2.1. Writing Plant Names Flashcards
Writing generic name.
Begins with capital.
Italics in print.
Underlined is hand written.
Genus example
Primula
Contains species including Primula vulgaris, Primula Verdi’s and Primula elation
Genus -description
Contains one or more species with similar botanical characteristics.
Names often derived from Latin or Greek mythological figures or plant characteristics.
Family - description.
Families of plants composed of a number of closely related genera.
Have similar flowers, reproductive structures etc.
Evolutionarily related.
Division of plants
1.Kingdom
2. Division
3. Class
4. Subclass
5 Order
6. Family
7. Genus
8. Species
How to write family name
Always a single word. Italicised in print Underlined when hand written. Often, but not always, end in ‘aceae’ Eg Primulaceae includes Cyclades and dionysia
Names of subspecies
Varieties
Number of words
Three or more words
eg. Panicum vigatum var.cubense
Species - no of words?
Binomial - two words eg. Taxus bacatta
Example of division of plants
Kingdom - Plantae. (Plants) Division - Spermatophyta (Seed Plants) Class - Angiosperms (flowering plant) Subclass - Dicotyledoneae (dicotyledon) Order - Rosaceae Genus - Rosa Species - rugosa
Plant taxonomy or classification
Science of naming organisms and placing them in hierarchical structure.
Orders
Within classes there are subclasseds which contain groups of orders eg. class Magnoliosida Subclass Dilleniidae Order Ericales (inc. heathers)
The Weeping Beech
Family - Fagaceae (beeches, chestnuts and oak)
Genus - Fagus (beech)
Specific epithet - sylvatica (of the wood)
Cultivar - Pendula (weeping beech )
Uninomial - one single word
Higher order, taxa eg. Kingdom, phylum, class order, genus.
Descriptive species names.
Form
Ranunculus repens
Creeping Buttercup
Descriptive species names:
Use
Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosemary of the shop
