Pages

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Binomen Art - Acer

Left: Acer Leaves Spelling Themselves; Right: The Maple Tree in Question
Acer Leaves Spelling ThemselvesThe Maple Tree in Question
At a friend’s house, we captured the dried leaves of a maple that assembled themselves into a natural informational sign: ACER. This is one of the numerous cultivars of maple you commonly see in Seattle. It has a mounding habit, contorted branches, and lacy leaves.

According to Quattrocchi, the genus name Acer has the following origin:

Latin: acer, aceris “the maple tree”; Akkadian arku “long, tall”.

Akkadian refers to the extinct Semitic language spoken in ancient Mesopotamia in the 29th – 28th centuries BC. What constituted the Akkadian Empire is today the center of the Arab world. A degree in philology is necessary to trace the path from the Akkadian arku to acer. You can get a sense of some of the botanical names that entered Medieval Latin texts from this Wikipedia entry Arabic botanical names.

Acer (Leaves) on a Rock
Acer (Leaves) on a Rock

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments go through a moderation process. Even though it may not look like the comment was accepted, it probably was. Check back in a day if you asked a question. Thanks!