… some of the funny names for some beautiful plants.

Working at a nursery and garden center, I have the opportunity to learn about some beautiful plants with elegant or stately names. A lovely flowering annual named angelonia is as delicate and lovely as you would expect. Even fragrant herbs such as Rosemary have a welcoming name.

But, I get a kick out of the plants with hideous, ugly or silly names.

Dead Nettle?

I giggle at a name like “dead nettle.” This is a perfectly beautiful perennial for shady areas; a fine plant with a terrible name. (Apparently the “dead” implies it does not sting. as does its cousin the “stinging nettle.” That hostile plant, if you even brush against it, imparts a sharp stinging sensation that persists in seemingly thousands of prickly points on your flesh.) The stinging nettle is considered a weed; not so with the cousin, the plain and lovely “dead nettle.”

Mother-in-law's Tongue?

Another funny name is mother-in-law’s tongue Sansevieria trifasciata. This is a common houseplant, and was apparently giving this nickname because its’ leaves are sharp with sometimes very sharp edges. As a fairly new mother-in-law myself… I won’t make any other comments in addition to: a rather wicked moniker for a popular, practical, utilitarian houseplant.

Harry Lauder's Walking Stick

And, my favorite funny name and one of my favorite plants, is “Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick.” This is the common name for: Corylus avellana 'Contorta.' This deciduous shrub is a mass of curly, twisted, contorted branches. It is so coiled, it can tie its branches into knots. Branches can look like ringlets and Slinkies. It has distinctive foliage and looks wonderful in the landscape in the spring, summer and fall, but is quite spectacular in the winter, when one can truly appreciate its “madness!” Apparently some people use the wild branches for a startlingly distinctive tall spire in an ikebana arrangement. Harry Lauder apparently used one of the mature branches for a walking stick! Whether you prune the branches for use in arrangements, or simply delight in their gnarled, twisted expressions, it is a wonderful addition to a Central Illinois garden. It’s my favorite—with a very funny name.

Harry Lauder was born in Scotland and The Special Collections of the Library at the University of Glasgow has a page dedicated to Sir Harry Lauder.

The following is my list of perfectly fine plants with some funny names:

Baby’s Breath – Gypsophilia
Bachelor Button - Centaurea
Balloon Flower – Platycodon
Bat Face Cuphoria
Beardstongue - Penstemon
Bear’s Britches - Acanthius
Blanket flower – Gaillardia
Bugbane – Cimifuga
Dead Nettle - Lamium
Devils Beggarticks
False Dragonhead – Physostegia
Foamflower – Tiarella
Hairy Beggarticks (bidens pilosa)
Harry Lauder Walking Stick
Hens and Chickens - Sempervivum
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Jacob’s Ladder – Polemonium
Joe Pye Weed - Eupatorium
Lamb’s Ear – Stachys
Lung Wort - Pulmonaria
Mother-in-law’s Tongue
Naked Lady (licoris)
Painted Daisy – Tanacetum
Pigsqueak – Bergenia
Pin Cushion Flower – Scabiosa
Red Hot Poker - Kniphofia
Sea Holly – Eryngium
Sneezeweed - Helenium
Spiderwort – Tradescantia
Thrift - Armeria
Tick Seed – Coreopis
Toad Lily – Tricyrtis
Turtlehead - Chelone
Wine Cups - Callirhoe