Natives rise up
Bluebells are out in force, but do check your Latin before buying bulbs, writes David Overend.
Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of naming plants, isn’t the best-known man of science, but science owes him a great deal. He left a rich heritage: his image is depicted on Swedish banknotes, locations on the Moon have even been named after him, and a complete era of scientific history bears his name.
The Linnaean era is characterised by the naturalist’s ambition to catalogue, organise and give names to the whole natural world. It’s thanks to him that if you ask to buy a Pinus sylvestris (it’s a Scots pine) anywhere in the world, you should get the correct tree whether you are in Sheffield or Sydney.
Unfortunately, mistakes can still be made, usually because a plant has been identified incorrectly or because there is an argument as to which family a particular plant belongs.
The row over pelargoniums and geraniums is just one example – purists say the former are tender indoor pants while the latter are hardy outdoor plants and the two groups are not related.
Then, of course, there are misunderstandings over designated names. Take, for instance, the gorgeous Christmas rose, which belongs to the plant family Ranunculacae – the buttercup family.
The scientific name, Helleborus, derives from the Greek, while niger refers not to the colour of the flowers (white turning pinkish with age) but to the colour of the roots, which are black. The name Helleborus niger was given to the plant by that man Linnaeus.
And as spring approaches, so the bluebell enters the fray. But unless you are spot on when ordering your bulbs for planting, you could end up with the wrong flower.
English bluebells (Hyacinthoides) are flowers of the wild, of those deciduous woodlands, where they bloom before the canopy of leaves shuts out the light from the forest floor.
They grow and spread with amazing speed, and they have become a familiar and much-loved sight in late April and early May.
Unfortunately, there’s also the Spanish bluebell (Endymion) which can tolerate more light than its English counterpart – so its spread is greater and so could pose an invasive threat to our native flower.
The fear is that anyone who does want to plant bluebells may plant the Spanish instead of the English. So if you buy, check the Latin name of what you’re buying.
And say thanks to Linnaeus.