horsetail/marestail/whocarestail
 

Good grief, how bad can it get, the bickering over plant names?

Until the 3rd July 2001, the day we got the allotment I hadn't seen this
plant (wish I still hadn't). I asked one of the other allotment holders what
it was and he replied "marestail", so I think of it as marestail, but I'm
not going to let it become a problem if someone else calls it horsetail. we
all know what is meant by the fact that someone is usually asking how to
deal with it.

Incidentally I then asked said allotmenteer how to get rid of it, and I
don't think he's stopped laughing yet. But anyway

A thing that does amuse me is the use of plurals where the plant is normally
referred to by its latin name. For instance the gladiolus is pluralised to
gladioli, and the narcissus to narcissi which I understand is the correct
thing to do although I am not a scholar of latin. But by this principle the
crocus should be pluralised to crocii.

And surely other relevant plurals should be nasturtia, gerania and
chrysanthema.

And is any of this being discussed in other fora?

Steve

horsetail/marestail/whocarestail
 

In article ,
"shazzbat" writes:
| Good grief, how bad can it get, the bickering over plant names?

Oh, it can get worse, I assure you. Take a look at the introduction
to several of the more serious gardening and plant books, and you
will see evidence of the religious war. As far as I know nobody has
actually been burnt at the stake, though it may well have been
proposed.

| Until the 3rd July 2001, the day we got the allotment I hadn't seen this
| plant (wish I still hadn't). I asked one of the other allotment holders what
| it was and he replied "marestail", so I think of it as marestail, but I'm
| not going to let it become a problem if someone else calls it horsetail. we
| all know what is meant by the fact that someone is usually asking how to
| deal with it.

Precisely. It is commonly called both names. Let's pick nits when
nitpicking is appropriate, or at least amusing :-)

| Incidentally I then asked said allotmenteer how to get rid of it, and I
| don't think he's stopped laughing yet. But anyway

The consensus is that you need one of the devices that Blair has
sent our troops to search for in Iraq. They aren't having any
more luck ....

| A thing that does amuse me is the use of plurals where the plant is normally
| referred to by its latin name. For instance the gladiolus is pluralised to
| gladioli, and the narcissus to narcissi which I understand is the correct
| thing to do although I am not a scholar of latin. But by this principle the
| crocus should be pluralised to crocii.

Croci. But assuming the first declension, masculine. I can't
remember the exceptions after all these years.

| And surely other relevant plurals should be nasturtia, gerania and
| chrysanthema.
|
| And is any of this being discussed in other fora?

alt.pedantic.nitpickers never got created because people descended
to nitpicking over the name.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.