Topic 1 Element 1 - Plant Classification & Naming Flashcards
What is Taxonomy?
Taxonomy is the classification of living and extinct organisms.
What is the Taxonomic Heirarchy?
- Kingdom
- Superdivision
- Division
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
What are Bryopheta?
Bryopheta are mosses
* They have no vascular system
* They reproduce by spores not seeds
* They have no true roots
What are Pteridophyta?
Pteridophyta are ferns and horsetails
* They have a vascular system
* They reproduce by spores not seeds
* They can be deep rooting
What is a Spermatophyta?
Spermatophyta are flowering plants
They have a vascular system
They reproduce by seeds
* They have defined organs i.e. leaves, stems, roots and flowers
What is an Angiosperm?
These are plants that:
* Evergreen or deciduous
* Herbaceous or woody
* Varied lifecycles
* Flowers adapted to a variety of pollinators and enclosed seeds
What is a Gymnosperm?
These are plants that:
* Are generally evergreen
* woody
* Perennials
* Cones with naked seeds (always wind pollinated)
What is a Monocotyledon?
These are plants that:
-Produce a single seed leaf
-Fibrous rooting
-Generally non-woody
-Herbaceous plants
-Leaves usually sword shaped with parallel veins
-Flower parts and fruit chambers generally in multiples of 3
What is a Eudicotyledon?
These are plants that:
* Produce 2 seed leaves
* Fibrous or tap rooting
* Range of woody and herbaceous plants
* Leaves have a variety of shapes and vein patterns
* Flower parts often in multiples of 4 or 5
What is the plant classification Families?
Families are a group of plants of closely related Genera. They have:
* similar flower characteristics
* seed baring structures
* arrangement of leaves on stem (Phyllotaxy)
* leaf shape
What is the Binomial System?
The Binomial System combines the Genus and Species name to produce a distinct botanical name with 2 parts
Genus - A group of species within a family sharing similar characteristics
Written with a Capital Letter at the beginning and in italics or underlined if handwritten.
Species - A group of individuals within a Genus sharing common characteristics which are able to breed amongst themselves
Written all in lowercase in italic or underlined if handwritten.
What is the plant classification Hybrids?
Intergeneric Hybrids are plants bred between 2 different genera. This is shown with a capital X before the binomial name.
X Fatshedera lizei
Interspecific Hybrids are plants crossed between 2 species within the same genus. This is shown with a lowercase x between the binomial name.
Forsythia x intermedia
What is the plant classification of Varieties?
Varieties are a natural occuring mutation that makes them different to the rest of the species. A this is naturally occuring they are written in italic, var. is also added after the species name
Escallonia rubra var. macrantha
What is the plant classification Cultivar?
A cultivar is a varient that is artificially created by humans. Cultivar names are not written in italics and are enclosed in single quotation marks.
Zea mays ‘Swift’
Why use the Binomial system?
- Names are internationally understood
- Each name is entirely unique
- Botanical names are stable and un-changing
- They avoid complications of using common names. Different countries or even regions of the same country may have a different common name.
