Fun fact! The plant was officially scientifically described in 2010, though it had been known to collectors for a long time beforehand as Nolina ‘La Siberica’. This is due to the plant hailing from a region of Mexico that is uniquely (for Mexico) chilly.

Naming: There are 35 species of Nolina, most of which are endemic to Mexico. Therefore a Mexico-specific name does not make much sense. Hibernica, or Hibernia, is a name for Ireland, but can also be taken to mean ‘Land of Winter’, which is how it came to be associated with Ireland to begin with. It was probably given in keeping with the original nomenclature of the plant of ‘La Siberica’, to both keep the original meaning and bring it in line with standardised scientific naming procedures.

The submitters of the paper officially describing and naming the plant, Fritz HOCHSTÄTTER and Davide DONATI, are German and Italian respectively. Neither of them hail from Ireland.