Si'bara: an anagram of Arabis, and not just an anagram but a semordnilap ('palindromes' spelled backwards), a word that makes another word when spelled backwards. The genus Sibara was published by Edward Greene in 1896.

Sibbald'ia/sibbald'ii: named for Sir Robert Sibbald (1641-1722), "a Scottish physician and antiquary, who was born in

Edinburgh on the 15th of April 1641. Educated at Edinburgh, Leiden and Paris, he took his doctor's degree at Angers in 1662, and soon afterwards settled as a physician in Edinburgh. In 1667 with Sir Andrew Balfour he started the botanical garden in Edinburgh, and he took a leading part in establishing the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, of which he was elected president in 1684. In 1685 he was appointed the first Professor of Medicine in the University. He was also [granted knighthood and] appointed Geographer-Royal [and Physician in Ordinary to His Majesty King Charles II] in 1682, and

his numerous and miscellaneous writings deal effectively with historical and antiquarian as well as botanical and medical subjects. Amongst Sibbald's historical and antiquarian works may be mentioned A History Ancient and Modern of the Sheriffdoms of Fife and Kinross (Edinburgh, 1710, and Cupar, 1803), An Account of the Scottish Atlas (folio, Edinburgh, 1683), Scotia Illustrata (Edinburgh, 1684) and Description of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland (folio, Edinburgh, 1711 and 1845). The Remains of Sir Robert Sibbald, containing his autobiography, memoirs of the Royal College of Physicians, a portion of his literary correspondence and account of his manuscripts, was published at Edinburgh in 1833." (From the 1911 Encyclopedia online)  "Sibbald's commission in 1682 was to produce not only a natural history of Scotland, but also a geographical description that would combine historical data with the results of contemporary survey. Sibbald's intentions, outlined in his 1683 Account of the Scottish Atlas, or the Description of Scotland, centered upon a two-volume work: Scotia Antiqua would embrace the historical development of the Scottish nation, the customs of the people and their antiquities, and Scotia Moderna would describe the country's resources as a matter of contemporary chorography or regional description, on a county-by-county basis. In the event, this 'Atlas' was never completed. Only the natural history, Scotia Illustrata, was ever published." (From the website of the National Library of Scotland) This work included a section devoted to the indigenous plants of Scotland, including some rare species, one of which was subsequently called Sibbaldia, by Linnaeus, published in honor of its discoverer in 1753. He died in August 1722.

sibir'ica/sibir'icum/sibir'icus: of or from Siberia.

sibthorpio'ides: resembling genus Sibthorpia.

sicerar'ia: Gledhill says "(for holding) strong drink." The PlantzAfrica website adds this: "The species name siceraria probably also refers to the fruit which is useful when it is mature and dry (Latin siccus)." An article in Molecular Biology and Evolution by Andrew C. Clark et. al. entitled "Reconstructing the Origins and Dispersal of the Polynesian Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)" says: "The origin of the Polynesian bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), an important crop species in prehistoric Polynesia, has remained elusive. Most recently, a South American origin has been favored as the bottle gourd could have been introduced from this continent with the sweet potato by Polynesian voyagers around A.D. 1,000." Another website says " The specific epithet siceraria comes from sicera, intoxicating potion, wine, suitable for containing wine." The bottle gourd is also called calabash and it is believed to have originated in Africa, where it is grown for its fruit that are used as a vegetable and to make containers from the mature, dried shell.

Sic'yos: a Greek name, sikuos or sikyos, used by Theophrastus for cucumber, to which this is closely related. The genus Sicyos was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus.

Si'da: an ancient name used by Theophrastus from the Greek sidē for "pomegranate or water lily." The genus Sida was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called sida or fanpetals.

Siderox'ylon: from Greek sideros, "iron," and xylon, "wood," referring to the hardness of the heartwood. This genus in the family Sapotaceae is commonly referred to as bully trees, and was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

siebold'ii: named for Philipp Franz Balthasar Von Siebold (1796-1866), a German physician, botanist and traveller who

		achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. He was born into a family of doctors and professors of medicine in Würzburg, and entered the University of Würzburg in 1815 to study medicine.  There he fell under the spell of Ignaz Döllinger, his professor of anatomy and physiology, and read the books of Alexander von Humboldt, the famous naturalist and explorer, which undoubtedly fired his desire to travel to distant lands. He earned his M.D. degree in 1820 and practised first in Heidingsfeld. Invited to Holland by an acquaintance of his

family, Siebold applied for a position as a military physician, which would enable him to travel to the Dutch colonies. He entered the Dutch military service and was appointed as ship's surgeon on the frigate Adriana, sailing from Rotterdam to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. On his trip he practiced his knowledge of the Dutch language and also rapidly learned Malay, and during the long voyage began a collection of marine fauna. He arrived in Batavia in February, 1823, and impressed the Governor-General and the director of the botanical garden at Buitenzorg with his erudition.  After only a few months there he was posted as resident physician and scientist to Dejima, a small artificial island and trading post at Nagasaki, arriving in August, 1823. During an eventful voyage to Japan he barely escaped drowning during a typhoon. He demonstrated for the Japanese the marvels of western science and learned in return much about the Japanese and their customs. Siebold is credited with the introduction of vaccination and pathological anatomy for the first time in Japan. In 1824 Siebold started a medical school in Nagasaki that grew into a meeting place for around fifty students who helped him in his botanical and naturalistic studies. He compiled a large ethnographic collection, which consisted of everyday household goods, woodblock prints, tools and hand-crafted objects used by the Japanese people, many of which were gifted to him by his grateful patients. During his years there he lived with a Japanese woman with whom he had a child and who eventually became the first Japanese woman known to have received a physician's training, and who herself became a highly regarded practicing physician and court physician to the Empress in 1882. His main interest, however, focused on the study of Japanese fauna and flora, and he created a small botanical garden behind his home which eventually had over 1,000 native plants. As well as plants he collected specimens of rare animals. Unknown to the Japanese, he was also able to smuggle out germinative seeds of tea plants to the botanical garden in Batavia. Through this single act, he started the tea culture in Java, a Dutch colony at the time. During his stay at Dejima, Siebold sent three shipments with an unknown number of herbarium specimens to Leiden, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp. The shipment to Leiden contained the first specimens of the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) to be sent to Europe. Reportedly, Siebold was not the easiest man to deal with. He was in continuous conflict with his Dutch superiors who felt he was arrogant, and he was recalled to Batavia, but the ship sent to get him was blown ashore by a storm in Nagasaki bay. The same storm badly damaged Dejima and destroyed Siebold's botanical garden. Repaired, the ship was refloated and left for Batavia with 89 crates of Siebold's salvaged botanical collection. Siebold however  remained behind. In 1826 Siebold made the court journey to the royal capital of Edo. During this long trip he collected many plants and animals, but also obtained from the court astronomer Takahashi Kageyasu several detailed maps of Japan and Korea, an act strictly forbidden by the Japanese government. When they discovered, by accident, that Siebold had a map of the northern parts of Japan, the government accused him of high treason and of being a spy for Russia. The Japanese placed Siebold under house arrest and expelled him from Japan on 22 October 1829, and he journeyed back to his former residence, Batavia, in possession of his enormous collection of thousands of animals and plants, his books and his maps. The botanical garden of Buitenzorg would soon house Siebold's surviving, living flora collection of 2,000 plants. He returned to the Netherlands the following year. Very soon thereafter he took his ethnographic collections and herbarium specimens to Leiden, leaving behind his botanical collections of living plants that were sent to the University of Ghent. In gratitude the University of Ghent presented him in 1841 with specimens of every plant from his original collection. His herbarium collection thsat contained about 12,000 specimens was purchased by the Dutch government and Siebold was appointed Advisor to the King for Japanese Affairs. He founded a small private museum in his home in 1837 which would eventually evolve into the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. He was the author of the 7-part Nippon, a richly illustrated ethnographical and geographical work on Japan,  Bibliotheca Japonica, containing a survey of Japanese literature and a Chinese, Japanese and Korean dictionary, and Flora Japonica, and although not its author, the multi-part Fauna Japonica written by others was based largely on his collections, making the Japanese fauna the best-described non-European fauna of the time. After his return to Europe, Siebold tried to exploit his knowledge of Japan. Whilst living in Boppard, from 1852 he corresponded with Russian diplomats such as the Russian ambassador to Prussia, which resulted in an invitation to go to St Petersburg to advise the Russian government how to open trade relations with Japan. American Naval Commodore Matthew C. Perry consulted Siebold in advance of his voyage to Japan in 1854. In 1858, the Japanese government lifted the banishment of Siebold. He returned to Japan in 1859 as an adviser to the Agent of the Dutch Trading Society in Nagasaki, but after two years the connection with the Trading Society was severed as the advice of Siebold was considered to be of no value. He made one further trip to Edo in 1861 but his propensity for doing things he had been told not to do led to his subsequent removal, and the Dutch government eventually severed all relations with Siebold who had a huge debt because of loans given to him. He was unable to arrange any further employment with regard to Japan and he died in Munich. Although the latter part of his life was marred by controversy, he is nevertheless revered in Japan and well known in gardening circles, and has been honored by many museums for his ground-breaking work and encyclopedic writings.

