Plant Names I can't Pronounce

I was looking through my City of Austin Native and Adapted Landscape Plants guide and contemplating good shrub choices for the other side of our back fence that could compete with the Ligustrum, got tall but not too tall, and would look nice once it grew taller than our back fence. I decided on Elaeagnus pungens. I saw a house two streets from ours that has a bunch planted in the front yard which is a good indication that it will probably grow in my yard and pointed it out to my friend Tara. Who was confused for a minute and then translated my pronounciation into what it was supposed to be. I tried and tried and couldn't pronounce Elaeagnus. Later at the natural gardener, I got a staff person to show us one. It annoyed me so much that I couldn't pronounce Elaeagnus that I decided I didn't want it anywhere near my yard.

Well, I've already changed my mind i.e. got over my discomfort with the name being so unpronounceable. Elaeagnus pungens apparently makes a good windbreak which we need because the fence is the high point of our yard and the wind is already bending the alligator juniper forward, fixes nitrogen in the soil, and produces a human edible fruit that is high in omega 3s and lycopene though very tart. The flowers apparently also smell slighlty like gardenias. Elaeagnus pungens is on the borderline of invasive meaning right now it is considered okay to plant just don't plant it near a nature preserve because it will take over. In some ways, it makes me think I shouldn't even take the chance of planting it, on the other hand, I have good feeling about it and I've learned to trust those instincts. The fact that it is so hardy means that it has some chance of living next to the ligustrum on the other side of the fence and unlike the ligustrum it tops out at 15 ft though the Central Texas guide says 8ft. I've learned to trust the information that says the max height.

I'll have this post for a reminder if the elaeagnus pungens turns out to be a bad idea, regardless I need to remember not to say no to a plant just because I can't pronounce the name. I just need to learn to make up my own names for plants. Once, I buy some of these I think I will call them collectively "Agnes", a nice practical name for a practical plant that smells slightly of gardenias. I just couldn't get "Agnes" out of my mind...