by Kevin Burton
Apologies right up front for all you lawn rangers, fighting the good fight for greener, pristiner front yards. Merriam-Webster calls the dandelion a flower.
And I supposed by some measures it is. But don’t try giving your wife dandelions on your anniversary. You may end up with dandelion soup for dinner, or worse.
Children seem to like dandelions, like to pick them and put them in vases. Is it true that picking dandelions only makes them grow back faster?
“Picking the flowers will stop seed production, and it is good exercise,” writes Dick Crum, who writes the “Dear Mr. Dirt” column in the Indianapolis Star. “This does not, however, kill the plant, which will bloom several times during the growing season.”
“Unfortunately, those tiny little seeds float freely through the air on the slightest breeze. You could pick every dandelion flower in your yard, but you cannot prevent the influx of seed from the neighborhood.”
“The best dandelion control is a thick, dense lawn and perhaps a broadleaf lawn weed killer applied in the fall,” Crum-Mr. Dirt writes. “This stops the plants while they are small. Every dandelion that blooms in your lawn in the spring was growing there in the fall.”
Anyway, the flower-word etymologies I promised yesterday are here today, having sprung from the fertile soil of Merriam-Webster dictionary.
I hope we get to your favorite flower today, even if we begin with your least favorite:
Dandelion
Though widely considered a pesky weed, the name dandelion has a majestic meaning: it comes from Anglo-French dent de lion which literally means “lion’s tooth” because of its sharply indented leaves.
Pansy
The name for this delicate flower is deeper than it seems: the word pansy is related to the word pensive. It comes from Middle French pensée meaning “thought,” from the past participle of penser “to think,” and ultimately from Latin pensare “to ponder.”
Azalea
Borrowed from Greek azaléā, the feminine of azaléos, azalea means literally “dry, parched, withered.” Apparently this flowering shrub was given its name because of its ability to thrive in a dry climate.
Carnation
What is the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the soft, fluffy flowers called carnations? Probably not flesh. But the word carnation actually comes from Middle French, from Old Italian carnagione, from carne meaning “flesh.” It is related to words like carnage and carnivore. Why is a flower named after flesh? Because of the fleshy hues of some varieties.
Tulip
The name of the cup-shaped tulip comes from the Turkish word tülbent which means “turban.” The flower got its name from the resemblance of its overlapping petals to the folds of fabric in a turban, a headdress worn chiefly in countries of the eastern Mediterranean and southern Asia.
Daisy
Daisy is from Old English dægesēage, from dæg meaning “day” and ēage meaning “eye.” This is because the flower opens or “wakes” in the morning and closes or “sleeps” at night. The ray-like appearance of the daisy as it wakes and sleeps with the sun reminds one of an eye that opens in the morning and closes at night.
Fern
The name of this frondy flowerless plant comes from Old English fearn which is related to a Sanskrit word parṇa meaning “wing,” probably from the shape of its fronds.
Hydrangea
The hydrangea, a popular flowering shrub, gets its name not from the shape of its flowers or leaves, but from the shape of its seed pods: from Greek hydr- meaning “water” and angeîon meaning “vessel, container,” the name refers to the cup-like capsules that hold its seeds.
Calendula
The calendula, a plant in the daisy family, probably gets its name from Italian calendola “the plant Calendula officinalis,” from calenda “first day of the month” because it blooms monthly.
Another name for the calendula is pot marigold. Most of the flowers we call marigolds, however, belong to a different genus within the daisy family. Marigold comes from Middle English Mary (mother of Jesus) and gold, in recognition of Mary, and for the golden color of the flowers.
Petunia
The pretty petunia with its trumpet shaped flowers gets its name from the Tupi word petí̵ma which means “tobacco.” While petunias are ornamental and the tobacco plant is grown for its leaves, the two plants are botanically related.
Iris
The word iris is borrowed from Latin īrid-, īris “rainbow,” borrowed from Greek meaning “rainbow, iridescent halo around the moon.” The etymology of this word is for both the flower and the colored part of the eye.
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