Latin Names

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by LandOfOz on October 28, 2006 02:50 AM

I got a ton of seeds from the seed exchange and a lot of them were for specific varieties of flowers. I was wondering why does 4 or 5 different varieties of sunflowers have the same latin name helianthus annuus? Shouldn't each individual variety have it's own unique name?

BTW, I found the names by searching companies that carry the seed and list the latin name also.

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions as to why this is?

Thanks!
Sarah

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Sarah - Zone 5b/6

by alankhart on October 28, 2006 03:23 AM

Helianthus annus IS the Latin name for the annual sunflower, then it will usually have it's cultivar name like 'Joker' or 'Centennial', so it would be Helianthus annus 'Joker', etc. If it doesn't list the cultivar it may be just because the cultivar name may not be known, so the general term Helianthus annus is used.

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by johnCT on October 28, 2006 03:33 AM

Sarah, Helianthus would be the Genus name and Helianthus Annuus would be the species name. Annuus refers to the annual variety. Most times variety or cultivar names follow the species designation in quotes as in Helianthus Annuus 'Mammoth' a favorite of mine.

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John - Zone 6

by LandOfOz on October 28, 2006 03:41 AM

Aha! Thanks, guys, I knew that I was missing something! [muggs]

I've always been a little muddled on the topic of cultivars but now I have been educated. I would've never figured that out on my own.

Thanks again,
Sarah

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Sarah - Zone 5b/6

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