All families

  • Click Family name to view all Genera in that family.
Family: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
OLEACEAE (La, G)
Olive and Jasmine Family (Le)
elaia, = the olive tree
olea, = an olive;
oleum, = oil, olive oil.
(LS, ld)
OLINIACEAE
Hard Pear Family (Le)
For Johan Henrik Olin (1769-1824).**
(Ch)
ONAGRACEAE (G)
Evening Primrose and Willowherb Family (Le)
onagros, = a wild ass; humorously ‘a she-ass’.
(a former name for the genus Œnothera)
onagos, = an ass-driver.
Its etymology is uncertain but is believed to be derived from theGreek words ονος θηρας (onos theras), meaning "donkey catcher," or οινος θηρας (oinos theras), meaning "wine seeker." In addition,oenothera means "a plant whose juices may cause sleep" in Latin.
(LS, Ox, ld, I6)
OPHIOGLOSSACEAE (G)
Adder’s Tongue Ferns (Le)
ophis, = a serpent, snake.
glossa, = the tongue.
(LS)
ORCHIDACEAE (G)
Orchid Family (Wf)
orchis, = a testicle, the testicles;
orchis, = a kind of olive of an oblong shape; another plant, so called because of the shape of its roots, the orchis, apparently shaped like a testicle.
orchis, = orchid (Pliny);
Orchideæ (Linnaeus), the plant's family name, from Latin orchis, a kind of orchid, from Greek orkhis (genitive orkheos) "orchid," literally "testicle," from orghi-, the standard root for "testicle".

(referring to the paired testicle shaped tubers of the European genus (herba orchis). Since antiquity it has been regarded as an aphrodisiac)
(LS, ld, Ca, I7, K3)
OROBANCHACEAE (G)
The Broomrape Family (Wi)
orobos, = the vetch;
ancho, = strangle, to throttle.

(the genus Orobanche is parasitic and believed to kill the host plant)

(LS, BL, Ox, Le)
OSMUNDACEAE
Fern Family (Le)
For Osmund**, the waterman or for the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Thor, god of thunder.
(Ro)
OXALIDACEAE (G)
Oxalis or Sorrel Family (Wf)
oxys, = sharp, keen, pointed;
(sharp, keen, shrill, pungent, acid)
-alis, = belonging to, resembling, provided with, pertaining to.
(oxalic acid content)
(LS, BL, Le)