Common Names of a Selected List of Plants[1]Kling L. Anderson and Clenton E. Owensby[2]Common names of plants often vary widely from place to place, even within rather limited areas. Frequently-occurring and widely-known species may have local names, or the same name may be used for several species. Common names, therefore, often fail to identify plants accurately. That makes it difficult to communicate about plants; the confusion may even discontinue attempts to convey ideas about the subject. Conversations may shift to a subject with an adequate common nomenclature.Scientific names are essential in formal writing. When common names are to be used, as in less formal publications, scientific names must also be given either at the place where the common ones first appear in the paper, in a footnote, or in an appended list. Only scientific names identify the species for all readers. In completely informal writing for a broad area, scientific names may be omitted.Since common names are so widely used, they should be used as uniformly as possible. The following common names are considered “standardized” for all writing in the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station and may also be used as a guide in teaching. A single common name is given to each plant listed if it has such a name.This list grew from an earlier Kansas list of grasses and legumes that emphasized chiefly range and pasture plants. It is extended here to include most plant families and genera that occur in Kansas and many species that do not necessarily occur in Kansas but may be important or closely related to those listed. Obviously, not all Kansas plants could be included, and therefore many minor plants have been omitted. Species not obviously important had to be somewhat arbitrary. Perhaps certain species listed could have been omitted and others not included might have been added. The list can, therefore, grow or be altered as need for change is shown. If further information on common names is needed, the Kelsey and Dayton 1942 edition of Standardized Plant Names[3]should be consulted.Genus Common NamesIn preparing this list, we attempted to give a single common name to each genus and to use it in connection with common names for each of the species listed under that genus. For example, brome for the genus,Bromus, and various species such as smooth brome and hairy brome. Thus, there are two wordsfor species names. However, common names of some species are single words and may not bear the generic name at all; for example, switchgrass, curlymesquite, catchflygrass, darnel, needleandthread, berseem, and horsebean. Some genera have more than one common name, but in that case the genus is subdivided into different types, each with its own common name. For example, most species of the genusPanicumare called panicum, but certain others are witchgrass;Melicais melic, but bulbous species of that genus are called oniongrass; andSetariais bristlegrass, but the name millet is applied to certain ones. Some poisonous species ofAstragalusare called loco, but nonpoisonous ones are milkvetch and the selenium-gathering ones, poisonvetch. In a few cases the same common name is applied to two genera, but that generally occurs only when the genera involved are closely related. They may formerly have been considered a single genus.The words tree, grass, bean, seed, etc. are combined with key words to make common names of many genera and species. Examples of the former are dropseed, cupgrass, tanglehead, peavine, wildindigo, coffeetree, and sensitivebriar; and of the latter, breadroot scurfpea, splitbeard bluestem, shortawn foxtail, and smoothseed wildbean. Hyphens are avoided except in a few cases where they are used to make spelling, meaning, or pronunciation more clearly understood. Some examples are s-curve threeawn, blue-eyedgrass, climbing-buckwheat, dutchmans-breeches, snow-on-the-mountain, fat-hen saltbrush, false-alyssum.Species Common NamesThe common name for an individual species is a contraction of the genus common name and, in most cases, a descriptive adjective for a particular species. An example is the common name forBromus inermisThe common name for the genus is brome and the descriptive adjective associated with the species nameinermisis smooth, hence smooth brome is the common name for that species.In many cases a satisfactory common name did not exist for a particular species, yet the species name’s English meaning described the plant well. Such plants were given common names based on the meaning of their species name. An example isLygodesmia rostrata. It has no satisfactory common name. In this publication it is called beaked skeletonplant, based on the English meaning ofrostrataand the accepted common name for the genus, skeletonplant.CapitalizationIn general, capitals are avoided for common plant names. They are not used where proper nouns are combined with such words as grass, tree, bean, etc., for example, bermudagrass, indiangrass, johnsongrass, but are used when the name is thatof a country, state, or other place and is a separate word as in Virginia wildrye, Texas bean, California burclover, and Missouri milkvetch. They are not used, however, when the name is derived from a man’s name; for example, lambert crazyweed, dillen tickclover, chewings fescue, and lehmann lovegrass. Capitals are, of course, used for proper names of strains or varieties, but such usage is beyond the scope of this list. The few exceptions to all of these “rules” are dictated by firmly established usage.AuthoritiesTo identify each species as definitely as possible, authorities are given for scientific names. Authorities for grass names are from Hitchcock’s 1951 manual.[4]The others were compiled from various sources by Dr. L. C. Hulbert, Department of Botany, Kansas State University, chiefly from these sources: Gray’s Manual, 8th ed.,[5]The New Illustrated Britton and Brown,[6]and Harrington’s Manual.[7]Occasionally other sources were used for a few or for single species.Since authorities were taken directly from the various sources without change, some differences in abbreviation occur. For example, Hitchcock’s manual abbreviates Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth as H.B.K., while most other manuals consulted use HBK. Certain other names may be spelled fully in one manual and abbreviated in others.Common Name SourcesSeveral workers helped with selecting plants to be included and common names for them. For the most part, the common names are those used in Kelsey and Dayton, Standardized Plant Names (SPN).