Sile'ne: either from the Greek sialon, "saliva," referring to the gummy exudation on the stems, and/or perhaps more likely named for Silenus, a woodland deity who was the usually intoxicated foster-father and companion/tutor of Bacchus or Dionysus, the God of Wine, and was said to be covered with sticky foam, much like the glandular secretions of many species of this genus. The two suggested derivations may actually be linked. The genus Silene was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus who was fond of using mythological names. Common names are catchfly, campion, firepink, and wild pink.

silic'ea: growing in sand, from the same root as silica. Encyclopedia.com adds that "Silica, sometimes called Silicea terra, is a homeopathic remedy." Carex silicea is commonly called sea-beach sedge.

Sil'phium: comes from the Greek name silphion of some umbelliferous plant (Stearn), Silphium is an ancient Greek name for a resinous plant reapplied to the North American compass-plant, Silphium laciniatum (Gledhill). The genus Silphium was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and is called rosinweed.

silvat'icum: of or from the woods.

Sil'ybum: Sil'ybum: from the Greek name silybon for a thistle that was used for food. The genus Silybum was published by Michel Adanson in 1763 and is called milk thistle.

sim'plex: simple, unbranched, undivided, entire.

simplicicaulis: with an unbranched stem.

simplicis'sima: simplest, most simple, very simple.

simula'ta/simula'tum: from the Latin simulo, "to make like," thus "made to resemble, resembling," or simulare, which means "to fake or pretend."

Sinap'is: a Latin name, also spelled sinapi or sinape, for the mustard plant, from the flavor of the seeds, from Latin sinapis “mustard,", from Ancient Greek sínapi.The genus Sinapis was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

sinen'se/sinen'sis: of or from China.

siphilit'ica: of syphalis. Lobelia siphilitica was used to treat the disorder.

Sisym'brium: Flora of North America says "Latinized ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides and Pliny for various species of mustards." The genus Sisymbrium was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

Sisyrin'chium: FNA says "an old Greek name probably first applied to some other plant, from Greek sys, "pig," and rynchos, "snout," alluding to swine grubbing the roots for food." However Wikipedia presents an alternative derivation in saying "Sisyrinchíon is the Greek word, recorded by Pliny and Theophrastus, for the Barbary nut iris (Iris or Moraea sisyrinchium), and refers to the way the corm tunics resemble a shaggy goat's-hair coat, sisýra. Authors as early as 1666 give the dubious etymology of Latin sūs, "pig," and Greek rhynchos, "nose," referring to pigs grubbing the roots. As Goldblatt and Manning explain, "the reason for applying the name to a genus of New World Iridaceae was apparently arbitrary." The FNA derivation seems to be the one most commonly accepted. The genus Sisyrinchium was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus Sisyrinchium was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called blue-eyed grass or irisette.

Si'um: derived from an old Greek name sion which was applied to a marsh herb of the Apiaceae. The genus Sium, called water parsnip, was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

Smallanth'us: see smallii below. The genus Smallanthus was published by Kenneth Kent Mackenzie in 1933.

smallia'na/small'ii: named for John Kunkel Small (1869-1938), an American botanist born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,

who studied botany at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, graduating in 1892, and Columbia University, receiving a PhD in 1895 with a monograph of the genus Polygonum. It was at this time that he became interested in the flora of the South and published a small series of works entitled "Studies in the botany of the south-eastern United States". Between 1895 and 1898 he worked for the herbarium at the university, moving with it to its new site at the New York Botanical Garden in 1898. Because the majority of his duties involved curation and not research, most of the work required for his Flora of the

Southern States (1903, 1913, 1933) was conducted in his spare time, and that book remains one of the best floristic references for much of the South. He was the first Curator of Museums at The New York Botanical Garden, a post in which he served from 1898 until 1906. From 1907 to 1932 he was Head Curator and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator. Small was an early botanical explorer of Florida, traveling extensively around Florida and westward as far as Texas recording plants and land formations, and documenting many things for the first time by western scientists (although the flora and fauna were well-known to the Seminole tribes that lived there). He visited many times and explored by both car and boat to collect specimens, study the natural history of the region, and photograph natural landscapes, tropical plants, Seminoles and other local folk. He took his wife and four children with him on many of these explorations. Among his most well-known publications is the book From Eden to Sahara: Florida's Tragedy, which received acclaim in 1929 for documenting the severe deterioration of south Florida's botanical resources that he had observed up to that time. He also published Ferns of the Southeastern United States in 1938 which was the year that he died in Manhattan.

