The a to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants (55 page)

vulgare
L. vul-
gar
-ree. European privet. Lat. common. Eur., N Africa, W Asia.

lilac
Syringa
.
common
S. vulgaris
.
Himalayan
S. emodi

Lilium
L. (Liliaceae).
lil
-ee-oom. Lilies. The Lat. name, probably for
L. candidum
, from the Gk. name. 100 spp. bulbous perenn. herbs. N temp. regs., trop. mts.

candidum
L.
kan
-did-oom. Madonna lily. Lat. white (the flowers). SE Eur., SW Asia.

cernuum
Kom.
sern
-ew-oom. Nodding lily. Lat. nodding (the flowers). E Russia, NE China, Korea.

columbianum
Leichtlin. ko-lum-bee-
ah
-noom. Columbia lily. Of the Columbia River. SW Canada, NW USA.

formosanum
Wallace. for-moh-
sah
-noom. Formosa lily. Of Taiwan (Formosa). Taiwan.

henryi
Baker.
hen
-ree-ee. After Scottish-born Irish plantsman Augustine Henry (1857–1930), who collected the type specimen in 1888. China.

lancifolium
Thunb. lahn-si-
foh
-leeoom. Tiger lily. Lat. with lance-shaped leaves. China, E Russia, Japan.

longiflorum
Thunb. long-gi-
flaw
-room. Easter lily. Lat. with long flowers. Japan, Korea, Taiwan.

mackliniae
Sealy. mak-
lin
-ee-ie. After Jean Macklin, who became Frank Kingdon-Ward’s second wife a year after he discovered it in 1946. Assam.

martagon
L.
mar
-tuh-gon. Martagon lily, Turk’s cap lily. From a Turkish word for a type of turban, from the shape of the flowers. C and S Eur. to N China.

michiganense
Farw. mish-i-guhn-
en
-see. Michigan lily. Of Michigan. SE Canada, E USA.

nepalense
D. Don. nep-uh-
len
-see. Of Nepal. Himal. to Thailand.

pardalinum
Kellogg. par-duh-
lee
-noom. Leopard lily. Lat. like a leopard (the spotted flowers). Calif., Oregon.

pumilum
DC.
pew
-mi-loom. Lat. dwarf. E Asia.

regale
E. H. Wilson. ree-
gah
-lee. Lat. royal. W China (Sichuan).

superbum
L. sue-
per
-boom. American Turk’s cap lily. Lat. superb. E USA.

lily
Lilium
.
American Turk’s cap
L. superbum
.
arum
Zantedeschia aethiopica
.
belladonna
Amaryllis belladonna
.
blueberry
Dianella nigra
.
butterfly
Hedychium coronarium
.
checker
Fritillaria affinis
.
chocolate
F. biflora
.
Columbia
Lilium columbianum
.
day
Hemerocallis
.
Easter
Lilium longiflorum
.
Florida swamp
Crinum americanum
.
Formosa
Lilium formosanum
.
glory
Gloriosa superba
.
Guernsey
Nerine sarniensis
.
Ifafa
Cyrtanthus mackenii
.
Jersey
Amaryllis belladonna
.
Kaffir
Clivia miniata, Hesperantha coccinea
.

leopard
Iris domestica, Lilium pardalinum
.
Madonna
L. candidum
.
martagon
L. martagon
.
Michigan
L. michiganense
.
nodding
L. cernuum
.
Paroo
Dianella caerulea
.
pineapple
Eucomis
.
rain
Zephyranthes
.
Scarborough
Cyrtanthus elatus
.
St. Bernard’s
Anthericum liliago
.
St. Bruno’s
Paradisea liliastrum
.
tiger
Lilium lancifolium
.
toad
Tricyrtis
.
Turk’s cap
Lilium martagon
.
voodoo
Amorphophallus bulbifer
.
zephyr
Zephyranthes

lily of the valley
Convallaria majalis
.
American
C. majalis
var.
montana

lily of the valley tree
Clethra arborea

lilyturf
Liriope, Ophiopogon
.
black
O. planiscapus
‘Nigrescens’.
creeping
Liriope spicata
.
dwarf
Ophiopogon japonicus
.
giant
O. jaburan
.
white
O. jaburan

lime
Citrus
×
aurantiifolia, Tilia
.
American
T. americana
.
broad-leaved
T. platyphyllos
.
common
T.
×
europaea
.
Kaffir
Citrus hystrix
.
Mongolian
Tilia mongolica
.
silver
T. tomentosa
.
small-leaved
T. cordata
.
weeping
T. tomentosa
‘Petiolaris’

Limonium
Mill. (Plumbaginaceae). li-
moh
-nee-oom. Gk./Lat. name of a plant growing in meadows, from Gk. meadow. 300 spp. herbs, mainly perenn. Widespread.

bellidifolium
(Gouan) Dumart. bel-id-i-
foh
-lee-oom. Lat. with leaves like
Bellis
. Eur., N Africa, W Asia.

cosyrense
(Guss.) Kuntze. kos-i-
ren
-see. Lat. of Pantelleria (Cosyra), a Medit. island. Sicily, Malta.

latifolium
(Sm.) Kuntze =
L. platyphyllum

platyphyllum
Lincz. plat-ee-
fil
-oom. Gk. broad-leaved. E Eur., W Asia.

