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(http://connect.nola.com/user/dgill/index.html) By Dan Gill, The Times-Picayune gardencolumnist (http://connect.nola.com/user/dgill/posts.html)on January 16, 2014 at 12:30 PM, updated January 16, 2014 at 12:31 PM

In one of the most quoted lines from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," Juliet says,"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell assweet."

Although she's thinking about Romeo, her meaning is clear: an object does not change

based on what we call it. A rose will look, smell and be what it is regardless of thename we give it.

Names may not matter when it comes to romance, but in gardening, they're reallyimportant. You might see a bush with pink owers blooming in someone's yard andwant to purchase one. Without the name, you'll have a hard time expecting a nursery'ssta to know what you want just from a description of a bush with pink owers.

Things can get surprisingly complicated if you don't know a plant's proper or complete

name. Say, for instance, you walk into the nursery and ask for a jasmine. The responsecould be, "Are you looking for a Confederate jasmine, Asiatic jasmine, yellow

jessamine, primrose jasmine or Grand Duke jasmine."

Knowing the proper name also is the key to nding out information about a plant.

Want to improve your gardening? LearnLatin

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Quercus shumardii , the Shumard oak.

The species name must be paired with a genus to mean anything; by itself it ismeaningless. The two names together form the Latin or scienti c name. Since they arein a foreign language, Latin names are italicized or underlined in text.

Pronunciation often is a challenge, but you should just do your best. And you don'thave to know how to pronounce a name to recognize it or write it, so it's not aninsurmountable obstacle. These days, there are even websites that provide helpfulpronouncing guides.

So, I encourage you to put aside your "nomenclaturephobia" and try to utilize Latinnames more often in your gardening e orts.

Scienti c names are often critical to properly identifying plants. And whenever you'reasking questions, doing research or looking to buy a particular plant, there are manyinstances where having the Latin name will make your e orts more e ective.

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