Not all of the poetry that I write – such as these pieces – is serious and high-minded, some of it is whimsical, funny, or just plain dumb. Today I taught a morning class on flower structure and pollination, so in its honour here’s an example of the latter:
A Bad Botanical Pun
“Don’t become a gardener – there’s no fuchsia in it!”
Not a great pun, but I’ve heard worse.
However, it may be pedantic, but I have to point out
That the genus Fuchsia was named in honour of Leonard Fuchs
(A sixteenth century Bavarian botanist, as you ask).
His name is pronounced as a definite, Germanic “fucks”,
Not a prim, Victorian “fewsh”.
So, don’t become a botanist – it’ll Fuchsia!
Prof. Jeff Ollerton - ecological scientist and author 
Oh, it could be worse.As when the mycologist Carl Kuntze (1843-1907) revised the work of his colleague Karl Fuckel (1821-1876), so that
Nectria applanata Fuckel, 1871
became
Cucurbitaria applanata (Fuckel) Kuntze, 1898.
That’s impure taxonomy for you.
I have no reaction other than…. !!!
Is someone talking about nature puns — http://saltypun.com/nature-puns-that-are-sure-to-grow-on-you/
Thanks for this 🙂
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