Scientific Names of Plants
And making sense of them
Biologists too often refer to perfectly ordinary plants and animals by their scientific names: Oryza sativa, or Sus scrofa, for example. While these Latin terms might sound like Greek to even creatures fluent in Double-Dutch, there is some method to the madness.
In this article, I attempt to “decode” the meanings of the scientific names of 10 plants — namely the 10 most common plants at Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, which are also quite common in many parts of Sri Lanka.
1. Mesua ferrea
Also known as, Ceylon Ironwood, Cirunakappu, Iron Wood Tree, Mesua, Na, Naa, Nagakesarah Nagapuspa, Nangu
The scientific name of a living species consists of two terms: The first term, in title case, is the name of the Genus — a taxonomic group, one level above the species.
The second term, in lower case, refers to the species itself.
For example, for Mesua ferrea, Sri Lanka’s national tree, and the most common plant at Viharamahadevi Park, Mesua is the genus, and ferrea is the species.
Mesua is named after Persian physician and medical author, Yuḥannā ibn Masawiah (786–857). In this way, it is not uncommon to name plants or groups of plants in honor of famous people.
ferrea derives from the Latin ferrum (iron), referring to the extremely hard wood of the tree. Note, the tree is also commonly known as “Ceylon Ironwood”.
2. Terminalia arjuna
Arjun, Kakubha, Kumbuk, Maruthu, Marutu, White murdh
Terminalia derives from the Latin terminus, referring to the fact that the leaves appear at the very tips of the shoots.
Arjuna, was a hero in the Indian epic Mahabharata, reflecting the plant’s cultural significance in India.
3. Mangifera indica
Amba, Amiram, Amra, Ma, Mamaram, Mangai, Mango, Mango Tree, Mee Amba, Sahakara
Mangifera derives from Mangi and fera. Mangi, derives from the common name for the tree (Mango in English, Manga in Portuguese, probably deriving in turn from Manna in Malayalam). Fera is the Latin for “bearing”.
indica, indicates that this is a species found in India.
4. Terminalia catappa
Country-almond, Indian-almond, Kottappu, Kottamba, Kottan, Nattu Vadam, Nattuvadumai, Tailaphala, Tropical almond
See 2. Terminalia arjuna for Terminalia.
catappa derives from common names for the tree, like Kottappu in Malay, and Kottamba in Sinhala.
5. Pongamia pinnata
Indian Beech, Karanda, Karanj, Kolliyam, Naktamaala, Pomka, Pongam, Punku
Pongamia derives from common names for the tree, like Pongam in Malayalam.
pinnata refers to the plant’s pinnate leaves, meaning having leaflets arranged on either side of the stem, typically in pairs opposite each other.
6. Artocarpus heterophyllus
Herali, Jackfruit, Kos, Pala, Palavu, Panasam, Pila, Vaela, Waraka
Artocarpus derives from the Greek artos (bread) and karpos (fruit), referring to fruits high in carbohydrates.
heterophyllus derives from the Green heteros (different) and phyllon (leaves), referring to the plant having leaves of different shapes and sizes.
Related, the scientific name of the Breadfruit (Sinhala Del), is Artocarpus altilis — altilis meaning fat or fattened.
7. Cassia fistula
Aehaela, Amaltas, Aragvadha, Ehela, Golden Shower Tree, Indian-laburnum, Konnai, Konrai, Mullaimaram
Cassia derives from the Greek kassia (aromatic or fragrant), referring to the often-fragrant flowers of this genus.
fistula derives from the Latin fistula (pipe or tube), referring to the tubular shape of the seed pods.
8. Tectona grandis
Bankok teak, Bardaru, Bhumisah, Dwardaru, Indian-oak, Kharchchada, Kolaphala, Saaka, Sabarasaara, Teak, Thekku
Tectona, derives the Greek tekton (to carve, carpenter), referring to the use of teak wood in carpentry.
grandis derives from the Latin grandis (large), referring to the large size of the tree.
9. Peltophorum pterocarpum
Copperpod, Kaha Maara, Kona Maram, Maara, Nilalvakai, Yellow flame, Yellow flametree
Peltophorum derives from the Greek pelte (shield) and phoros (bearing), referring to the shield-like form of the plant's stigma (part of the flower that receives pollen during pollination).
pterocarpum, derives from the Greek pteron (wing) and karpos (fruit) referring to the winged seed pods.
10. Polyalthia longifolium (also Monoon longifolium)
Ashok, Ashoka, Debdaru
Polyalthia derives from the Greek poly (many) and althea (healing), referring to the flowers which were thought to have medicinal properties.
longifolia derives from the Latin longus (long) and folium (leaves).
In summary, we could observe that many scientific names are named after:
- Famous People. E.g. Mesua, arjuna
- Places where the plant might be found. E.g. indica
- Uses of the plant. E.g. Tectona, Polyalthia
- Common names. E.g. Mangifera, catappa, Pongamia
- Properties of wood. E.g. ferrea
- Properties of leaves. E.g. Terminalia, pinnata, heterophyllus, longifolium
- Properties of fruits, flowers or seeds. E.g. Artocarpus, Cassia, Peltophorum, fistula
- The appearance of the plant as a whole. E.g. grandis
Obviously, I’ve only considered a mere 10 plants; scientific names could refer to many, many other things. But these patterns do hold for quite a few.
Hope you enjoyed reading, and comment if there are any other scientific names you’d like “decoded”.
Bonus Appendix:
The 10 next most common plant species at Viharamahadevi Park.
- 11. Tecoma stans: Named for its trumpet-shaped flowers (Tecoma) and its upright growth habit (stans).
- 12. Tabernaemontana divaricata: Named after Jakob Theodor Tabernaemontanus, a herbalist, with divaricata meaning spreading.
- 13. Dypsis lutescens: Dypsis is derived from Greek for thirst , and lutescens means becoming yellow.
- 14. Casuarina equisetifolia: Casuarina refers to its resemblance to cassowary bird feathers, and equisetifolia means horsehair leaves.
- 15. Pterocarpus indicus: Pterocarpus means winged fruit and indicus indicates its origin from India.
- 16. Tabebuia rosea: Tabebuia is from its indigenous name, and rosea indicates its pink flowers.
- 17. Lagerstroemia speciosa: Named after Magnus von Lagerström, with speciosa meaning showy or beautiful.
- 18. Ficus benghalensis: Ficus is the Latin for fig, and benghalensis denotes its origin from Bengal.
- 19. Syzygium jambos: Syzygium means joined together (fused flower parts), and jambos is the Portuguese word for rose apple.
- 20. Delonix regia: Delonix means claw (referring to the shape of the flowers), and regia means royal or majestic.
