In 2022, Grow Native! began an initiative to reexamine the common names it uses to identify different native plant species. This effort originated owing to a presentation that Scott Woodbury of Grow Native! professional member Cacalia Design and Wilding gave at the Grow Native! Professional Member conference that year. During his talk, Scott suggested that more inviting names might appeal to a more mainstream audience, who might be turned off by native plant common names that include words like “weed” and “wild,” or that different names may provide more accurate descriptions of given species, and several attendees were supportive of the idea. In the botanical world, scientific names are decided by professional botanists and are considered official, but there are no official common names of plants.
As part of this effort, and following several rounds of input by its committee members and professional members, including those who grow and sell native plants and seeds, Grow Native! is updating the common names of two plant species. Clematis virginiana will be called Virginia clematis and Eutrochium purpureum will be called Joe Pye. The updated names will be used where found on Grow Native! plant tags*, top ten lists, and in other instances on its website and in future print publications.
Grow Native! will continue this initiative to reconsider common names that it uses and to evaluate the use of terms like “wild,” “false,” and others, in the common names it uses. Grow Native! also plans to consider other instances where a common name could be interpreted as disrespectful or offensive and propose alternate names accordingly.
Future updates made to the common names used by Grow Native! as part of this initiative will be announced in this space.
*In the interest of sustainability, any tags currently physically in stock will be updated when replenished.
Photo at top: Joe Pye, Eutrochium purpureum, by Mervin Wallace
