Q. I notice you sometimes include scientific names of animals in your columns. One time you identified a timber rattlesnake; another time, two turtles (an Alabama redbelly turtle and a stinkpot).

Last month, I wrote about the common names of birds, and the planned changes to some of those names. In the past, I’ve written about the folk names of birds. But there are also the scientific names of ...

When strolling through a garden center or flipping through a plant catalog, you’ll often notice two distinct names on each tag: a common name and a botanical name. While the common name feels friendly ...

Science is often associated with complex terminology, but occasionally researchers show a surprising sense of humor. Over the years, scientists have assigned some truly bizarre names to discoveries — ...

Passiflora incarnata, Nymphaea odorata, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Asclepius incarnata! Sounds like spells from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, doesn’t it? While these words could come ...