Common Plant Names

One of the earliest plant names I learned was Old Maid Pinks. My grandmother had Old Maid Pinks growing around the doorstone of her home when I was child. I never knew if they were called that because they were as homely as an old maid or because they were the only flowers an old maid was likely to ever receive. Either way, the name stayed with me through adolescence and into adulthood when I found they were “really” called Evening Lychnis. The same situation occurred with Scoke. In spring, my family would go out looking for the new shoots. My mother would warn us not to pick any that had started to turn red. After gathering them, we would return home where my mother would cook the spring greens and serve them over toast. So I grew up with Scoke and only later discovered the books referred to it as Poke or Pokeweed. The old Yankee names from childhood were gradually replaced by the names found in books. What happened to me on a personal level also happened on a cultural level.

Nomenclature of plants, both common and scientific, have evolved over the years. Where scientific names keep the nomenclature relevant to current thinking and scientific research, common names are more likely to reflect the interaction of people with a plant through its uses (Soapwort), indentifying characteristics (Bloodroot), or effects on either animal or human health (Lambkill or Madweed). Common names like Lady’s Ear Drop or Old-Maid’s-Nightcap capture the similarity of a flower to an everyday object and shed light on the culture and attitudes of the past. While the scientific community keeps a record of past botanical names, nobody really notices when a plant loses or changes its common name. It was often part of an oral tradition kept alive through use. If it was replaced with new terminology and/or wasn’t passed to the next generation of speakers, it was lost. A common name does not affect the scientific status of a plant or the attitudes of the general public. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet and, no matter what you call Poison Ivy, if you get a rash from it, you’re going to regret it. This loss/neglect results in a gradual erosion of a plant’s cultural history and identity.

Over the last 200 years, a number of botanical guides have been written about native plants. These field guides were/are produced to keep botanical names up to date, to reflect current scientific thinking and to make the identification easier for both the amateur and professional. For every generation of naturalists and every region of the country there is THE field guide that becomes the undeniable authority, standardizing the plant names and locking them into a specific time and place thereby stripping them of the diversity and richness that comes from their historic place in the culture.