A Note About The Botanical
Pronunciation Guide
February, 2008.
The
Plan: Add a few more whenever I get
a minute...until it's done (Will it EVER be done before I abandon
the earthly orb? We can only hope and pray!).
A Note:
I used a number of presumed-to-be competent resources in compiling this list
of botanical names and words...not the least among those are several decades
of practical experience — not to mention boxes and shelves overflowing
with clippings, notes, and research papers. It'll be good to eventually
see it digitalized so I can finally recycle all this paper!
Another
Note: I could have included those funny little
pronunciation marks so common inside the front and back covers of many
dictionaries...but decided against. There's little I like less than bouncing
annoyingly back and forth between a word and a complicated list of dots,
little lines, squiggles, and other mysterious cryptographs! I've pronounced
them here as they should sound in the real world...by real-world
gardeners.
By the way,
emphasis is never on the last syllable of a botanical name or word, and an e
on the end is nearly always pronounced "ee" — Example: Aloe AL-oh-ee
(e as in "eek!").
If you don't find
the word you're looking for—or you choose to disagree—please feel free to
email us and we'll search it out...and then do the right thing. Teamwork!...Gotta
love it!
Close
this window
