Carl Linnaeus
Where would we be if Carl Linnaeus hadn't given us the latin binomial system? Well I guess the term would just be something I had to learn in algebra and promptly forgotten. If I get asked if I speak a different language, I sometimes stammer out nemnoga, or un poco depending on the situation. But really when you think about it, rattling off genus and species on a walk around the garden or through the greehnhouse is speaking a language and sometimes I feel like I know it a bit better than the english version with all it's predicate adjectives and linking verbs to get to the point.
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| Carl von Linneaus |
I give Linnaeus props, he not only created his own system of science, essentially creating a language that I can understand. But when the beautiful genus Morae was named in honor of the English botanist Robert More, Linnaeus had the balls to change the spelling to Moraea as it was his wifes maiden name.
Linnaeus seems to have led a pretty good life, following the flowers, living the dream, He went plant exploring extensively, he curated a few different botanical gardens in his lifetime, taught botany, founded the royal academy, took a job as a professor of medicine but decided he liked the garden better so made himself the director of the University Botanical Garden finishing his career as the president, publishes the Species plantarum, essentially a monograph of every described plant in the world in the 1750's. Retires and the king makes him a Knight. What a life!
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| Iris reticulata |
The Iris are starting in now, here is a little phenology chart for the last three months in case you are planning a winter show sometime:
December:
Iris planifolia
January:
Iris aucheri 'indigo'
February:
Iris reticulata
Iris hyrcana 'Talish'
Linneaus realized that people couldn't really understand plants if everyone was speaking a different language. Of course Linnaeus named the genus Iris for the Greek goddess who carried messages down from Mt. Olympus on a Rainbow. I mean come on, what's not to like about a guy who thought that was a good way to name plants? Creating a language is not something trifle, describing every known plant at the time a pretty big task, but calling the Iris an Iris, well that's just brilliant.
Language is so important because as I've come to observe, the digital age has made us all really bad at communication. In this day of emails, texts, awkward pauses and interruptions on teams and zoom and emojis, it can be hard to pick up what inflection someone is trying to get across. For someone who relishes his hands in the dirt, his head in the sun, and whose best times have been spent pulling weeds in many a fine garden, spending this past year behind a computer screen trying to learn a whole new digital language, in a pandemic, navigating the "empty nest", and generally trying to fumble my way through a remote office culture. It has made me realize that life is really pretty short and chasing dreams is something that we should never give up. I read about people like Linnaeus who kept moving through life to get to where they found happiness. If you don't like being a professor of medicine, go be a director of the botanical garden! That should be life's mantra. Clearly he was smart enough to do either, and driven enough to make it happen. You can tell from the quote penned at the beginning it probably didn't come easy, but then again nothing great ever does. I like that there is some humility there. You don't become the inventor of a language and the father of taxonomy overnight. In reading some of his biography, the guy never stopped moving. It's too easy to throw out quotes but the best one here is the rolling stone gathers no moss.
Well I'm off to chase some rainbows as it looks like the bulk of the Juno section is trying to get above ground now. Despite what the groundhog said it's definitely Spring in the illahe, strap in for some fast and furious blogging because the flowers have returned.
Dense fog and 34 this morning but the afternoon promises sunshine should it burn off.
Cheers,
Mark
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