Garden Vocabulary: Latin Botanical Epithets – Augustifolia

After watching 2 days of coverage of the Chelsea Garden Show and noting all the plant names I see, it re-interested me in a project to research those Latin words that appear frequently in plant names. Some are very common and others quote rare, but I figured I would start with one of the most common botanical epithets (as they are called by botanists) — Augustifolia.

Latin Botanical Epithets – Augustifolia

“Augustifolia, Stately, noble foliage, aw-gus-tih-FOH-lee-uh”
– Dave’s Garden Botanary

So, if a botanist has decided to use the term augustifolia, they are saying that the plant has a stately, noble foliage. While many of the botanical epithets are a bit vague, they do give the gardener (and botanist) a general idea about the form of the plant or flower. One example would be Lavandula augustifolia. For this plant, you can assume from its name that it has the typical traits of a lavender (pleasing scent, purple flowers, etc), but this particular variety would also have stately foliage. Makes sense, doesn’t it? (SMILE)

Lavandula augustifolia “Hidcote” from Flickr User Amanda Slater

I’ll make a point of highlighting other common botanical epithets in future editions of Garden Vocabulary, so come learn along with me.

More information on Latin Botanical Epithets:

Previously on Garden Vocabulary:

This Garden Vocabulary series seeks to introduce and explain to you — and in many cases, myself — words and terms associated with gardening. Please let me know if there are any terms you would like me to explore. You can leave your ideas in the comments section and we can learn together!