An international body of botanists voted Thursday to rename more than 200 species of plants, fungi, and algae whose scientific names include variations of the word “caffra,” an Arabic word for ...

For almost 300 years, researchers have classified life on Earth with scientific names — two-word monikers like Homo sapiens that become a kind of permanent label. But there are those who argue that ...

While our daily interactions with our plants are limited, every proud plant parent knows that our leafy babies are more than just decorations. Not only can plants improve your health, but they often ...

Passiflora incarnata, Nymphaea odorata, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Asclepius incarnata! Sounds like spells from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, doesn’t it? While these words could come ...

When strolling through a garden center or flipping through a plant catalog, you’ll often notice two distinct names on each tag: a common name and a botanical name. While the common name feels friendly ...

I marvel at some of the English common names that our local plants have acquired. Some are fanciful (and a bit silly), such as mist-maiden and shy maiden. At least one is totally misleading: skunk ...

The Tradescantia genus has over 75 types of plants. They vary in color from purple, green, striped, solid and variegated. It has many names such as flowering inch plant, Purpurea, purple queen, Purple ...

Last year, in an issue of our monthly newsletter for Yakima Master Gardeners, Jenny Mansfield recounted a stroll through her winter garden on the way to refilling the bird feeders. She noted that Lamb ...