Latin to English – common plant names
With hundreds of thousands of plant species across the world, we have put together a list of Latin to English common plant names to help you identify what to ask for.
Why use Latin to name plants?
Botanical Latin is the language used throughout the world for naming and describing plants. Some of the very first writing about plants was in Latin and the Swedish botanist Linnaeus who lived in the 18th Century formally established the tradition that all plants should be given Latin names (or names of Latin form) and also that works relating to them should also be in Latin. Thankfully, whilst we still name plants in Latin we are no longer compelled to use it whilst writing about them!
This tradition of using Latin has continued for many good reasons not least that it has an abundance of words to describe the characteristics of plants such as colour, texture, size, and form. Also, since Latin is no longer spoken in an everyday sense the meanings of words in Latin do not change. (Remember, in English, a computer once referred to a person who adds up.) The other major advantage of using Latin is that the words mean the same to people wherever they are in the world and whatever their mother tongue.
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Abies | Fir |
| Acer | Japenese Maple |
| Acer | Sycamore |
| Acer campestre | Field maple |
| Achillea | Yarrow |
| Aesculus | Horse Chestnut |
| Agapanthus | African lily |
| Agastache | Hyssop |
| Ajuga | Bugle |
| Alcea | Hollyhock |
| Alchemilla | Lady’s mantle |
| Alnus | Alder |
| Allium | Ornamental onion |
| Alstroemeria | Peruvian lily |
| Anemone | Japenese anemone |
| Anthriscus | Cow parsley |
| Aquilegia | Granny’s bonnet |
| Araucaria | Monkey Puzzle |
| Artemisia | Wormwood |
| Asplenium | Birds nest fern |
| Astelia | Silver spear |
| Astrantia | Masterwort |
| Aucuba | Spotted Laurel |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Bergenia | Elephant’s ears |
| Berberis | Barberry |
| Betula | Birch |
| Blechnum | Hard fern, deer fern |
| Brunnera | Siberian bugloss |
| Buddleja | Butterfly Bush |
| Buxus | Box, Common box |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Calamagrostis | Feather reed grass |
| Calluna | Heather |
| Carex | Sedge |
| Carpinus | Hornbeam |
| Caryopteris | Bluebeard |
| Ceanothus | Californian lilac |
| Cedrus | Cedar |
| Chaenomeles | Flowering quince |
| Chamaecyparis | Lawson’s cypress |
| Choisya | Mexican orange blossom |
| Cistus | Rockrose |
| Convallaria | Lily-of-the-valley |
| Cornus | Dogwood |
| Corylus | Hazelnut |
| Corylus avellana | Corkscrew hazel |
| Cotinus | Smokebush |
| Crataegus | Thorn |
| Crocosmia | Montbretia |
| Cupressus | Italian cypress |
| Cytisus | Broom |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Dicksonia | Tree fern |
| Digitalis | Foxglove |
| Dryopteris | Fern |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Echinacea | Coneflower |
| Echinops | Globe thistle |
| Elaeagnus | Oleaster |
| Erica | Heather |
| Eryngium | Sea holly |
| Erysimum | Wallflower |
| Eucalyptus | Gum Tree |
| Euonymus ‘Emerald n Gold’ | Wintercreeper |
| Euonymus | Spindle tree |
| Euphorbia | Spurge |
| Exochorda | Pearl bush |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Fagus sylvatica | Beech |
| Fagus sylvatica pururea | Copper beech |
| Fargesia | Bamboo |
| Fraxinus | Ash |
| Forsythia | Golden Bell Bush |
| Fiscus | Weeping fig |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Garrya | Silk Tassel Bush |
| Galanthus | Snowdrop |
| Geranium | Cranesbill |
| Genista | Broom |
| Geum | Avens |
| Griselinia littoralis | Broadleaf |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Hamamelis | Witch Hazel |
| Hebe | Shrubby veronica |
| Hedera | Ivy |
| Helenium | Sneezeweed |
| Helichrysum | Curry plant |
| Helleborus | Lenten Rose |
| Helleborus niger | Christmas rose |
| Hemerocallis | Daylily |
| Heuchera | Coral bells |
| Hibiscus | Tree hollyhock |
| Hosta | Plantain Lily |
| Hylotelephium | Sedum, Stonecrop |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Ilex | Holly |
| Ilex crenata | Box-leaved holly |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Jasminum | Jasmine |
| Juniperus | Juniper |
| Juglans | Walnut |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Kalmia | Calico Bush |
| Kniphofia | Red hot poker |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Laurus nobilis | Bay Laurel |
| Lavandula | Lavender |
| Lavatera | Mallow |
| Leucanthemum | Shatsa daisy |
| Leucothoe | Switch ivy |
| Leycesteria | Himalayan honeysuckle |
| Ligustrum’ Aureum’ | Golden privet |
| Ligustrum ovalifolium | Privet |
| Lilium | Oriental lily |
| Liriope | Big blue lily-turf |
| Lonicera | honeysuckle |
| Luzula nivea | Snowy woodrush |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Mahonia | Oregon Grape |
| Malus | Ornamental Crab, Crab apple |
| Matteuccia | Shuttlecock fern |
| Miscanthus | Chinese silver grass |
| Monarda | Bergamot |
| Morus | Mulberry |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Nandina | Heavenly bamboo |
| Nepeta | Catmint |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Olea | Olive |
| Olearia | Daisy bush |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Pachysandra | Japanese Spurge |
| Parthenocissus | Boston Ivy |
| Papaver | Poppy |
| Persicaria | Knotgrass |
| Perovskia | Russian sage |
| Pennisetum | Fountain grass |
| Philadelphus | Mock Orange |
| Phormium | New Zealand Flax |
| Phyllostachys | Bamboo |
| Picea | Spruce |
| Pieris | Andromeda, Lily-of-the-valley |
| Pinus | Pine |
| Pittosporum | Kohuhu |
| Polystichum setiferum | Soft shield fern |
| Primula veris | Cowslip |
| Prunus ‘Kojo-no-mai’ | Fuji cherry |
| Prunus laur ‘Rotundifolia’ | Laurel |
| Prunus lusitanica | Portuguese Laurel |
| Prunus spinosa | Blackthorn |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Quince | Chaenomeles |
| Quercus Robur | Oak |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Rosa | Rose |
| Rosmarinus | Rosemary |
| Rudbeckia | Black eyed Susan, Coneflower |
| Rhamus | Buckthorn |
| Ribes | Flowering Currant |
| Rubus | Blackberry |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Salix | Pussy willow |
| Salvia | Sage |
| Sambucus | Black tower elder |
| Sarcococca | Sweetbox |
| Sorbus | Rowan, Mountain Ash |
| Stachys | Lamb’s ears |
| Stipa gigantea | Golden Oats |
| Syringa | Lilac |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Taxus | Yew |
| Tiarella | Foam flower |
| Tilia | Lime |
| Thuja | Western Red Cedar |
| Trachelospermum | Star jasmine |
| Trollius | Globe flower |
| Tsuga | Western Hemlock |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Ulex | Gorse |
| Ulmus | Elm |
| Latin Name | Common Name |
| Veronica | Speedwell |
| Vinca | Periwinkle |
Click here to view common to Latin plant names
