Latin names

This page explores the meanings of scientific names.  Scientific names are written with botanical Latin, which different than the real Latin.  Botanical Latin is a written rather than a spoken language.  Some of the words are derived from Latin, but many are from other languages.  A lot of the words have been “Latinized”.

Because Latin is a language that uses gender, a word may have three forms to agree with gender.  So the word ‘alba’, which means white, has three forms ‘alba; (feminine), ‘albus’ (masculine) and ‘album’ (neuter).

Latin terms for color

Latin terms to describe habitat

Latin terms for habit or form

Latin terms for numbers

Latin terms for plant parts

Latin terms referring to geography