On 9/7/08 11:12, in article , "Gordon H"
wrote:

In message , Sacha
writes

Carl Linnaeus, also known as Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus, is often
called the Father of Taxonomy. His system for naming, ranking, and
classifying organisms is still in wide use today (with many changes). His
ideas on classification have influenced generations of biologists during and
after his own lifetime, even those opposed to the philosophical and
theological roots of his work."
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html

Knowing the Latin names of plants is useful because then you can talk about
them with anyone anywhere in the world. For example, what we call mimosa is
Acacia but what the Americans call mimosa is Albizia, so confusion arises
easily. That said, some of the common names for plants have an enchantment
all of their own.

My close lady friend, raised in a small village, has her own set of
names for wildflowers. It was only by asking around that I
discovered that her Mother-Die is Cow Parsley. On Wednesdays I am
usually among people who know wildflowers, but it is an uphill struggle
for me to memorise even the common names. I have a book to look up
their Latin classification.

Nothing wrong with looking it up in books - lots of people do that including
professionals!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon