tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998479738444661160.post216413782554464486..comments2023-11-13T07:19:45.061+00:00Comments on CABINET OF CURIOSITIES: Between the Woods and the WaterUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998479738444661160.post-72073947387880082982012-06-18T08:04:59.119+00:002012-06-18T08:04:59.119+00:00I guess you tend to stick with the names that you ...I guess you tend to stick with the names that you used when you first became acquainted with a plant Graeme. I do with Latin names anyway. There are a lot of plants whose Latin names have changed since I first learned them but it's the original that always sticks in my mind. Actually, I think herb bennet (a corruption of herba benedicta, the blessed herb, apparently) is a much more interesting name. I read somewhere that Neolithic graves had been found containing woven amulets made from its stems. It's a damn nuisance in my garden though - those hooky seeds get carried around all over the place.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15609107148344256875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4998479738444661160.post-91729311408938016292012-06-17T11:01:04.962+00:002012-06-17T11:01:04.962+00:00Dear Phil, I was puzzled by this post as I'd n...Dear Phil, I was puzzled by this post as I'd not heard of Wood Avens, and put it down to my lack of botanical knowledge and "not noticing". Today, whilst trying to sort out the ID of a Tormentil/Cinquefoil species that's appeared on the butterly bank at our local reserve ("Hang on, that's not Silverweed!"), I stumbled across the answer to the Avens conundrum. The plant that I've been referring to all my life as Herb Bennet IS Wood Avens, but only one of our numerous flower books makes the connection between the two. Successive versions of Fitter et al refer to HB, whilst other books refer to WA. Fortunately, on the page for Creeping Cinquefoil in a Collins photoguide, I spotted the HB/WA and all became clear. In this instance, a glance at the Latin name would've solved the mystery sooner, but I know that wholesale changes to genera often make this a fraught task too. Thanks for your continuing efforts to educate the hard of botanising.Imperfect and Tensehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348507012722069785noreply@blogger.com