Abstract
In 1753, Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus was the first to apply the scientific name Cornus florida to the plant we know as Flowering Dogwood. That simple and straightforward declarative sentence belies the complexity and obscurity of how Linnaeus named this and nearly 6,000 other plants in his seminal work, Species Plantarum. To understand what Linnaeus actually did requires a dive into the arcane world of 18th-century botany. And that is what this article endeavors to accomplish, to explain how Cornus florida, the 2018 VNPS Wildflower of the Year, got its name.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2018 The Quarterly of the Virginia Native Plant Society. This article first appeared in Sempervirens Quarterly Spring 2018: 5-6.
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Recommended Citation
Hayden, W. John. “How Cornus florida Got its Name.” Sempervirens Quarterly Spring 2018: 5-6.