sinuatum
(L.) Mill. sin-ew-
ah
-toom. Statice. Lat. wavy-edged (the leaves). S Eur., N Africa, W Asia.

tataricum
(L.) Mill. =
Goniolimon tataricum

Linaria
Mill. (Plantaginaceae). li-
nah
-ree-uh. Toadflax. Like
Linum
(some have leaves similar to flax). 150 spp. ann. and perenn. herbs. Eur., Asia.

dalmatica
(L.) Mill. dal-
mat
-i-kuh. Balkan toadflax. Lat. of Dalmatia (now mostly in Croatia). SE Eur., W Asia.

purpurea
(L.) Mill. pur-
pew
-ree-uh. Purple toadflax. Lat. purple (the flowers). Italy.

triornithophora
(L.) Willd. trie-or-ni-
tho
-fo-ruh. Three birds flying. Gk. bearing three birds (the flowers, in threes, are likened to birds on the stem). SW Eur.

vulgaris
Mill. vul-
gar
-ris. Butter and eggs, common toadflax. Lat. common. Eur., W Asia to China. var.
peloria
(With.) Sm. pe-
lo
-ree-uh. From Gk. monster.

linden
Tilia

Lindera
Thunb. (Lauraceae).
lin
-duhruh. After Johan Linder (1676–1724), Swedish botanist and physician. 100 spp., trees, shrubs. Temp. and trop. Asia, E N Am.

benzoin
(L.) Blume. ben-
zoh
-in. Spice bush. From the Arabic name of the aromatic resin of
Styrax benzoin
. SE Canada, E USA.

obtusiloba
Blume. ob-tew-si-
loh
-buh. Lat. with blunt lobes (the leaves). China, Korea, Japan.

ling
Calluna vulgaris

Linnaea
L. (Linnaeaceae). lin-
ay
-uh. After Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), Swedish botanist and zoologist. Often referred to as the father of modern taxonomy, he is responsible for the way we write plant names today. It was his favourite plant. 1 sp., subshrub. Eur., Canada, USA.

borealis
L. bo-ree-
ah
-lis. Twinflower. Lat. northern.

Linum
L. (Linaceae).
lie
-noom. Lat. name for flax, from Gk. 200 spp., ann. and perenn. herbs, subshrubs. Widespread in temp. and subtrop. regs.

flavum
L.
flah
-voom. Golden flax. Lat. yellow (the flowers). C and SE Eur., W Asia.

perenne
L. pe-
ren
-ee. Blue flax, perennial flax. Lat. perennial. Eur., W Asia.

usitatissimum
L. ew-si-tat-
is
-i-moom. Flax. Lat. most useful. Cult.

lion’s tail
Leonotis leonurus

Lippia citrodora
Kunth =
Aloysia citrodora

Liquidambar
L. (Altingiaceae). lik-wid-
am
-buh. From Lat. liquid amber, from the resin that flows from the bark. 4 spp. trees. Turkey, E Asia, USA to C Am.

acalycina
Hung T. Chan. uh-kal-i-
seen
-uh. Lat. without a calyx. China.

formosana
Hance. for-moh-
sah
-nuh. Of Taiwan (Formosa). China, Taiwan, Korea, Laos, Vietnam.

orientalis
Mill. o-ree-en-
tah
-lis. Oriental sweetgum. Lat. eastern. SW Turkey.

styraciflua
L. sti-rak-i-
flue
-uh. Sweetgum. Lat. flowing with storax (gum). USA, Mex., C Am.

liquorice
Glycirrhiza glabra

liquorice plant
Helichrysum petiolare

Liriodendron
L. (Magnoliaceae). li-ree-oh-
den
-dron. Gk. lily tree. 2 spp. trees. SE Canada, E USA, China.

chinense
(Hemsl.) Sarg. chin-
en
-see. Chinese tulip tree. Of China. China.

tulipifera
L. tue-lip-
if
-uh-ruh. Tulip tree. Lat. bearing tulips. SE Canada, E USA.

Liriope
Lour. (Asparagaceae). li-ree-
oh
-pee. Lilyturf. After Liriope, a nymph in Gk. myth., mother of Narcissus. 6 spp. perenn. herbs. E Asia.

muscari
(Decne.) L. H. Bailey. moos-
kah
-ree. Like
Muscari
. China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan.

spicata
Lour. spi-
kah
-tuh. Creeping lilyturf. Lat. in spikes (the flowers). China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam.

Lithocarpus
Blume (Fagaceae). lith-oh-
kar
-poos. Gk. stone fruit (from the hard shell of the nut). 300 spp. evergreen trees. E and SE Asia.

densiflorus
(Hook. & Arn.) Rehder =
Notholithocarpus densiflorus

edulis
(Makino) Nakai.
ed
-ew-lis. Lat. edible (the nuts). Japan.

Lithodora
Griseb. (Boraginaceae). lith-oh-
dor
-ruh. Gk. stone gift (they grow in rocky places). 7 spp. sub-shrubs. Eur., Medit., W Asia.

diffusa
(Lag.) I. M. Johnst. di-
few
-suh. Lat. wide-spreading. W Eur.

Lithops
N. E. Br. (Aizoaceae).
lith
-ops. Living stones, pebble plants. Gk. resembling stones. 35 spp. succulent perenn. herbs. S Africa.

karasmontana
(Dinter & Schwantes) N. E. Br. ka-ruhs-mon-
tah
-nuh. Of the Karas Mts. Namibia.