Feb 7 2025 - A Coterie of ...

 

I expect there's an explanation as to why we have names for groups of animals and birds. It's definitely history - the first known list was published in 1486 and was for hunting. it was the Book of Saint Albans and it contained a list of 165 collective names in the hunting section. That seems like a lot for the 1400s, but then I guess hunting took up a lot of time.  Is there such a thing as collective nouns for orchids? I looked up what the collective noun for orchids might be and found alliance and coterie. On average, though, we don't seem to do the same for plants and trees as we'e done for birds and animals.  It must be that hunting tradition. For trees, there are kinds of groups - woodlands, woodlots,  thickets, stands.  But these apply to any kind of tree.  Why isn't a pear orchard differentiated from a cherry orchard?  Again, wouldn't you think it is because you don't hunt for pears and cherries.   This seems to be a topic for word lovers there are many groupings by many people - one person's long, long list is HERE. Dingles, coupes, holts, krummholz, withy.  Look at this:  a Quercetum - a collection of oak trees forming a special type of arboretum.  There's one! Who would have guess these collective names for plants?  The author has made them up for fun: A spike of cacti A rarity of orchids A clone of aspen A tassel of corn An agar of Arabidopsis This is quite an activity.  You can find many offerings of collective names by witty plants people.  Here are a few more: sledge or slip of acorns cling of adhering plant parts advance of aggressive native species bloom of algae joy of almonds androecium (all the stamens of a flower)   antheridium in cryptogams sea of anemones What about the person who has named collective nouns "an annoyance of collective nouns?"  Readers' Digest has the 27 funniest ones for animals -  grumble of pugs, a kindle off kittens, and so on HERE. That's their version of collective noun jokes.

This heart originated with Odile and was made of flower petals.  I enhanced it in photoshop. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

A Cloud of Amaryllis

Yesterday's Amaryllis seemed like a gathering, a drift, or a cloud.  There is a wealth of creative collective noun names for birds - yet flowers which are plentiful have only a few collective nouns. There are bunches, bouquets, sprays, gardens, beds, patches, drifts,  clumps and nosegays.For something that is so prominent on the planet.  Here's a few of our familiar collective nouns and what they describe: Bevy - of girls, ladies, swans, doves, beauties Caravan - of merchants, pilgrims, travellers Cluster - of grapes, islands, nuts, stars, rings Colony - of people, ants, badgers, beavers, penguins, rabbits, rats, seals, frogs, gulls, vultures Flight - of aircrafts, arrows, bees, birds, insects, locusts, stairs, steps Herd - of cattle, deer, swine, antelope, boar, buffalo, chamois, chinchillas, donkeys, elephants, elk, giraffes, gnus, goats, hippopotami, horses, kangaroos, llamas, moose, oxen, pigs, seals, swans, walruses, whales, yaks, zebras (when pasturing or driven together) And in reverse, we can see some of the collective nouns that describe something. Crows: Murder, congress, horde, muster, cauldron Soldiers - army, brigade, company, division, platoon, squad, unit Trees - forest, grove, orchard, stand, thicket Birds - flock, flight, parcel, pod, votary, brace, dissimulation Buffalo - a herd, group, gang or obstinacy Cats - a chowder, pounce, kindle, letter, intrigue, clutter, comfort, chowder, colony Someone has 'gathered' these collective nouns together for our enjoyment.  It is James Lipton - An Exaltation of Larks - The Ultimate Edition More Than 1,000 Terms. (free delivery worldwide from Britain) The back cover copy is a delight in itself: An "exaltation of larks"? Yes! And a "leap of leopards", a "parliament of owls", an "ostentation of peacocks", a "smack of jellyfish", and a "murder of crows"! For those who have ever wondered if the familiar "pride of lions" and "gaggle of geese" were only the tip of a linguistic iceberg, James Lipton has provided the definitive answer: here are hundreds of equally pithy, and often poetic, terms unearthed by Mr. Lipton in the Books of Venery that were the constant study of anyone who aspired to the title of gentleman in the fifteenth century. When Mr. Lipton's painstaking research revealed that five hundred years ago the terms of venery had already been turned into the Game of Venery, he embarked on an odyssey... Our image today was taken during the polar vortex a few years ago - frost on the conservatory glass in the shape of nature's own patterns - a Christmas tree.