Now don't be scared, we are going to learn something about the naming of plants.
It was a Swedish naturalist called Carl Linnaeus who left us the naming system still in use today. He was born in 1707 in Rashult, the son of a Lutheran clergyman, and studied medicine at the University of Lund in 1727 before transferring to the University of Uppsala a year later. In 1735 he published Systema Naturae, a classification of plants based on their sexual parts. He later published Fundamenta Botanica and Classes plantarum based on a binomial nomenclature using Genus and species. Linnaeus provided in his publications an account of the 7,700 species of plants and 4,400 species of animals known at that time to the world. The 'benchmark' text is the 10th edition of the Species Plantarum, volume 1, published in 1758. All plant names today derive from this work. Linnaeus died from ill health in 1778 after a distinguished career.
Plants are named by genus and species such as rosa rugosa. Strictly speaking the Latin name should be in italics, with a capital letter for the genus.
So the correct name would be Rosa rugosa.
But as always there are some complications.
A subspecies may exist as a distinct variant, particularly in a geographic region.
An example is Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. A type of spurge.
A variety is a plant with a slightly different natural botanical structure.
An example is Phyllostachys nigra var. henis. A variety of black bamboo.
A form has a minor difference such as leaf colour, flower colour or fruit.
An example is Rosa rugosa f. alba or more simply Rosa rugosa alba. A rose with white flowers.
A cultivar is a new plant brought about by cultivation rather than naturally in the wild. This may be through hybridising but sometimes occurs by accident.
An example is Rosa rugosa 'Scabrosa'. Sometimes the species name has been lost leaving only a Genus and Cultivar.
A hybrid is a cross between botanically distinct species.
An examples is Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood'. This is the result of a cross between Forsythia suspensa and Forsythia viridissima.
Some help with your Latin. You can usually 'guess' at others.
|
alba / albus |
white |
|
coccinea / coccineus |
scarlet |
|
caerulea / caeruleus |
blue |
|
nigra / nigrum |
black |
|
foetida / foetidus |
smelly |
|
foetidissima |
very smelly |
|
fragrans |
scented |
|
fragrantissima |
very scented |
|
chinensis |
Chinese |
|
virginiana / virginianus |
Virginian |
|
aquatica / aquaticus |
water |
|
arvensis |
field |
|
reptans |
creeping |
|
gracilis |
slender |
|
grandi- |
large |
|
leuco- |
white |
|
macro- |
long or large |
|
semper- |
always |
|
brevi- |
short |
|
-issima |
very |
If we go up a level we have a Family. So each plant is in a Family Genus species.
The full naming system is quite complicated as it has to cover every living thing on the planet - and they come in very different shapes and sizes ! But if you really want to know then it is classified in the following hierarchical manner...
Kingdom Phylum Subphylum Class Subclass Infraclass Order Suborder Superfamily Family Genus Species
There are a total of five kingdoms...
Examples of Monera are bacteria, blue-green algae and spirochetes. 10,000+ known species.
Examples of Protista are protozoans and algae. 250,000+ known species.
Examples of Fungi are funguses, molds, mushrooms, yeasts, mildews and smuts. 100,000+ known species.
Examples of Plantae are mosses, ferns, woody and non-woody flowering plants. 250,000+ known species.
Examples of Animalia are sponges, worms, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. 1,000,000+ known species.
The full classification of a human being is...
Animalia Chordata Vertebrata Mammalia Theria Eutheria Primates Anthropoidea Hominoidea Hominidae Homo sapiens
which is quite a mouthful ! Good job we have nicknames.
Chordata = bilateral symmetry ( we have 2 eyes, 2 ears etc. on the same level. Most of us anyway )
Vertebrata = backbone and spinal chord
Mammalia = offspring conceived within reproductive tract and nourished with milk after birth
Theria = give birth to live young
Eutheria = placenta and umbilical chord allows nourishment prior to birth
...
sapiens = wise ( a kind of generalisation I feel )
The Linnaean scheme for classification of living things was based on presumed homologies ( some things look the same and some things look different ). It was thought that if two organisms can mate and produce offspring they must be members of the same species. These days we have a huge leap forward in the understanding of the structure of living things ( down to DNA sequencing ) and the evolution of species which was not accepted prior to Darwin. A DNA classification of living things produces a more accurate evolutionary record but the system started by Carl Linnaeus is alive and well, and in use today.
How to be a Gardener by Alan Titchmarsh, BBC Gardening online.
Classification of Living Things by Dennis O'Neil, Ph.D
