Regenerative Leadership Institute
Regenerative Leadership Institute
Botanical Nomenclature Manual: The Meaning Involving Latin Seed Names
There are numerous plant Regenerative Leadership Institute names to learn as it is, so why can we use Latin names too? And just what are Latin plant names anyway? Simple. Scientific Latin plant names are utilized as a way of classifying or identifying unique plants. Let's learn more about the meaning of Latin plant names with this specific short, but sweet, botanical nomenclature guide.
What Are Latin Plant Names?
Unlike its common name (of which there might be several) the Latin name for a plant is unique to each plant. Scientific Latin plant names help describe both the "genus" and "species" of crops in order to better categorize them.
The binomial (two name) system of nomenclature was developed by Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus in the mid 18th century. Grouping plants according to similarities for example blossoms, leaves and fruit, he named them so and founded a *organic order. The "genus" is the bigger of-the two teams and could be equated to the application of a surname like "Smith." For example, genus identifies one as "Smith" and the species would be akin to an individual's first name, like "Joe."
Combining the two names gives us a *special term for this particular man's individual name just as combing the "genus" and "species" scientific Latin plant names gives us a unique botanic nomenclature guide for each individual plant.
The difference between the two nomenclatures being, that in Latin plant names the "genus" is listed first and is always capitalized. The "species" (or specific name) follows the genus name in lowercase and the entire Latin plant name is italicized or underlined.
The utilization of Latin plant names
can be confusing to the home gardener, sometimes even intimidating. There was, nevertheless, a very good reason to use Latin plant names. Latin words for the genus or species of a plant are descriptive terms used-to explain a particular kind of plant and its characteristics. Using Latin plant names helps to avert confusion caused by the often contradictory and multiple common names an individual might have.
In Latin, the genus is a noun and the species is a descriptive adjective for it. Consider for example, Acer is the Latin plant name (genus) for maple. Since there are many different kinds of maple, another name (the species) is added to for positive identification.. Therefore, when confronted with the name Acer rubrum, the gardener will know he/she is looking at a maple with vibrant red autumn leaves. This is helpful as Acer rubrum stays the same regardless of whether the gardener is really in Iowa or elsewhere in the planet.
The Latin plant name is a description of the plants characteristics. Consider Acer palmatum, by way of example. Again, 'Acer' means maple while the descriptive 'palmatum' means shaped like a hand, and it is derived from 'platanoides,' meaning "resembling the plane tree." Consequently, Acer platanoides means you are taking a look at a maple that resembles the plane tree.
When a brand new strain of plant is produced, a third category is needed by the new plant to further describe its one of - a - kind characteristic. This example is when a third name (the plants "cultivar") is added to the Latin plant title. This third name may signify the programmer of the cultivar, place of source or hybridization, or a special unique characteristic.
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