with a terminal inflorescence. The calyx is paper-like, surrounding the flower, which is to 7 mm long.

It is distributed from Scotland, Denmark, and southern Sweden southwards through western Europe to Portugal and Spain, and has also been reported from the Azores. According to some authorities, it also occurs in North Africa, and it has been introduced to North America.

The generic name was used by Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) for an unidentified plant, derived from Ancient Greek leimon (‘meadow’). The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek ankhousa, the name of Alkanna tinctoria, a plant of the same family, which was used as a cosmetic. The name bugloss stems from the Greek bouglosson, the name of Anchusa azurea, 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.

The common alkanet (Anchusa officinalis), also known as common bugloss, probably originates from the Mediterranean area or western Asia, but was spread to the major part of Europe at a very early stage. Today, it ranges from Scandinavia and France eastwards to the Ural Mountains, Kazakhstan, and Turkey, and it has been introduced to North America, where it is regarded as a noxious weed in many places. It grows in disturbed habitats, often along roads, and in fallow fields and waste ground.

The small flowers are tubular, to 1.2 cm across, petals 5, fused, corolla initially reddish-brown, later changing colour to dark blue or purple. The plant was formerly cultivated for its edible leaves, and for the root, which was used as a dye and as a folk medicine. Originally, the name 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.

 

 

 

 

 

The native area of the plant is disputed, but Mesopotamia, Iran, and Greece have been suggested as possible places of origin. Cultivation of the saffron crocus slowly spread throughout much of Eurasia, and later the plant was brought to North Africa, North America, and Oceania.

The word saffron probably derives from Arabic zafaran, which stems from Persian zarparan, meaning ‘gold strung’, alluding to either the golden stamens of the flower, or to the golden dye extracted from the styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inflorescence 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.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek skhoinos (‘rush’, genus Juncus) and prason ‘leek’, thus ‘rush-like leek’, naturally referring to the shape of the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

This plant was named in honour of Danish physician and botanist Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), who studied the Indian and Himalayan flora in the early 1800s.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 m, from the Chinese provinces Gansu and Qinghai southwards across Tibet to Pakistan, and thence eastwards to south-western China.

 

 

 

 

 

The name is of Tupi-Guarani origin, meaning ‘fragrant’. This name was adopted by the Portuguese.

 

 

 

 

 

Members of this genus are usually called scabious, although, strictly speaking, that name is reserved for a closely related genus, Scabiosa. Species of scabious were once utilized to treat scabies and other skin problems, hence the name. The word is derived from the Latin scabere (‘to scratch’).

The generic name was applied by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) in honour of two German brothers, Christoph Knaut (1638-1694) and Christian Knaut (1656-1716), both botanists and physicians. The latter published Compendium Botanicum sive Methodus Plantarum Genuina, in which he provided a classification system for flowering plants, based on petal number and arrangement.

Previously, these plants were placed in the scabious family (Dipsacaceae), but this family has been reduced to a subfamily, Dipsacoideae, within the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). The flowers are densely clustered in a terminal head, resembling composites of the family Asteraceae.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in fields’, derived from arvus (‘cultivated land’).

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Dipsacus‘ (teasel).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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 common names allude to the leaves being almost all basal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a dwarf shrub, to 25 cm tall, with needle-like leaves, to 6 mm long, in whorls of 4, arranged crosswise. Leaves and sepals are covered in sticky glands. The rose-coloured flowers are in terminal racemes, corolla urn-shaped, pendent, to 9 mm long.

Like the common name, the specific name refers to the leaves, arranged in whorls of 4, derived from Ancient Greek tetra (‘four’).

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘ash-coloured’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from northern Scandinavia and Ireland southwards to the Pyrenees, Italy, and the Balkans, and eastwards to western Russia. It has an isolated population in the Caucasus, and a scattered occurrence in Iceland, Spain, and western Siberia. It has also been introduced to North America. In northern Europe, it is very common, growing in shrubland, woods, along roads, and among rocks.

The generic name refers to the Greek woodland god Silenus, whose name is derived from the Greek sialon (‘saliva’). Silenus was often depicted covered in a sticky foam. The connection is that the female flowers of red campion secrete a frothy foam, which captures pollen from visiting insects.

