Botanical Names of Plants

Commercial name Source Botanical name of plant Growiag area... 

The botanical names of plants are cited in accordance with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) as described, for example, [231]. 

In order to plan a rotation, you need some working knowledge of how botanical names of plants indicate relationships. All plants have a two-part botanical name, consisting of a genus name and a species name. For example, the botanical name of cucumber is Ciicumis sativus. Cucumis is the genus name, sativus is the specific epithet. Together these make up the species name, Cucumis sativus. 

The correct botanical name of this pantropical flowering plant is Catharanthus roseus G. Don. A commonly used name is Vinca rosea L. 

Gachathi, F.N. Kikuyu Botanical Dictionary of Plant Names and Uses. AMREF. Nairobi. 1989. 

The family and botanical name of the plant used according to the binomial system (genus, species, variety and the authority, i.e. the reference to the originator of the classification, e.g. Linnaeus). It may also be appropriate to add the vernacular name and the therapeutic use in the country or region of origin of the plant. 

EXTENSIONS AND COMMENTARY Mescaline is one of the oldest psychedelics known to man. It is the major active component of the small dumpling cactus known as Peyote. It grows wild in the Southwestern United States and in Northern Mexico, and has been used as an intimate component of a number of religious traditions amongst the native Indians of these areas. The cactus has the botanical name of Lophophora williamsii or Anhalonium lewinii and is immediately recognizable by its small round shape and the appearance of tufts of soft fuzz in place of the more conventional spines. The dried plant material has been classically used with... 

The sunn plant is a member of the Pea family, its genus is Crotalaria, which has 200 species, of which three (white, green, dewghuddy) are grown for fiber in India. The botanical name of the fiber is Crotalaria juncea. [109]... 

Some confusion exists about the botanical name of this plant, and names such as Lochnera rosea. Vinca rosea, and Ammocallis rosea are sometimes used the correct name is Catharanthus roseus [2]. Vinca is another genus in the Apocynaceae, and Vinca major and V minor are classified in this genus, but produce a very different range of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids. 

The botanical name of cannabis is Cannabis sativa and it is often referred to as marijuana or grass (herbal cannabis) and hashish or hash (cannabis resin), terms associated with cannabis grown for its illicit use, or as hemp, a term usually associated with cannabis plants grown for their fiber content. 

Citrus parodist Macfad (Rutaceae) is the botanical name of grapefruit, whose juice is widely known to affect dmg bioavaUabiUty in humans [44,129]. Grapefruit juice contains flavruioids, a large class of plant polyphenoUc secondary metabolites that have various pigmental and antimicrobial functirms, and which are also found in many other plants and vegetables. They are studied for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity, and ability to prevent cardiovascular diseases. 

Figure 4.4 The general protocol for information extraction from an herbal text (A-E) is paired with case examples from our work with the Ambonese Herbal by Rumphius. (A) Text is digitized. (B) Through either manual reading or automated extraction the plant name(s), plant part(s), and symptoms or disorders are identified. (C) These extracted data are then updated (as necessary) to reflect current names of the plants, using the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), and the pharmacological function(s) of the described medicinal plants are extrapolated from the mentioned symptoms and disorders. (D) The current botanical names are queried against a natural products database such as the NAPRALERT database to determine whether the plant has been previously examined. (E) Differential tables are generated that separate the plants examined in the literature from plants that may warrant further examination for bioactivity. (Adapted from Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, with permission.) See color plate.

Henbane is a biennial herb growing wild in Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, and cultivated in several other countries (Robbers et al. 1996). The ancient Egyptians mention its use in the Ebers Papyrus, written circa 1500 B.C.E. (Shultes and Hofman 1992). It was also mentioned in writings by the ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides for its medicinal uses. It has been suggested that the Oracle of Delphi inhaled smoke from henbane seeds to induce a prophetic trance. The plant is poisonous to livestock animals, as indicated by its common name henbane, and by its botanical name hyoscyamus, meaning "hog bean."... 

The members of this family—botanically named the Solanaceae, after the nightshade plant—are all valued for their fruits, with the exception of the potato, where it is the tubers that are eaten. Potatoes do bear small, green tomato-like fruits, but these are poisonous, and should never be eaten. The family includes ... 

In botanical nomenclature, the name of a plant consists of its genus name (first letter in upper case) and specific name (all lower case letters), both italicized the author citation (abbreviation of the name of the botanist who first described the plant) and within parentheses, the name of the family to which it belongs. 

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