MEANINGS OF PRIMULA PLANT NAMES
by Ralph Balcom
(This article first appeared in the summer 1972 issue of the Primroses Quarterly. It was reprinted in the 60th anniversary issue, winter 2002, page 36.)
No doubt most of us have wondered just who is responsible for the naming of our plants and why so often they [the names] appear so long and complex and seemingly unpronounceable.
The first person who accurately describes a species and has it printed where it is readily available to the general public, especially to various botanical institutions, has the right to name it. A Latin version sufficiently accurate to identify this plant should accompany the description and the name should be Latinized.
Most of the Primula names refer to a trait of the plant that caught the eye of the one who named it. Knowing meanings of names of the plants we grow should be of real interest to all of us. Very often it gives us a clue as to some outstanding characteristic. Here below is a list of a number of our primulas, most of them species plants, and their meanings:
acaulis – without a stem
algida – cold (algid)
amethystina – amethyst color
anisodora – scent of anise
aurantiaca – orange-yellow
auricula – ear-shaped
capitata – clustered in a head
cuneifolia – wedge-shaped leaves
denticulata – toothed
elatior – tall
erosa – notched uneven leaves
farinosa – mealy
glabra – smooth, without hair
glomerata – hunched
glutinosa – sticky
grandis – great
helodoxa – “glory of the marsh”
hirsuta – hairy
hyacinthina – scent of hyacinths
imperialis – majestic
incana – grayish
incisa – edges deeply notched
involucrata – edges rolled inwards
luteola – yellowish
macrophylla – large leaves
marginata – distinct leaf margins
malacoides – poorly shaped
minima – tiny
minutissima – smallest
nivalis – snowy
nutans – nodding
obliqua – unequal leaves or sides
obtusifolia – leaves blunt
officinalis – medicinal
pedemontana – foot of mountain
pinnatifida – feather-like leaves
polyanthus – many flowers
prolifera – multiplies freely
pulverulenta – powdery
redolens – fragrant
reptans – creeping
reticulata – net-like leaves
rosea – rose-pink
rotundifolia – round leaves
rubra – red
saxatilis – growing among rocks
secundiflora – one-sided
serratifolia – saw-toothed
veris – spring -flowering
viscosa – viscid leaves
ADDITIONS, summer 2010 (Michael Plumb)
amoena – delightful
angustifolia – narrow leafed
beesiana – named for Bees nursery, England
bulleyana – named for Mr. Bulley, owner of Bees nursery and plant-hunter patron
cernua – face downwards
deorum – “of the gods”
flaccida – flabby, feeble
mollis – soft
nana – dwarf
palinuri – of the promontory in southern Italy (Palinurus was the pilot on Aeneas’ ship)
pubescens – becoming hairy
rupestris – growing on cliffs
semperflorens – constantly flowering
stricta – close, tight (constricted?)
villosa – hairy, shaggy
vulgaris – common