Ericaceous plants appeared about 68 million years ago, shortly preceding the extinction of dinosaurs.

Iris as the Greek goddess of the rainbow, the daughter of Thaumante and Electra, the sister of the Harpies and of Arce, messenger of the gods (Iliad), messenger of Hera (Eneida and Heracles).

Loropetalum chinense, chinense for its origin, loropetalum for the shape of its petals, loron in Greek means very thin strips, petalum comes from petalon, in Greek, and means petals.

Forsythia x intermedia, also called Chinese bell, is native to East Asia.

In China, where more than one third of the species are native, it is called 铁线 莲 (lotus flower whose liana is strong as iron)