Botanical Latin
The form of Latin used for scientific plant names, with many descriptive words worth learning.
Scientific plant names are written in a special Latin that borrows heavily from Greek and from people and place names. The species word is often a description, and a few go a long way. Alba means white, rubra red, lutea yellow. Odorata and fragrans mean scented. Grandiflora means large-flowered. Japonica, sinensis and indica point to Japan, China and India, although not always correctly. Officinalis marks a plant once sold by apothecaries as medicine.