Latin Names - Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of classification. Each individual plant is a species; similar species are linked into genera, and similar genera are linked into families. In scientific notation, the initial letter of the genus name is capitalized, but that of the species name is not. Thus, Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus citriodora and Eucalyptus smithii are all different species within the Eucalyptus genus. In a few cases the Latin name will appear differently, indicating that the plant is a hybrid. For instance, peppermint oil, Mentha x piperita, is known to be a hybrid between Mentha spicata, spearmint, and Mentha aquatica, water mint.
You may think that learning Latin names of essential oils is a waste of time, difficult and unnecessary. Not so. Here are some reasons why taxonomy is important in aromatherapy.
- Sometimes English names are confusing. For instance, sweet marjoram and Spanish marjoram are not closely related and cannot be substituted for each other, even though the names are similar. Sweet marjoram is Origanum majorana while Spanish marjoram is Thymus mastichina.
- If you are in America and see an oil from France with the name "Pamplemousse" on it but no Latin name, you could be unaware that this is grapefruit oil. If, however, the oil was French but had the Latin name Citrus paradiso as well, you would know what you had bought.
- In some cases, a plant oil may be obtainable from a number of species within that particular genus, but the properties of each species may be significantly different both therapeutically and chemically, and one species may be much safer than others in that genus. The *Eucalyptus* oils are an obvious example here, with Eucalyptus smithii generally regarded as the safest for children.
- In a similar vein to the above, sometimes subspecies exist which may differ in their safety and uses. For instance, Ocimum basilicum var. album (European or sweet basil) has a lower percentage of 'phenolic ethers' than Ocimum basilicum var. basilicum (exotic basil) and is considered a safer oil to use than the latter.
Biologists being what they are, the situation is not always so clear cut. Sometimes a plant will be renamed as someone has discovered it is more similar to Plant A than Plant B.
In biology and botany, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. As the word "binomial" suggests, the scientific name of a species is formed by the combination of two terms: the genus name and the specific descriptor. Although the fine detail will differ, there are certain aspects which are universally adopted:
- Scientific names are usually printed in italics, such as Homo sapiens. When handwritten they should be underlined.
- The first term (genus name / generic name) is always capitalized, while the specific descriptor (in zoology, the "specific name", in botany, the "specific epithet") never is, even when derived from a proper name.
For example, Canis lupus or Anthus hodgsoni. Note that this is a modern convention: Carolus Linnaeus always capitalized the specific descriptor, and up to the early 20th century it was common to capitalize the specific descriptor if it was based on a proper name. Although not correct according to modern practices, a capitalized specific descriptor is sometimes still used in non-scientific literature based on older sources.
- In scholarly texts, the main entry for the binomial is followed by the abbreviated (botany) or full surname of the scientist who first published the classification. If the species was assigned to a different genus in the description than it is today, the abbreviation or name of the describer and the description date is set in parentheses.
For example: Amaranthus retroflexus L. or Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) - the latter was originally described as member of the genus Fringilla, hence the parentheses.
- When used with a common name, the scientific name usually follows in parentheses.
For example, "The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is decreasing in Europe."
- The scientific name should generally be written in full when it is first used or when several species from the same genus are being listed or discussed in the same paper or report. It may then be abbreviated by just using an initial (and period) for the genus; for example Canis lupus becomes C. lupus. In rare cases this abbreviation form has spread to more general use — for example the bacterium Escherichia coli is often referred to as just E. coli, and Tyrannosaurus rex is perhaps even better known simply as T. rex.
- The abbreviation "sp." (zoology) or "spec." (botany) is used when the actual specific name cannot or need not be specified. The abbreviation "spp." (plural) indicates "several species".
For example: "Canis sp.", meaning "one species of the genus Canis".
- Easily confused with the former is the abbreviation "ssp." (zoology) or "subsp." (botany) indicates an unspecified subspecies (see also trinomen, ternary name). "sspp." or "subspp." indicates "a number of subspecies".
- The abbreviation "cf." is used when the identification is not confirmed.
The following is just a few of the 'translations' for the botanical names given to essential oils.
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