Names and Shapes

It's interesting to know about how
plants derive their names from peo-
ple: the dahlia is named in honour
of Andreas Dahl, an 18th century
Swedish botanist. The loganberry
after Judge James Logan, an Ame-
rican horticulturist who bred it
in the late 19th century, and the
greengage after Sir William Gage,
an English botanist who brought the
fruit into England from France.
Plants are often named after the
shape of their leaves or flowers.
A dandelion, from the French dent-
de-lion, which means "a lion's tooth".
Other plants named after their shape
include, from the Greek, aspidistra
(shield), delphinium (dolphin), and
hepatica (liver). From Latin we have
aster (star), gladiolus (small sword)
palm ( the palm of the hand).
Got these facts from an old clipping
I'd taken from a magazine ages ago.
Fellow Blotanists might enjoy reading
this.