Botany
When talking about plants it is useful to know some of the scientific terms and how they work to make things clearer. The sky is the limit here, but there's no need to go crazy with in depth anatomy and reproduction systems etc. A few basic things can be helpful and interesting, and further your enjoyment and understanding of plants, of botany.
Linnean Classification System
Who was paying attention in biology class?! When I was at school (........) all living things were classified by the Linnean System-essentially seven divisions, starting with the broadest, ending with the most narrow, the species-being specific! Makes sense right?!
Kingdom, Phyllum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species.
This has now been changed to a much more detailed and complicated system, but as we really are only interested in the last three classifications anyway (Family, Genus and Species), let's stick with the Linnean System...
It sounds complicated, so to break it down, here's a quick example, let's look at Cypripedium calceolus, the Lady's Slipper Orchid, and see how division narrows down it's identification;
Kingdom-Plantae
Pretty obvious this one...another Kingdom would be Animalia (these really are the two main Kingdoms)
Phylum-Strepophyta
Keeps changing and being split-of no concern to us
Class-Magnoliidae
Keeps changing and being split-of no concern to us. Used to just be about it being a flowering plant, now lots of subdivisions.
Order- Asparagales
This used to be about if the seed germinated with one leaf (like a grass seedling-moncotyledon) or with two (like cress, a dicotyledon). Its since been split and is of no concern to us!
Family-Orchidacea
Here we go, something of relevance to us and that we can work with-the Orchid Family! All plants in this family have the basic flower structure of an 'Orchid'. One characteristic is a three petaled flower with the middle petal enlarged into a lip.
Genus-Cypripedium
The family is now split down further into to Genera.
This is the first name of the binomial system,
and the one most of us are familiar with when talking
about plants-An Aquilegia, a Rhododendron,
a Magnolia etc.
Species-calceolus
This is the detailed specific description of the plant. It looks at how it grows (height, habit, leaf structure), how it flowers (if the flowers are borne singularly, in pairs, clusters, on stalks or not), flower colour, flower scent, where it occurs geographically and also at what altitude (very important when trying to identify Alpine species!), and sets it apart from other species of the same genus.....all of a sudden the term 'be specific' makes more sense!
Got it?!
Here's a different
species, Cypripedium acaule
Families
Looking at plant families can be really interesting, and it is often surprising which plants are closely related....and sometimes, it's like 'oh yes, of course'!
Let's look at the Rose Family (Rosaceae) for example. The classic
rose flower we all know is more or less a human invention (more on this later), and in the wild they grow as singles......
Here are a few more common things we eat everyday that we'd probably never think of as being 'roses';
Apples, Pears, Cherries, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, Raspberries, Blackberries....makes sense once you know right?!
Interesting that many members are fruit bearing (of course man has selected and improved things like Apples...a Crab Apple is more the size you'd expect to see in the wild).
Here's another good one, the Umbels (Umbelliferae), of which family the carrot belongs to. Have you noticed the carrots foliage before?
Try rubbing a carrot's foliage next time you see some-it gives off an aroma very similar to Parsley. In-fact, once you know, you'll notice that all the seeds have a similar flavour 'frequency' that you can recognise them by, and again, interesting that we eat a lot of this family. Think also Aniseed....Ouzo and Pastis!
More family members; Coriander, Celery, Celeriac,Cow Parsley, Carraway Seed, Star Anise
Right, starting to get the gist now, just one more thing before we move on....the Mint Family (Labiatae), one of the defining features is that they are all square-stemmed-check some next time you see some, it really is incredible;
Mint, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Sage, Lavender, Rosemary.
All with aromatic foliage! The apple never falls far from the tree.....
The Binomial System
Ok, you're getting good, you can recognise plant families and understand what that means, you're officially a Botanist.
Let's dig (ha ha) a little deeper.....
After the Family, we come to the Genus. Let's have a quick look at the Genus Primula.
Primula are from the family Primulaceae. The Genus is made up of around 400 species that occur in a range of different habitats, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, but some in the Southern. Almost half the species come from the Himalayas.
NB Another family member you'll probably know is the genus Cyclamen-it's
sometimes difficult to see, due to the swept back petals, but if you turn
the flower upside down then push the petals forward, it actually looks
like a giant Primula flower!
Let's now look at three Primula species native to the UK that you'll know so we
can start joining the dots;
So the Family Primulaceae, the Genus Primula, but different Species-easy right?!
There are further divisions (sub species, variations, named forms, selections....but we'll come to that later.
