Names of botanical genera inspired by mythology

Abstract

The present article is a part of the project "Linguistic structure of binomial botanical denominations". It explores the denominations of botanical genera that originate from the names of different mythological characters – deities, heroes as well as some gods’ attributes. The examined names are picked based on “Conspectus of the Bulgarian vascular flora”, Sofia, 2012. The names of the plants are arranged in alphabetical order. Beside each Latin name is indicated its English common name and the family that the particular genus belongs to. The article examines the etymology of each name, adding a short account of the myth based on which the name itself is created. An index of ancient authors at the end of the article includes the writers whose works have been used to clarify the etymology of botanical genera names.