Late summer care and getting your garden ready for autumn
Help your plants recover after the summer heat and prepare your garden soil to plant trees an...
Blog Latest News
What to sow in late summer and autumn
Late summer and autumn sowing guide: tree and shrub seeds with dormancy, seasonal vegetables ...
The impact of extreme heat on plants in the garden or terrace
Discover how extreme heat affects plants in gardens and terraces, and what you can do to prot...
GOODBYE TO ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS?
The Rosemary has decided to change its name. Well, not him, poor guy. But it turns out, we have been calling him wrong for more than 200 years.
Since Carlos Linnaeus introduced the binomial nomenclature of the species at the end of the 18th century, it has been considered that sage and rosemary were two distinct but very close genera, due to a small difference in stamens.
But according to a study published in 2017 in the Taxon magazine of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, Bryan Drew and his co-authors compared DNA sequences in plants of the genus Salvia, Rosmarinus, Dorystaechas, Meriandra, Perovskia and Zhumeria. The DNA showed that all were equally related and the authors proposed to put all plants in the genus Salvia.
The alternative would have been to divide the Salvia genera into several genera, since it currently includes subgroups that differ in the same way as these five small genera with their own name. Dividing Salvia into its subgroups would require new names for just over 700 plants. In contrast, by merging the five small genera into Salvia, a total of 15 species are renamed, which is easier.
Therefore, the old name Rosmarinus officinalis will become synonymy, which in botany means that it is relegated by a more modern denomination, and is officially renamed Salvia rosmarinus.
Like Rosemary, Rosmarinus tomentosus is renamed Salvia granatensis (because it grows mainly in Granada, Spain) and Rosmarinus eriocalyx is now called Salvia jordanii (in commemoration of the French botanist Claude Jordan (1814-1897). The epithets or “surnames "of those Rosemary were already taken by the genus Salvia, so they will be less recognizable in the future. On the other hand, the Russian Sage or Perovskia atripicifolia is now called Salvia yangii. The epithet commemorates Chang Y. Yang (1928–), a Chinese botanist who described one of the synonyms of Perovskia atriplicifolia.
The other renamed genera have not transcended much because they are not as well known as the beloved Rosemary, whose change has generated quite a stir. But we have to adapt to the new times.
John David, Chief of the Horticultural Taxonomy at the Royal Horticultural Society of England (RHS), who will include the new nomenclatura in the next edition of the RHS Plant Finder quotes: “Not everyone will approve of this change in the scientific name of a much loved garden plant but it is important that our naming system reflects the latest science otherwise it stands to lose its meaning”.
So you know: Goodbye Rosmarinus officinalis (although we still like it better...),
Hello Salvia rosmarinus!!!
Thank you for your comments or corrections.
REFERENCES:
Drew, B.T., J. Gonzalez-Gallegos, C.-L. Xiang, R. Kriebel, C. P.. Drummond, J. B. Walker and K. J. Sytsma. 2017. “Salvia united: the greatest good for the greatest number”. Taxon 66 (1): 133-145.
Jane Perrone., “Why I love botanical Latin — and you should too”, Financial Times, nov, 22th 2019, https://www.ft.com/content/bd37b52a-055d-11ea-a958-5e9b7282cbd1
Helena Horton, “Rosemary is not a rosemary, rules RHS - it's a sage, as they tell gardeners to change plant labels”, The Telegraph, , nov, 22th 2019 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/22/rosemary-not-rosemary-rules-rhs-sage-tell-gardeners-change/?fbclid=IwAR01P6sljU-Qvj0hu_4P3z-tP_AHji9aw22DvrHRcC8Jl39XlCQX4PcGpQI&sfns=mo
Kathy Keeler, “What Happened to Rosemary?”, A Wandering Botanist, Aug 26, 2018 http://khkeeler.blogspot.com/2018/08/what-happened-to-rosemary.html
Related Products
Reviews (1)
TD Saturday, April 11, 2020 Assessment8
Pues yo seguiré llamándolo Rosmarinus!
Subscribe to our Newsletter
We offer tips and deals to enjoy your garden all year round
PRIVACY POLICY SUMMARY
- Responsible: FRUTOS Y SEMILLAS DEL BOSQUE, S.L. +info
- Data collection: For marketing activities and for transaction processing. +info
- Legitimation: Consent of the interested. +info
- Destinatary: No data will be transferred to third parties unless legally required or if the assignment is necessary to achieve the objective. +info
- Disclaimer rights: You have the right to access, rectify and delete data, as well as other rights, as explained in the additional information. +info
- Additional information: You can access to additional, detailed information on privacy policy here.
- Poligono Les Vinyes - Carrer dels Torners, s/n
46711 Miramar (Valencia) Spain - (+34) 646 433 048 (M-F from 8am to 3pm)
- [email protected]
2026 The Original Garden. All rights reserved