COLLECTIVE NOUNS
A collective noun (aka company term) is a word used to describe a collection or group of things, like pack or kennel of dogs. This practice goes back many centuries. The earliest known reference is the Book of St Albans (1486) which lists “a compilation of matters relating to the interests of the time of a gentleman.” More recently James Lipton produced An Exaltation of Larks (1st ed, 1968) in which he brings to light the term venery – an ancient practice denoting specific groups of individual animals primarily as it relates to “the hunt.” The Game of Venery, started in the 15th century by English gentry, consists of creating poetic, collective nouns and the challenge of knowing and using them appropriately. I introduced students to wordsmithery and collective nouns in my biology classes often using selections as extra credit on tests. The students liked the practice; many would immediately turn to the bonus section. But one thing that always troubled me as a botanist and gardener was how animal centric the terms were. Accordingly, over the years I have accumulated a list of collective nouns relating to gardening and plants. These company terms are lifted from various sources, but some are original – my contrivance. As you will discover, many are whimsical and humorous as well as instructive, with a distinctively midwestern flavor. Some collective nouns are technical and longstanding, with the quantified thing omitted or implied (e.g., corolla). However, most are generally an informal part of language; i.e., there is no standard, but you may be surprised at just how many have become part of accepted everyday lingo. I offer this contemporary and evolving compilation (see below) for you to use and enjoy. Contact THE MAD BOTANIST with corrections and/or additions. Attribution appreciated.
TERMS MOSTLY NOT EMPLOYED (in my list), too generic (i.e., broadly applicable): bag, bale, basket, bed, bouquet, bunch, bundle, cache, clump, cluster, collection, colony, crate, field, forest, grove, handful, harvest, line, load, orchard, patch, pile, plantation, row, sack, stack and stand. Also excluded are most specific measures (e.g., bushel, cord). The bulk of things being collectivized are listed as plural (e.g., drift of dandelions), but this seems awkward and redundant. I await a ruling from professional linguists.
MAD BOTANIST'S LIST OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR GARDENING & PLANTS
[for all] a (an) _______
sledge or slip of acorns
cling of adhering plant parts
joy of almonds
androecium (all the stamens of a flower)
sea of anemones
barrel or crisp of apples (picked)
orchard of apple trees
ascent of arborists
bundle or stink of asparagus
pando or trembling of aspens
bunch, comb or hand of bananas
hill or flatulence of beans
holiday of beeches
punnet of berries
tangle of bindweed
advance of birches
regret of gout weed (or other difficult to eradicate introduced ornamentals)
shiner of black-eyed Susans
flourish of blossoms
oleo of blue bonnets
pile or mountain of boulders
foray or gathering of botanists (in field)
bounty of blueberries or huckleberries
chamber of boxwoods
band of brassicas
aggregate, barrier, tangle or thicket of brambles/briars
bavin of brushwood or kindling
luck of buckeyes
eruption or surprise of bulbs
hedge or shrubbery of bushes
annoyance or matting of burrs (plant hitchhikers)
pain of cacti (see also fungus)
calyx (all the sepals of a flower)
army of caterpillars
rise of cattails (or other emergent plants)
cliché or minefield of chestnuts (fruits, since forests [plural collective noun] were annihilated by blight)
ember of chili peppers
buzz, drone, plague or swarm of cicadas
dropping, kick or scattering of cones
excurrency of conifers (see also pine)
shock, sheath or tassel of corn
ear of corn (conglomerate of individual fruits, caryopses)
corolla (all the petals of a flower)
galaxy of cosmos
bale of cotton
depletion or field of crop scientists
eddy of currants
drift or host of dandelions
calendar of dates
diurnum of dayllies
avoidance of devil's walking stick
outbreak of disease (epiphytotic)
pack of dogwoods
herbarium of dried plants
niche of ecologists
nodding of elders
occasion of ephemerals
chain of events
field or plain of farmers
fiddle of ferns
bundle or faggot of firewood
stole of firs
roberta of flax
flora (plants of a particular region or habitat)
bouquet or patch of florists
caste of flowerpots
bouquet, bunch, nosegay or vase of flowers (picked)
display of flowers (in situ, single plant)
garden or patch of flowers (in situ, multiple plants)
inflorescence (arrangement of flowers on a plant) specific types (ament/catkin, capitulum/head, corymb, cyme, glomerule, panicle, raceme, spike, thyrse, umbel, verticil, etc.)
