Aubrieta

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A flowering perennial plant that belongs to the mustard family which is often cultivated for its vibrant clusters of blossoms
2. A low-growing plant species known for its attractive flowers that thrive in various garden settings
3. A perennial plant admired for its colorful flowers forming dense clusters, commonly grown in gardens

Etymology: Claude Aubriet was a French painter of the early eighteenth century, best known for his natural-history illustrations of plants, animals and exotic specimens. His meticulous drawings were so admired that the botanist who first described this flowering plant chose to commemorate him by naming the genus after him, so the plant's name is a tribute to an artist rather than to a gardener or scientist. The word is therefore a taxonomic name in the strict sense: it was coined as the Latin name of the genus Aubrieta, which belongs to the mustard family, and English speakers later borrowed it for the cultivated rock-garden plant that carries its colourful clusters of blossoms. The spelling "aubrietia", with an extra "i", is an older or variant form of the same name, and both spellings are in use today.