Botanical Labeling Guidelines for Artwork

Format for botanical labeling (examples):

Botanical name; Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro', common name; Daylily, Stella d’Oro

Botanical name; Acer palmatum atropurpureum common name: Bloodgood Japanese Maple

Botanical name: Ageratum houstonianum common name; Ageratum

Botanical name; Buddleia davidii ; common name; butterfly bush

Botanical name; Digitalis purpurea; common name: foxglove

A botanical name consists of two words and is therefore referred to as a “binomial.” By convention, the name is printed in italics. The first word represents the larger group the plant belongs to (the genus) and the first letter is always capitalized. The second word is the species and is always lowercase. The species name is often (but not always) descriptive of some aspect of the plant. For example, splendid scarlet sage is Salvia splendens, northern red oak is Quercus rubra, and the hawthorn Crataegus missouriensis was named after the state of Missouri.

The difference between the two nomenclatures being, that in Latin plant names the genus is listed first and is always capitalized. The species (or specific epithet) follows the genus name in lowercase, and the entire Latin plant name is italicized or underlined.

When the actual species is not known or specified, “sp.” can be used as an abbreviation; “spp.” is the plural form. These abbreviations are not italicized.

Additional Naming Conventions:

Infraspecific Notation: Connecting Terms

Belonging to the same species doesn’t fully define an individual plant ... variations exist in nature. In such cases, an additional term can added to the binomen. This information, called infraspecific notation, is for plant differences that fall below the rank of genus or species. These connecting terms have special abbreviations which are presented in regular case and placed before the italicized additional name. These terms may use the same Latin descriptors used in specific epithets.

Be aware that infraspecific notation is an attempt to further clarify a plant’s classification without a specific definition on where the lines are drawn. There are simply too many variations, which means the naming process does entail some subjective evaluation. Also note that, though the naming conventions below cover the majority of plant names, other less common notations do exist.

Below are the common connecting terms:

Subspecies: A plant that is a distinct variation of its species can be noted using “subsp.” or “ssp.” followed by its subspecies name. This is often based on a geographical difference.
Example: Euphorbia characias subsp. Wulfenii

Variety: Plants with a naturally occurring variation can be noted by using ‘var.’ before the identifying name. This notation is for smaller distinctions than those which define a subspecies.
Example: Philodendron hederaceum var. kirkbridei

Form: Plants with a very minor difference from its variety are noted with an “f.” designation. Ranked lower than variety (or subvariety) distinctions, differences in form may mean some small feature like fewer thorns or a unique leaf or flower color, etc. Example: Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum

Hybrids: Plant crosses are notated using a regular case “x” after the genus name. If the hybrid is the result of two species, both may be included. For example: Magnolia x loebneri. If a new species is created by hybridization, the epithet may be written with an “x” before its name, such
as ×Sorbaronia.

Cultivar: Cultivars are new plants that were bred in cultivation rather than being natural variations: the name cv. is short for “cultivated variety.”