American Nurseryman -Jan 2012
Asking an editor his or her favorite word is like asking a parent to name a favorite child Theyre all special as my father used to say though some are more special than others But words are not the exclusive domain of language nerds when was the last time you spent an hour employing no words and in the horticulture world the right word can mean the right sale or no sale at all Were talking about plant names yes Although much has been written about botanical Latin we explore it yet again in this issue with a nod and a wink to the father of binomial nomenclature the good Swede Carl Linnaeus In my household good Swede and stubborn Swede or hard headed Swede are one and the same So well dispense with the epithets we all know his reputation See Vivat Linnaeus on page 26 At any rate the dynamic duo of Jim Chatfield and Erik Draper make the very good point that without the work of Linnaeus scientific language the names of plants in particular would be a nightmare You may think its confusing who among us hasnt become tongue tied on occasion And without a doubt at some point in your horticulture career youve been party to the Cotoneaster joke either as prankster or victim To be fair I know some Scandinavians who pronounce it cotton easter and no one would dare to correct them You may also have been the recipient of an eye roll and an oh please when youve used the proper Latin name for a plant or two or seven Not in the presence of fellow plant aficionados I hope but with family friends and even customers I dont mind hearing huh I dont even mind the stage whispered who does she think she is Id rather fumble for the correct Latin name and get the correct plant than fumble through a series of common names that send me far afield Even if the cultivar or the trademarked name is off the dead language of Latin can save the day A retired horticulturist told me of a frustrated customer who called frantically searching for a plant named moonhead No other description was offered just an exasperated all they asked for was moonhead I cant find it anywhere When my friend finally asked the customer if she knew the botanical name she heard Well of course Its Coreopsis Aha Good old Coreopsis verticillata Moonhead Several dozen Moonbeam were shipped that day much to the customers delight A coda Theres always the exception to the rule isnt there Im particularly enamored of the common name for a common plant not because I like the plant but because the common name evokes a legendary fictional character perhaps one with superpowers Phyla lanceolata is lyrical in its own right But it cant beat Lanceleaf Fogfruit mild mannered perennial and defender of common plants everywhere Mea culpa Chalk it up to year end exhaustion blame it on the frenzy of Decembers New Plant Introductions A proofing error A production glitch It doesnt matter because I blundered and I owe an apology In our two page promotion of the Sweet Melissa Fashion show Rhapsody in Pink crapemyrtle should not I repeat should not include the description Salsa Red Doesnt make sense does it Too many margaritas with that salsa Not an excuse Publisher Jeff Plaster jplaster@ MooseRiverMedia com Editorial Director Horticulture Group Sally Benson sbenson@ MooseRiverMedia com Senior Editors Katie Meyers Brooke A Rockwell Amy K Hill Associate Editor Stephanie Peake Advertising Associate Publisher Stephanie Schartner sschartner@ MooseRiverMedia com Classified Account Manager Lisa Bradley lbradley@ MooseRiverMedia com Production Marketing and Production Director Lori A Halsey lhalsey@ MooseRiverMedia com Assistant Production Manager Kim Stockwell Morrison Graphic Design Kelly Orne Javin Leonard Greg Garceau Marketing Circulation Market Data Coordinator Meredith Gilbert mgilbert@ MooseRiverMedia com Circulation List Rental Manager Mary Mazur mmazur@ MooseRiverMedia com Reprints Mallory Gonser 866 879 9144 ext 145 malloryg@ fosterprinting com American Nurseryman is a publication of Moose River Media 374 Emerson Falls Road St Johnsbury VT 05819 9083 Moose River Media Corporate President CEO Korry Stagnito kstagnito@ MooseRiverMedia com VP CFO Elizabeth Brown ebrown@ MooseRiverMedia com Vice President of Administration Sharon Ferland sferland@ MooseRiverMedia com Vice President Online Communities Sean Adams sean@ MooseRiverMedia com Vice President of Publishing Operations Sue Ravenscraft sravenscraft@ MooseRiverMedia com Finance and Administration Michelle Urie Gayle Gauthier Erin Campbell American Nurseryman Vol 212 No 1 Published monthly by Moose River Media 374 Emerson Falls Road St Johnsbury VT 05819 9083 802 748 8908 fax 802 748 1866 Call write or visit www amerinursery com for advertising rates Copyright 2012 Moose River Media All rights reserved No material contained herein may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the Editorial Director Comments and opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of American Nurseryman magazine Moose River Media or its staff Mention of products and their attributes does not constitute an endorsement by American Nurseryman magazine Moose River Media its agents or staff American Nurseryman assumes no liability for claims made in regard to products appearing in this magazine Whats in a word Id rather fumble for the correct Latin name and get the correct plant than fumble through a series of common names that send me far afield 4 4 JANUARY 2012 American Nurseryman www amerinursery com
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