Some have suggested that I should leave
out of the Flora Wonder blogs my fascination for word origins –
etymology – and just stick to the plants. Well, the blog is not
produced for you, you or you, and even if nobody
reads it ever again I would still put it together my way. Actually,
when someone tells me that they read the blogs I get kind of
embarrassed and feel a little sorry for them. I write in a mental
zone that has no audience, otherwise I couldn't do it, and my
position contains absolutely no arrogance. So read no further if you
choose, because today I'm going to lather on the etymology.
*Whence, is of Germanic origin,
to Old English hyanon, then to Old English whenne, and
since it literally means "from where" you never say from
whence, as that would be "from from where."
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| Nephele |
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| Nix |
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| Orpheus |
The noun word plant is derived
from Latin planta and meant a “sprout, shoot or cutting,”
while the verb plant means to “put into the ground to grow.”
In German a plant is pflanz, in Irish cland, in Spanish
planta, and in French plante. Chloris in Greek
mythology meant “green” – hence chlorophyll. Daphne
and Chloe meant “laurel” and “green shoot”
respectively. Demeter is “earthmother.” Melia is an
“ash tree,” Phyllus is “foliage” and Thalia
means “to blossom.” Nephele is “cloud,” nix is
“night” and orpheus is “the darkness of night.”
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| Drevoi |
Tree comes from Old English treo
but the proto-Indo-European (PIE) root was deru. Keep in mind
that PIE was never written down and is a reconstruction from
languages that derive from the root. In Russian drevoi is
“tree” or “wood, in Old Irish daur is “oak” and in
Greek drys is “oak.” The Dutch use boom for “tree”
and Germans use baum as they were derived from the PIE verb
root bheue, “to grow.”
Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca'
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| Calypso bulbosa |
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| Atlas Santiago Toural by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez |
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| Calypso |
*The origin of Calypso's name means
“to cover” or “hide” or “to conceal,” and you can see
why.
**The Atlantic Ocean is thought to
be the second youngest of the earth's five oceans. It did not exist
130 million years ago...until the drifting breakup of the super
continent Pangaea. Before, all of the continents were joined, and the
ocean surrounding it was called Panthalassa.
Cedrus deodara
While on the topic of cedars, it
is botanically Cedrus, but there are a lot of other conifers
that share the common name, the genera of Chamaecyparis, Thuja and
Juniperus. Even for the “true” cedars the taxonomy remains a
muddle as botanists are perhaps the most contentious of any group of
scientists. I have been fortunate to see C. deodara in the wild,
impressive, big gnarly monsters at 8,000 ft. in the Himalayan
foothills. The specific name is derived from Sanskrit devadaru
which means “wood of the gods.” Indeed, the word Himalaya
means “abode of the gods.” The deodar is the national tree of
Pakistan, but then who really cares? We have grown a large number of
deodar cultivars which were selected primarily for the blueness of
the foliage and also for cold tolerance – to -18 degrees F – such
as 'Eisregen' (Ice Rain), 'Eiswinter' (Ice Winter) and 'Polar
Winter'. It is fun to propagate deodars because of the pleasing smell
of the wood, and in fact it is used for its aromatherapy properties.*
In northern India people who suffer from asthma are directed to sit
under a deodar early in the morning. The species grows well in most
of America, and in the wild it can attain an age of 1,000 years and
grow as tall as 250 ft.
*Hindu Kush sibyls (female oracles)
breathe the burning smoke for divine inspiration, while insects
reject the wood.
Daphne genkwa 'Hackenberry Group'
Daphne genkwa is the “lilac daphne,”
a scentless shrub from China and the Himalayas, and was first
discovered by the energetic plant collector, Charles Maries. He was
sent by the famous English Veitch Nursery to Japan, China and Taiwan
between 1877 and 1879 and discovered over 500 new species. The
Chinese know it as yuan yan meaning “poisonous plant,”
nevertheless it is one of the 500 most important herbs in traditional
Chinese medicine. We grow the 'Hackenberry Group' which was raised
by Don Hackenberry from wild collected seed which are renowned for
delightful lavender-purple blossoms in late spring. In addition the
shrub appears to be more compact than the type. Genkwa can “wander,”
meaning that lower branches can take root in the soil, but to me
that's a good thing. It is also nice that the plant blooms before the
leaves appear – such a precocious garden goodie.
