How are hostas named?
This is a rather complicated subject that we will not get into all of the details about here. In general, there are two names used to identify hostas. The first part (H.) is to identify the genus, Hostas, and the second to identify the specific variety. Hostas that are recognized as one of the original 40 or so “species” plants from Asia are begin with a lowercase letter. As an example, H. plantagenia. A hosta that is not a species plant is identified with a capital letter (H. ‘Christmas Tree.’) The hybridizers that have worked for often 7 years or more to develop one new hosta have the honor of naming their plant with the hosta registrar.
This is a rather complicated subject that we will not get into all of the details about here. In general, there are two names used to identify hostas. The first part (H.) is to identify the genus, Hosta, and the second to identify the specific variety. Hostas that are recognized as one of the original 40 or so “species” plants from Asia begin with a lowercase letter, such as H. plantagenia. A hosta that is not a species plant is identified with a capital letter (H. ‘Christmas Tree.’) The hybridizers or those that have discovered a “sport” (like a mutation) or found a new variety hybridized in nature have the honor of naming their plant with the hosta registrar.