Smi'lax: a Greek name for these climbing plants. In Greek mythology Smilax was the name of a nymph who was in love with Crocus and was turned into the plant bearing her name (the bindweed). Ancient sources with information about her and her tale are few and far in between. Pliny writes that Smilax was turned into a bindweed shrub for loving the young Crocus. Ovid writes that the smilax and crocus both tell a love story, and Nonnus also mentions Crocus' love for Smilax, the "airgarlanded girl." Crocus was a mortal youth who was changed by the gods into a saffron flower. In another variation of the myth, Crocus was said to be a companion (and possibly lover) of Hermes and was accidentally killed by the god in a game of discus when he unexpectedly stood up. As the unfortunate youth's blood dripped on the soil, the saffron flower came to be. The genus Smilax was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus who was much enamored of mythology and mythological references and used many of them in his nomenclature. Common names for this genus include gteenbrier, catbrier and carrion-flower.

smith'ii: named for Charles Eastwick Smith (1820-1900), an American engineer, railroad executive, inventor, amateur botanist and philanthropist. He was born in Philadelphia and at age 15 began attending  the Westtown Boarding School (aka Friends School) where he first became interested in botany. After leaving school at the age of eighteen, he began working for Tioga Navigation Company as an engineer in constructing railroads from coal-mines at Blossburg, PA, and by 1842 bcame Superintendent of it and the mines. By 1842 he was Superintendent of the road and Mining Engineer for the coal company of the Blossburg and Corning Railroad in New York. In 1844 Smith returned to Philadelphia and became a member of the Franklin Institute. Through that association he eventually created a new design for a rolling mill and established Fairmount Rolling Mill, but sold out to his partners in 1847, just a year after operations began. Shortly after selling out he became manager of the Rensselaer Iron Works in Troy, N.Y., the first works in the state to make railroad iron. In late 1848 he returned to Philadelphia briefly before heading to Europe to learn more about ironworks. Upon his return Smith took a leading role in establishing a convention of iron men. In 1850 he became manager of the iron works of Reeves, Buck & Company. During this time he was also elected a manager of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, a manager of the Franklin Institute, and became one of the incorporators of the Academy of Music. Smith was elected a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1851 and served in several offices until his death. In 1852 Smith purchased the land that had once supported the Fairmount Rolling Mill, updated the abandoned mill, and began operations once again under the new name Charles E. Smith & Company. Smith continued with this company, even inventing a piece of equipment – a railroad 'chair,' to be used in the connecting of trail rails – until 1861 when he became president of the Reading Railroad Company. Smith put the company on a solid footing and made it profitable until 1869 when he resigned for health reasons and traveled through Europe focusing much of his time on botanical studies. After his return to Philadelphia in 1870 he began proofreading articles, many botanical papers from the Academy of Natural Sciences. This proofreading filled up much of his time for the remainder of his life. In 1877 and 1878 he was elected President of the Union League. He served many years as Vice-Director of the Botanical Section. He was one of the originators of the School of Design for Women. A daily newspaper speaks of him as having "great energy, sterling integrity, and large business experience and capacity." He was an authority on carices, grasses and rushes, and over the years he compiled a herbarium of specimens found within 15 miles of Philadelphia, which he bequeathed to the Academy. The species Schoenoplectus smithii was originally named for him by none other than Asa Gray.

sobolif'era: having creeping rooting stems, producing soboles, which is an archaic term for a shoot that runs along underground and forms new plants at short distances.

Sola'num: Latin for "quieting," in reference to the narcotic properties of some species. The genus Solanum was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called nightshade or horse-nettle.

soldanel'la: an Italian diminutive of soldo, "coin," thus "a small coin," referring to the round leaves of some of the plants of this genus, a characteristic which also applies to the beach morning glory.

Solida'go: from the Latin solido, meaning "to make whole or heal" and a reference to the supposed, medicinal qualities of these plants. The genus Solidago was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

solitar'ia: Gledhill says "the only species (of a monotypic genus}; with individuals growing in extreme isolation, solitary, lonely."

Soli'va: named for Dr. Salvador Narcis Joan Soliva i Romaguera (1745-1793), a physician to the Spanish court born in Tordera, Spain. He was a member of the Royal Society of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona and also of Matritense Medical Academy. He received a doctorate in 1771 and settled in Madrid. He was a physician to the Spanish royal family and an associate professor at the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid, with the specific task of studying the healing properties of plants.The genus Soliva was published in his honor by Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavón in 1794.

solstitia'lis: relating to midsummer or the summer solstice.

somnif'erum: sleep producing, from Latin somnus, "sleep."

Son'chus: the Greek name for sowthistle. The genus Sonchus was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

sophi'a: Gledhill in The Names of Plants says that the epithet 'sophia' means knowledge, craft, wisdom, in allusion to its reputed medicinal properties in treating dysentery or flux. Other meanings include "skill, knowledge of, acquaintance with, sound judgment, cunning, shrewdness." The website Behind the Name says "Means 'wisdom' in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia 'Holy Wisdom', which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople." Linnaeus originally named this species Sisymbrium sophia in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus was subsequently renamed Sophia by Michel Adanson in Familles des Plantes (1763). Philip Barker Webb reclassified it as Descurainia in 1892 and the taxon was published under that name by Karl Anton Eugen Prantl.

Sophronan'the: from the Greek sphoron, "modest," and anthos, "flower," alluding to the small flowers. The genus Sophronanthe was published by George Bentham in 1836 and is called hedge-hyssop.

Sorbar'ia: from the Latin sorbum, meaning resembling Sorbus. The genus Sorbaria was published by Alexander Karl Braun in 1860.

sorbifo'lia: with leaves like Sorbus.

Sor'bus: an ancient Latin name from sorbum, the fruit of the service tree. The genus Sorbus was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

Sorghas'trum: "a poor imitation of Sorghum," from the genus name Sorghum and the Latin suffix astrum indicating inferiority or an incomplete resemblance. Sometimes called wild sorghum but more frequently indiangrass, published by George Valentine Nash in 1901.

Sor'ghum: a Latinized name derived from the Italian sorgo, for "a tall cereal grass," possibly from the Medieval Latin surgum or suricum, which may in turn have been a variant of the Latin name syricum meaning "Syrian," perhaps a clue to its origin. This is a one of the most important cereal grains after wheat, rice, maize and barley. The genus Sorghum was published by Conrad Moench in 1794 and is called sorghum, milo or johnson grass, named for an Alabama plantation owner named Col. William Johnson who brought seeds of the grass from South Carolina where it had already been established perhaps a decade earlier.

sparganio'ides: resembling genus Sparganium, the bur-reeds. Carex sparganioides is commonly called bur-reed sedge.

Spargan'ium: from the Greek and Latin sparganion used by Pliny and Dioscorides and derived from sparganon, "diaper, ribbon, swaddling band," applied to this genus because the leaves are ribbon-like. The genus Sparganium was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called bur-reed.

Sparti'na: from the Greek spartine, a cord made from Spartium junceum (Spanish broom), probably used as a name for this genus because of its tough leaves and stems. The genus Spartina was published by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1789 and is called cordgrass.

spathula'ta: shaped like a spatula, derived from the Latin spathulatus, meaning a broad rounded upper part tapering gradually downward into a stalk (spoon-like).

specio'sa: showy, from the Latin speciosus, "beautiful."

spectab'ilis: spectacular, from the Latin spectare, "to look, observe," and -abilis, "able or worthy to be."

Sper'gula: from the Latin spargo, "to scatter," alluding to discharge of seeds. The genus Spergula was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called spurry.

Spergular'ia: a Latin derivative of Spergula. The genus Spergularia was published by Jan Svatopluk Presl and Carl Bořivoj Presl in 1819 and is called sand spurry.

Spermaco'ce: derivation uncertain. The Florabase website of the Western Australia Herbarium says "from the Greek sperma for "seed" and "point"; said to refer to the capsule being surrounded by the calyx points.

