abies | The ancient Latin name for the European fir. | ||||||
acacia | From the Greek akakia, the Egyptian thorn-tree; akis, a thorn. | ||||||
acer | From the Celtic ac, hard; a quality of maple wood. | ||||||
aesculus | The ancient name for some European nut-bearing tree. | ||||||
alba | From the Latin alba, white. | ||||||
albicaulis | From the Latin alba, white, and caulis, stem (i.e., white-bark). | ||||||
alnus | From the old Latin name for the alder. | ||||||
alternifolia | Referring to the alternate leaves (Greek phullon, leaf) of Cornus alternifolia | ||||||
altissima | From the Latin altus, high, referring to height. | ||||||
amabilis | From the Latin amare to love, or lovely.
aristata
| From the Latin arista, bristle or thorn.
| aucuparia
| From the Latin aucupari, to catch birds. In Europe, mountain ash fruits were used as bait in catching birds.
| avium
| From the Latin avis, bird. | |
banksiana | From the surname Banks. |
betula | The common Latin name of the birch; from the sanskrit bhurja, to shine, referring to the bark of the birch. |
bicolor | From the Latin, meaning two-colored, in reference to the leaves of swamp white oak which are green above and pale below. |
borealis | From Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind. |
carpinus | The Latin common name for the European hornbeam. |
carya | From the Greek karua, the name applied to the walnut tree. |
castanea | From the Greek kastanea, or chestnut. |
castanopsis | Meaning chestnut-like. |
catalpa | From the Cherokee Indian name catawba, applied to this tree. |
celtis | The name which Pliny gave to the African lotus, and later applied to the hackberry genus because of the sweet fruit of the European hackberry. |
cembroides | Cembra-like (resembles Pinus cembra of Europe). |
chamaecyparis | From the Greek chamai, on the ground, and kyparissos, the cypress, meaning low-growing. |
chrysophylla | From the Greek chrysos, golden, and phyllon, leaf. |
cinerea | From the Latin cineris, dust, or ashes, in reference to the pale gray color of the bark of butternut. |
cladrastus | From the Greek clados, branch, and thrastos, brittle. |
coccinea | From the Greek kakkos, in an obscure reference to the red fall color of scarlet oak. |
communis | From the Latin, meaning common, or as applied to Juniperus communis, in reference to its wide distribution. |
concolor | A combination of the Latin con, together, and color, meaning one color. |
contorta | From the Latin con and torquere, to twist. |
cordiformis | From the Latin cor, cordis, heart, and forma, shaped, in reference perhaps to the shape of fruit of bitternut hickory. |
cornus | The Latin name for the dogwood, from cornu, horn, in reference to the hard wood of this genus. |
crataegus | From the Latin name for the hawthorn, through the Greek krataigos, thorn-tree, and kratos, strength, because of the strong hard wood. |
decidua | From the Latin de, down, and cadere, to fall. |
dioicus | Meaning two houses, in reference to dioecious. |
distichum | From the Greek di, two, and stichos, rank, meaning two-ranked. |
echinata | Meaning prickly, referring to the cone. |
fagus | From the Greek fagein, to eat, in reference to the edible fruit. |
florida | From the Latin flos, flower. |
fraxinus | The Latin common name of the ash. |
gleditsia | Named after J. G. Gleditsch, a German botanist of the time of Linnaeus. |
gymnocladus | From the Greek gymnos, naked, and klados, branch. |
hamamelis | From the Greek name for the medlar, or some similar tree. |
heterophylla | From the Greek heteros, different, and phyllon, leaf, meaning varied leaves. |
hippocastanum | The Latin common name for the horsechestnut tree, from the Greek hippos, horse, and kastanon, chestnut. |
ilex | The Latin name for the holly oak. |
ilicifolia | Meaning holly-like leaf. |
imbricaria | Meaning covered with overlapping plates or scales. |
juglans | From the two Latin words Jovis, Jupiter, and glans, nut. |
juniperus | The Latin common name for the cedar, from junio, young, and parere, to produce, hence youth producing, or evergreen. |
laciniosa | From the Latin lacinia, shred. |
laricina | Pertaining to the larch. |
larix | The Latin common name for the larch. |
lenta | From the Latin lentis, soft or smooth, pliable; in reference perhaps to the supple branchlets of the black birch. |
liquidamber | In reference to the resinous juice that flows from wounds to the sweetgum. |
liriodendron | From the Greek lerion, lily, and dendron, tree, in reference to showy flowers. |
lithocarpus | From the Greek lithos, stone, and karpos, seed. |
