Since the first printing ofCarl Linnaeus'sSpecies Plantarum in 1753, plants have been assigned oneepithet or name for theirspecies and one name for theirgenus, a grouping of related species.^[1] Thesescientific names have been catalogued in a variety of works, includingStearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners.William Stearn (1911–2001) was one of the pre-eminent British botanists of the 20th century: a Librarian of theRoyal Horticultural Society, a president of theLinnean Society and the original drafter of theInternational Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.^[2][3]

The first column below listsseed-bearing species epithets fromStearn's Dictionary,Latin for Gardeners^[4] by Lorraine Harrison,The A to Z of Plant Names by Allen Coombes,The Gardener's Botanical^[5] by Ross Bayton, and the glossary of Stearn'sBotanical Latin.^[6] Epithets fromproper nouns,proper adjectives, andtwo or more nouns are excluded, along with epithets used only in species names that areno longer widely accepted.Classical and modern meanings are provided in the third column, along with citations toCharlton T. Lewis'sAn Elementary Latin Dictionary.^[7][a]

LG = language: (L)atin or (G)reek

L = derived from Latin, or both Classical Latin and Greek (unless otherwise noted)

G = derived from Greek

H = listed by Harrison, and (except as noted) by Bayton

D = listed inStearn's Dictionary

S = listed in Stearn'sBotanical Latin

DS = listed inStearn's Dictionary, with the word or root word listed inBotanical Latin

C = listed by Coombes