Welcome
back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market. This week I’d like to talk about a topic that
was brought to my attention by a member of sustainable neighbors on Monday. I
Have to preface this by saying the obvious, in horticulture the botanical Latin
names of plants do occasionally change as new evidence sheds light on the
origin of a species. Normally such changes occur without any real notice and
for the most of us it’s no big deal. But the plant that just recently changed its
scientific name is causing quite a stir. You would think this is a strange
occurrence, gardeners up in arms, the Royal Horticultural Society being accused
of meddling for no real benefit and the usual drama you’d expect when something
has to change.
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| Rosemary – Salvia rosemarinus (formerly Rosemarinus officinalis) |
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| Common Sage - Salvia officinalis |
On
the 22nd of November the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in
Britain, opted to change the scientific name of Rosemary from Rosemarinus
officinalis to Salvia rosemarinus in light of studies done over the
last five years that included mapping the plant’s genes and comparing them to
the Sage family. This is one of the most high-profile plant name changes in a
long time since Rosemary’s name has gone unchallenged since it got it in 1753.
This change is pretty dramatic, as both the Sage genus (salvia) and the Rosemary
genus (rosemarinus) are known already to be related as they are both in
the Lamiaceae family which is commonly called the Mint Family. Believe it or
not most of the herbs you use in cooking belong to just a handful of families,
and in of that it’s not surprising that gene mapping will reveal closer family
relations than we ever thought possible. I mean, Mint, Basil, Sage, Rosemary,
Oregano, Agastache, Lavender, Catmint, Bee Balm, Marjoram, Cuban Oregano,
Savory, Lemon Balm and, Thyme are all in the mint family and are all culinary
herbs. All members of the mint family share just one common trait, square
stems, this is how botanists and naturalists identified the plants before the
internet, radio, or genetic testing. Another example is the Parsley or Carrot
family which contains, Parsley, Carrots, Parsnips, Celerac, Celery, Dill,
Fennel, Root Parsley, Anise, Chervil, Corriander/Cilantro, Cumin, Angelica and,
Cicley. Ironically there wasn’t much a fuss when the name of this family
changed from Umbelliferae to Apiaceae roughly around 2003
officially. I remember this change, because I first learned the scientific name
of the parsley family and thought, ‘Hey, this word sounds like the word
umbrella, and their flowers kind of look like an umbrella too…this makes
sense!” Then it changed and at the time
I couldn’t figure out what the new name came from, well it turns out that Pliny
the Elder named the plants Apium back in 50 CE. This was the first of a few
name changes I would encounter in my Horticultural career.
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| English Lavender ' Phenomenal' - Lavendula angustifolia 'Phenomenal' |
You
see, a few short years after that, the name of a common beloved garden annual
changed. Somewhere in the mid-2000’s Coleus, that part-shade, foliage
color-based plant with slightly minty smelling sap got added to the
Plectranthus genus. What we once knew as Coleus species now became Solenostemon
scutellarioides, talk about a mouthful, writing all that was painful. But
it doesn’t end there, the former annual betting plants got another name change
sometime recently and apparently are now Plectranthus scutellarioides,
right, that is so much better! Yeah you see, the lovely betting plant we know
as coleus, has had two name changes in twenty years and now it’s in a genus
that a bunch of you have never heard of, right? Wrong, Plectranthus is still in
the Mint family, and it’s two most famous existing members are Plectranthus
amboinicus which is better known as Cuban Oregano. The most famous member
of the Genus is Plectranthus verticillatus, or Swedish Ivy, the
succulent houseplant.
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| Cuban Oregano – Plectranthus amboinicus ‘Cerveza and Lime’ |
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| Variegated Cuban Oregano – Plectranthus amboinicus ‘Variegatus’ |
Getting
back to the point here, the Rosemary thing isn’t a big deal, it’s still in the
mint family, and honestly, it’s growing habits are a lot like a sage except
geared for tolerating heat. Its similarly slow growing, super aromatic and
without it; certain dishes would be bland and pointless. Ok, I admit Salvia
rosemarinus is interesting to say, but it rolls off the tongue with no losses
in the suave and sophisticated departments. Roll some r’s maybe toss on an
accent and bam, your sounding like the most cultured person in the room saying
normal botanical Latin names. Now if only some bored horticulturist with too
much grant money would genetically cross the two and make me some darn
Sagemary, I’d buy THAT for a dollar! Now, the study that prompted the name
change to rosemary is included below and as always I’d love to hear what you
readers think.
Here’s
the paper covering the name change:
With
all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to
advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably
don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover
the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research &
Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up
the backbone of this blog. Also, as of
the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the
acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With
that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and
fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell
Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on
Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look
for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
Plants
& Stuff Available Now:
All
the Stuff:
Soup Kits:
$6.00
Seasoning
Packets: $2.00
Ginger,
4oz Packet: $2.00
Pepper
Packets: $2.00
Garlic, Whole
Bulb: $1.00
Vegetables:
Kale,
Siberian: 3” - $3.00
Kale,
Dinosaur: 3” - $3.00
Swiss
Chard: 3” - $3.00
Houseplants & Annuals:
Kalanchoe: 4.5” - $4.00
Coming
Soon:
TBA
These
days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly
Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions
then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an
open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you
can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me
questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what
Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.
https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/
This brings to a close
the twenty-fourth LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which
should be posted on the 13th of December. There will be more garden
updates and other cool stuff.
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