corn in England, any grain. After the discovery of America, it was applied to the new plant found there, Zea mays.

cornflower Centaurea cyanus. American common name, bachelor button. It was a common grain crop (corn) weed in England, hence the name

cranberry the name "cranberry" is from America in the 1700s and the crop plant is an American species (Vaccinium macrocarpon) but there are very similar species native to Europe. [longer cranberry discussion]

elder this is the plant from which elderberries come, Sambucus spp.

hemlock 1) big coniferous tree (Tsuga spp.) of North America and eastern Asia; 2) poison hemlock, the original hemlock, tall European herb related to carrots and celery, Conium maculatum. Socrates killed himself drinking a tea made from poison hemlock. Why do they have the same name?? My guess is the American tree reminded someone of poison hemlock although the resemblance isn't obvious to me.? People in the Middle Ages in Europe knew Conium and not Tsuga.

lime, lime tree 1) Tilia europaea This is the European species of the tree called in North America, linden (Tilia americana).2) The citrus fruit, lime, Citrus aurantifolia, was used by the Arabs in the 10^th Century and came to Europe in the 12^th or 13^th century. (Simpson and Ogorzaly, Smartt and Simmonds: literature cited page). My dictionary says these two plants have the same common name by convergence: 1) lime from French and Spanish lima, from Arabic limah lemon or citron. 2) lime originally line, from Middle English lind, the linden tree. [lime, the white calcium oxide has a third source that converged here: from Middle English and Anglo Saxon lim; akin to the Greek leim meaning slimy, wet, sticky.] (Webster's Dictionary, literature cited page).

marigold the pot marigold Calendula officinalis is the marigold of the Middle Ages in Europe. A New World plant, Tagetes, also has marigold as a common name. Tagetes is reported from Europe from the end of the Middle Ages. [more detailed marigold discussion under construction].

nasturtium Nasturtium is an old name for watercress (Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum). Plants with the modern common name nasturtium are quite different, members of the genus Tropaeolum, which was introduced to Europe after discovery of America. [more detail on nasturtium]

pinks plants in the genus Dianthus (Carnation family, Caryophyllaceae). They are called "pinks" because the edges of the petals are "pinked" (jagged), not because they are the color pink, although some species are that color.

roses, primroses and evening primroses These are three quite different groups of plants, despite overlapping names. Roses are in the genus Rosa, primroses in the unrelated genus Primula and evening primroses are in the genus Oenothera, unrelated to either of the others. [ detailed discussion]

sage the culinary herb, sage, garden sage,is a mint, Salvia officinalis. Native American plants called sage, or sagbrush, are close relatives of wormwood Artemisia species. The American plants are called sages because they smell similar to garden sage.[ more detailed discussion ]

squashes and melons Melons (watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ) cantalope, musk melon, honeydew ( Cucumis melo) and bitter melon ( Momordica charantia)) are Old World plants ; squashes (winter squash, summer squash, zucchini) are New World plants of the genus Cucurbita . Within the American squashes, the common and scientific names are quite confused. Many American squashes were brought to Europe very early painting from Italy 1517 For more detailed information: Melons and Squashes

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