Let’s talk about plant pronunciation.
This is going to be a simple post, but an important one. All too often, plant lovers everywhere become a victim to mispronouncing plant names. It’s easy to find guides to pronounce common, usually outdoor, plant names, such as hydrangea or clematis. But what about indoor houseplants? A list does not exist. And it’s somewhat infuriating and frankly embarrassing talking about your Monster Delicious or Pilea Pepperoni.
So here we go.
A no frills, not even phonetically correct in any way, plant pronunciation guide of common indoor plants. They’re even listed from most mispronounced to least. You’re welcome.
Pilea Peperomioides: Pie-LEE-uh Pep-per-row-me-OY-dees
Monstera Deliciosa: Mon-STAIR-uh Del-liss-sea-OH-suh
Aglaonema: Ag-low-NEE-muh
Monstera Obliqua: Mon-STAIR-uh Oh-BLEE-kuh
Monstera Adansonii: Mon-STAIR-uh AH-dan-SEWN-nee-eye
Philodendron: Fil-low-DEN-dren
Draceana: Dra-SEE-nuh
Dieffenbachia: Diff-en-BACK-key-ah
Anthurium: An-THUR-ree-um
Bonsai: BONS-eye
Aloe: AAH-low
Orchid: ORE-kid
Mandevilla: Man-deh-VEE-yah
Tradescantia: Trah-deh-SCAN-tee-uh
Bromeliad: Bro-MIL-lee-ahd
Ficus: FYE-cuss
Got another one? Let me know below!
Calathea
Cal-lay-thee-a
Or
Cal-a-the-a?????
I say Cal-luh-the-uh, which is how the professionals say it so I’m assuming it’s right. 🙂
My wife has a split leaf philodendron that our cats have badly mangled it is down to one mangled leaf and about 12 in stock at least 3/4 inch diameter we have had this plant 20 years. Can it be saved
I agree with all of these except Adansonii is aah-Dan-so-nee-eye
Also I think your trandescantia meant to be tee-uh at the end, not chee-uh. 🙂
Thanks – very helpful! However, the way the botanical names are written will look wrong to most people in botany or horticulture. They should be italicized, with the genus name capitalized and the species name in lower case.