The Nature of Learning
One of the great things I love about nature is the people you meet along the journey. Master Naturalists and others who go to the field with me sometimes seem annoyed that I always call a plant by its scientific or Latin name.
The person you can blame or thank for that is my old friend, Les Eastman, an amateur botanist whom I met in Maine when I was 17 years old. I met Les through mutual friends. In those days, back in 1974, it was rare to find a young person interested in plants, so if youthful interest reared its head, someone would step forward to mentor you. Les Eastman did just that.
Although not formally trained as a botanist, Les had a knack for finding rare plants. Employed by the Critical Areas Program of the Maine State Planning Office, he explored plant locations on rare and endangered species. This was just a year after the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973. Many states were engaged in developing inventories for rare and endangered species, and there was federal money allocated to aid in the effort.
Les invited me to go on field trips with him as he collected plants and documented new locations. That was be before GPS and iPhones. It was all on paper, and photos were captured on film. Of course, one had to identify and name the biological entity. That was accomplished using scientific names of plants. It was either learn the Latin names of the plants to which I was introduced to or be left behind in the conversation—simple as that.
I can’t remember peoples’ names. I may greet you, with “nice to see you,” or if in a group of people, let you introduce yourself. Many-a-time I have avoided embarrassment by not saying, “I forgot your name.” If you were a plant, I wouldn’t know your common name either. But I always remember Latin names of plants.
A few weeks ago, Les Eastman passed away at age 80. It was from him that I learned field botany (such as I know it), and I have Les to thank for turning me on to classical, old-school systematic botany. My life would have been so different without his influence.
The next time you hear a Latin name roll off my tongue, thank the stars for Les Eastman.