Phlox

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /flɒks/

Definitions

1. A genus of flowering herbs in the Polemoniaceae family that features colorful, star-shaped blooms ideal for ornamental gardening
2. This group of perennial plants is recognized for its striking flowers and is commonly used in garden designs
3. A type of herbaceous plant known for its bright, star-like flowers often cultivated in gardens

Etymology: The Greek "phlox" meant "flame," and the plant takes its name from the bright, flame-like clusters of its blossoms. The ancient word itself was used for fire and blaze, and it was this image of a burning spray of colour that Linnaeus and his contemporaries reached for when they needed a name for a new genus. The plant was given its scientific name in New Latin, the scholarly Latin used by naturalists, so "Phlox" is a learned coinage built on a Greek root rather than a word that passed through ordinary speech. Because the name was borrowed directly from Greek into botanical Latin, the English word is simply the everyday form of that scientific name. Gardeners who grow phlox today are using a term that still points back to a flame, even though the plant is more often admired for its soft, star-shaped petals than for any fiery quality.