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| Sequoia sempervirens |
Sequoia sempervirens
Cupressus sempervirens 'Swane's Golden'
There are a lot of species with the name sempervirens, such as Cupressus sempervirens, Sequoia sempervirens and, and – I don't know, but a whole bunch more. It can mean “always flourishing” or “vigorous,” but with plants it means “evergreen.” Semper fidelis is a Latin phrase that means “always loyal” and is best known as the motto of the US Marine Corps. Oh – I just thought of a few more sempervirens, such as Buxus, Iberis, Lonicera, Solidago etc. The coast redwood champion is the tallest tree on earth (379 ft.), and is named “Hyperion” after the Ancient Greek term meaning “the high one.” Its location has not been revealed, to save it from people, but it has been climbed to the top by a few brave knuckleheads, and they report lightning damage has kept it from being even taller. Cupressus sempervirens grows too fast at Buchholz Nursery and it will fall apart with just a couple of inches of snow, but I have seen Oregon specimens receiving very little irrigation and they can grow up to 50 ft. tall, with only 5-6 ft. in width. They are perfect pillars. The “Mediterranean cypress” is particularly ornamental in Greece, and one particular church – well over a thousand years old – was graced by ancient specimens. We still intermittently propagate the cultivar 'Swane's Golden' which I think was originally introduced by Monrovia Nursery. It was hyped as being “dwarf,” but now they admit that it's “slow growing 15 to 20 ft. tall.” I have seen it larger than that and I wouldn't consider it “slow growing” either, as eventually the truth reveals itself. The Monrovia website indicates for blooms – “Does not flower” which is rong – it's just that the male and female inflorescences don't look like roses or petunias, but indeed it “flowers.”
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| Abies amabilis 'Indian Gold' |
Abies amabilis 'Indian Heaven'
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| Pseudolarix amabilis |
Pseudolarix amabilis
I like everything with the specific
name amabilis. It is Latin for “lovely” and related terms
include amata, amatorious, amica and amicula,
with the latter meaning a “loved one” or “mistress.” Amabilis
is the specific name for a number of orchids, a Calochortus,
Pseudolarix and a Northwest conifer, Abies amabilis. The Abies is
known as the “Pacific silver fir” and is found from sea level to
about 5,000 ft. in altitude. On old specimens the trunk has a silvery
color, and the two stomatal bands under the needle are silver as
well. We have introduced two selections named 'Indian Gold' and
'Indian Heaven' as both were found in the Indian Heaven Wilderness in
Washington state, but neither is worthy because the variegation is
limited. Pseudolarix amabilis is the false larch known commonly as
the “Chinese golden larch” due to its impressive autumn color. I
used to grow it as a commercial crop but sales were usually slow, and
I suppose that customers feared it would grow too large, then would
look dead for half of the year. Its range is in a restricted area
with fragmented populations and the IUCN lists it as vulnerable
trending toward endangered.* It was introduced into Europe in
1852 by Robert Fortune when the plant-hunter was actively stealing
tea plants (Camellia sinensis) and tea-harvest secrets from China for
the British. I love Pseudolarix and have a grand specimen in my Upper
Garden at Flora Farm. Male and female strobili are present on the
same tree, and maybe I will attempt to germinate seeds which are
borne on the globe artichoke-appearing cones.
*Fossil records show that it was
once widely present throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
Sorbus commixta
“One of the best species for autumn
color” is how Hillier describes Sorbus commixta, my favorite of the
“rowans.” The specific epithet means “mixed,” “mingled”
or “combined,” but I don't know what that has to do with the
Sorbus – perhaps something to do with the flowers, and there are
other plants specifically called commixta, such as an Aloe
from South Africa. The origin of the Latin name is from sorbum.
The common name of “serviceberry” applies to S. aucuparia, and
the name in Old English was syrfe. Rowan is from the
Germanic verb raudinan which means “to redden,” in
reference to the ripening red fruit. S. commixta is commonly known as
the “Japanese rowan” and also can be found in the Russian Far
East. Its Japanese name nana kamado means “seven stove,”
because the hard wood can be burned in the stove seven times before
being consumed. Arboreta in England love S. commixta, so be sure to
visit in the autumn and see such cultivars as 'Embley', 'Jermyns' and
'Olympic Flame'. We used to graft it onto S. aucuparia, and when we
didn't have any rootstock we would switch to Crataegus monogyna, for
both genera are in the Rosaceae family.
