Misleading Plant Names
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ in a Minute
Episode Archive
Episode #79 | Original Air Date: June 18, 2020
Related Resources
- Gardening Solutions: Plant Names
- Scientific and Common Plant Names--UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
- Plants by Scientific Name
Transcript
What’s in a name? Some of the common names we use for plants can be misleading.
In some cases, a plant’s common name is botanically incorrect. Sagos and cardboard palms aren’t palms at all. They’re cycads--a primitive plant group that’s been around since the time of the dinosaurs.
Swedish ivy is neither an ivy nor Swedish. It’s actually a South African relative of Cuban oregano.
And don’t blame the Spanish for that moss in your trees. Spanish moss is native to the Americas, and is a bromeliad that is related to the pineapple.
Common names can be fun, but confusing. When in doubt it’s helpful to refer to a plant’s Latin name.
Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ in a Minute is a production of the University of Florida’s Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program, IFAS Extension, and WUFT-FM in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
