When I did plant surveys, I'd learn the scientific name first then the common name. Sometimes I didn't know the common name.

When my mom and sister came to visit me in Montana, we did an overnight float with a commercial outfit. There were some other folks & my mom, of course, bragged how her daughter knew all the plant names. 'Cept all I knew were the geek names. Uh, that's, Tiarella trifoliata, uh, I think it might be called foamflower but I'm not really sure. The other folks on the trip were not impressed.