Misnomers are names given to scientific concepts, objects, or phenomena that are inaccurate and/or misleading. Below are some of these misnomers, but I am confident that there are MANY more that have permeated scientific topics.
note: The word “misnomer” is from an Old French word, meaning “to name wrongly.”
PLANTS
Fortnight “Lily” is not a lily flower [note: it is an Iris flower].
Callas “Lily” is not a lily flower.
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are not berries.
Peanuts are not nuts; rather they are legumes (i.e., related to peas).
Coconuts and walnuts are not nuts; both are drupes (fleshy fruits).
Hazelnuts and chestnuts are not true nuts.
“Bird of Paradise” is a flower, not a bird.
“Kangaroo paw” is a plant and has nothing to do with kangaroos.
Snake plant is a plant, not a snake.
Spanish bayonet is a plant, not a bayonet.
Poison oak is not a true oak.
Lion’s ear is a flower.
Butterfly weed is not a butterfly.
Cat’s pajamas is a hydrid plant = Nepeta.
Teddy Bear sunflower is not a teddy bear.
Big Duck Gold is a plant, not a duck.
Goatsbeard is a flower, and has nothing to do with a goat.
Bunny Tails are plants, not bunnies nor tails.
A cardinal flower is not a bird.
Dragon’s blood is a flower.
Leopards bane is a flower, not an animal.
Lamb’s ear is a plant, not an animal.
Zebra grass is a plant, not an animal.
Horsetail [= Equisetum] is a plant and has nothing to do with a horse.
Dinosaur tree is the Ginkgo tree and has nothing to do with dinosaurs.
Dogwood is a plant, not a dog.
Bee balm is a flower and not derived from a bee.
Elephant ears is a succulent plant that has nothing to do with elephants.
Monkeyflower is a swamp flower that has nothing to do with monkeys.
Cattail is a wetland plant and has nothing to do with cats.
The Yellow Trout Lily flower is a flower and has nothing to do with trout fish.
The Bird of Paradise is a flower, not a bird.
The Butteryfly Bush is not a butterfly.
The Norfolk Island Pine is not a true pine tree.
The Cook Pine is not a true pine.
Irish moss it a type of red algae, not a moss.
A whisk fern is not a fern.
American blue-eyed grass does not have eyes.
The snake plant is not a snake.
The Sago Palm is not a palm tree.
Lucky bamboo is not even bamboo.
Jersualem artichokes come from North America and are not artichokes but are a member of the sunflower flamily.
ANIMALS
Invertebrates
The Alabama waterdog is actually an aquatic salamander.
Cuttlefish is not a fish (it is a cephalopod mollusk).
Duck Foot or Pelican’s Foot is a gastropod seashell.
Fireflies are not flies (they are beetles).
Glow worms are not worms. They are insect larvae.
Geoduck (pronounced “gooey” duck) is a large burrowing clam.
Horny toad is a lizard, not a toad.
Horse conch has nothing to do with horses. It is a gastropod seashell.
Jelly fish are not fish, they are cnidarians.
King crabs are not true crabs.
Crab spiders are spiders, not crabs.
Mantis shrimp is not a Mantis, nor a true shrimp. They are stomatopods.
Starfish are not stars, they are echinoderms.
Porcupine is not a tree, rather it is a mammal.
Velvet ants are wasps, not ants.
Naval shipworm is not a worm; it is a clam that burrows into ship docks, etc.
Whip spider is not a spider and does not whip anything.
Slow worm is not a worm; it is a legless reptile that looks like a snake.
[A double misnomer] Vampire squid is neither one; it is the only surviving swimming member of a strange group of cephalopods.
Slow worm is not a worm; it is a legless reptile that looks like a snake.
Butterflies are not made of butter, nor related to flies; they are insects.
Horse conchs are not horses, they are gastropods.
“Duck’s foot” is a seashell.
Sea potato is not a potato, it is a species of echinoderm sea-urchin.
Venus’ flower basket is not a flower, it is actually is a deep-sea glass sponge.
A sand dollar is an echinoid.
The term “killer clam” has a usage indicating they kill humans although this clam eats phytoplankton (microscopic) life forms.
A butterfly is not butter.
A banana slug is not a banana.
Vertebrates
The American buffalo is a bison, not a buffalo.
The electric eel is not electric.
The “mountain chicken” is a frog, not a chicken.
Red Panda is not a panda; it is more closely related to raccoons, skunks, and weasels
Bearcat is a bear, not a cat.
A hellbender is an amphibian.
Bull dog is not a bull.
Bull shark is not a bull.
Bull snake is not a bull.
Kangaroo rat is a rodent, not a marsupial.
The slow worm is not a worm; it is a legless reptile.
Koala Bear is a marsupial, not a bear.
