Scientific Names of Plants
Plants have been referred since times immemorial and in all nations and tribes they might have been given names in their own languages. Thus the same plant would have several names or the same common name might be applied to different plants. Thus there was a need for scientific internationally accepted name for a species which gives it its precise identity and recognition anywhere in the world.
The scientific binomial system of naming the plants was developed and introducedfor the first time by Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), a Swedish naturalist, in 1753. This system came to be known as 'Binomial System of Nomenclature'.
According to the binomial system, the name of an organism consists of two Latin or Latinised words. The first word, which always begins with a capital letter, is called 'Generic Epithet' or 'Genus'. The second word, which unlike genus begins with a lower case letter, is called 'Specific Epithet' or 'Species'. These words should be written in italics or should be underlined. Thus, for the scientific name of Pea - Pisum sativum, the first word Pisum designates the genus and the second word sativum designates the species.
Below is the list of plants arranged alphabetically according to their scientific names, so go ahead and find the plant of your interest!!!