Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire, and a handy thing to know if you lived in ancient Rome. But why, 2000 years later, is it still used to identify flowers, plants and trees? Many ask why they have those tongue- twisting Latin names. The answer is that the common names of plants and trees are often regional, or refer to the leaf or flower type. Thus, you end up with many completely different plants called by the same common name. Forget-me-nots and palm trees are good examples since many widely different species are given confusingly similar names. However, there are never two plants of any kind with the same botanical Latin name. And that's the On The House tip for today.