What's in a Name?

"The map is not the territory. The word is not the thing."

-Alfred Korzybski

Magnolia grandiflora L

The image of the Magnolia flower above was taken a few days ago in my backyard. I have always liked the look of the Magnolia and I started wondering about its name. Magnolia is kind of odd so where did it come from. A quick lookup on Wikipedia brought me an entry for the Magnolia and an explanation concerning the origin of the name. In a nut shell there was a French botanist Pierra Magnol (1638-1715) who developed the idea of plant familes and natural classification to the field of botany. Another French bontanist Charles Plumier (1646-1704) named a flowering tree from the island of Martinique the genus name of Magnolia and the rest is history.

It is interesting while reading the entries for both Magnol & Plumier to see the influence and impact of Christianity through the traditions of Catholicism and Protestantism on their lives. It is also a reminder of how tightly woven together the State, the Church and the study of Science were at this time.