Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Alternative Plant Names: Trail Penis


Yucca
Originally uploaded by inyopfc
Throughout history, botanists have given plants vaguely inappropriate names. Some examples include the common name "blue dicks" and the scientific names "Lupinus succulentus" and "Trifolium fucatum". That's as far as it ever went, though.

Well, a real fake scientist doesn't just go half way. The plant pictured here goes by the names of "chaparral yucca" or the vaguely religious name "Our Lord's Candle". (Scientific name: Yucca whipleii). Well, we have abandoned these non-secular common names and have renamed this beautiful plant Trail Penis. Anyone who has hiked in California's chaparral in spring will know why.

Note, however, that this trail penis tends to bend to the left a bit.

For those of you who don't appreciate plants named after genitalia, please use the slightly modified alternative name, "Our Lord's Q-tip"

3 comments:

skyrocket said...

if I may add to your enlightening information, Georgia has a cousin to this so-called "Trail Penis"- the beach and monadnock loving Yucca filamentosa. From here on out it will be commonly known as "Filament Dick" or "Trail Penis Cuz". Agreed?

skyrocket said...

*UPDATE*
...apparently Yucca filamentosa is already commonly known as "Adam's Needle"... so of course it will now be commonly known as "Adam's Needle Dick" in addition to the formerly mentioned names.

Charlie said...

hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Also today I saw Senecio flaccidus, and last week I saw Plantago erecta... I wonder if they ever grow together.