Six Popular Plants Named for Famous People and Botanists

"Leonard Fuchs, a German botanist, discovered the plant known as fuchsia, while William Forsyth, a Scotch botanist, is responsible for the name forsythia."

August 1, 1950

On this day, The Ithaca Journal, out of Ithaca, New York, published a question from a reader.

The reader wanted an answer to this question:

Please list a few plants that are named for people.

 

The answer:

The poinsettia was named for Joel R. Poinsett, a famous statesman.

Wisteria is named in honor of Caspar Wistar, a distinguished physician and scientist of Philadelphia.

Leonard Fuchs, a German botanist, discovered the plant known as fuchsia, while William Forsyth, a Scotch botanist, is responsible for the name forsythia.

The name of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a French soldier and explorer, is perpetuated in the bougainvillea.

The paulownia is named for the Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, daughter of Czar Paul I.


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Poinsettia
Poinsettia
Wisteria
Wisteria
bougainvillea
bougainvillea
Fuchsia
Fuchsia

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