PLANT NAMES IN DICTIONARIES: ORTHOGRAPHY ISSUES

Plant names (phytonyms) constitute a special lexical group. Traditionally, they were described in explanatory dictionaries as a sub-section of special vocabulary, with an emphasis on the natural-science, encyclopedic component. This approach removes some of the names (obsolete, regional, ambiguous, etc.) from the thematic group, and ignores current stylistic stratification. Plant names group has to be sufficiently updated. The presence of irrelevant lexemes in dictionaries and the absence of new ones, as well as the lack of consistency in their description cause the lexical usage disorder. When variability grows and reliable sources differ, the norm is being destroyed. The lack of a systematic approach to this lexical group leads to orthography inconsistency; cf. variants in dictionaries: акант — аканф (Acanthus), аза́лия — азале́я (Azalea); cf. also: буддле́я vs бадлея, будлейя (Buddleja), асфоде́ль vs асфоделюс, асфоделус (Asphodelus), же́стер и жо́стер vs жёстер (Rhamnus).