Lindera obtusiloba
Above I have discussed trees both
evergreen and deciduous. You know green already,
but the word ever entered into Old English as aefre
with unknown origin. Deciduous is from Latin decidere
which means to “fall down” or “off.” Since it's autumn I'll
go with another shrub or small tree that rivals the Ginkgo for rich
yellow foliage, Lindera obtusiloba. Commonly known as the
“spicebush,” the broadly-lobed green leaves give off an aromatic
scent. In late winter the bush is covered with bright yellow flowers
which look for all the world like Cornus mas flowers. L. obtusiloba
is dioecious, which means that male and female flowers are
borne on separate plants. Male flowers are the larger of the two, but
female plants feature shiny black berries. The species is native to
China, Korea and Japan, and in China an extract of the wood and bark
is applied to treat inflammations and chronic liver diseases. My
oldest specimen is 15 ft. tall by 12 ft. wide after 25 years, so
don't try to cram one into a tight space.
Actinidia kolomikta
I mentioned earlier that Charles Maries
introduced over 500 species while he was employed by the English
Veitch Nursery, and none is more fun than Actinidia kolomikta with
its happily painted leaves. Maries collected it in Sapporo, Hokkaido
– Japan's northernmost island – but it can also be found in
Korea, China and the Russian Far East. It is a scrambling vine which
likes shade, and the most impressive specimen I've ever seen was
growing in the famous garden of the late Cecil Smith where it draped
over a large stump. The vine is dioecious so you need a male and
female for fruit; just understand that the kolomikta species bears
fruit smaller than the kiwi fruits that you buy in the stores. Don't
tell me that A. kolomikta wouldn't be hardy in your climate, for it
can survive to -40 degrees F. If you get colder than that you should
consider moving, but the poor Russians are stuck. The generic epithet
comes from the Greek word atkin meaning “ray” due to the
rayed stigmas of the female flowers. I don't know what kolomikta
refers to, but it certainly sounds Russian – perhaps a place name –
but one thing I know is that the “k” in the name comes before the
“t,” so you must focus on the spelling...just as with the “k”
coming before the “g” with Ginkgo.
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| Forest Park |
Oregon is famous for trees, but the
term “old-growth” is often misunderstood. I am old-growth because
I have never been harvested, but while old-growth forests used to
cover much of Oregon, today less than 10% of our state's heritage
forests remain. Since the definition of “old-growth” ranges from
“never touched by man” to “no major changes (such as logging)
for more than 100 to 150 years,” you can see that not much remains.
At Portland's Hoyt Arboretum – part of Forest Park, one of the
largest (5,100 acres) of all urban forests in America – the
Parks Department will cut down a tree that poses a danger to
visitors, joggers or drug dealers, and their safety measures always
elicit a howl from local denizens, that “how dare they interfere
with the old-growth trees.” Of course, the answer is...is a
lawsuit. Before settlers arrived, the site was covered by
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest, but was then eventually
logged. Civic leaders beginning with the Reverend Thomas Lamb Eliot –
love the middle name – proposed a natural preserve in the woods;
and thank you, Lamb Eliot, because I walk the trails about 30 times
per year with my grandfather. In 2004 a 53-year-old man was
discovered living with his 12-year-old daughter in Forest Park for
the previous four years, and their tarp-home was stocked with
encyclopedias for “home”-schooling – and fortunately there was
no evidence of any other abuse. Previously, in the 1950's I think, a
leper lived in the forest, and he was sustained because of the
donation from a kindly rich-woman who lived nearby who would daily
deliver a plate of food.
So, what does the above paragraph have
to do with “etymology” – word origins? I guess – nothing –
my mind just wanders. It was just a brief account of a place where I
actually do wander...a place where my grandfather and I
converse and try to understand the world's problems. We never solve
anything; nevertheless we entertain the situations. You could say
that the origin of the persona buchholzii does not begin
with, but is strongly influenced by my connection to
Forest Park. I have been there almost 500 times, so you could say
that the place has “begat me.” Everything comes from
Something...to which I can add no more.
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