The Naming of Flowers

by Anne Halpin

Familiar flowers are generally known by their common names - snapdragon, day lily, foxglove and the like. But the origins of those names are not so familiar, and this book sets out to explain the myths and facts behind such intriguing terms as pheasant's-eye, dame's violet and bleeding heart. The delphinium, for example is named for its similarity to the shape of a dolphin's nose, and catananche, the botanical name for Cupid's Dart, comes from a Greek word for "magic spell". 27 flowers are depicted in specially commissioned watercolours, and accompanied by an entertaining and informative text that traces the origin of both the Latin and common names of each plant, and offers further snippets of information about each flower, its history, characteristics and uses, and its botanic relations. Asters and foxgloves once had medicinal uses, as did many flowers; lavender has long been used for its fragrance, but for the Victorians it symbolized distrust, because the asp that killed Cleopatra hid under lavender bush; and marigolds symbolized sorrow and pain to the Aztecs, because of the blood-red blotches on their yellow petals.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weeding my gardening books, still. I was rather surprised to find I have accumulated four books about the origin of the names of flowers: 100 Flowers and How the Got Their Names by Diana Wells, The Language of Flowers edited by Sheila Pickles, Of Naked Ladies and Forget-Me-Nots by Allan M. Arbitrage, and this one. (You know you’re a bookaholic when....) The challenge is while they cover a lot of the same flowers, they offer different approaches. The Wells book seems more deeply researched and offers more information than this one on each flower as well as covering more plants. Pickles’ book is a beautifully produced hardcover in a box, with poems and art featuring each flower. Armitage’s book is self-published and lacks the design and printing quality of the others, but has a good narrative flow, he’s a natural storyteller and the book seems very readable.

Which leaves us with this one, The Naming of Flowers which is a fairly small book, with only about 60 pages. Half the content consists of lovely botanical illustrations by Rob Proctor, the other half is text, with one page devoted to each flower. As it was a quick read, I went ahead and read the whole thing. Halpin focuses a lot on the Greek or Roman myths that inspired the Latin names of the flowers. For example,the red-flowered Adonis (commonly known as Pheasant's Eye) is supposed to be the drops of blood Adonis shed after being fatally gored by a boar. Delphinium comes from the Greek word for dolphin because the spike of flowers resembles the nose of a bottle-nosed dolphin.

It’s an interesting little book, but because the design limited the text to just a few sentences, the writing tends to feel a bit choppy. Despite this, it repeats the same fact three times, that “wort” indicates a plant that was used medicinally. I’m not sure that Halpin researched very deeply. I compared the profiles of the same flower across multiple books. Halpin suggests that dianthus are called “pinks” because of their color. But Wells, whose bibliography indicates extensive research, notes that they were first called pinks in the 16th century, but the color pink didn’t come into the English language until the 18th century. Both she and Armitage suggest that pinks refer to the frilled edges of the petals, with Armitage referencing pinking shears used in sewing.

Verdict: While a pretty book, and interesting, this has more of a impulse gift book feel than a reference. I think the other books I have are stronger and more reliable, and this is one I could send on its way.

[Samantha Gronberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall it’s an easy read and a pretty book. It gives you some insight as to why different flowers have specific information. It’s definitely interesting but not very in-depth. Each entry is only one page and the book is relatively small. It would make a good gift for a plant lover.

[Gauri]

This is a very pretty vintage book that has a bare minimum amount of substance.
Halpin features about 20 different flowers that you would commonly find in a garden, and speaks briefly about each of them, though has little much to say other than a few sentences about the Greek tales associated with the name and its etymology.
The watercolor paintings accompanying each entry are very well done.