{"id":129206,"date":"2024-06-06T03:43:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T08:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=129206"},"modified":"2024-06-06T03:43:23","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T08:43:23","slug":"blooming-common-yarrow-whats-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/06\/blooming-common-yarrow-whats-in-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Blooming Common Yarrow – What’s In A Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I photographed this Common Yarrow in the soft morning light last month at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a>, I found myself thinking about its name.<\/p>\n

\"BloomingBlooming Common Yarrow in morning light \u2013 Nikon D500, f11, 1\/320, ISO 800, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This yarrow is a beautiful native wildflower with dainty little blossoms and lacy, rich green leaves. It positively glowed in the morning light from the rising sun.<\/p>\n

Common yarrow, Achillea millefolium<\/em>, is a food source for many species of insects, and those insects can become bird food. Like it or not, we humans need insects, and so do birds and other wildlife.<\/p>\n

So why was I thinking about the name of this flowering plant?<\/p>\n

The “common” name could have been a little less common.<\/p>\n

Why not Bountiful Yarrow? Or Copious Yarrow? Or even Luxuriant or Exuberant Yarrow? Surely there were more lovely-sounding common names for this plenteous blooming plant.<\/p>\n

As I grow as a person, especially over the last decade, I recognize that words matter. They really<\/em> and truly<\/em> matter.<\/p>\n

The word “common” can mean uncouth, vulgar, coarse, rough, unsavory, boorish, rude, impolite, ill-mannered, inferior, ill-bred, low-class, common as muck, and a host of other negative words.<\/p>\n

Whereas, abundant, bountiful, copious, luxuriant, exuberant, opulent, rich, and prolific could all have been used instead of the word “common” for this plant and many birds and animals.<\/p>\n

What were people thinking when they started naming organisms like flora and fauna “common?”<\/p>\n

In essence, the word “common” in common names often signifies an organism’s recognizability, abundance, or lack of distinct traits separating it from related species in the perception of the general public. It is a designation meant to convey familiarity and differentiate from rarer or more exceptional organisms.<\/p>\n

Yet, doesn’t familiarity breed contempt? Just a few thoughts for the day.<\/p>\n

I like the name Luxuriant Yarrow far more than its common, Common Yarrow name.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my wildflower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I photographed this Common Yarrow in the soft morning light last month at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, I found myself thinking about its name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15145,15144,13973,15021],"tags":[15147,6098,6557,7353,13984,15146,1124,6518,4099,4302,165,5065,4307,15148,15149],"class_list":["post-129206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-common-yarrow","category-johnston-county","category-oklahoma","category-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-achillea-millefolium","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blossoms","tag-bottomlands","tag-common-yarrow","tag-field","tag-flowering","tag-morning-light","tag-native","tag-spring","tag-white-wildflowers","tag-wildflowers","tag-yarrow","tag-yarrows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/common-yarrow-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-9886.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-xBY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/16\/green-antelopehorns-in-bloom-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":129206,"position":0},"title":"Green Antelopehorns In Bloom At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of the native wildflowers I photographed yesterday morning at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge were pretty clumps of blooming Green Antelopehorns.","rel":"","context":"In "Green Antelopehorns"","block_context":{"text":"Green Antelopehorns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/green-antelopehorns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Green Antelopehorns at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129850,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/26\/buttonbush-images-from-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":129206,"position":1},"title":"Buttonbush Images From Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I smiled when I saw blooming Buttonbush at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in the early June. I haven't seen Buttonbush blooms since I left Florida in 2009.","rel":"","context":"In "Buttonbush"","block_context":{"text":"Buttonbush","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/shrubs\/buttonbush\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Buttonbush in full bloom, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128836,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/21\/butterfly-photos-from-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":129206,"position":2},"title":"Butterfly Photos From Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I wanted to share a few more things with wings: a set of butterfly photos I took recently at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange Sulphur butterfly on a coneflower, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128507,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/13\/common-checkered-skipper-butterfly-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":129206,"position":3},"title":"Common Checkered-Skipper Butterfly At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing this Common Checkered-Skipper butterfly photo I took two days ago at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. This was my last subject of the morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Common Checkered-Skippers"","block_context":{"text":"Common Checkered-Skippers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/common-checkered-skippers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Checkered-Skipper butterfly at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113804,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/16\/american-lotus-in-bloom-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":129206,"position":4},"title":"American Lotus In Bloom – Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am highlighting an American Lotus in bloom that I photographed yesterday in a slough at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "American Lotus"","block_context":{"text":"American Lotus","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/american-lotus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Lotus in bloom, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/american-lotus-blooming-slough-mia-mcpherson-7273.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141156,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/04\/checkered-white-butterfly-on-a-black-eyed-susan-in-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":129206,"position":5},"title":"Checkered White Butterfly On A Black-eyed Susan In Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It isn\u2019t really spring yet, but I\u2019ve already seen a bee, flies, moths, and butterflies. They reminded me of this Checkered White butterfly I photographed last year.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-eyed Susans"","block_context":{"text":"Black-eyed Susans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/black-eyed-susans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Checkered White butterfly on a Black-eyed Susan, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-eyed-susan-checkered-white-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-3264.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-eyed-susan-checkered-white-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-3264.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-eyed-susan-checkered-white-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-3264.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-eyed-susan-checkered-white-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-3264.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}