Unit 2 Plant Taxonomy How Plants Are Named

Unit 2 Plant Taxonomy: How Plants Are Named

Why are scientific names written in Latin? • The early scholars always wrote in Latin or Greek, so naturally, when they described plants or animals, they gave them scientific Latin or Latinized Greek names. • This caused problems because the names were often long and difficult.

To differentiate between scientific and common plant names and explain the binomial system of naming plants • Most plants have more than one common name. Common names can be confusing. • The Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, developed the binomial (two name) system for naming plants. • All plants having the same generic name are said to belong to the same genus. Plants belonging to the same genus have similar characteristics. • The first name is the genus (plant group name) and the second the species (or kind) • The genus name is usually a noun and the species an adjective

Plant Families • Related genera (plural or genus) with similar flower structures are grouped together in major units known as families.

Binomial System • Some common genus names are: – Acer (maple), Chrysanthemum (mum), Dianthus (pink), Hibiscus (mallow), Sedum (stonecrop), Papaver (poppy), Pinus (pine) and Pelargonium (geranium). – In some cases, the generic (genus) name has become the common name (Euronymus, Rhododendron and Forsythia) • The species name often gives us information about the plant. It sometimes tells us the color (lutea means yellow, alba means white, ruba means red, nigra means black ) or if the plant is creeping or erect (repens is creeping) Sometimes the species name gives geographic information about where a plant occurs naturally (Anemone virginiana from Virginia, Taxus canadensis from Canada) • When writing a scientific name, the genus name always begins with a capital letter and the species name with a small letter.

The Taxonomist • Scientist who identify and classify plants are known as taxonomists. • An international set of rules drawn up to ensure that every different species has a different binomial name and that the scientific name assigned to that plant is the oldest binomial name ever used is known as the “ International Code of Botanical Nomenclature”

Student Activities • Complete self evaluation at the end of the unit. • Get a plant catalog or book and list 20 common plant names and their scientific names in proper form like the following example: