Naming plants

[Ireth]

I want to include a made-up plant in my Fae books, but I can't decide how to name it. The plant in question is a very nasty type of bramble, with long thorns that inject a toxic sap into anything that touches them. The sap causes paralysis and excruciating pain in the affected area; it is typically used by the Fae to coat the heads of the special arrows they call elfshot. The plant also bears a fruit whose juice contains the antidote to the toxic sap, but good luck getting past the thorns to reach it.

My initial idea for the plant's name was draenufel (from the Welsh draen + ufel, thorn + fire), but then I thought it might be better to name it after the fruit rather than the thorns. Trouble is, I can't think of a name for the fruit that doesn't hark back to the thorns or their sap. I'm trying to find an example from our own world where the wood or other aspects of the plant are named first, and the fruit or flower named after it, but I can't. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Butterfly]

erm... fire in welsh is tan, with a house over the a - no idea how to get it up in text though. Ufel, don't know, looks a bit like afal, which is apple.

As to your question...

Oak tree and acorn

Yew tree flowers are called arils

I'll try to think of a few more

 

[Ireth]

erm... fire in welsh is tan, with a house over the a - no idea how to get it up in text though. Ufel, don't know, looks a bit like afal, which is apple.

I got my translation from here: University of Wales Trinity Saint David It lists tân as one word for fire, but the accented a doesn't show properly on the webpage (at least with my browser), so I used an alternate word without an accent for sake of ease.

As to your question...

Oak tree and acorn

Yew tree flowers are called arils

I'll try to think of a few more

I totally forgot about oaks and acorns, and didn't know that about yews. Thanks! ^^

 

[WyrdMystic]

A lot of trees are named for the wood and not the fruit or flower. Finding an example of a plant or flower though, thats hard....the only one I can think of is the one you mentioned...brambles, which fruit blackberries. Ivy? Mushrooms are interesting - the fruit of a living organism, but don't fit the bill. Hmmmmm....

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

I got my translation from here: University of Wales Trinity Saint David It lists tân as one word for fire, but the accented a doesn't show properly on the webpage (at least with my browser), so I used an alternate word without an accent for sake of ease.



I totally forgot about oaks and acorns, and didn't know that about yews. Thanks! ^^

Hey, I've applied for that university! Sorry, off topic .

 

[The Tourist]

Ireth, I would imagine that you and I have two differing writing styles. As you might guess, bikers in general are good men, just bad little boys, and we seek out bizarre humor in our dealings.

No matter how serious the scene in the chapter, I try to stuff some inside jokes or some groaners into the text. For example, Just watch any James Bond movie and you'll see Sean Connery pulling the audience into the gag.

You said bramble, which I imagine is a plant about pump handle high. If my characters would be hiking through your world, one of them might remark, "Watch out for the purple plants with the dripping pods, they're poison."

Some one else might ask, "What are they called?"

The first character would answer, "I don't know what they called on this world, but in my country we call them 'testeferns,' and the fruit is known a 'scrotaplums'..."

Okay, okay, I admit, not my best joke. But it conveys the idea, and makes the reader smile. I imagine a reader sitting quietly in a B&N coffee cafe' and suddenly laughing to himself. But that's me.

 

[Ireth]

I'm not sure a humorous name would work for me, especially with regards to a dangerous plant. It might work elsewhere though, so we'll see. Thanks for the insight.

 

[WyrdMystic]

How about linking the name to the mythology...instead of finding a name that is literally descriptive, find one that is figuratively descriptive such as naming it after an evil demon or wicked witch???

 

[Ireth]

How about linking the name to the mythology...instead of finding a name that is literally descriptive, find one that is figuratively descriptive such as naming it after an evil demon or wicked witch???

Maybe... there are no demons or witches in Faerie, but I could try to find the name of a Celtic deity or hero that might be suitable. I've already done so with a type of flower that contains the antidote to a specific poisonous berry called fuilsocair, or "stillblood" in English; the antidote is called the Milk of Danu (an Irish Mother Goddess). Not sure if I want to name all of my plants the same way, though. Variety is nice.

 

[WyrdMystic]

Variety is nice.

Yes it is.