"Why do I need to know the botanical names of plants?"

Q: Why do I need to know the botanical names of plants?
A. What’s in a name? “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet”…from Shakespeare, and it is true, but the flower might not be a rose! In your garden, you need to know the difference between plants. Is it poison ivy or Virginia creeper, which may look similar? They are both native Texas vines, but you certainly don’t want to cling on to poison ivy! Botanically they are Toxicodendron radicans and Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and each botanical name gives some clues.

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