Tansy — Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family that is native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and in some cases has become invasive. It is also known as Common Tansy, Bitter Buttons, Cow Bitter, Mugwort, or Golden Buttons. Tansy is a flowering herb …

Rose, Miniature — All of the classes of Old Garden Roses — gallicas, centifolias, etc. — had corresponding miniature forms, although these were once-flowering just as their larger forms were. As with the standard-sized varieties, miniature Old Garden roses were crossed with repeat-blooming Asian species to produce everblooming miniature roses. Today, miniature roses are represented by twiggy, repeat-flowering shrubs ranging …

Saffron — Saffron (Saffron Crocus), the common name for Crocus sativus of the IRIS family, Iridaceae, is a perennial fall-flowering plant. Its stigmas are a source of a yellow dye and a food flavoring. Native to Anatolia, saffron provided both a perfume and a yellow dye for the ancient world. Used today as a spice, it imparts a slightly bitter …

Sweet Pea — Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to the eastern Mediterranean region from Sicily east to Crete. It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1-2 m where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, …

Sternbergia — Sternbergia is a genus in Amaryllidaceae of around 10 species that show a broad distribution throughout Mediterranean Europe and Asia, and was first described by Clusius in 1601 as Narcissus, before being redescribed by Linnaeus as Amaryllis in 1753. The plant referred to by both these descriptions is now recognised as being Sternbergia lutea, which was described by …

Squill — Scilla (squill) is a genus of bulb-forming perennial herbs in the Hyacinthaceae. The 90-odd species are found in woodlands, subalpine meadows, and seashores across the Old World. Their flowers are usually blue, but white, pink, and purple types are known; most flower in early spring, but a few are autumn-flowering. Several African species previously classified in Scilla have …

Snapdragon — Antirrhinum is a genus of plants more commonly known as snapdragons from the flowers’ fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when properly squeezed (thus the ‘snap’). The antirrhinums used to be treated as the family Scrophulariaceae, but studies of DNA sequences have led to the inclusion of Antirrhinum in a …

Shamrock — Shamrock is the common name for several unrelated herbaceous plants with trifoliate leaves. White clover, Trifolium repens forma minus, family Leguminosae, was the original shamrock of Ireland; Trifolium procumbens is now commonly used. Saint Patrick used the shamrock leaf to symbolize the Trinity, and a trifoliate leaf of this shamrock is worn by the Irish on March 17 …

Senna — Senna (from Arabic sana), the sennas, is a large genus of around 250 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. This diverse genus is native throughout the tropics, with a small number of species reaching into temperate regions. Almost all species were at one time or another placed in Cassia, a close relative which until …

Saint-John’s-Wort — St John’s wort used alone refers to the species Hypericum perforatum, also known as Tipton’s Weed or Klamath weed, but, with qualifiers, is used to refer to any species of the genus Hypericum. Therefore, H. perforatum is sometimes called Common St John’s wort to differentiate it. The species of Hypericum have been placed by some in the family …