Names of fictional plants: "night queen" and "viper queen"

Butsudoka

New Member

Greetings! I'm glad that I was accepted to join this community. :) I'm working on a novel and need help with a couple of fictional plant names:

night queen/queen of the night

and

viper queen/queen of vipers

Could you help me translate these names into proper Latin, please?
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Hi,

"Night queen/queen of the night": regina noctis.

"Viper queen/queen of vipers": regina viperarum.
 

scrabulista

Consul

  • Consul

Location:
Tennessee
I think botanists would not do it that way.
I am assuming that "viper queen" and "night queen" are common names of your fictional plants?

We have:
Aerodramus terraereginae, Bymainiella terraereginae, Heteromigas terraereginae, Platylomalus terraereginae
The species names mean "of the queen of the earth." The genus names are all different -- could you describe your plants a bit better?

Another approach:
Hipposideros diadema ssp. reginae
The species is diadema = "crown" and the subspecies (a variety is a different type of subdivision of a species) is "of the queen."
 

Butsudoka

New Member

To be honest, I haven't thought it through that well. It's supposed to be two names for the same species and it's based on salvia divinorum. This is how Wikipedia describes the look of salvia divinorum:

Salvia divinorum has large green ovate (often also dentate) leaves, with a yellow undertone that reach 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 in) long. The leaves have no hairs on either surface, and little or no petiole. The plant grows to well over 1 metre (3 ft) in height, on hollow square stems which tend to break or trail on the ground, with the plant rooting quite readily at the nodes and internodes.
The flowers, which bloom only rarely, grow in whorls on a 30-centimetre (12 in) inflorescence, with about six flowers to each whorl. The 3-centimetre (1+1⁄4 in) flowers are white, curved and covered with hairs, and held in a small violet calyx that is covered in hairs and glands. When it does bloom in its native habitat, it does so from September to May.
The names don't need to be realistic but should preferably have a quasi-scientific ring. What's important is that they sound mysterious and/or frightening. I must say that I really like the sound of "regina" and "diadema". What a beautiful language Latin is.

While we're at it, I'm curious how "dim/dark queen" or "queen of dimness/darkness" translates. Could you please help me with that too?
 

scrabulista

Consul

  • Consul

Location:
Tennessee
Hmm...Salvia is "sage" -- the plant, not the philosopher.

The genus gets a capital letter; the species is lower case (Homo sapiens, etc.)

How about

Salvia regina ssp. noctis
Salvia regina
ssp. viperorum
--------
Salvia regina ssp. nigra
Salvia regina
ssp. atra
 

Butsudoka

New Member

Perfect! Are the names simply written as Salvia regina noctis or should the words be joined as in terraereginae (as in your example above)?
 

scrabulista

Consul

  • Consul

Location:
Tennessee
Salvia regina noctis would be an indeterminate subdivision of the species Salvia regina (subspecies, variety, or forma)
terraereginae = it hadn't occurred to me before but those first three species are from Australia. It must be Queensland.
(The 4th is very rare -- but I'm thinking that one is also Australian). novaeangliae is similar for "New England."
 

Butsudoka

New Member

I love the sounds of Latin names for cities, regions, and countries. Greetings from Suecia!

This will be most useful to me. Thank you for your time!
 
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Butsudoka

New Member

I wonder if I could bother you again.

How would you translate the following:

A) "evil impostor" (genus: mimosa)?

B) "hidden truffle" (genus: psilocybe)?
 
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