I am amused when people ask me the names of some of the things I grow. Most of them, in fact, have no common names that are known to me, and I only know the scientific name. For the South African ones, I say, "Oh, I guess it has a common name in Swahili (substitute whatever language is appropriate) or Afrikaans, but I don't know those languages." Unfortunately, that usually stops the questions dead in their tracks. Dell -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mary Sue Ittner Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2006 12:04 PM To: Pacific Bulb Society Subject: Re: [pbs] "Calla Lilies" -"Arum Lilies" - notes on word usage Dear Jim, Your note about using botanical names made me smile. I usually use both when people in my hiking group ask me a question as most of them do not want to learn the botanical names at all. It seems like a lost cause. I also have trouble with the use of the word lily.