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Are there international rules for the capitalization or non-capitalization of the common names of plants? (Particularly if they are listed alone and not within a paragraph.) Each source that I check seems to have its own style.
Last Updated: April 21, 2011
These rules are subject to periodic change but our understanding is that only proper names such as Shumard oak, names used at the beginning of a sentence, or names referring to a specific location, e.g., Monterrey oak, are capitalized.
Paul Cox at the San Antonio Botanical Center writes: "I don't think there are any rules for common names. I believe in garden writing the normal practice is to not capitalize any part of the common name except proper nouns like Japanese, Mexican, New York, etc. ... Sometimes I do, however, capitalize the first letters to emphasize them, especially when not using botanical names with them. Main thing is to be consistent throughout."
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