[8]However, common names of some species are so different and are so firmly entrenched in common usage that the names given in SPN could not be used in this list. An example is “broomsedge” forAndropogon virginicus. In SPN it is “yellowsedge bluestem,” a name never heard in the area this list serves.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSAppreciation is expressed to those who aided in selecting both plants and their common names:The late F. W. Albertson, Biology Department, Fort Hays Kansas State CollegeL. E. Anderson, Agronomy Department, Kansas State University, now at University of Missouri, ColumbiaM. D. Atkins, S.C.S., Lincoln, NebraskaJ. K. Greig, Jr., Department of Horticulture and Forestry, Kansas State UniversityC. V. Hall, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, Kansas State UniversityL. C. Hulbert, Division of Biology, Kansas State UniversityR. A. Keen, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, Kansas State UniversityJ. L. Launchbaugh, Kansas Branch Agricultural Experiment Station, Hays, KansasE. L. Mader, Agronomy Department, Kansas State UniversityC. M. Schumacher, S.C.S., Lincoln, NebraskaG. W. Tomanek, Biology Department, Fort Hays Kansas State CollegeH. D. Wilkins, Agronomy Department, Kansas State UniversitySpecial thanks go to Dr. John L. Launchbaugh for carefully editing the final draft.FOOTNOTES:[1]Contribution No. 692, Department of Agronomy, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan.[2]Professor Emeritus and Agronomist, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station: and Instructor in Range and Pasture Management.[3]Kelsey, H. P. and W. A. Dayton. 1942. Standardized Plant Names. J. Horace McFarland Co., Harrisburg, Pa.[4]Hitchcock, A. S. 1951. Manual of Grasses of the U.S. USDA Misc. Publication 200 (Revised).[5]Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray’s Manual of Botany, 8th ed. American Book Co., New York.[6]Gleason, H. A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora. New York Botanical Garden (3 volumes).[7]Harrington, H. D. 1954. Manual of the Plants of Colorado. Sage Books, Denver.[8]Ibid.
Common Names of a Selected List of Plants[1]
Kling L. Anderson and Clenton E. Owensby[2]
Common names of plants often vary widely from place to place, even within rather limited areas. Frequently-occurring and widely-known species may have local names, or the same name may be used for several species. Common names, therefore, often fail to identify plants accurately. That makes it difficult to communicate about plants; the confusion may even discontinue attempts to convey ideas about the subject. Conversations may shift to a subject with an adequate common nomenclature.
Scientific names are essential in formal writing. When common names are to be used, as in less formal publications, scientific names must also be given either at the place where the common ones first appear in the paper, in a footnote, or in an appended list. Only scientific names identify the species for all readers. In completely informal writing for a broad area, scientific names may be omitted.
Since common names are so widely used, they should be used as uniformly as possible. The following common names are considered “standardized” for all writing in the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station and may also be used as a guide in teaching. A single common name is given to each plant listed if it has such a name.
This list grew from an earlier Kansas list of grasses and legumes that emphasized chiefly range and pasture plants. It is extended here to include most plant families and genera that occur in Kansas and many species that do not necessarily occur in Kansas but may be important or closely related to those listed. Obviously, not all Kansas plants could be included, and therefore many minor plants have been omitted. Species not obviously important had to be somewhat arbitrary. Perhaps certain species listed could have been omitted and others not included might have been added. The list can, therefore, grow or be altered as need for change is shown. If further information on common names is needed, the Kelsey and Dayton 1942 edition of Standardized Plant Names[3]should be consulted.
Genus Common Names
In preparing this list, we attempted to give a single common name to each genus and to use it in connection with common names for each of the species listed under that genus. For example, brome for the genus,Bromus, and various species such as smooth brome and hairy brome. Thus, there are two wordsfor species names. However, common names of some species are single words and may not bear the generic name at all; for example, switchgrass, curlymesquite, catchflygrass, darnel, needleandthread, berseem, and horsebean. Some genera have more than one common name, but in that case the genus is subdivided into different types, each with its own common name. For example, most species of the genusPanicumare called panicum, but certain others are witchgrass;Melicais melic, but bulbous species of that genus are called oniongrass; andSetariais bristlegrass, but the name millet is applied to certain ones. Some poisonous species ofAstragalusare called loco, but nonpoisonous ones are milkvetch and the selenium-gathering ones, poisonvetch. In a few cases the same common name is applied to two genera, but that generally occurs only when the genera involved are closely related. They may formerly have been considered a single genus.
The words tree, grass, bean, seed, etc. are combined with key words to make common names of many genera and species. Examples of the former are dropseed, cupgrass, tanglehead, peavine, wildindigo, coffeetree, and sensitivebriar; and of the latter, breadroot scurfpea, splitbeard bluestem, shortawn foxtail, and smoothseed wildbean. Hyphens are avoided except in a few cases where they are used to make spelling, meaning, or pronunciation more clearly understood. Some examples are s-curve threeawn, blue-eyedgrass, climbing-buckwheat, dutchmans-breeches, snow-on-the-mountain, fat-hen saltbrush, false-alyssum.
