PLANT NAMES

Why do we give plants names? How are plants named?

Unless we have order in the naming of plants different people would give plants a name they thought suitable but no one would know exactly which plant was being referred to.

A man called Linnaeus came up with a system and this system is used to this day.  Latin is the language used in naming plants.  Each plant is given a specific name and this way a plant can be identified accurately by any gardener in the world.

This starts with
Family name:         Fagaceae
Genus:                    Fagus
species:                   sylvatica
Subspecies:
Variety & Forma:
Cultivar:                 "Aurea Pendula"

This tells me that the plant is a Beech tree with yellow leaves and branches that hang down.
Not all the headings are used with every plant every time but every plant, animal, insect and living thing is named using the same method.