Montana State University Extension
An educational resource dedicated to improving the quality
of people’s lives by providing research-based knowledge to
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of families, communities and agriculture enterprises.
“Cultivating Your Yard and Garden
Knowledge”
Classification
and
Nomenclature
Pages 22-24 of the
Montana Master
Gardener Handbook
Helianthus annuus L. cv. Sunspot
Theophrastus 370-285 BC
Father of Botany
Theophrastus of Eresos 370-285 BC


Greek Philosopher
Successor to Aristotle
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History of Plants and Causes of Plants (may be lecture notes).
Earliest books of this kind in world
Described the origins of plants
• Seeds
• Germination
• Abiotic factors
• Ecology
• Pollination

Described 500 – 550 species
Romans
Pliny (23 – 79 AD)
Naturalis Historia
Chap. 45. p. 531. Book XVII. Vol. 3.
Errors that may be Committed in Pruning
But, before everything, especial care should be
taken that intended remedies are not productive of
ill results; as these may arise from either remedial
measures being applied in excess or at unseasonable
Clearing
away
thethebranches
times. Clearing
away
branches is is
of of
the the
greatest
benefit to benefit
trees, but to
themtothis
way
greatest
toslaughter
trees, but
slaughter
every year, is productive of the very worst results.
them
this
way
every
year,
is productive
The vine
is the
only
tree that
requires
lopping everyof
the
worsttheresults.
year,very
the myrtle,
pomegranate, and olive every
other; the reason being that these trees shoot with
great rapidity. The other trees are lopped less
frequently, and none of them in autumn; the trunk
even is never scraped, except in spring. In pruning
a tree, all that is removed beyond what is absolutely
necessary, is so much withdrawn from its vitality.
The Middle – AD 450 to 1450
The Dark Ages Fall Over the Western
World
 Science and horticulture survived in the
monasteries
 Monasteries became the protector of all
scholarship; Greek works translated into Latin
 Monasteries were part of the Roman Catholic
Church, the Universal Church
 Latin was the language of the church and
therefore universally understood by scholars
The End of the Dark Ages
 Dodonacus (~1616)
• Pseudocapsicum altius ac frutiquondoque bicubitales,
lignosi, ramosi; folia oblonga, latiuscula, laevia,
longiora angustioraque……..etc.
Carolus Linnaeus
(Carl Von Linne)
 Father of Taxonomy
 Wrote Species
Plantarum (Species of
plants
 Introduced Binomial
nomenclature
• Widely used in
biological sciences
Portrait of Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) engraved by C. E. Wagstaff from an oil
painting by L. Pasch after an original by A. Roslin (1775) at the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences, Stockholm.
The End of the Dark Ages
 Dodonacus (~1616)
• Pseudocapsicum altius ac frutiquondoque bicubitales,
lignosi, ramosi; folia oblonga, latiuscula, laevia,
longiora angustioraque……..etc.
 Carl von Linne (Linnaeus)
• Species of Plants (1753)
• The above account becomes Solanum
pseudocapsicum
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Jerusalem Cherry
 In the nightshade
family
• Tomato
• Potato
• Eggplant
• Poisonous
ANIMALIA
PLANTA
DIVISION – THALLOPHYTA, BRYOPHYTA, PTERIDOPHYTA, SPERMATOPHYTA
fungi
club mosses ferns
seed plants
CLASS -
GYMNOSPERMAE
conifers, cycads,
bromeliads
ORDER –
FAMILIES –
GENERA –
SPECIES –
SUBSPECIFICS – VARIETY, CULTIVAR
ANGIOSPERMAE
dicots and monocots
Brussels sprouts
SPERMATOPHYTA (Division)
ANGIOSPERMAE (Class)
DICOTYLEDONEAE (Subclass)
CRUCIFERALES (Order)
BRASSICACEAE OR CRUCIFERAE (Family)
BRASSICA (Genus)
OLERACEA (Species)
GEMMIFERA (Variety)
‘GREEN JADE’ (Cultivar)
Nomenclature
It’s all in the name according to Linnaeus
 Used Latin and Greek
• Understood by scholars of the time
 Ordered plants into a hierarchy, with a
descending order of specificity
 Affiliations based on flower structure
 Binomial is the Genus and species together
One Family may have Many
Genera
Family Rosaceae
Genus Rosa
Genus Sorbus
Genus Malus
The Genus (Genera plural)




Always the first word of the binomial
First letter is always capitalized
Always italicized or underlined
Often the Roman name for the plant
• If a plant has no Roman name it is given a Latinized
modern name
• Poinsettia (Poinsett)
• Forsythia (Forsythe)
• Franklinia (Franklin)
Acer or Acer
(Maple)
Some Genera Common in
Montana
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