Spermo'lepis: from the Greek sperma, "seed," and lepis, "scale," meaning "scale-seeded" for the bristly or tubercled fruit. The genus Spermolepis, called scale-seed, was published by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1825.

sphacela'ta: withered as if dead.

sphaerocar'pa: orbicular-fruited, with spherical fruits, from sphaira, "a globe," and karpos, "fruit."

sphaerocar'pon: same as sphaerocarpa. Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon is called round-fruited panic grass.

sphaerostach'ya: with a rounded spike or flower head.

Sphenoph'olis: from the Greek sphen, "wedge," and pholis or pholidos, "scale, horny scale," referring to the shape of the upper glume. The genus Sphenopholis was published by Frank Lamson Scribner in 1906 and is called wedgegrass or wedgescale.

spica'ta/spica'tum: with flowers in spikes, from Latin spicatus, "spiked," referring to the spike-shaped inflorescence.

Spina'cea: spinach. The genus name possibly derives from the Latin spina, "thorn, spine," or from Persian ispanakh, "spine," referring to the spiny fruit. According to Stearn, the Latin name may have come from the Spanish espinaca or the Italian spinacio and originally from Arabic or Persian. The genus Spinacea was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1763.

spino'sa/spino'sum/spino'sus: from Latin spina for "thorny, spiny."

spinosis'sima: most spiny, very spiny.

Spin'ulum: from Latin spina, "spine or thorn." A spinule is a very small spine, thorn, hook or prickle. The genus Spinulum was published in 2003 by Arthur Haines.

Spirae'a: from the Greek speiraira, "a plant used for wreaths or garlands", from speira, "spiral or twisted." The genus Spiraea was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

Spiran'thes: from the Greek speira, "spiral or coil," and anthos, "flower," referring to the coiled or spiral character of the inflorescence. The genus Spiranthes was published by Louis Claude Marie Richard in 1817 and is called ladies' tresses, pearl'-twist or spiral orchid.

spir'illus: spiral-shaped, like a coil, diminutive of Latin spira, "a coil, fold, twist, spiral."

Spirode'la: from the Greek speira, "a cord," and delos, "evident," meaning "visible thread" and referring to the roots. The genus Spirodela was published by Matthias Jacob Schleiden in 1839 and is called greater duckweed or duckmeal.

spitham'aea: the word spithamaea comes from the Latin spithama or the Greek spithame, which means “span,” and refers to the plant reaching the height of a span. A span is the distance measured by a human hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger. Appropriately, the species Calystegia spithamaea is called low bindweed.

spon'gia: from ancient Greek sponge, "a sponge," and more recent Latin spongia, "a sponge," or "a sea animal from which a sponge comes."

Sporob'olus: seed-thrower, from the Greek spora or sporos, "seed or spore," and bolis or bolos, "a casting," in the sense of throwing or dispersing seeds, also from boleo, "to throw," referring to the free seeds in many species of this genus that are sometimes forcibly ejected when the usually mucilaginous fruit wall dries. The genus Sporobolus was published by Robert Brown in 1810 and is called dropseed.

spret'um: despised, spurned, scorned, of unknown application.

squarro'sa: means either "scaly or rough, scurfy or scabby" or "with the leaves spreading at right angles." Stearn says "with parts spreading or recurved at the ends." SEINet says "Squarrosa comes from the Latin for "having scales" or "scale-like overlapping leaves or bracts". Common names for Carex squarrosa are squarrose sedge or narrowleaf cattail sedge.

squarrulo'sa: somewhat rough or scurvy, diminutive of squarrosa.

Sta'chys: from the Greek stachys for "ear of grain" or "a spike," in reference to the spike-like form of the flowers. The genus Stachys was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called hedge-nettle.

stagna'lis: of pools, from Latin stagnum, "pools, ponds, swamps," the root of stagnant and stagnate.

stamin'eum: with prominent stamens.

standleya'num: named for Paul Carpenter Standley (1884-1963), an American botanist known for his work on neotropical plants. He was born in Avalon, Missouri, and attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, and New Mexico State College, receiving a Bachelor's degree in 1907 and a Master's degree in 1908. He remained at New Mexico State College as an assistant from 1908–1909. He was the Assistant Curator of the Division of Plants at the United States National Museum from 1909 to 1922. In the spring of 1928, he took a position at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where he worked until 1950. While at the Field Museum he did fieldwork in Guatemala between 1938 and 1941.After his retirement in 1950, he moved to the Escuela Agricola Panamericana, where he worked in the library and herbarium and did field work until 1956, when he stopped doing botanical work. In 1957 he moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where he died on June 2, 1963. He contributed to the Trees and Shrubs of Mexico, Flora of Guatemala, and Flora of Costa Rica. He was honored with two generic names, Standleya in the Rubiaceae and Standleyanthus in the Asteraceae.

stans: erect, upright.

Staphyl'ea: from the Greek staphyle, "a cluster," from the flower arrangement. The genus Staphylea was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called bladdernut.

steel'ii: named for Edward Strieby Steele (1850-1942), an American botanist who was born in Farmingdale, Illinois. He attended Oberlin College where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1872 and a Seminary degree in 1877. I can find no record of what he was doing from 1877 to 1889, but it may have been something to do with his Seminry degree. In 1889 he went to Washington D.C. to work for the editorial staff of the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, and two years later he married Grace Avery King who became his botanical co-collector for many years. After the Century Dictionary project he went to work for the federal government in various capacities including as a botanical clerk for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as an editorial assistant for the United States National Museum, Division of Plants, and an assistant botanist. In 1932 He moved to Los Angeles, California, after his wife died. In Los Angeles his niece, Helen Steele Pratt, became his co-collector in southern California. Several hundred of his specimens are part of the holdings of Oberlin College. Helen Steele Pratt graduated from Oberlin College in 1906 and became a naturalist and nature teacher, and is credited as the main person responsible for California's adoption of the California quail as the state bird. Edward’s father, James Steele, was involved in helping the Amistad captives return to Africa.

Steinchis'ma: there is little about the derivation or meaning of this name available, but the usually reliable Cal Poly Humboldt's website "Derivation of the Generic Names of North American Grasses" says it's from the Greek steinos, "a narrow confined space," and chasma, "a gaping or yawning hollow," referring to the spreading or 'gaping' bracts of its lower florets. The Atlas of Florida Plants points out that Steinchisma is defined by its gaping florets. The genus was published in 1830 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (who was known for not explaining his choice of names) and is called gaping panic grass.