Nomenculture
There we go, it's not complicated at all, and really very interesting. Let's take a quick look at Nomenculture-a posh word for naming plants!
Why do plants have the names they do?
On the whole, plant names are derived from Latin or Greek, and can describe the habit of
a plant (for example, the genus Campanula... campanulate means 'bell-shaped', and the
common name of this genus is the Bell Flowers, as on the whole they have....bell shaped
flowers!) where they occur (Campanula alpina-occurs in the Alps), those that discovered
them (Campanula zoysii-discovered by Austrian botanist Karl von Zoys), or in tribute to people......
Lewis and Clark, the explorers who 'discovered' America had two Genera named after
them-Lewisia and Clarkia. (I don't know much about Clarkia, but Lewisia is a fantastic genus,
with succulent-like leaves formed in rosettes bearing showy flowers, from rocky areas
of North America.)
Specifically, the name can highlight a defining feature......
Here's a good example-Pyrola rotundifolia......'rotundifolia' is easily recognisable to us as being 'round leaved'. This sets it apart from other members of the genus, and if you were out plant spotting would enable you to identify it.
Other times, a plant can be specifically named because it resembles another Genus. Sometimes the genus name has been used exactly as it is (Saxifraga sempervivum), but often there's an abbreviation of the generic name and the addition of 'oides'.
Here's an example;
Suddenly the plant naming world feels a bit smaller and easier to remember.
Sometimes, the name comparison is not to another plant, but an animal or insect!
Lumpers and Splitters-Sub species, Varieties, Selections, Named Forms and Hybrids
This is getting geeky now....if you're still reading, well done..
Botanists are a funny lot, they'd divided themselves into two groups;
'Lumpers', those that want to say any species can be variable so differing forms are probably just seedling variations of one main species, they want to 'lump' all variants together, and...
'Splitters', who want to classify every variation as a separate species, saying they are genetically different and in some cases have specific pollinators.
They argue about it for hours...then they change it all again. While making sure my facts are correct for this page, I've discovered they've now moved Campanula zoysii out of the genus Campanula and given it it's own genus, Favratia. Ridiculous.
Personally, I don't believe in any of it-if you believe in evolution how can you believe one species is a defining version?! It evolved from something else and will evolve in to another plant....the names, the labels we are giving these plants are just a snap shot in time. Anyway, that's another story.... Let's look at Sub species etc.
Sub species and varieties (abbreviated to var.) are really more scientific terms that the collector or identifier in the field would need to know. The other terms are more useful to use in understanding exactly what it is we are looking for, buying, and trying to care for;
Selections-these are usually just the best forms from seedlings that the grower will 'select' and cross pollinate with other selected forms to keep and improve beneficial characteristics. Often plants now that we see in Garden Centres and Nurseries are nothing like the plant that occurs in the wild (the true species), as more vigorous plants with larger flowers have been selected. The Pasque Flower, Pulsatilla vulgaris (it's not common anymore....), which still grows wild in the UK at a few sites is a classic example of this. The true species is a dainty little plant, forming a neat tuft of grassy green carrot-like leaves, with a few flowers no taller than 6 inches. The cultivated form of P. vulgaris (when there is this difference between wild plant and cultivated, the cultivated plant is referred to as 'of gardens') although still lovely, is a boisterous brute of a plant, throwing out 10s of huge violet star-shaped urns on stout silky stems, and forms a sizeable clump! It also has a red flowered form-P. vulgaris var. Rubra and a white flowered form, P. vulgaris var. Alba. Note the use of 'var' here...
Named forms- A grower can take a particularly distinct form of his plant, and try to get it recognised as a named form. When this happens, often the specific name is dropped. These plants can just be a selection as described above, but often the plant has hybridised with another closely related plant. They retain most of the features of their main generic parent, so keep the generic name, but are different from any of the species (and usually not naturally occurring....for instance, imagine two Orchids kept in a growers greenhouse-one is from Asia, the other from South America-the two would never naturally meet, but as they are closely related can reproduce) so take on the named form.
True Hybrids-as you have seen, hybridisation does occur, and when it produces something that is completely different to any parent (hybrids can be a few different parents across a few generations....imagine two mongrel dogs offspring), it stands alone as a true hybrid plant.
Cambria Orchids are a good example of this. It is a trigeneric hybrid of Odontoglossum, Miltonia and Cochlioda. They are collectively called 'Cambria', although their given generic name is Vuylstekeara, named after the nurseryman Charles Vuylsteke. Vuylstekeara cambria 'Plush' was the most famous hybrid, so they have been known as 'Cambria' eversince.
I hope all this has helped!!
