Why are succulent plant names so strange?
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Photos: Fifth Power Story
Succulent plant names are usually rather bizarre (or you could say beautiful, if you prefer). Some are more or less related to their appearance, while others make no sense at all. But these names cannot be considered official Chinese names; they are merely trade names.
Their origins fall into roughly three categories: transliteration, free translation, and direct adoption of Japanese kanji names. Some are mixed. This article gives one or several examples for each of the three in order. All photos were taken at flower stalls near our company. Unless otherwise noted, all are Echeveria.
Supia Duck, scientific name Echeveria "Supia". This species has a rosette-shaped leaf disc, with smooth green leaves and red tips and leaf margins. The three characters "Supia Duck" are simply a transliteration of "supia", with no logic behind them. Naming it this way is of course extremely unserious, but no one has yet given it a proper official Chinese name, so we will use this for now.
Yindika, scientific name Sinocrassula indica (Decne.) Berger, of the genus Sinocrassula. This species is prized for its red to purple-red leaves, sometimes also called Zika; the name is a transliteration of "indica", and it is said to be an imported succulent. But! If the Latin name circulating online is correct, then this species is widely distributed in China, and its official name in the Flora of China is Shilian (stone lotus), which is not exotic-sounding enough.
Moon Goddess, scientific name Echeveria 'Moon Goddess'. This species is a hybrid of Echeveria pulidonis and Echeveria elegans; its leaves are thick and spoon-shaped, the leaf margins relatively thin, the leaf color light green, and the leaf margins pink. Obviously, "Moon Goddess" is a free translation of "Moon Goddess", and its Japanese name is ムーンゴッデス.
Orion, scientific name Echeveria oirion. The leaves are spoon-shaped with a small point at the front, arranged tightly in a lotus shape. The leaf color is rather dreamy, a tile-blue tinged with pink-blue, with deep pink leaf margins. The name is a free translation, written in Japanese as オリオン, which also means Orion. This expert has not studied constellations; apart from a slight feeling about Aquarius and everything else depending on mood, I know nothing about the rest. The characteristic of us Scorpios is scientific rationality; we never believe in that constellation stuff.
Mingjing, scientific name Aeonium tabulaefoeme, of the genus Aeonium. This species has a peculiar form, with sessile leaves whose margins bear white fine hairs. All the leaves radiate horizontally outward from the center, and the entire leaf disc is flat as a mirror; this name also comes from Japanese. I originally thought it had a remarkably distinctive look and wanted to buy a pot, but a friend commented that it looked like cow dung, so I gave up.
Charming Evening, Japanese name Charming Evening, scientific name Echeveria agavoides 'Red Edge'. This species belongs to the "Dongyun" series; its leaves are densely arranged in a rosette, the leaf color is tender green to yellow-green year-round, and the leaf margins to leaf tips are usually bright red or vivid red. "Charming Night" is not a realistic description but describes this kind of aura, like the name of a cocktail.
Nüchu, scientific name Echeveria cv. Mebina. This species has slender leaves with red edges and pointed tips, arranged tightly in a lotus shape. The plant is small and prone to producing side shoots to form clusters. The name "Nüchu" is, needless to say, given by Japanese straight men; in Japanese it is written as "Nüchu".
Airan Nishiki, scientific name Aeonium domesticum fa. variegata, of the genus Aeonium. This species has yellow variegation in the middle of its leaves, but the variegation is uncontrollable; it may disappear, or it may become fully variegated (all yellow). The name comes from Japanese; the character "Nishiki" (nishiki) is often attached to the names of variegated succulent varieties, such as Fubuki no Matsu Nishiki, Hongzhiyu Nishiki, and so on.
Jinsi Huang, scientific name Echeveria setosa. This plant is covered all over with silvery-white short fuzz, and the leaf tips and margins are slightly rust-red. The name is also the original Japanese "Jinsi Huang/SETOSA"; the character "Jin" has the same meaning as in Chinese; the character "Huang" probably expresses the artistic conception of sunlight shimmering, and its specific meaning may need to be sensed intuitively. And what does the character "Si" mean? Actually, it is hard to explain; please read on...
Hongsi, scientific name Echeveria nodulosa. This species has distinctive red patterns on its leaves, and the leaf margins are also red. "Hongsi" is Japanese; "Hong" means red, and "Si" is interpreted as "duty", "official post", and "task"; used here it probably more or less means that this fellow is red... Perhaps it is equivalent to "Hongsi", but the character "si" is inelegant, so "Si" is used instead, and nobility immediately appears.
The three situations above cannot cover all succulent naming; let us leave it at this for now. I cannot be bothered to say more.
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