lyrata | From the Greek lyra, lyre or lute. |
macrocarpa | From the Greek makros, large, and karpos, seed, in reference to the large acorn of bur oak. |
malus | From the Latin name for the apple, from the Greek melon, through the Doric malon. |
mariana | From the Latin for the state of Maryland. |
negundo | The Latinized form of the Malayan name for Vitex negundo; presumably applied to the boxelder because of the similarity of the leaves of the two species. |
nigra | The Latin for dark or black. |
nyssa | From the Greek nysa, water nymph. |
occidentalis | The Latin for west, from occidere, to set as the sun; the name given by Linnaeus to several species of the western world. |
octandra | The latin for eight stamened. |
opaca | The Latin for dark, dull, or shady |
ostrya | From the Greek ostrua, the common name of some tree with hard wood. |
ovata | From the Latin ovum, egg, hence egg-shaped. |
oxydendron | From the Greek oxys, sour, and dendron, tree. |
plaustris | The Latin meaning "of the swamp,"from palus, swamp. |
papyrifera | From the Egyptian name for the reed from which paper was made, through the Greek papuros, or papyros, and the Latin ferre, to bear. |
phellos | The Greek word for cork. |
picea | The Latin common name for the pine, spruce, or fir, from the Greek pissa, pitch, or peuke, the name for the fir. |
pinus | The Latin name for the pine, from the Sanskrit pitu, through the Greek pitus. |
platanus | The Latin common name for the sycamore, or plantetree, from the Greek platanos, broad. |
plicata | From the Latin plicare, to fold, referring perhaps to overlapping foliage. |
pomifera | The Latin for apple-bearing. |
ponderosa | From the Latin pondus, weight. |
populas | The Latin common name for this group of trees. |
prinus | From the Greek for evergreen. |
procera | The Latin for tall, or high. |
prunus | From the Greek prunos, plum or cherry. |
pseudoacacia | From the Greek pseudo, false, and acacia. |
pseudotsuga | Meaning false hemlock. |
pungens | From the Latin pungere, to stick or prick, hence either prickly or pungent; in reference to the needles of blue spruce which are sharp-pointed and have a pungent taste. |
quercus | The Latin common name of the oak. |
rhamnus | From the Greek rhamnos, the common name of the buckthorn. |
rhododendron | From the Greek rodon, rose, and dendron, tree. |
rhus | From rhous, the Greek common name of the sumac through the Greek reo, to flow. |
robinia | Named after Jean and Vespasien Robin, herbalists for King Henry IV of France. |
rubens | From the Latin rubere, to be red. |
saccharinum | Considered by some to be a misspelling of saccharum. |
saccharum | The Latin word for sweet or sugar, through the Sanskrit sarkara, and the Greek sakcharon. |
salix | The ancient Latin common name of the willow. |
sempervirons | From the Latin semper, always, and vivere, living. |
serotina | From the Latin serus, late, in reference to the tardily opening cones of pond pine, the autumn flowering of the red elm, and the late appearance of flowers and fruit in black cherry. |
sitchensis | The Latin form of Sitka, and island in Alaska. |
sorbus | The Latin common name for this genus. |
speciosa | From the Latin species, form, or appearance, and osus, full of, in reference to the showy flowers of the catalpa. |
spicatum | From the Latin spica, a spike or ear of grain, in reference to the pointed inflorescence of mountain maple. |
stellata | The Latin for covered with stars. |
strobus | From the Greek strobos, or strobilos, cone. |
styraciflua | The Latin for styrax-flowering. |
sylvestris | (Also sylvatica) from the Latin silva, forest, hence "of the forest." |
teada | The Latin word meaning a torch of pine wood. |
taxus | From the Greek taxos, common name of the yew. |
thuja | From the Greek thuia, the common name of some aromatic African tree; from thuo, perfume. |
tilia | The Latin common name of the linden (basswood). |
toxicodendron | From the Greek toxikon, poison, and dendron, tree. |
tricanthos | From the Greek treis, three, and akantha, a spine, in reference to the three-branched thorns of honeylocust. |
trichocarpa | From the Greek thrix, a hair, and karpos, fruit (hairy fruit). |
tsuga | The Latinized form of the Japanese common name of a hemlock. |
tulipifera | Meaning tulip-bearing. |
typhina | Meaning "cat-tail-like," in reference perhaps to the hairy branchlets of staghorn sumac. |
ulmus | The ancient Latin name of the elm. |
velutina | From the Latin velutum, velvety, and velus, a fleece. |
vernix | The Latin for varnish. |
zanthoxylum | From the Greek zanthos, yellow, and xulon, wood. |