Stellar'ia: from the Latin stella for "star' because of the star-like shape of the flowers or some other feature. The genus Stellaria was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and has been called chickweed, stitchwort and starwort.

stella'ta/stella'tum: starry, star-like, with spreading leaves or petals arranged in a star-shaped fashion. 

stelleri'ana: named for Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746), a German botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer, who

worked in Russia and is considered a pioneer of Alaskan natural history, and whose name is remembered better perhaps because of the Steller’s sea cow, the Steller’s jay and the Steller’s sea lion. He was born Georg Wilhelm Stöller near Nuremberg, Germany, and he studied at the University of Wittenberg. After emigrating to Russia, arriving there in 1734, he changed the spelling of his name to Steller. Upon learning of Vitus Bering's Second Kamchatka Expedition, which had left Saint Petersburg in February, 1733, he volunteered to join it and reached Okhotsk in 1740 as the two ships to be commanded by

Captain Vitus Bering, the St. Peter and the St. Paul, were nearing completion. September of that year saw the expedition sailing for Kamchatka around the southern tip of the peninsula and up to Avacha Bay on the Pacific Coast. Steller went ashore and stayed the winter exporing Kamchatka, then was recalled by Bering to join the search for America and the strait separating the two continents later to be called the Bering Strait. After being separated from their sister ship in a storm, they finally made landfall at Kayak Island in Alaska in July, 1741. Bering wanted to stay only long enough to take on fresh water, but Steller argued him into giving him more time for land exploration and was granted 10 hours. Steller noted the mathematical ratio of 10 years preparation for ten hours of investigation.  As a result of this Steller is credited with being one of the first non-natives to have set foot upon Alaskan soil. Steller became the first European naturalist to describe a number of North American plants and animals, including the Steller’s sea cow, a large nothern relative of the dugong which became extinct within thirty years of his discovery of it. The crew of the St. Peter suffered from a serious scurvy epidemic despite Steller’s attempt to ward it off with berries he had gathered, and many died although Steller and his assistant remained scurvy-free. On the return journey, with only 12 members of the crew able to move and the rigging rapidly failing, the expedition was shipwrecked on what later became known as Bering Island where they spent the winter. During that time Captain Bering died. Regardless of their dire circumstances, Steller studied the flora, fauna, and topography of the island in great detail. In the spring of the following year, the remaining members of the crew managed to salvage from the wrecked St. Peter enough material to fashion a new vessel which they named the Bering and sailed it back to Avacha Bay. Steller engaged in exploration for the next two years but because of his sympathies for the native Kamchatkans, he was accused of fomenting rebellion and was recalled to Saint Petersburg. At one point he was put under arrest and made to return to Irkutsk for a hearing. He was freed and again turned west toward St. Petersburg, but along the way he came down with a fever and died at Tyumen at the age of 37. (Photo credit to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website.)

Stenanth'ium: from the Greek stenos, "narrow," and anthos, "flower," alluding to the narrow tepals. the genus Stenanthium was published by Karl Sigismund Kunth in 1843 and is called featherbells or featherfleece.

stenophyl'la: narrow-leaved, from the Greek stenos, "narrow," and phyllon, "leaf."

Stenotaph'rum: from stenos, "narrow," and taphros, "a trench or ditch," from the cavities on the stem of the inflorescence on which the flower spikelets are situated. St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) is widely cultivated as a lawn grass in Australia and North America. The genus Stenotaphrum was published by Carl Bernhard von Trinius in 1820.

ster'ilis: infertile, barren, sterile.

Sternberg'ia: named for Caspar Maria Sternberg (1761-1838), an Austrian/Bohemian theologian, mineralogist,

		entomologist, botanist, and geognost, a person who studies that branch of geology that deals with the materials of the earth and its general exterior and interior constitution.  He has been called the "Father of Paleobotany.” He was born in Prague and educated at Charles University. Wikipedia says: “He established the Bohemian National Museum in Prague, where his collection of minerals, fossils and plant specimens formed the core collection. As of 1820 he was on friendly terms with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Originally a student of theology, he attended the Collegium anglicum in Rome, from where

he obtained a lower ordination. Inspired by the newly founded Regensburg Botanical Society (1790), he became an avid naturalist, subsequently becoming a prominent member of the society, making contributions to its Botanisches Taschenbuch and also establishing a botanical garden in Regensburg. In 1805, during an extended stay in Paris, he met with Alexander von Humboldt and came under the influence of a number of French paleontologists and botanists. Afterwards, he relocated to an estate in Radnice, Bohemia. Here, he created a botanical garden, and conducted important paleobotanical research at recently opened coal mines located in the surrounding areas.” He was a member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.  He was the author of Abhandlung über die Pflanzenkunde in Böhmen (Treatise on the botany of Bohemia) in two volumes, 1817-1818, and the two-volume Versuch einer geognostisch-botanischen Darstellung der Flora der Vorwelt (Attempt at a geognostic-botanical description of primordial flora) with August Karl Joseph Corda, 1820-1825.

stewardson'ii: named for Stewardson Brown (1867-1921). The following was provided by JSTOR: "[Stewardson Brown

was] an American botanist who served as curator of the herbarium at the Philadephia Academy of Natural Sciences. Brown came from a family of seven sons and two daughters who lived on the edge of Germantown, Pennsylvania, surrounded by unspoilt countryside. Along with his brothers, Brown developed a keen interest in natural history, especially plants and birds, and formed with other friends a natural history association while still a schoolboy. On leaving school in 1885 he was employed for some years at the Lehigh Valley Railroad in an office position. He continued to pursue his interest in botany,

however, becoming a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1891, where he assisted in the herbarium. He also became involved with the newly established Philadelphia Botanical Club, serving as its first secretary and later as president. He became affiliated with other botanical societies, too, such as the Torrey Botanical Club, and made the acquaintance of respected botanists including N.L. Britton. In about 1898 he began his scientific career proper as assistant curator of the herbarium at the Philadelphia Academy. He continually added to the collection by undertaking fieldwork in parts of North America including the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the Florida Keys and the Canadian Rockies, and also made several trips to Bermuda between 1905 and 1914 (with Nathaniel Lord Britton). In 1910 he accompanied his brother to Jamaica, and in 1911 was employed as botanist on an expedition to Trinidad and Venezuela. He travelled again with Britton in 1915, to Puerto Rico. Thanks to these trips and his dedication to the Philadelphia herbarium he became an expert in exotic plants. He maintained his interest in ornithology, serving as president of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club from 1913-1915 and always making observations about the birdlife wherever he went to collect plants. His career was sadly cut short by the onset of serious illness in 1913 and his life came to an end following an accident in 1920.”  He was the author of Handbook of the Flora of Philadelphia and Vicinity (1905), Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains (1907) and Notes on the Flora of the Bermudas (1908).

Stewart'ia: named for John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), Scottish politician and botanist. He was born in

Edinburgh the son of James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute, and attended Eton College from 1724 to 1730. He went on to study civil law at the Universities of Groningen (1730–1732) and Leiden (1732–1734) in the Netherlands, graduating from the latter with a degree in civil law. In 1737, he was elected a Scottish representative peer, but was not reelected in 1741. For the next several years he retired to his estates in Scotland to manage his affairs and indulge his interest in botany. In 1745, Bute moved to Westminster, London. He met Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1747 at the Egham Races and became a close friend.

