Comment by wizzwizz4
Scientifically, communication matters. Therefore, other names do also matter.
Scientifically, communication matters. Therefore, other names do also matter.
I am well aware that laypeople don't always distinguish between various similar species of plants and animals, and I probably can't in some cases myself, but I am specifically interested in some of those "common or historic names" along with their "ethnobotanical or cultural semantics", to see how they might compare with words elsewhere.
For old Irish names I would have thought Gallic-Druidic cultural associations might have some sort of currency or influence. Maybe try looking for research with those conceptual frames of reference. Here's an example query to place with your favourite LLM: "make a list of the top 30 plants associated with traditional herbal lore in pre-modern ireland. seek gallic/druidic associations through etymology, lore and written record (if feasible). table format."
All other names are generally considered either common or historic. Common names are regarded as too ambiguous for scientific use, they are generally only mentioned in relevance to collections such as "How do the local people in <area x> having <population y> of <latin name z> (who might help identify where it is growing) refer to the organism?". In a small number of cases local names confer ethnobotanical or cultural semantics.