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Basic Botany – Whats in a name

So you have just got a new plant and are looking for information on how to car for it. You have been told its a Lilly Pilly and when you type this into Google you get a variety of sites with various references to height and characteristics. One says you tree will grow to 3m if planted out, or can be kept smaller when pruned as a hedge, another suggests your tree can reach over 30m! So which one is right?

The problem with a common name like Lilly Pilly, is that it can refer to many different species. If you have bought it from a Garden Centre or Nursery, it may have a tag with more information about what plant it actually is, and there is a good chance its a cultivar. So, what’s in a name?

Plant names are written in Botanical Latin with the parts of each word often referring to characteristics identified as belonging to that plant. Some can refer to people or places and have been Latinised – letters added to the end to make them appear to be latin. Generally they are made up of two words. The first is the Genus the plant belongs to, and the second is the species of plant. 

The genus of a plant is a general group that exhibits the same characteristics, generally based on floral parts and structures. Eucalyptus is a Genus will 100’s of different plants, often known as Gum Trees. The species is specific to plants that have the same characteristics, but differ from other species by either a lot, or only small differences within each Genus. 

So back to our Lilly Pilly. Lilly Pilly’s are most often in the Genus Syzygium, although Waterhousia and Acmena species can also be referred to as Lilly Pilly’s. Some examples are Sysygium australe, Syzygium paniculatum and Syzygium smithii. There can also be varieties that have very minor differences from the main species and so are given a varietal name, eg. Syzygium smith var. minor, which happens to have smaller leaves that the normal species. And then on top of all that there are cultivars. 

Cultivars are cultivated varieties that have either been breed or selected for desirable characteristics such as bigger flowers, prostrate forms, smaller leaves, resistance to pests or more suitable for hedging. There have been 100’s of cultivars of Lilly Pilly’s developed. Syzygium Resilience is one such one that is resilient to Physillids which deform the leaves, and Syzygium Tiny Trev which is small growing, very bushy form great for small hedges. These still have a genus and species name are correctly written as Syyzygium australe “Resilience” or Syzygium australe “Tiny Trev”.

All cultivars need to be propagated vegetatively by either cuttings, layers or tissue culture to be considered the cultivar. This ensures they have identical genetics to the named cultivar and therefore should have exactly the same characteristics. Seed from these plants can produce varying traits due to genetics mixing from the parent plants. Some cultivars are protected by Plant Breeders Rights and cannot be reproduced commercially without permission.

So why does it matter about all this? Well in a lot of cases when growing for Bonsai, not a lot. You can see the way the plant grows, what characteristics it has and wether the leaves are large or small. But it is always good to know what the true name of your plant is as some techniques may differ. For instance some Tea Trees will bud easily from bare wood whereas others won’t. And as common names can be confusing, often referring to many different plants, some even from different Genus’s, it is far easier to ask questions and get relevant information if you know the true name for your plants.

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