The specific name dioica is the feminine gender of dioicus, from the Greek dis (‘twice’) and oikos (‘house’), thus ‘two houses’, referring to the fact that the plant has male and female flowers on separate plants. The former name Melandrium is derived from the Greek melas (’black’) and aner, genitive andros (’adult male’), referring to the dark (male) stamens, whereas rubrum is Latin, meaning ’red’.

On the Isle of Man, Britain, the plant is called blaa ny ferrishyn (‘fairy flower’) in the Gaelic, and traditionally there is a taboo against picking it. (Source: A.W. Moore 1924. A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect. Oxford University Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘resembling viscum‘ – the classical Latin name of mistletoe, from which a birdlime with the same name was produced. In this connection, the name refers to the sticky stem of this plant, on which small insects are often caught – reflected in the common name. The sticky substance may deter nectar thieves such as ants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants have dense clusters of purple flowers, which turn into purple or whitish, berry-like drupes. They were previously included in the vervain family (Verbenaceae), but have since been moved to the mint family (Lamiaceae).

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kalos (‘beautiful’) and karpos (‘fruit’), like the common name alluding to the colourful berries of some species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of an Italian nobleman, Filippo degli Albizzi, who introduced this species to Europe in the 18th Century. The specific name is a corruption of the Persian gul-i abrisham, from gul (‘flower’) and abrisham (‘silk’), thus ‘silk flower’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is crucial as a host plant for a threatened subspecies of the Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha ssp. bayensis), of the family Nymphalidae, which is endemic to the San Francisco Bay area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from kistos, the Greek word for rockroses.

The gum rockrose (Cistus ladanifer) is well adapted to grow in the Mediterranean area, as it is able to withstand the hot summer due to a sticky substance that covers the entire plant. In Spanish it is known as jara pringosa (‘sticky rockrose’).

It is an invasive plant, which has taken over much of former farmland and grasslands in central Spain and much of southern Portugal.

The specific name refers to the fragrant resin of this plant, from which labdanum is extracted, used in herbal medicine and perfumes.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours Swedish explorer and naturalist Pehr Osbeck (1723-1805) who was an apostle of the famous Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). In 1750-1752, he travelled on board the Prins Carl to Asia, where he spent four months studying flora, fauna, and culture of the Canton region of southern China. Returning home, he contributed more than 600 plant species to Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum, published in 1753. In 1757, he published an account of his work in China, called Dagbok öfwer en ostindisk Resa åren 1750, 1751, 1752. Med anmärkningar uti naturkunnigheten, främmande folkslags språk, seder, hushållning, m.m. (‘Diary of a Journey to the East Indies 1750, 1751, 1752. With notes about lore on nature, languages of foreign peoples, habits, household etc.’).

Osbeckia lanata is endemic to highlands of Sri Lanka. It may be identified by its small and crowded, ovate or rounded leaves with 3 deeply indented nerves. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘woolly’, referring to the underside of the leaves, which is covered in brown hairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic and popular names are derived from the French word pétun, which means ‘tobacco’ in a Tupi-Guarani language. Leaves and flowers somewhat resemble those of tobacco plants, which may be the cause of the mistake of the French.

 

 

 

 

 

Young pods and seeds are edible and were formerly consumed by various North American indigenous peoples. In his book Cape Cod (1865), American author Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) quotes that “in 1555, during a time of great scarcity, the people about Orford in Sussex, England, were preserved by eating the seeds of this plant, which grew there in great abundance on the sea-coast.”

However, the seeds contain a toxic amino-acid, which can cause lathyrism (muscle wasting), if consumed in large quantities. The leaves are used in Chinese traditional medicine.

 

 

 

 

 

It is an annual herb, growing to about 1 m tall, stem and leaves greyish-green, flowers to 10 cm across, with 4 purple, white, mauve, or red petals, sometimes with dark markings at the base. The fruit is a rounded capsule, topped with a cap, consisting of 12-18 radiating ‘ears’.

 

 

 

 

 

In Late Latin, and in several dialects in Italy and Switzerland, lantana was the name of members of the genus Viburnum, and the name was also used in 1583 by Flemish physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens (1517-1585) for the Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus). Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) applied the name to the new genus, presumably because he found some similarities between the two genera.

