Читать книгу Orchids For Dummies - The Editors of the National Gardening Association, Steven A. Frowine - Страница 16

One of the most intimidating hurdles that the beginning orchid grower faces is the complex names given to orchids. When you realize what an immense group of plants this is, you’ll soon come to realize why most orchids are referred to by their Latin or Greek rather than a common name. Very few orchids even have a common name. In this book, I always use the Latin name, because that’s the universally accepted name, and I add a common name when there is one.

I know the Latin names can be a bit daunting, so much so that some folks wished this language had died with the Romans, but alas, it’s alive and well in the natural-science world, and it’s the standard language used worldwide to name flora and fauna. You’ll start to make friends with Latin as its use becomes more familiar and comfortable to you.

Saying the name a little at a time makes it easier to digest. In the following sections, I show you the names, one word at a time, of a species orchid and then a hybrid.

Unfortunately, these names can change as botanists discover that certain orchids were originally incorrectly assigned a name, or they find that orchids they thought were closely related and given names accordingly weren’t actually related so they needed new names. Also, botanists from different countries don’t completely agree on the name. They follow specific naming guidelines called the Rules of Nomenclature for the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature formulated by the International Botanical Congresses. Also, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families is a standard reference. Talk about confusing and even aggravating! Just when you’ve finally learned one name for an orchid the name changes. I try to use the most recent name (nomenclature) for orchids, but you can be sure some names are likely to change. In no time you’ll become comfortable, or at least less uneasy, as you become more familiar with these names.