After the Prince's death in 1751, Bute was appointed tutor to Prince George, the new Prince of Wales (later King George III). In 1760 Prince George ascended to the throne and Stuart foresaw a political future for himself based on his close association with the new king. Some political maneuvering allowed him to serve as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763. He was arguably the last important royal favorite in British politics. He was the first prime minister from Scotland following the Acts of Union in 1707. Bute's premiership was notable for the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris (1763) which concluded the Seven Years' War. He agreed with the King that a large presence was necessary in America to deal with the French and Spanish threat, and that the colonists should be responsible for the increased military levels, thus catalysing the resistance to taxes which led to the American Revolution. He was an unpopular leader and resigned shortly thereafter although he remained in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer until 1780. He was elected as the first president of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland when it was founded in 1780. For the remainder of his life, Bute remained at his estate in Hampshire, where he built himself a mansion with a vast botanical library called High Cliff near Christchurch. From there he continued his pursuit of botany and became a major literary and artistic patron. Bute worked on several botanical publications and was strongly influenced by the renowned Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus. One of his greatest contributions to botany was a book called the Botanical Tables. Published in 1785, the aim of the Tables was to explain the principles of Linnaeus's new and controversial taxonomic system.  Most of the illustrations in the Botanical Tables were by the artist John Miller (1715-1790). It was a huge task, involving over 600 illustrations detailing the sexual organs and their number to comply with the Linnaean system. Each set of Tables consisted of 9 volumes covering the whole range of British plant life - including mosses, grasses, flowers and trees, as well as lichens, fungi and seaweeds - and contains detailed illustrations of every plant listed. Twelve sets of the Tables were printed by Lord Bute at his own expense, at a total cost of £1,000. He died in 1792, from a fall he had had a year and a half prior when he fell 30 feet down some cliffs while collecting plants. Linnaeus in Genera Plantarum (1754) cited Isaac Lawson as the author of the treatment of Stewartia. Owing to a transcription error, Linnaeus was given the name as “Stewart,” and consequently spelled the name "Stewartia" (and continued to do so in all his subsequent publications). Some botanists and horticulturists, mainly in the past but still widely in the UK have interpreted Article 60 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature to consider "Stewartia" an orthographical error to be corrected to Stuartia, but this type of correction has been discouraged by changes to the code in recent times. During the 19th century, the spelling Stuartia was almost universally used. However, the original spelling "Stewartia" has been accepted by virtually all systematic botanists in recent treatments of the family and genus  as well as in numerous influential horticultural publications. The common name of the genus is wild camellia.

Stillin'gia: named for Dr. Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-1771), a British botanist, translator and the author of the first

English language work on the principles of Linnaeus. He was born in Wood Norton, Norfolk, to a physician father.  He attended Norwich School and then obtained a B.A. at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1723. He first supported himself by serving as a tutor to a relative, William Windham, teaching him for thirteen years. In 1737 he accompanied William on a tour of Italy and Switzerland that lasted for several years. They settled in Geneva and formed a community known as the ‘Common Room’, which was dedicated to the pursuit of literary discussion and play-reading. Summers were spent searching for

undocumented glaciers in the Alps. Returning to England, Windham and Robert Price, with the assistance of Stillingfleet, published in 1744 ‘An Account of the Glacieres or Ice Alps in Savoy’ which helped to popularize those stupendous works of nature, at that time largely unknown in England and Europe. Stillingfleet was awarded a yearly pension by the Windham family, in partial recognition of William’s being made a Fellow of the Royal Society, an election resulting from their study of glaciers. His wide-ranging intellectual curiosity led him naturally to the study of botany. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says: “After an initial study of the early Greek writers Dioscorides and Theophrastus and of more recent botanists such as Gerard and Ray, Stillingfleet later (1750–55) came to recognize the superiority of the system of classification promulgated by Linnaeus. The works of the great Swedish botanist were little known in England at that time and it was the publication in 1759 of Stillingfleet's Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Natural History, Husbandry and Physick, that gave the Linnaean system wider recognition. [William Hudson's work Flora Anglica is often given credit for being the first application of Linnean principles to botany in England, but Stillingfleet's opus predated Hudson's by at least two years.] This work, Miscellaneous Tracts, was Stillingfleet's most significant achievement, consisting as it did of translations of selected essays from the Amoenitates academicae (Philosophical Diversions) of Linnaeus and his pupils. Stillingfleet added his own comments and concluded the work with an original treatise, Observations on Grasses, which included suggestions for the best species for the improvement of turf and the nourishment of cattle. A second edition was published in 1762 with several additions including a 'Calendar of flora' and eleven plates, drawn by Robert Price, illustrating the different species of grasses recommended by the author. In his portrait by Zoffany (c.1762) Stillingfleet is shown holding a magnifying glass and a volume with grasses on the table, an allusion to his treatise.” Stillingfleet died at his lodgings in Piccadilly and his papers were burnt following his own instructions. He left his estate to his one remaining sister. A monument was erected only after some years to his memory at nearby St. James church by his nephew. The genus Stillingia was published in 1767 by the Scottish naturalist Alexander Garden and is called queen's-delight.

stimulo'sus: Gledhill says pole-like, goad-like. From Latin stimulus "a goad, a pointed stick," figuratively "a sting, a pang, a prod, incitement, spur, something that incites to action."

stipa'ta: from Latin stipatus, "compressed, crammed, surrounded" or "escorted, accompanied." Carex stipata is called awl-fruited sedge, or prickly sedge because the seed heads are prickly.

stipula'cea: having stipules or well-developed stipules.

stipula'ta: same as stipulacea:

Stipulic'ida: Flora of North America says from "Latin stipula, diminutive of stipes, "stalk," and -cida, "cut," alluding to the incised stipules." The epithet stipulaceus means "having well developed stipules." The genus Stipulicida was published by André Michaux in 1803 and is called scalypink and wire-plant.

stoe'be: first of all, the epithet stoebe has been applied both to a genus and to a species, and I can only presume that the meaning and derivation for both is the same. The PlantzAfrica website says that the name of the genus Stoebe is from the Greek stoibe, "stuffing, padding or heap." It was apparently used for packing wine jars and making brooms and bedding. Umberto Quattrocchi gives the following, also for the genus Stoebe: "Greek steibein, stibo ‘to tread firmly,’ stoibe ‘thorny burnet, a species of Poterium’,” and CasaBio says “from Greek steibein, “to tread,” and/or stoibe, “a stuffing,” a classical name for a plant used as packing material and for stuffing cushions. Neither Gledhill nor Stearn give any meaning or derivation. Exactly how this applies to the plant I don’t know.

stolonif'era: having stolons or rooting runners.

stramin'ea/stramin'eum: straw-colored.

stramon'ium: derivation uncertain. One source says spiky-fruited, and a name used by Theophrastus for the thorn-apple. Gledhill says possibly from the Tartar turman, "medicine for horses." The website of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility provides this: "The origin of Neo-Latin stramonium is unknown; the name Stramonia was used in the 17th century for various Datura species. There is some evidence that Stramonium is originally from the Greek words for "nightshade" and "mad". It is called umathai in Tamil. In the United States the plant is called "jimsonweed", or more rarely "Jamestown weed" deriving from the town of Jamestown, Virginia, where English soldiers consumed it while attempting to suppress Bacon's Rebellion. They spent 11 days in altered mental states." The early colonists also suffered from it not knowing of its dangerous nature. The Greeks were aware of its hallucinogenic, hypnotic and potentially lethal effects. The drug stramonium was in the British pharmacopaeia for centuries and had an honorable place there in the treatment of asthma right up to the end of the Second World War; it is still used in homeopathic medicine.

stratio'tes: from the Greek stratiotes for "soldier," applied to this aquatic herb on account of its sword-shaped leaves.

strep'ens: rustling, rattling.