Lantana involucrata is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Columbia, and Venezuela, but is widely cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. It grows to about 2 m tall, with downy, ovate, rounded leaves, which smell like sage (Salvia officinalis) when crushed. This gave rise to the common name buttonsage. The small, fragrant flowers are white, lavender, or lilac, arranged in terminal clusters. They turn into purple berry-like fruits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lion also appears during the so-called lion dances, which are performed in front of the temples. As a rule, this dance is performed by two men, hidden under a gaily coloured cloth, which acts as the body of the lion, whereas a lion mask is held by the man in front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite its name, the New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is widely distributed, found in south-eastern Canada and the major part of the United States, except the south-western states. It is a robust plant, which may grow to 1.2 m tall. The flowerheads have numerous ray florets, sometimes up to 100, which are normally deep purple, occasionally pink or white. The likewise numerous disc florets are yellow or orange, turning brownish with age.

 

 

 

 

 

Other common names of this plant include pigeon berry and Brazilian skyflower, and in Tonga it is known as mavaetangi (‘tears of departure’), alluding to the fruit, which is a small, globose, yellow or orange berry, to 1 cm across. Unripe berries are toxic and are known to have killed children, dogs and cats. Birds, however, are not harmed by the berries. A picture, depicting the berries, is shown on the page In praise of the colour yellow.

The generic name was given in honour of Italian physician, botanist, and poet Gualdo Tadino (1529-1590), better known as Castore Durante da Gualdo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin uligo (‘dampness’), referring to the fact that the prime habitat of this species is swampy areas.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name means ‘wax-bearing’, referring to the tallow, which coats the seeds. Candles and soap are made from this wax, and in the Far East, the leaves are used in traditional medicine for treating boils. The sap and leaves are reputed to be toxic, and decaying leaves from the plant are toxic to other plants, inhibiting their growth.

Because of the tallow, this tree was introduced into the United States in the 1700s, and in the 1900s, it was widely planted along the Gulf Coast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in an attempt to establish a soap-making industry. However, it soon spread beyond control and is today regarded as a serious pest in south-eastern U.S., which expels native plant species. It is also regarded as invasive in India and Australia, and in Taiwan, despite being indigenous here.

In winter, the leaves of Chinese tallow-tree turn various gorgeous shades of red, varying from orange to wine-red. A collection of pictures, depicting this foliage, is shown on the page Autumn.

 

 

 

 

 

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).

Muscari bourgaei 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My own ‘colourful’ adventures during Holi are related on the page Travel episodes – India 1991: Attending Hindu festivals in Rajasthan.

 

 

 

 

 

The garden cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) is native to Mexico, but as its common name implies, it is cultivated in many places.

 

 

 

 

 

The name four o’clock family stems from another member of the family, the Marvel-of-Peru (Mirabilis jalapa), whose flowers do not open until late in the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

The pretty Tragopogon coloratus is found in Turkey, the Caucasus, and Iran. It grows to about 60 cm tall, stem erect, branched or simple, smooth, densely leafy, leaves often longer than the stem, narrowly linear, pointed, margin wavy. Flowerheads solitary, to 4.5 cm long, involucral bracts 6-8, lanceolate, sharp-pointed, a little longer than outher florets, which may be purple, reddish-brown, pinkish, or violet. Anthers are bright yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

The whole plant contains the alkaloid colchicine, with the highest concentrations in the leaves, which deters herbivores from eating them.

It is widespread in the Iberian Peninsula, northwards to the Pyrenees, where it may be found up to an elevation of about 2,600 m. It is abundant in pasture lands, flourishing along roads and trails, often in dry and stony places. The highest density is found in highly disturbed areas with large populations of a species of vole, Microtus duodecimcostatus. Research suggests a symbiotic relationship between the two: the voles feed on the much less toxic rhizomes, which activates asexual reproduction processes. This mechanism is not observed in undisturbed pastures. (Source: D. Gómez et al. 2003. Seasonal and spatial variations of alkaloids in Merendera montana in relation to chemical defense and phenology. J. Chemical Ecol. 29 (5): 1117-1126)

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name, from the Greek ip (‘worm’) and hómoia (‘resembling’), was applied by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) in allusion to the worm-like movements of the stem, which twines around other plants, fences, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin pes (‘foot’) and the Greek capra (‘goat’), referring to the shape of its leaves, which, to Carl Linnaeus, apparently resembled the footprint of a goat.

 

 

 

 

 

The stem is up to 2 m tall, and the inflorescence is a raceme, to 50 cm long, consisting of hundreds of whitish flowers with a bright violet or reddish standard (upper petal).

It is often gathered from the wild and used locally as a medicinal herb, and it is also cultivated as an ornamental, and as green manure.