Flying fox is a bat, not a fox.
Flying lemurs cannot fly, they glide.
[A double misnomer] The Guinea pig is not a pig, but it is a rodent that originated in the Andes, not in Guinea.
The whale shark is a mammal, not a shark.
Killer Whale is not a whale, it is a dophin.
King Cobra is a snake but not a true cobra.
Prairie dogs are not dogs, rather they are rodents.
A nighthawk is not a hawk and does not even fly at night. Also, it is more active at dawn than at dusk.
A mud puppy is a salamander covered in mucus, not mud.
A winged dragonfish is not a dragon but it is a fish with wing-like fins.
Seashorse is not a horse, it is a fish.
Sawfish is not a saw.
Short-eared and long-eared owls do not have ears; rather they just have feather tuffs.
A titmouse is not a mouse; it is a bird.
Turkey vulture has nothing in common with turkeys.
The “Water Buffalo” is not a buffalo.
A nighthawk is not a hawk and does not even fly at night.
[A double misnomer]: A fisher cat does not fish and is not a cat; it is a cousin of the weasel.
A mud puppy is a salamander covered in mucus, not mud.
A winged dragonfish is not a dragon but it is a fish with wing-like fins.
Head cheese is a meat product!
Mountain goats are not goats, they are a type of antelope.
Fire flies are not flies but are flying beetles.
Kangaroo rat is not a rat.
The mudpuppy is not a puppy, rather it is a big mucus-covered salamander.
The Tennessee Warbler lives in Canada and Mexico.
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MISCELLANEOUS
“Catgut” is made from sheep, not cats.
“Lead” in pencils is actually carbon, not lead.
Voltaire’s famous remark about the “Holy Roman Empire” is bogus; it was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.
Buffalo wings are not related to buffalos nor birds; they are name for the city of Buffalo, New York.
Spiders are not insects.
Panama hats come from Eucador.
Ringworm is not a worm; it is caused by fungi.
GAMES
Chinese checkers originated in Germany, not in China
MATHEMATICS
Arabic numerals originated in India, not in Arabia.
MUSIC
French Horns originated in Germany, not in France.
English Horns come from Poland and are not horns (they are actually are instruments related to the oboe).
ASTRONOMY
Dark Side of the Moon”---The Moon has no permanently dark side; both sides experience sunlight and darkness, though only one side of the moon is visible from earth.
A “shooting star” is actually a small meteorite.
“ Light Year” is the distance light travels in one Earth year; thus it is a unit of distance, not time.
GEOLOGY
Tidal Wave vs.Tsunami:
[note: The news media is responsible for improperly continuing to use the term “tidal wave” when referring to an earth-caused displacement of water by an earthquake].
A “Tsunami of lies” is not an oceanic event.
“Fool’s Gold” is not gold! It is the mineral pyrite (iron-sulfide).
“Moonstone” is a mineral (albite) and has nothing to do with the Moon.
Siberian ruby is not a ruby, it is tourmaline.
PALEONTOLOGY
A “fossil” is not a still-living, elderly person! The word “fossil” actually indicates something that was organic, is greater 10,000 years old, and is preserved naturally in the rock record.
The term “living fossil” is a misnomer because how can you be living and also be a fossil?
Basilosaurus [translated, this word means “king lizard,”], but Basilosaurus is an ancient whale (= a mammal).
Duckbill dinosaur is not related to ducks.
Vulcanodon (the “ Volcano tooth” dinosaur) is not a reptile; the skull of this dinosaur is not even known; furthermore, the poscranium of this dinosaur is now know to be from a different animal versus the rest of the skeleton.
METEROLOGY
Atmospheric “River” (“so–called “rivers in the sky,” which is a phrase used constantly by the news media) are not rivers. [Can you canoe down an atmosphere river?]
“Pineapple Express” (where are the pineapples?)
“Bomb Cyclone” (another awful term) manufactured by the news media.
OTHER
“Theory” = nowadays this is a consistently misused term for any hair-brained idea, when the term was intended to be use for a well-thought explanation based on facts.
White chocolate it not a true chocolate as is not prepared from cacao beans.
Tin cans are no longer made from tin.
REFERENCES USED TO COMPILE THIS LIST
https:llwww.reddit.com ask Historian/comments…misnomers from history
https://www.merriam-webstar.com/wordplay/9 misnnomers and misleading names
https.www.mentalfloss.com
https.//ngb.org/animal-plant names
Jones, P.A. 2022. 34 Misleading Misnomers explained. Mental Floss (an online source).
Mosco, Rosemary. 2018. 15 Confusing plant and animal misnomers.
AS WITH ALL OF MY POSTS, NO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAS BEEN USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS POST
Note: The term "artificial intelligence" is also a misnomer!
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