Strepto'pus: from streptos for "twisted" and pous for "foot" or "stalk," referring to the thread-like peduncles which bend near the middle. The genus Streptopus was published by André Michaux in 1803 and is called twisted-stalk.

stria'ta/stria'tum: striped, lined, from Latin stria, "furrow."

stria'tula: from the Latin stria, "streak or groove," and -ula: a diminutive suffix implying slightly. Carex strtiatula is commonly called lined sedge.

stric'ta/stric'tum/stric'tus: Stearn says "upright, erect," while Gledhill says "erect, close, stiff," from stringo and stringere, "to bind, press together, draw tight, compress, press together." Other sources say stricta means either "very straight," or "narrow." Jeager's Source-book of Biologivcal Names and Terms does say that strictus as used by botanists can mean upright. The species Carex stricta is called upright sedge.

strictifo'lius: with straight or erect leaves.

stric'tior: straighter, more erect, comparative of strictus.

stric'tula: CasaBio says "From the Latin strictus, "compressed, constricted, upright" and -ula, the diminutive implying slightly compressed.

strigo'sum/strigo'sus: strigose, that is, covered with straight, flat-lying hairs, from strigosus, "with bristles."

stro'bus: an ancient name for an incense-bearing tree, Pinus strobus. Some sources say strobus translates from the Greek as "cone," but Pinus strobos also yields a gummy resin which native Americans used to seal canoes and human wounds.

Strophosty'les: derived from the Greek words strophe, meaning "a turning," and stulos, meaning "a style," and refers to the curved style. The genus Strophostyles was published in 1823 by Stephen Elliott and is called sand bean, wild bean or woolly bean,

strumar'ium: of or pertaining to tumors or ulcers.

strumo'sus: having tubercles.

Stucken'ia: named for the German teacher, amateur botanist and entomologist Wilhelm Adolf Stucken (1860-1901). Not

a lot available on this individual, but David Hollombe sent me the following: "All I have on Stucken is that he was born in Bremen, Germany and died in Zellerfeld and that his specimens are at the Ubersee Museum, Bremen, and that some of his plants were collected in Australia and some (30) in America." He taught Latin, Greek and German at a school in Bremen. He was the headmaster of the Gottingen Gymnasium and was associated with the Natural Science Association of Bremen. JSTOR lists him as a plant collector in the United States and Australia. He was married and had one son. The genus Stuckenia

was published by the German entomologist Carl Julius Bernhard Börner in 1912 and is called sago pondweed. (Photo credit: Geni)

stuev'ei: named for Wilhelm Ernst Stüve (1762-1844), a German doctor of medicine who practiced in Bremen. He came to the United States in 1814 and lived in "New Bremen," New Jersey and Philadelphia. No further information.

styloflex'a: having a curved style, from stylos, "style," and flexus, "bent, turned, curved." Carex styloflexa is commonly called bent sedge.

Styphnolo'bium: from the Greek styphno-, stryphno- "sour, astringent" and lobion, "a pod", because of the fresh pods' pulp taste.

styraciflu'a: flowing with gum.

Stylis'ma: unknown derivation or meaning, possibly from stylos, "a style, stake, pillar or column," almost certainly something to do with styles. The genus Stylisma was published in 1818 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque and is called dawnflower.

Stylophor'um: from the Greek stylos, "style," and phoros, "bearing," referring to the long conspicuous columnar style which is unusual in the family. The genus Stylophorum was published by Thomas Nuttall in 1818 and is called celandine poppy.

Stylosan'thes: from stylos, "a style, stake, pillar," and anthos, "flower." A common name for S. biflora, is sidebeak pencilflower. The genus Stylosanthes was published in 1788 by Olof Swartz and is called pencilflower.

Sty'rax: the classical Greek name used by Theophrastus and derived from a Semitic name for these resin-producing plants from which was collected the gum storax. The genus Styrax was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called snowbell or storax.

Suae'da: an Arabic name of antiquity. The genus Suaeda is commonly called sea-blite and was published by Pehr Forsskål in 1776.

sua've: sweet, from Latin suavis, "agreeable."

suaveo'lens: sweetly-smelling.

sub-: prefix meaning "under, below, almost, approaching, somewhat, slightly, rather," (used before words beginning with most consonants, but see suc-, suf-, sug-).

subas'pera: somewhat rough.

subaxillar'is: from below a node.

subcauda'tus: short-tailed or somewhat-tailed.

subcorda'ta/subcorda'tum: rather heart-shaped.

suberec'ta: not quite erect.

subero'sus: Gledhill says slightly bitten (?), however, the word suberose means "having a corky texture," and many sources say that Latin suber refers to cork, so I think this is a more likely derivation. Stearn's Dictionary confirms this by saying it means "cork barked."

subglabra'ta: somewhat smooth or glabrous.

subhirtel'la: somewhat hairy, from the prefix sub-, "somewhat, almost, partially" and hirtus, "hairy."

subserrula'ta: from sub-, "somewhat," and serrulata, "with small saw-like teeth."

subsinua'ta: SEINet says from sinuata meaning "with a wavy margin," and adding the prefix "sub-," meaning below, refers to the leaves having deep lobes, however the prefix sub- can also mean "almost or somewhat," and so subsinuata might mean somewhat sinuate.

subtermina'lis: subterminal, positioned near an end.

subula'ta/subula'tum: awl-shaped, from the Latin subulatus meaning awl or needle shaped, from subula, "an awl."

subverticilla'ta: slightly whorled or disk-like, from the Latin sub-, "under or beneath," denoting slightly, not fully, and verticillatus,  "having whorls," referring to the arrangement of the leaves upon the stem that tend to radiate from a single point.

succulen'ta: thick and fleshy, juicy, from the roots succus, "juice," and -ulentus, a suffix indicating an abundance of.

sulca'tum: furrowed.

Sullivant'ia/sullivant'ii: named for William Starling Sullivant (1803-1873), early American botanist recognized as the foremost

authority on bryophytes in the United States. He was born in Franklinton, Ohio, which eventually became part of Columbus. His initial education took place in Kentucky, then he spent a year studying at Ohio University when it first opened in Athens, and later transferred to Yale, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1823. His father’s death, however, forced him to abandon an academic career at this time in order to look after the family estate and he began a career as a surveyor and engineer. Much of the following was quoted from Wikipedia. He became a surveyor and civil engineer and successfully