 

 

 

 

 

American pokeweed (P. americana, also known as P. decandra) grows to about 2.5 m tall, stem purplish, leaves alternate, long-stalked, lanceolate to ovate, entire, pointed, to 40 cm long and 10 cm broad. The flowers are arranged in dense, erect or pendent, long-stalked, cylindric clusters, to 30 cm long, always opposite a leaf, flowers white, pink, or greenish, to 5 mm across, sepals 5 (no petals). The fruit is a black or dark purple berry, to 1 cm across.

This plant is poisonous to humans, dogs, livestock, and other mammals. In spring and early summer, green parts are edible with proper cooking, but later in the summer they become deadly, and the berries are also poisonous. However, birds can eat them without ill effects, and they are an important source of food for birds like grey catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) and others.

Pokeweed is native to eastern Canada, eastern and southern United States, and Mexico, but has become naturalized many other places around the globe. In some countries, it is regarded as a pest by farmers.

In Nepal, a close relative, P. acinosa, is cultivated, and tender parts are cooked as a vegetable. The root is used for constipation and wounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The native range of this species is from southern Japan southwards through Taiwan and the Philippines to western New Guinea. It grows in open places and at forests edges, at elevations between 200 and 700 m.

 

 

 

 

 

The stipules (leaf-like appendices at the base of leaves) 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 the Greek geranos (‘crane’), alluding to the fruit, whose shape resembles a crane’s bill.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stem, leaves, and flower stalks are covered with sticky hairs, and research has shown that the plant is able to absorb protein from insects that get stuck in these hairs.

Formerly, members of the Niitsitapi peoples (‘Blackfeet’) used an infusion from this plant to treat diarrhoea and other gastric problems, and also urinary trouble. The root was dried and powdered and then used to stop external bleeding. An infusion of the leaves was used to treat colds and sore throat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek melampyron, of melas (‘black’) and pyros (‘wheat’), referring to the black seeds, which somewhat resemble wheat grains. An ancient belief had it that the seeds, when mixed with wheat and ground into flour, tended to make the bread black. In the Middle Ages, it was also believed that the seeds were capable of being converted into wheat, supposedly because of the sudden appearance of these plants among wheat, planted on recently cleared land. Cows and sheep readily eat these plants, hence the name cow-wheat. (Source: M. Grieve, 1931. A Modern Herbal. Jonathan Cape, here from botanical.com)

In his Cruydeboeck (herb book), Flemish physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens (1517-1585) tells us that “the seeds of this herb taken in meate or drinke troubleth the braynes, causing headache and drunkennesse.”

Wood cow-wheat (M. nemorosum) is distributed from Denmark and Sweden eastwards to western Siberia, southwards to the Mediterranean and Ukraine. It is quite common in eastern Europe.

Stem to 40 cm tall, branched, soft-haired, leaves opposite, short-stalked, lanceolate or ovate, upper ones toothed at the base. The lower flowers are in pairs from the leaf axils, upper ones in a one-sided, terminal spike, surrounded by crowded bracts, purplish-blue or violet, rarely yellowish-white, sepals fused, calyx bell-shaped, woolly-hairy, 4-lobed, corolla to 2 cm long, bright yellow, tubular, curved, 2-lipped, upper lip hooded, lower 3-lobed.

The specific name means ‘growing in woods’, originally derived from Ancient Greek nemos (‘a clearing in the forest’). Popular names include the Swedish natt-och-dag (‘night-and-day’) and the Russian Ivan-da-Marya (‘Ivan and Maria’), both names referring to its striking inflorescence with yellow flowers and bright purplish-blue or violet bracts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek stachys (‘spike’) and tarphys (‘thick’), referring to the inflorescence of many of the species in the genus.

Purple porterweed (Stachytarpheta frantzii), which grows to about 1.2 m tall, is native from Mexico eastwards to Panama.

A close relative, the blue porterweed (S. jamaicensis) is described on the page In praise of the colour blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant, locally called ti, is of great importance to certain animistic religions of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and many Pacific Islands. You may read more about this subject on the website en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyline_fruticosa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kudzu is much utilized in Chinese traditional medicine, described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

Creeping thyme (T. serpyllum) is native to northern and central Europe, and from England eastwards to western Siberia. It is a prostrate shrub with creeping stems, to 10 cm long, often forming dense mats, leaves evergreen, ovate, to 8 mm long, flowers in terminal clusters, corolla pink, lilac, or purplish, rarely magenta or white, to 6 mm long.