extinction or layer of fossils
board foot, coop or stalk of foresters
enchantment, intoxication or memory of fragrant plants
cornucopia of fruit(s) (see also infructescence)
bounty of fruit (all produced by a single plant)
colony or troop of fungi (see also mushrooms)
fungi (collection of at least two species)
fungus (collection of two or more of the same species)
also applicable to cacti, moss, etc.
funguses is clumsy and grating, as is cactuses
shedload of garden tools
allotment, compost or sprinkling of gardeners
genet (colony of genetically identical individuals produced asexually, each individual plant being a ramet)
stink-o of ginkgos
gobsmack of gomphrena
advance of goldenrods (or other aggressive natives)
bunch, cluster or wrath of grapes
vineyard of grapes (whole plants)
lawn or turf of grass
patch or tuft of grass (small area or individual)
fistful of grasses
mess of greens
groundcover (low-growing, spreading plants, one or more species)
gynoecium (all the pistils of a flower)
bale, bundle or truss of hay
dickory of hickories
invasion or skeleton of bush honeysuckle
mug or pocket of hops
horde or luego of hostas
brothel of hydrangeas
hast of impatiens
infructescence (an ensemble {single mass} of fruits derived from the ovaries of an inflorescence - aka collective fruits, e.g., aggregate, multiple) some falsely so, if not fused (e.g., multicarpellate capsules) like hibiscus
army of insects (crawling)
swarm of insects (flying)
colony of insects (nesting)
infection, nightmare or troublesome of invasive plants
involucre (all the bracts of a flower)
optic or wave of irises
jamboree of junipers
eyesore of ugly landscapes
hell, stand or wreath of laurels
hustle of lawn maintenance workers
foliage (leaves collectively, attached)
phyllotaxy (arrangement of leaves on a stem) alternate, opposite, sessile, whorled
autumn, pile or rake of leaves (fallen)
shield or symbiont of lichens
gild of lilies
thicket of mangrove
canvas or grove of (sugar) maples
marsh of mallows
sprig of mint
bank of money plants
dawn of morning glories
carpet or covering of moss(es) or liverwort(s)
specifically: cushion, mat, turf, weft
what-the-fuck or OMG of mulberry weed (or other unwanted weeds - overwhelming sudden appearance)
mess of mushrooms (picked, to be eaten)
cluster or troop of mushrooms (in situ)
tribe of natives
fatality of nightshade
majesty of oaks
rope or weeping of onions
pocket of oranges
coterie or rarity of orchids
greasing of palms
crime of passionflowers
patch of pawpaw (trees)
blush of peaches
pod of peas
shake of pecans
droop of peonies
perianth (surrounding non-reproductive parts of a flower)
perigonium (all the tepals of a flower)
pucker of persimmons
infestation of pests (invertebrates)
shepherd of phlox
longing or whisper of pines
garden, greenhouse or nursery of plants (being grown) also, arboretum, estate, garth, grounds, hedge, park, parterre, plot, shrubbery or yard (see also general terms); may also imply a specific arrangement (allée, block, drift, mass)
community of plants (wild & sharing a common environment, e.g., bog, fen, forest, meadow, oldfield, prairie, savanna, etc.)
family of plants (wild and related, genetically and via root interconnectivity)
flora (plants of a particular region or habitat)
(see also genet and individual specific names)
rash of poison ivy
mass of pollen (in situ)
cloud or sneeze of pollen (aerosolized)
mommy of poppies
bed or stand of reeds
paddy of rice
prickle or war of roses
hurry of rushes
heap of sand
curiosity or force of scientists
edge of sedges
pinch, handful, packet, bag or sack of seeds
touch of sensitive plants
butchery of sheared or pollarded plants
arboretum, hedge or shrubbery of shrubs
flex of spinach
bundle of sticks
annoyance or matting of sticktights (plant hitchhikers)
henge of stone fruit
graveyard of stumps
reservoir or thickness of succulents
vincent of sunflowers
key, clade or classification of taxonomists
stand of timber (uncut)
fall or flat of timber (cut)
arboretum, clump, copse (small trees), coupe, forest, grove, monoculture, orchard (deciduous or fruit), spinney (small copse), stand, stillness, stock, thicket or wood of trees
something of a conundrum when using a collective noun with trees unless referring to a specific species (e.g., a wood of hickories); moreover, wood refers to a smaller delineated area
shed of tools
tub of tubers
pursing, tepal or tiptoe of tulips
tangle of vines
shrink of violets
headache, stain or tumble of walnuts
drift or littering of waterlilies (or other floating plants)
overwhelm or wicket of weeds
shaft, sheaf or shock of wheat
bend of willows
blizzard of winterberries
wood (cut) dependent on the measure
can, clew or mouthful of worms
gloom or quiver of yews