Breaking it down:
Our Example: Alcea rosea the hollyhock
This might take a little biology but you can do it!
The whole name is always in italics.

The first part is the genus. In the hollyhock it would be Alcea. It's in capital letters and it is the listing of a group of common plants. It is uppercase always.

The second part is the species. In the hollyhock it would be the rosea. The species is a particular plant of the group. It is always lowercase

In review: Genus(uppercase) species(lowercase)

Lesson Two

What's in a name?

Botanical names are easier to remember if you determine what they tell about the plant. Some refer to the person who discovered it or what part of the world. Other botanical names are descriptive. Viola odorata is the sweet violet, which bears a fragant flower.

Descriptives do make the names easier. Two easy to remember are the Primula which is the genus of the common primose and Iris which is the genus of most irises.

Reviewing the lesson: Botanical names can describe things. Such as fragrance or who founded them. Or color.

Your first group of names:

Here are some words commonly appearing in botanical names, along with their definitions.

Reviewing this lesson: come back and read these again. 

Start learning your favorites:

What's in your garden? Do you know the botanical names? Perennials are a good start.
Most of the common perennials are listed and you should be able to start learning from there. The botanical names of plants can be easy if you start with the plants you know.

Want to plant something new? Learn its botanical name. You can buy it from a catalog easier.

Reviewing this lesson: Take an inventory of your garden and start learning.

Cultivars, varigated and hybrids:

Vairgated: When a new species is discovered. If it happened naturally in the wild these are called varieties. After a botanical plant name it will appear as "var." Campanula persicifolia var alba is the white flowering with peach leaved bellflower.

Cultivars:
These type of plants are designed from gardeners breeding mutations. They are useful to make a plant disease resistant and stronger. Their name is set in single quotes after the botanical name: Aster novi-belgii 'Professor Kippenburg' is the dwarf type laveder-blue Michaelmas daisy. 

Hybrids:
Hybrids are two species blended together. This is shown with an "x" Anemone x hybrida is an Anemone hybrid.

These are very useful in picking out a plant. Go to your local nursery and check out if there is a better plant hybrid, cultivar of varigation for you.

Reviewing this lesson: Varigated, Cultivars and hybrids although very different can be useful in determining the botanical name.

This can look tough, but it is easy if you just take it slowly and start learning your favorites. When you mark plants in your garden you can put the botanical name and you will remember them easily when working in your garden.