The a to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants by Allen Coombes

paradise flower
Strelitzia reginae
bird of paradise shrub
Caesalpinia gilliesii
bird’s eyes
Gilia tricolor
bird’s foot trefoil
Lotus corniculatus
bishop’s mitre
Epimedium
bistort
Persicaria bistorta
bitterbrush
Purshia tridentata
bittercress
Cardamine
. coral-root
C. bulbifera
bitternut
Carya cordiformis
bitterroot
Lewisia rediviva
bittersweet, American
Celastrus scandens
. oriental
C. orbiculatus
black cumin
Nigella sativa
black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta, Thunbergia alata
black horehound
Ballota nigra
black sarana
Fritillaria camschatcensis
blackberry
Rubus fruticosus
blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
blackwood
Acacia melanoxylon
bladder senna
Colutea arborescens
bladdernut
Staphylea
. American
S. trifolia
blanket flower
Gaillardia
blazing star
Chamaelirium luteum, Liatris, Mentzelia
bleeding heart
Lamprocapnos spectabilis
. Pacific
Dicentra formosa
bleeding heart vine
Clerodendrum thomsoniae
Blechnum L. (Blechnaceae).
blek
-noom. From Gk. name of a fern. 180 spp. ferns. Widespread.
chilense (Kaulf.) Mett. chi-
len
-see. Of Chile. Chile, Argentina.
discolor (G. Forst.) Keys.
dis
-ko-lor. Crown fern. Lat. two-coloured (the fronds). NZ.
fluviatile (R. Br.) Salom. flue-vee-
a
-tilee. Lat. of rivers. SE Australia, NZ.
magellanicum (Hook.) Mett. maj-uh-
lan
-i-koom. Of the Magellan reg. Tierra del Fuego, Falklands.
novae-zelandiae T. C. Chambers & P. A. Farrant.
noh
-vie-zee-
lan
-dee-ie. Of New Zealand. NZ.
nudum (Labill.) Mett. ex Luerss.
new
-doom. Fishbone water fern. Lat. naked (the frond stalks). Australia.
penna-marina (Poir.) Kuhn.
pen
-uh-
ma
-ri-nuh. Dwarf hard fern. Lat. sea pen (which the fronds resemble). Australia, S Am., NZ.
spicant (L.) Roth.
spee
-kuhnt. Deer fern, hard fern. Lat. tufted. Eur., Asia, W USA, W Canada.
tabulare (Thunb.) Kuhn. tab-ew-
lah
-ree. Lat. of Table Mt., where it was first collected. S Africa.
Bletilla Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae). blet-
il
-uh. Diminutive of the related
Bletia
(after Louis Blet, 18th-cent. Spanish apothecary). 5 spp. orchids. E and SE Asia.
striata (Thunb.) Rchb.f. stree-
ah
-tuh. Lat. striped (the pleated leaves). China, Korea, Japan.
bloodflower
Asclepias curassavica
bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis
blue mistflower
Conoclinium coelestinum
blue star creeper
Lobelia pedunculata
blue thimble flower
Gilia capitata
bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
. California
Phacelia campanularia
. Scottish
Campanula rotundifolia
. Spanish
Hyacinthoides hispanica
bluebell creeper
Billardiera heterophylla
blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
. lowbush
V. angustifolium
. New Zealand
Dianella nigra
blueblossom
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
. creeping
C. thyrsiflorus
var.
repens
blue-eyed grass
Sisyrinchium bermudiana
blue-eyed Mary
Omphalodes verna
bluejoint
Calamagrostis canadensis
bluestar
Amsonia
bluestem, big
Andropogon gerardii
. bushy
A. glomeratus.
little
Schizachyrium scoparium
bluets
Houstonia caerulea
Boenninghausenia Rchb. ex Meissn. (Rutaceae). bur-ning-how-
zen
-ee-uh. After Clemens Maria Franz Freiherr (Baron) von Bönninghausen (1785–1864), Dutch lawyer and botanist. 1 sp., shrub. E Asia.
albiflora (Hook.) Meissn. al-bi-
flaw
-ruh. Lat. white-flowered.
bog arum
Calla palustris
bog myrtle
Myrica gale
bogbean
Menyanthes trifoliata
Bolboschoenus (Asch.) Palla (Cyperaceae). bol-boh-
skeen
-oos. Bulrushes. Gk. bulb reed, referring to the corms. 14 spp. perenn. herbs. Widespread.
fluviatilis (Torr.) Soják. flue-vee-
at
-ilis. Lat. of rivers. N Am., N Mex., E Australia, NZ.
maritimus (L.) Palla. muh-
rit
-i-moos. Lat. of the sea (it often grows on coasts).
Boltonia L’Hér. (Asteraceae). bowl-
toh
-nee-uh. After James Bolton (1758–1799), English botanist. 6 spp. herbs. N Am.
asteroides (L.) L’Hér. as-tuh-
roy
-deez. White doll’s daisy. Lat. like
Aster
.
Bongardia C. A. Mey. (Berberidaceae). bon-
gard
-ee-uh. After August Gustav Heinrich von Bongard (1786–1839), German botanist. 1 sp., herb. E Medit.
chrysogonum (L.) Spach. kris-
og
-onoom.