BanksiaMan

By BanksiaMan

A word for the 'y's

We are staying for a few days at a charming B&B at Flaxton in the Blackall Ranges, north of Brisbane. It has an extensive garden, in which I came across a small tree with impressive cream flowers. I think it's in the genus Syzygium, perhaps a local species Syzygium hodgkinsoniae

I wondered about the origin of the name Syzygium and thought it might be after a person called Syzygy. When I consulted Google, I found a fascinating webpage whose writer says that the name Syzygium comes from: 

…. one of my very favourite English words, syzygy. Who wouldn’t love a word that flies off the tongue like a feather-fletched arrow leaving a bow? A word with three vowels, all of them y’s? 

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