Animalic Plant Names Hint at the Past

Have you ever noticed how many plants, flowers especially, have an animal in their common name? Back when most of civilization engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, it was natural to name new things and experiences after more familiar aspects of life. It made for easier recall and association. Plants were no exception.

Of course, common plant names include many references besides animals; but the animalic ones are arguably the most fun, and most of us can name at least a few: Catnip. Foxgloves. Hen-and-Chicks.Tiger Lily.

Just for kicks, I put together a list (excluding insects) and was shocked to reach over seventy plants! And that’s just the ones I could think of. Maybe you can add a few more. I’ve updated the list several times already.

As you might guess, many are wildflowers and native plants. Livestock and once-abundant wild creatures dominate the list, for they were the animals everyone knew. Most associations are obvious like a resemblance of some kind; a few are quirky. It’s reassuring to know someone in antiquity had fun naming a plant, and everyone else thought so too– or it wouldn’t have stuck.

The names remind me of long-ago farmers, serfs, housewives and pioneers who first encountered these very plants and had to come up with an easy to remember name. While most seem quaint or old-fashioned by today’s standards, they nevertheless connect us across the ages. Some go back to Roman times or earlier.

Who hasn’t fingered a lamb’s ear leaf and thought of some shepherd or farm lass petting a lamb? Or realized from names like wolfsbane and rattlesnake master that wild animals once threatened our forebears? Or imagined a whimsical vixen slipping her dainty paw into a “foxglove” in some silly fairytale?

Of course not all associations are self-evident. We might not know why the trout lily is named for a fish, but a fisherman certainly would. Or that cranesbill gets its moniker for the long, beak-like fruit capsules that form after flowering.

Let’s say you’re out driving and you pass a field of oxeye daisies. What does “oxeye” bring to mind?

Literally it’s a weed, an introduced species that’s become invasive in much of the US. Oxeyes can quickly crowd out native plants and should never be planted where it can spread unchecked.

I don’t think of oxeye as a pesky weed, though. I picture old Dutch paintings with cows in daisy-filled pastures, yoked oxen straining at the plough, pioneer children tending cattle with a switch, the liquid depths of a cow’s eye rimmed in very long lashes indeed.

Such assocations are sanguine, yes, but also calming, even grounding. They reassure us that despite war, famine, habitat loss, dictators and hurricanes, the seeds of life have managed to carry on unbroken for centuries– until now, that is. With climate change looming, all species are under threat as never before.

We can help. As gardeners we have a role in helping to guard against extinction. Ancient plants with funny names like Pussytoes and Crowsfoot and Bear’s Breeches remind us we can’t foresake our legacy species entirely for hybrids. We need to propagate and protect native vegetation too, while also developing hardier strains to withstand the coming changes.

So make room in your garden for both. Support land conservation; grow wildflowers; donate to seed banks and all the rest.

Meanwhile, enjoy perusing the list below. How many plants do you recognize? Can you picture what each looks like? Who knew there were so many animals involved!

Feel free to add to it in the Comments. Remember, no insects– we have to draw the line somewhere!