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melissa_thefarm

Who has a name

16 years ago

that is also the name of a plant? I'll lead off with my own like-named Melissa officinalis, commonly called lemon or bee balm. This member of the Lameaceae/Labiatae family is a perennial with bright green lemon-scented leaves, a tough rootstock, and an overall resemblance to mint. It grows wild around here in abundance and I'm always glad to see it, because it's a genial plant, but outside the flower beds only because it's invasive.

Who else?

Melissa

Comments (26)

  • 16 years ago

    There are several roses with Marianne in the name, alone or with a surname.

    Melissa, do you use your namesake plant in the kitchen? All I do is to put leaves in the ice water jug in summer.

  • 16 years ago

    My middle name is Rose.

  • 16 years ago

    My name is Aimee,... so there is Aimee Vibert. I'm guessing there might be others.

  • 16 years ago

    Marianne,
    No, I don't, just grab and crush a leaf in passing and smell it. But it's a pleasant plant.

  • 16 years ago

    I have "Jefferson Rose." Not my favorite but it was a gift and it does have my name... I looked a Geoff Hamilton but thought the spelling change just didn't fit. I don't know of any other plants that contain the name Jeff.

  • 16 years ago

    Roses:
    1. Marina
    2. Marina Marini
    3. Marina Fontcuberta
    4. Marina Prior
    5. Christine Marina
    6. Imca Marina
    7. Pink Marina Kordana
    8. Princess Marina

    Herbaceous plants:
    1. Heliotrope Marina
    2. Guzmania Marina
    3. African Daisy Sunny Marina
    4. Hibiscus (shrub) Marina Blue Satin
    5. Tulip Marina
    etc.etc.etc.
    Wow!!! That's a lot! :o)

    Marina

  • 16 years ago

    All I can claim is Laurel, where my name has its origins.

    There is a new Eddie Edwards rose named Laura V that I'm really wanting to try. My maiden name starts with a V, so that would be really cool.

    --Laura

  • 16 years ago

    Strelizia regina, the bird of paradise plant so common in coastal California.

    There's also a John Clements rose called Regina Louise.

    I wasn't named after the plant however, but after the Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven (Regina is Latin for queen).

  • 16 years ago

    These are beautiful names.

    There's also Agave victoriae-reginae; and in addition to (bay) laurel/Laurus nobilis, and the family Lauraceae, there are English and Portuguese laurel, both however belonging to the genus Prunus. I have a cousin named Laurel, and I always really liked the name, as well as Laura. It would be pleasant to see tree names for girls (Holly and Hazel, for example) come back into fashion.

  • 16 years ago

    Linnea and Disa are back in fashion in Sweden but once common flower names like Viola, Rosa and Iris are still considered too old-fashioned. Rosa suffered from being a common name for a cow when farmers still had names for their cows, now they only have code numbers.

    Disa is a species of South African orchids that the Swedish botanist J. Bergius named for a mythical Swedish queen who once dressed in a fishnet. She is better known here than the flowers.

  • 16 years ago

    The "Dark Lady" is in the running to start a whole garden with her name.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Musings Blog.

  • 16 years ago

    black eyed susans. I do have a narcissi 'Suzy' and two of my children are Rowan and Willow. also, nettle and thistle (cats) Lila (dog) Iris, Poppy and Hop (chickens)

  • 16 years ago

    Interesting question. So I visited Helpmefind...my name is Jean but almost everyone calls me Jeannie...anyhoo.
    Helpmefind has nine pages of Roses with Jean in it. Nope didnt copy it.
    Strange, I dont know 9 people named Jean but there are apparently oodles of rosie Jeans. Why? French name? No clue.
    Jeannie

  • 16 years ago

    Jeannie, Jean is French for John, isn't it? Very common name.

    I went to HMF, too. One rose named Sherry. It is a recent floribunda that tempts me, but it'll probably get BS here and defoliate. Two others were Sherry Something. Then I started reading about sherry wine. Interesting stuff in that I didn't know it originated in Spain. But no Sherry grape variety. There is an orchid, Oncidium Sherry Baby, and also Clethra alnifolia 'Sherry Sue'. Interestingly, my sister's name is Sue. Sounds like we should each have one, especially since they grow in both Ohio and Florida.

    Sherry

  • 16 years ago

    there is Austin's Sweet Juliet,
    I also know of a Lily and Dahlia varieties called 'Juliet'
    there are probably others I don't know

  • 16 years ago

    Lavender Lassie? :)

  • 16 years ago

    I see Suzy likes tree names as well. Marianne, those two names that are back in fashion are very pretty! I had never heard of either one. I thought about naming my daughter Iris but settled on the equally out of fashion Sylvia. What a pity that the name Olive will never come back into style until memories of Popeye's girlfriend have faded away forever.

    Thinking about tree names for girls put me in mind of a story by Forster, I believe, about a woman who turns into a tree to escape a man; and from there my thoughts passed to the classical myth (I had to look it up) of Daphne who, pursued by Apollo, transformed into a laurel. There's a beautiful statue by Bernini of this episode, with the girl's hair turning into leaves as she slips from the pursuing god's hands.

    Melissa

  • 16 years ago

    Ohhhh, Melissa----NOW you've done it. I must find a replica of that statue. How appropriate as a garden centerpiece!

  • 16 years ago

    I think Linnaea borealis is called twin flower in English. It has circumpolar distribution. Very difficult in cultivation. It was named for Carolus Linnaeus as it was his favourite flower. The girl's name is spelled Linnea.There is a Swedish children's art and travel book called "Linnea in Monet's Garden". It's been translated into many languages and is sold at Giverny (and Amazon).

    Here is a link that might be useful: Twin flower

  • 16 years ago

    Theres about 6 pages of roses with that containe the name Joseph
    Sir Joseph Paxton
    Madame Joseph Schwartz bt I think the most beautiful is
    Madame Joseph Bonnaire

  • 16 years ago

    I specifically chose the name "york rose" because my favorite rose is the White Rose of York.

  • 16 years ago

    On the other hand, if you are asking about my given name?

    Yes, that's the name of a plant as well! :)

  • 16 years ago

    What a pity that the name Olive will never come back into style until memories of Popeye's girlfriend have faded away forever.

    Well, you could go with "Olivia", couldn't you? :)

  • 16 years ago

    I was actually very surprised when I found the rose with my name on HMF. It's dark red floribunda "Irina". And there are also many roses that have "Irene" in their names.

  • 16 years ago

    York Rose: That sounds like a lovely apple to share a name with; thanks for sharing! About Olive vs. Olivia, the former calls that beautiful tree to mind while the latter recalls only a middling singer from the Seventies (I always preferred altos myself). We're all children of our times.
    I would think there would be quite a few plants named Irina/Irene. This is another fine name not currently in fashion, I believe.

  • 16 years ago

    I was a teenager then, but that wasn't who I first thought of. I thought of Olivia de Havilland. :)

    As to the apple, if only I could find it in the store! It is yummy!

    :(