In the form herpyllos, the specific name was the classical Greek name of this plant, derived from herpo (‘to creep’). For some reason or other, this word became serpyllus in Latin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves are trifoliate, and the pods are flattened, conspicuously jointed between the seeds.

The trefoil part of the popular name means ‘three-leaved’, alluding to the 3 leaflets, whereas the tick part refers to the pods, which easily break apart into segments, each one containing a single seed with small hooked hairs that stick to people’s clothes or the fur of an animal, similar to the way a tick clings on with its legs.

Sunhangia elegans, previously known as Desmodium elegans, has the same distribution as the genus, found at altitudes between 1,000 and 4,000 m. It is a many-branched shrub, growing to 3 m tall. Leaves are trifoliate, long-stalked, young leaves reddish, leaflets variable, ovate, rhombic, or rounded, to 10 cm long and 7 cm broad. Flowers are in terminal clusters, to 30 cm long, flowers to 1.7 cm long, corolla lilac, dark purple, pink, or whitish, or a combination. The pod is linear, to 6 cm long and 6 mm broad, lower part of the margin indented between the seeds.

It is often cultivated as an ornamental. In Nepal, the root is used for cholera, and as a tonic, carminative, and diuretic, and the foliage is cut for fodder.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is of unknown origin, possibly derived from the Latin sol (’sun’) referring to the fact that plants of this genus prefer to grow in sunny places. The popular name is a corruption of an ancient Germanic name of these plants, Nachtschatten, of unknown meaning. As Schatten also means ‘shadow’ in German, the name nightshade was introduced, but apparently this is a misnomer.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘without tubers’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woolly nightshade is native to eastern South America, but has become naturalized in many other warmer areas of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rough chervil (C. temulum) is a pioneer plant, found in a variety of habitats, including forest edges, waste places, and along walls and fences. It is distributed in the major part of Europe, eastwards to the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and Turkey, and also in north-western Africa.

The purplish, very hairy stem grows to about 1 m tall, leaves long-stalked, twice or thrice pinnate, pale or dark green, lobes ovate in outline, deeply toothed. Flowers are white. The plant is poisonous.

The specific name is derived from the Latin temulentum (‘drunken’), derived from temetum (‘an intoxicating drink’) and ulentus (‘full of’), alluding to the symptoms from poisoning by the plant being similar to those of alcoholic intoxication.

 

 

 

 

 

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. montana and C. cyanus, described on the page In praise of the colour blue.

 

The stem grows to 1.2 m tall, grooved, hairy, branched above the middle, leaves alternate, stalked, to about 10 cm long, dark green, usually pinnately lobed, lobes narrow. Flowerheads usually purplish-red, sometimes pink, solitary at the end of stem and branches, to 4 cm across, involucral bracts ovate, dark-edged, with fuzzy bristles along the margin.

The specific name refers to an old belief that the leaves of this plant could treat scabies.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed in Europe, from the British Isles eastwards to Poland, southwards to Morocco and Croatia. It has become naturalized in Scandinavia, Australia, and North America, in some places regarded as invasive.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘black’, referring to the very dark involucre.

 

 

 

 

 

It is found in rather dry grasslands and open woodland, from almost the entire Europe eastwards to central Siberia, southwards to the Mediterranean and the Caucasus.

 

 

 

 

 

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 differing 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 plants. When an orchid 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 fungi.

 

The generic name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘testicle’, referring to the shape of two rounded or ellipsoid, subterranean tubers of members of the genus.

 

It is found in the entire Europe, except Iceland, eastwards to European Russia, southwards to northern Africa, Iraq, and Iran, growing in woods, meadows and other grasslands, and in montane pastures up to elevations around 2,500 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘male’, referring to the two rounded or ellipsoid, subterranean tubers, which resemble testicles.

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows on alkaline soil in grasslands, shrubs, at forest edges, and along roads, distributed from England eastwards to central Siberia and Mongolia, southwards to the Mediterranean, Iran, and Xinjiang. In Sweden, it is restricted to the southern parts, being most common on the islands Öland and Gotland. In Finland and Denmark it is very rare.

 

 

 

 

 

It mostly grows in disturbed habitats, including edges of fields, waste places, and roadsides, occurring in the entire Europe, and thence eastwards to the Pacific Ocean, southwards to the Mediterranean, Pakistan, and southern China. It has also been introduced to other places, often as a fodder plant, including North America, South Africa, and Australia.