invested in mills, stone quarries, canals and other endeavors. He became interested in botany around 1834, influenced in part by his second wife, Eliza Griscom Wheeler. Initially he was interested in flowering plants and in 1840 published A Catalogue of Plants, Native and Naturalized, in the Vicinity of Columbus, Ohio. Sullivant collected plants throughout the Ohio region and built up a large herbarium with an emphasis on grasses and sedges. He identified and published several new plant species. He became acquainted with other botanists in America, notably Asa Gray and John Torrey. Their support encouraged Sullivant to continue his botanical studies and he turned his focus to mosses and liverworts. In 1843 Sullivant traveled with Asa Gray through the Allegheny Mountains collecting mosses. He presented his findings in a bound two-volume folio, Musci Alleghaniensis (1845, 1846), containing dried specimens of the mosses he had collected along with accompanying text in Latin for each species. He also authored the sections on mosses and liverworts in Gray's Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States (1848). Sullivant's contribution was later published separately under the title, The Musci and Hepaticae of the United States, east of the Mississippi River (1856). In 1864 Sullivant published his most important work, Icones Muscorum, containing 129 illustrations and descriptions of the mosses indigenous to eastern North America. The breadth of this work and the excellent illustrations cemented Sulivant's reputation as the pre-eminent American bryologist of his time. In 1873 he contracted pneumonia and died on April 30, 1873. He had been working on a supplement to Icones Muscorum which was completed in 1874 by his colleagues, Leo Lesquereux. Lesquereux and Thomas P. James also completed his Manual of Mosses of North America in 1884. During his career Sullivant had named and described 270 species of bryophytes and had gained worldwide recognition as the preeminent authority on North America mosses and related plants. He built an herbarium of some 18,000 moss specimens which were donated to Harvard University. Though his own collecting expeditions were limited to the United States, he received many plant specimens from Cuba, Venezuela, and the North and South Pacific. The Sullivant Moss Society was named in his honor and later became known as the American Bryological and Lichenological Society. He was awarded an honorary LLD from Gambier College, Ohio. He was also honored by the publication of the genus name Sullivantia bu Asa Gray and John Torrey. He married three times: Jane Marshall (niece of Chief Justice John Marshall) in 1824, Eliza Griscom Wheeler in 1834 and Caroline Eudora Sutton in 1851. He had thirteen children with his three wives. He died of pneumonia in 1873 in Ohio. The genus Sullivantia was published by Asa Gray and John Torrey in 1842. Commonly called sullivantia or cool-wort, Sullivantia is a small genus of 3-4 species in the Saxifragaceae family all native to the United States.

sulphur'eus: sulphur-yellow (sometimes spelled sulfureus).

supera'ta: the two derivations in Wiktionary for Latin superatus are "overflowed, having been overflowed," and "survived, having been survived." Possible roots in Jaeger's Source-book are the Latin super, "over, above, on top;" superus, "upper, higher, exceeding in size or height;" and supero, "to rise above or surmount." No idea how any of these roots apply to the taxa Carex superata, which has the common name of limestone forest sedge.

super'bum: superb.

surculo'sa: producing suckers or shoots.

suspen'sa: hanging, from the Latin suspensus, "suspended."

swan'ii: named for Charles Walter Swan (1838-1921), a New England botanist and physician. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He graduated with an A.B. degree from Harvard in 1860 and then entered Harvard Medical School. One obituary says he was awarded a Master's and Doctor of Medicine degrees in 1864, while another says he did not finish his course because of the advent of the Civil War, throughout which he served as a surgeon in the Navy. He also trained at Massachusetts General Hospital. In the summer of 1862 he was surgical dresser (essentially a nurse with advanced qualifications) on the steamer Daniel Webster under the United States Sanitary Commission, and later in that year he was associated with the Emory United States General Hospital in Washington, DC. In 1864 he was appointed acting assistant surgeon of the United States but soon resigned that position to begin practicing medicine at Boston City Hospital. He was a member of and corresponding secretary for the Massachusetts Medical Society, a member and for ten years secretary of the Boston Obstetrical Society, a member of the Boston Society of Natural History, a member of the Boston Society of Medical Observation, and the Boston Society of Medical Improvement, and an early member of the New England Botanical Club. Beside his medical profession, he was keenly interested in botany and made a study of grasses in particular, doing much original work including the discovery of the sedge species that was published in his honor by Kenneth Kent Mackenzie in 1910. He was married in 1869 and had a son and two daughters. To my knowledge Carex swanii was the single species in the North American flora named for him.

sylvat'ica/sylvat'icum: of or growing in woods, forest-loving, sylvan, wild, from Latin sylvaticus, "of the forest."

sylves'tris: growing in woods, forest-loving, wild, from Latin silvestris, literally "of a wood, of a forest, woody, rural, pastoral," from silva "wood, forest."

Symphoricar'pos: from the Greek symphorein, "borne together," and karpos, "fruit," and so meaning "fruit borne together" because of the clustered berries. The genus Symphoricarpos was published by Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau in 1755 and is called snowberry or coralberry.

Symphyotri'chum: from the Greek symphysis, for "borne together or growing together, coalescing," and trichos or trichinos, "hair, a single hair." The genus Symphyotrichum was published by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in 1832.

Symphy'tum: frpm Greek symphyo, "to make to grow together or to unite" and phyton, "a plant." Another related derivation goes to symphis, the growing together of bones. One of the common names of these genus members is comfrey, and others are knitbone and boneset, and they were used in herbal medicines. The website Frontiers in Pharmacology says: "Symphytum officinale, commonly known as comfrey, constitutes a traditional medicinal plant with a long-standing therapeutic history, and preparations thereof have been widely used for the treatment of painful muscle and joint complaints, wound and bone healing, and inflammation." And Encyclopedia.com says: "The common name comfrey is from the Latin confirmare meaning to join together. The herb is named after its traditional folk use in compress and poultice preparations to speed the healing of fractures, broken bones, bruises, and burns." The genus Symphytum was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called comfrey.

Symplocar'pus: from the Greek symploke, "combination, connection, and karpos, "fruit," alluding to the ovaries that grow together to make one fruit. The many common names for S. foetidus include skunk cabbage, bear’s foot, bear’s-leaf, bear’s-root, clumpfoot-cabbage, collard, cow-collard, dracontium, fetid-hellebore, Irish-cabbage, meadow-cabbage, midas-ears, parson in a pillory, poke, pokeweed, polkweed, pole cat weed, polecat-weed, rock-weed, rockweed, skunkweed, skunk weed, stink-cabbage, stinking poke, and swamp-cabbage. The genus Symplocarpus was published by Thomas Nuttall in 1818 based on a previous description by Richard Anthony Salisbury, and it is called skunk cabbage.

Symplo'cos: from Greek symplokos, "connected, twisted, entwined, combined, plaited together," evidently alluding to thr fusion of stamens to petals in type species, S. martinicensis. The genus Symplocos was published in Nicolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1760 and is called sweetleaf.

Synan'dra: from Greek syn, "united, together," and andros, "stamen, male, man, anther" (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) of unknown application. The single species of this genus, Synandra hispidula, is known by the common name Guyandotte beauty, which refers to the Guyandotte River of West Virginia. The genus Synandra was published by Thomas Nuttall in 1818 and is called gyandotte beauty.

syria'ca/syria'cus: of or from Syria.

Syrin'ga: from Greek syrinx, "a pipe or tube, a shepherd's pipe" referring to the hollow stems. According to Bulfinch's Mythology, Syrinx was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous Greek god Pan, she ran to the river's edge and beseeched succor from the river nymphs. In answer, she was transformed into hollow water reeds that made a haunting sound when the god's frustrated breath blew across them. Pan cut the reeds to fashion the first set of pan pipes, which were thence forth known as syrinx. The New World Encyclopedia says: "The genus name Syringa is derived from syrinx, meaning a hollow tube or pipe, and refers to the broad pith in the shoots in some species, easily hollowed out to make reed pipes and flutes in early history. Lilac plants are sometimes called pipe trees." Another source mentions hollow branches in some species. A syrinx is also the vocal organ of a bird. The genus Syringa was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and is called lilac.