This is why we use Latin names…

So the guy picking the pictures for your articles doesn’t do something stupid.

Can you spot the mistake?

Using common names can lead to serious identification problems, as common names vary from place to place.

What one person calls a “huckleberry” may not be the same plant as what another person calls a “huckleberry.”

Down in Grenada there were all kinds of strange names for plants. Trying to get a proper ID was often quite difficult or even impossible, as you couldn’t Google search a local name and find a Latin name, then look that up to see if you could find pictures of the appropriate plant.

Multiple trees were called “crab food,” which we discovered meant that they made fruit which was unpalatable to humans.

What we call “popcorn tree” in the Alabama is called “Chinese tallow tree” elsewhere.

And what we called “cogon grass” in Ocala is usually called “Jap grass” in Bay Minette.

Latin names are really useful. They give us an anchor in a sea of colloquial titles.

(Heck, I like Latin so much, I now attend the Latin Mass.)

PSA: If you’re going to write an article on plants and don’t know that Latin name for a species, please check with an expert before buying your stock photos.