Acer (maple)
Juniperus (juniper)
Pinus (pine)
Picea (spruce)
Thuja (arborvitae)
Fraxinus (ash)
Betula (birch)
Syringa (lilac)
Caragana (caragana)
 Malus (apple)
 Tilia (linden)
 Cotoneaster
(cotoneaster)
 Rosa (rose)
 Prunus (cherry)
 Poa (bluegrass)
 Festuca (fescue)
The species
(species, singular or plural, is always
species)




Always the second word of the binomial
Almost always begins with a small letter
Always italicized or underlined
Usually descriptive
rubrum or rubrum
(RED)
Commonly-used Species Names







Red = rubra (rubrus, rubrum)
White = alba
Green = viridis
Yellow = lutea, xanthoSilver = argentea
Black = nigra
Blue = cyano-
 Northern = borealis
 Summer = aestivalis
More Commonly-used Species
Names




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Small = micro
Big = grand-, macroLeaf = -phyll
Plant = phyto
Sugar = saccharFuzzy = pubescens
Hairy = hirsutus
Root = radix
 Korea = koreanis
One Genus may have many
Species
Genus Rosa
Species rugosa
Species foetida
Species rubrifolia
Acer rubrum
red maple
Genus and Species Together
 Both are always underlined or italicized
• Acer rubrum
• Acer rubrum
• Betula papyrifera
• Betula papyifera
Why do we need
universal
nomenclature?

English
– cauliflower

Japanese
– kalifurawaa

Chinese
– Hua ye cai

French
– Chou fleur

German
– Blumenkohl

Spanish
– coliflor
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Variety
 A group having characteristics of its own
within a species
 Characteristics are insufficient to justify a
new species
 Naturally occurs
 Sometimes descriptive
 The first letter is lower case and, because it
is part of the binomial so it is italicized or
underlined
Brassica oleracea
 Brassica oleracea var.
•
•
•
•
•
italica - Broccoli
capitata – Cabbage
botrytis - Cauliflower
acephala – Kale, collard
gemmifera – Brussels sprouts
Cultivar
 Meaning “cultivated variety”
 A variety of a plant that has been created or
selected intentionally and maintained
throughout cultivation
 Not part of the binomial, therefore it is not
italicized or underlined
Three ways to write cultivar:
Brassica oleracea capitata ‘Golden Acre’
Brassica oleracea capitata cv. Golden Acre
Brassica oleracea capitata cultivar Golden Acre
Hybrids
Interspecific hybrids
 Most of what we see are interspecific
hybrids
• Hybrid between two species within the
same Genus
 An “X” between Genus and species
indicates an interspecific hybrid
 The species given is the dominant
species
 Examples:
• Abelia x grandiflora
• Fragraria x ananassa
Intergeneric hybrids
Less often
 An “X” preceding the Genus
indicates in intergeneric hybrid
 The Genus is often an
amalgamation of the two Genera
involved
 Example:
• X Cupressocyparis leylandii
• Leyland cypress
• This is a hybrid of Chamaecyparis
nootkanensis and Cupressus
macrocarpa.
Subspecifics
 Strain: A subcultivar category
• Contains a distinctive trait worthy of cultivation
• ‘Kentucky Wonder’, rust resistant strain
Subspecifics cont.
 Sport: A mutation
• Peach and nectarines are sports of each other
Authority
 The name of the person who named the plant
appears abbreviated after the botanical name
 Examples:
• Syringa vulgaris L. = “L.” stands for Linnaeus
• Vaccinium angustifolium Ait. = “Ait. Stands for Aiton
Writing Binomial Nomenclature
Genus - always capitalized, italicized or underlined
Lactuca sativa L.var. inermis
(species) specific epithet
- always lower case, italicized or underlined
Writing Binomial Nomenclature
Genus - always capitalized, italicized or underlined
Lactuca sativa cv.
‘Grand
GrandRapids’
Rapids
(species) specific epithet
- always lower case, italicized or underlined
http://image06.webshots.com/6/7/36/64/80973664AFbauk_fs.jpg
Reference Books on
Nomenclature
 Bailey, L.H. 1933. How plants get their
names. New York, New York: Dover
Publications, Inc.
 Gough, R.E. 1993. Glossary of Vital Terms
for the Home Gardener. Binghamton, New
York: The Haworth Press
 Brako, L., A.Y. Rossman, and D.F. Farr. 1995.
Scientific and Common Names of 7,000
Vascular Plants in the United States. St.
Paul, Minnesota: APS Press
Cool Website for Pronunciation!
 http://www.finegardening.com/pguide/p
ronunciation-guide-to-botanicallatin.aspx
End