Species Common Names
The common name for an individual species is a contraction of the genus common name and, in most cases, a descriptive adjective for a particular species. An example is the common name forBromus inermisThe common name for the genus is brome and the descriptive adjective associated with the species nameinermisis smooth, hence smooth brome is the common name for that species.
In many cases a satisfactory common name did not exist for a particular species, yet the species name’s English meaning described the plant well. Such plants were given common names based on the meaning of their species name. An example isLygodesmia rostrata. It has no satisfactory common name. In this publication it is called beaked skeletonplant, based on the English meaning ofrostrataand the accepted common name for the genus, skeletonplant.
Capitalization
In general, capitals are avoided for common plant names. They are not used where proper nouns are combined with such words as grass, tree, bean, etc., for example, bermudagrass, indiangrass, johnsongrass, but are used when the name is thatof a country, state, or other place and is a separate word as in Virginia wildrye, Texas bean, California burclover, and Missouri milkvetch. They are not used, however, when the name is derived from a man’s name; for example, lambert crazyweed, dillen tickclover, chewings fescue, and lehmann lovegrass. Capitals are, of course, used for proper names of strains or varieties, but such usage is beyond the scope of this list. The few exceptions to all of these “rules” are dictated by firmly established usage.
Authorities
To identify each species as definitely as possible, authorities are given for scientific names. Authorities for grass names are from Hitchcock’s 1951 manual.[4]The others were compiled from various sources by Dr. L. C. Hulbert, Department of Botany, Kansas State University, chiefly from these sources: Gray’s Manual, 8th ed.,[5]The New Illustrated Britton and Brown,[6]and Harrington’s Manual.[7]Occasionally other sources were used for a few or for single species.
Since authorities were taken directly from the various sources without change, some differences in abbreviation occur. For example, Hitchcock’s manual abbreviates Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth as H.B.K., while most other manuals consulted use HBK. Certain other names may be spelled fully in one manual and abbreviated in others.
Common Name Sources
Several workers helped with selecting plants to be included and common names for them. For the most part, the common names are those used in Kelsey and Dayton, Standardized Plant Names (SPN).[8]However, common names of some species are so different and are so firmly entrenched in common usage that the names given in SPN could not be used in this list. An example is “broomsedge” forAndropogon virginicus. In SPN it is “yellowsedge bluestem,” a name never heard in the area this list serves.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Appreciation is expressed to those who aided in selecting both plants and their common names:
The late F. W. Albertson, Biology Department, Fort Hays Kansas State College
L. E. Anderson, Agronomy Department, Kansas State University, now at University of Missouri, Columbia
M. D. Atkins, S.C.S., Lincoln, Nebraska
J. K. Greig, Jr., Department of Horticulture and Forestry, Kansas State University
C. V. Hall, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, Kansas State University
L. C. Hulbert, Division of Biology, Kansas State University
R. A. Keen, Department of Horticulture and Forestry, Kansas State University
J. L. Launchbaugh, Kansas Branch Agricultural Experiment Station, Hays, Kansas
E. L. Mader, Agronomy Department, Kansas State University
C. M. Schumacher, S.C.S., Lincoln, Nebraska
G. W. Tomanek, Biology Department, Fort Hays Kansas State College
H. D. Wilkins, Agronomy Department, Kansas State University
Special thanks go to Dr. John L. Launchbaugh for carefully editing the final draft.
FOOTNOTES:[1]Contribution No. 692, Department of Agronomy, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan.[2]Professor Emeritus and Agronomist, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station: and Instructor in Range and Pasture Management.[3]Kelsey, H. P. and W. A. Dayton. 1942. Standardized Plant Names. J. Horace McFarland Co., Harrisburg, Pa.[4]Hitchcock, A. S. 1951. Manual of Grasses of the U.S. USDA Misc. Publication 200 (Revised).[5]Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray’s Manual of Botany, 8th ed. American Book Co., New York.[6]Gleason, H. A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora. New York Botanical Garden (3 volumes).[7]Harrington, H. D. 1954. Manual of the Plants of Colorado. Sage Books, Denver.[8]Ibid.
[1]Contribution No. 692, Department of Agronomy, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan.
[2]Professor Emeritus and Agronomist, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station: and Instructor in Range and Pasture Management.
[3]Kelsey, H. P. and W. A. Dayton. 1942. Standardized Plant Names. J. Horace McFarland Co., Harrisburg, Pa.
[4]Hitchcock, A. S. 1951. Manual of Grasses of the U.S. USDA Misc. Publication 200 (Revised).
[5]Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray’s Manual of Botany, 8th ed. American Book Co., New York.
[6]Gleason, H. A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora. New York Botanical Garden (3 volumes).
[7]Harrington, H. D. 1954. Manual of the Plants of Colorado. Sage Books, Denver.
[8]Ibid.