In classical Latin, the generic name was used for any kind of vetch. It is probably derived from vincire (‘to bind’), alluding to the climbing habit of these plants. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘to crack’, undoubtedly referring to the pods, which, when ripe, often open with a cracking sound.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek syrinx (‘pipe’ or ‘tube’), alluding to the hollow branches of the common lilac (below). The common name is French and stems from Persian lilanj (‘indigo plant’, or perhaps from nilak (‘bluish’). Naturally the name refers to the flower colour.

The common lilac (S. vulgaris) originated in the Balkan Peninsula, but is widely cultivated elsewhere and has become naturalized in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America, usually in the vicinity of human habitations.

It is a large shrub or small tree, growing to about 7 m tall. It often propagates by shoots from the base or roots, forming small thickets. The leaves are simple, to 12 cm long and 8 cm wide, pale green or bluish-green, ovate or heart-shaped, abruptly narrowed to a sharp point, margin entire. The inflorescence is a dense, terminal panicle, to 18 cm long, corolla usually lilac or mauve, sometimes white, with 4 broad lobes.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

It is very widely distributed across temperate Eurasia, southwards to northern Africa, Pakistan, and China, with isolated populations in Ethiopia and Australia. It has also been introduced to the Americas and South Africa.

According to some authorities, the generic name is derived from the Greek lythron (‘blood’), alluding to the flower colour. However, Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) claims that it was named in honour of Greek army general Lysimachus, a friend of Alexander the Great. It was probably his nickname, as the word lysimachus is derived from Ancient Greek lysis (’release from’) and makhe (’strife’), thus meaning ‘to end a strife’, in English corrupted to loosestrife. In Ancient Greece and Rome, it was also a popular belief that loosestrife was an effective remedy to calm down furious persons. Pliny 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.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘willow-like’, alluding to the leaves, which resemble those of certain types of willows (Salix).

Several times, English poet John Clare (1793-1864) referred to purple loosestrife as long purples, for instance in the poem The Wildflower Nosegay, in Volume II of The Village Minstrel and Other Poems from 1821: “Where on the water op’d the lily buds, And fine long purples shadow’d in the lake…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Purple foxglove (D. purpurea) is an impressive herb, growing to about 1.2 m tall, stem stout, dark brown, very leafy, leaves with a winged stalk, blade ovate or elliptic, to 15 cm long, margin wavy, with small rounded teeth, tip usually pointed. Leaves get gradually smaller, and sessile, up the stem. The corolla is to 4.5 cm long, thimble-shaped, purple with dark spots inside, sometimes whitish inside around the dark spots, rarely completely white.

The native area of this plant is from Sweden and the British Isles southwards through western Europe to northern Morocco. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere and has become naturalized in many places. In the Himalaya, it may be observed up to altitudes around 3,000 m.

An important heart stimulant is extracted from purple foxglove. The medical usage of it, and its role in folklore, are described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As its names imply, Japanese, or Korean, dogwood (C. kousa) is native to Japan and Korea, but also occurs in China. It is widely cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental, and has become naturalized a few places in eastern United States.

It is a small tree, to 12 m tall, with opposite, simple leaves, to 10 cm long. Like most other dogwoods, it has in inflorescence of small, inconspicuous, yellow-green flowers, which are surrounded by 4 large, white, petal-like bracts. The fruit is a globular, purplish-red or pink berry, to 3 cm across. The pulp is soft and sweet, with a taste similar to that of a ripe persimmon, or kaki (Diospyros).

The generic name is derived from the Latin cornu (‘horn’), alluding to the hard wood of Cornelian cherry-dogwood (C. mas), which is so dense that it will sink in water. On the website Wiktionary, kousa is referred to as being a word of Russian origin, meaning ‘ladle’ or ‘scoop’. The connection to the plant is hard to see, so maybe it means something else in a Far Eastern language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is commonly cultivated in Mexico, Central America, and Columbia as a fodder plant for cattle. It is also used medicinally.

 

 

 

 

 

It is assumed that the Persians acquired bulbs from nearby Turkestan about two thousand years ago. Cultivation of tulips spread slowly westwards, and it is known that they were cultivated in Constantinople as early as 1055, and in Vienna from 1554.

