Plant Taxonomy and Nomenclature Flashcards
What book was published as first attempt at classifying plants?
Historia Plantarum by Theophrastus
(370 - 285 BCE)
What are the 4 original categories that plants weee placed into?
Trees, shrubs, half-shrubs, and herbs
Who is the father of taxonomy and what did he do?
Linnaeus, devised binomial nomenclature system
Who wrote Origin of Species?
Charles Darwin ( 1859)
How did Charles Darwin add to Linnaean system?
He developed a phylogenetic approach alongside Linnaeus’s artificial system
What’s the beef in taxonomy and how do we keep up?
Updated often, various ways to utilize system, changes in nomenclature
Utilize updated resources, engage with the community
What is a phylogenetic tree and how is it arranged?
Classification of plants determined by similarities
Arranged morphologically and phylogenetically
What makes an Embryophyte?
Land plants
Specialized structures to protect gametes
Cuticle present
What makes a Spermatophyte?
Subset of embryophyte
Reproduce via seeds
Difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms?
Gym - lack carpel/ovary, don’t fruit
Ang - seeds in carpel, more vein density
How and why are angiosperms divided?
Monocotyledons:
- one cotyledon (seed leaf)
- parallel leaf veins
- flowers in multiples of threes
- fibrous root system
Dicotyledons:
- two cotyledons in seeds
- net-like veins
- flowers in multiples of 4 or 5
- tap roots
Major taxa used for horticultural plants?
Family
Genus
Specific epithet
Cultivar/variety
Proper use of binomial nomenclature?
Species - Monarda fistulosa
Genus first, capitalized
Specific epithet second, lower case
