American Nurseryman -Jan 2012

Dutchman I N D U S T R I E S I N C Vivat Linnaeus Continued from page 27 there celebrate their nuptials with so much the greater solemnity This led to critics such as Johann Siegesbeck who talked of the loathsome harlotry of the Linnaean parallels between plant and human love images To which Linnaeus responded with the following comeuppance to Siegesbeck He named a small useless European weed Siegesbeckia Similarly he is reported to have named what he considered the common mundane dayfl ower Commelina communis after his colleague Commelinius whom he thought to be well common and mundane Having said this there is a saying of Linnaeus that we think is a great motto we should all follow when it comes to our horticultural interactions with each other If you have remarked errors in me your superior wisdom must pardon them Who errs not when perambulating the domain of nature Who can observe everything with accuracy Correct me as a friend and I as a friend will requite with kindness What a thought to perambulate nature with Linnaeus himself One last story from the Kennedy Warne essay He speaks of Linnaeus and the nature walks he led in the mid 1700s What forays they must have been Botanizing with Linnaeus would have been the equivalent of studying geometry with Euclid or taking a writing class from Shakespeare In keeping with Linnaeus orderly disposition the expeditions were organized with the precision of a military campaign with designated note takers specimen collectors and bird shooters A bugle would sound when rare species were found At the end of the ramble up to 12 hours during the Baltic summer months the party would troop back to town waving banners blowing horns and beating kettledrums At the botanic garden a shout would go up Vivat Linnaeus A debt of gratitude So Linnaeus was the Elvis of his day We owe him big time Enjoy those Latin names Let Liquidambar styracifl ua sweetgum Narcissus poeticus and Orchis spectabilis fl ow trippingly off your tongue Appreciate the light that goes 28 JANUARY 2012 American Nurseryman www amerinursery com