The name tulip is derived from Ancient Persian tauleban (‘turban’), alluding to the flower shape of most species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is mostly a small tree, but may sometimes reach a height of 35 m. The bark is brown with narrow vertical or slanting grooves. The leaves are long-stalked, dark green, to 50 cm long, twice or thrice pinnate, with ovate or elliptic leaflets, to 7 cm long, margin toothed. The flowers are star-shaped, pink or lilac, to 1.8 cm across. They are arranged in clusters, growing from the leaf axils. The fruit is a drupe, about 8 mm across, light yellow at maturity, often hanging on the tree all winter, unless they are eaten by birds. They are poisonous to humans, but the birds are not affected.

The specific name stems from Persian azad dirakht, meaning ‘noble tree’.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows on calcareous soils in open forests, shrubberies, dry grasslands, and sometimes along roads and trails. It is native to northern temperate areas of Eurasia, from almost all of Europe eastwards to the Pacific, southwards to Spain, Turkey, Iran, the Himalaya, northern China, and Japan. It has also become naturalized in North America.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘gathered in a group’, referring to the dense inflorescence. An old folk name is Dane’s blood, alluding to the fancy belief that this plant sprouted in places, where Danes had been slain in battle.

Other bellflower species are presented on the pages Plants: Flora of the Alps and the Pyrenees, Plants: Himalayan flora 1, and In praise of the colour blue.

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) in honour of Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin, in Latin Casparus Bauhinus (1560-1624), who described thousands of plant species in his monumental work Phytopinax (1596), in a form, which equals the binominal nomenclature, introduced in 1753 by Linnaeus.

Bauhinia x blakeana is a hybrid between B. variegata and B. purpurea, which originated in Hong Kong, giving rise to the popular name Hong Kong orchid tree, the term orchid referring to the flower, which somewhat resembles an orchid. This hybrid is now very commonly cultivated in warmer areas, and it seems that all specimens stem from a single tree, cultivated in Hong Kong Botanical Gardens around 1880.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Astragalus onobrychis is usually a prostrate plant, forming dense growths to 30 cm tall, occasionally to 60 cm. It is native from the western Alps eastwards to western Siberia and the Altai Mountains, southwards to the Mediterranean, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It was originally a steppe plant, which has adapted to grassy areas in mountains.

The specific name alludes to the similarity of the flowers to those of the genus Onobrychis.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) in honour of a Swedish merchant, Magnus von Lagerström (1696-1759), who was director of the Swedish East India Company. Lagerström was a keen naturalist, and despite never visiting Asia, he was able to procure many specimens from India and China, which he presented to Linnaeus. (Source: E. Bretschneider 1898. History of European Botanical Discoveries in China)

Giant crepe-myrtle (Lagerstroemia speciosa), also called Queen’s crepe-myrtle or Pride of India, is a smallish tree, usually growing to a height of about 15 m, but some specimens reaching 25 m, with a trunk diameter up to 60 cm. It is found in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, from India and Sri Lanka eastwards to south-western China and thence southwards through Indochina, Indonesia, and the Philippines to New Guinea.

Due to its gorgeous inflorescences, it is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree. A substance, known as banaba, which is prepared from dried leaves in the Philippines, is used to treat diabetes and urinary problems. Elsewhere, a poultice made from the leaves is taken against malaria, and it is also applied to cracked feet. A decoction of the bark is used as a treatment against diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

This tree has a wide-spread root system, and it has been widely planted as a means to control soil erosion.

The specific name means ‘beautiful’ in Latin.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek hormao (‘to hasten’), referring to the uasge of this herb as an aphrodisiac. The common name refers to the gaping corolla.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is from the Latin pulsare (’to beat’), referring to the flowers, which move back and forth in the wind. The word pasque is from the Latin pascha, a corruption of the Ancient Greek páskh, which was ultimately from the Hebrew pésakh (‘Passover’). This one-day feast begins on the 14th day of the first month, followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. In Christianity, pasque is an old expression for Easter. The name pasque flower refers to the early flowering of several species, often coinciding with Easter.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from the western Alps eastwards to the Carpathians and mountains on the Balkan Peninsula, growing on dry calcareous soils, from the lower valleys up to altitudes of about 2,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

It comes in two varieties, var. patens of Europe and western Siberia, and var. multifida of eastern Siberia and North America. The former is highly threatened in Finland due to former over-collecting, and the latter is declining in America due to increased cultivation of prairies.