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Winters in the Midwest can be dreary,
but then our seed catalogs come in the mail and it's time to have fun. It's
time to dream about what exciting new squash varieties, or lettuce, or
other plants that we're wanting to grow in our garden this coming year. But paging
through the seed catalog isn't just fun.
It's a botany lesson and nomenclature as well. Nomenclature refers to the
scientific naming of plants
using Latin. Don't rush out and get that Latin dictionary however.
Relax memorizing these names is not necessary to be a successful gardener.
Much of the time we refer to cultivated plants by their common names.
However, when you look in an entry in your seed catalog,
notice an italicized name by each entry. That's the scientific name
and it stands for the genus and species that it belongs to these Latin names
are universal to
the world around and help to classify plants. You may also see a scientific
name followed by the word
var. V A R period and another italicized latin
name. This is how a variety is distinguished.
A plant variety is a plant that has a marked difference from the typical
species
as it would occur in nature. So if you were
wanting a new summer squash to plant in your garden, you'd look up
summer squash in your seed catalog. You then
look for the italicized scientific name
Cucurbita pepo and might also notice some fun names by each one like raven,
tigress, or sunbeam. These are the names given to each cultivated variety
or cultivar. A cultivar is a variety that's been developed,
propagated, and cultivated by people.
It retains its distinguishing features when it's reproduced.
You might also notice some of the cultivars having the word
f1 or AAS by it. These are important abbreviations to understand.
When you see f1 by the cultivar name,
that means the plant is a hybrid. Hybrids are cultivars that have been carefully bred
to exploit genetic phenomena.
Resulting in plants that are vigorous, uniform,
and may yield well. If you see AAS by the cultivar name,
that means that the plants have been selected as an All-America Selection winner.
All-America Selections is a independent group that
tests plant varieties nationally and regionally. Plants that are
AAS winners have been shown to perform well and have unique characteristics.
So the name of the plant can contain a lot of information
in just a few words.