Hackelia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of flowering plants in the borage family; a botanical genus containing several herbaceous species commonly found in North America; organisms sometimes called stickseeds for their clinging seeds
2. Members of a plant genus within Boraginaceae characterized by rough leaves and small blue or white flowers; various herbaceous species native mainly to western regions of North America; weedy plants whose burs attach to animals
3. A set of perennial or biennial herbs classified in a specific plant genus, often noted for bristly foliage and adhesive seeds; wildflowers from the borage family prevalent in meadows and woodlands; sticky-seeded flora spreading by attaching to fur or clothing

Etymology: Hackelia is a genus of flowering plants, mostly native to western North America, and it was named in honour of the German botanist Joseph Hackel (1855-1934), who worked on grasses and the flora of Europe. The name follows a common scientific pattern: a surname turned into a Latinized genus name by adding the "-ia" ending that botanists use to commemorate people. Plants named this way often carry a person's name without any link to the plant's own history, so the name tells you who the botanist honoured rather than anything about the flower. The "sticky" in its common name points to the small, rough, barbed nutlets that cling to fur, clothing and passing animals, a dispersal method that gives the genus its familiar nickname of stickseed. Those prickly fruits are the plant's most distinctive feature, and the English name describes them directly, while the scientific name simply records a botanist's name.