PLANTS

CLASSIFICATION
Brian Jay A. Codilla
Plant Classification.
 In order to study the billions of different
organisms living on Earth, scientists have sorted
and classified them based on their similarities and
differences.
 This system of classification is also called
taxonomy and usually features both English and
Latin names for different divisions.
 It is always best to specify the exact plant you
want by the scientific name.
 It is also important for people in the commercial
plant and nursery business to know both scientific
and common names as they become confusing.
Theophrastus 370-285 B.C.
 He was a Greek philosopher and naturalist and is
often called the "Father of Botany."
 He was a pupil of Aristotle and was the first person
to publish a classification of plants.
 Classified plants based on form
 Herbs, shrubs, trees
 Annuals, perennials, biennials
Carolus Linnaeus 1707-1778
 Linnaeus was the first person to
propose an orderly system for
classifying organisms.
 He developed the Binomial
System of Naming Plants in
1753
 Bi= 2

 Nomial= name

 All plants have a scientific

name composed of two Latin

names known as a genus and
specie
 His system is still used today
and his called the Father of
Taxonomy!
Plant Classification
 Kingdom
 Phylum
 Class
 Order
 Family
 Genus
 Species
Activity
 Mnemonics at its best!
 You and a partner will develop your own
acronym mnemonics that will help you in
remembering the order of classification!
 You will have to come up with an
interesting sentence using the first word of
each division of classification, in order!
 Example: King Phillip Comes Over For Great
Spaghetti!
 Be Prepared to share your Mnemonic with
the class!
Plant Kingdom
 Over 275,000 species
 All plants are included in one Kingdom (Plantae)
which is then broken down into smaller and smaller
divisions based on several characteristics, including:
 Whether they can circulate fluids (like rainwater)
through their bodies or need to absorb them from the
moisture that surrounds them
 How they reproduce (by spores or different kinds of
seeds)
 Their size or stature.
Phylum
 Plants are divided in this
category based on:
 whether or not the plant bears or
produces seeds.
 Vascular or Non-Vascular plants
 Over 250,000 plants in this
category.
Nonvascular Plants
 Bryophytes
 Fewer than 19,000 species
 Three groups
Liverworts
Hornworts
Mosses
Vascular Plants
 Majority of plants
 Have internal tissues that carry water and
solutes
 Two groups
 Seedless vascular plants
 Seed-bearing vascular plants
Seedless Vascular Plants
 Arose during the Devonian
 Produce spores but no seeds

(ferns, horsetails,
clubmosses)
Seed-Bearing Vascular
Plants
 Gymnosperms arose first
 Gymnosperms are the seed-producing
plants, but unlike angiosperms, they
produce seeds without fruits.
 Cycads
 Ginkgos
 Gnetophytes
 Conifers
Seed-Bearing Vascular
Plants
 Angiosperms arose later
 Monocots (seeds which create 1
leaf when sprouting )
 Dicots (seeds which create 2
leaves when sprouting)
Class
 Over 235,00 species
 Plants are divided into two types of classes
 Angiospermae (angiosperms)- plants which produce flowers
 Gymnospermae (gymnosperms)- plants which don’t produce
flowers
 Subclass
 Dicotyledonae (dicotyledons/dicots)– plants with two seed leaves

 Monocotyledonae (monocotyledons/monocot)- plants with one

seed leaf
Order
 A group of related plant families, classified
in the order in which they are thought to
have developed their differences from a
common ancestor.
 Vegetative Structures
 Reproductive Structures
 Over 18,000 species
 Names of orders end in ales
Family
 Each order is divided into families
 These are plants with many botanical features in common.
 Vegetative and Reproductive Structures used.
 Related plants with similar flower parts are grouped together.
 The Rose Family, Rosaceae, consists of plums, apples, strawberries
because they all have similar flower structures.
 The names of families end in –aceae
 Over3,500 species
Genus
 This is the part of the plant name that is most
familiar, the normal name that you give a
plant- Papaver (Poppy).
 This is the plants group name
 All plants having the same generic name are
said to belong to the same Genus and have
similar characteristics and are closely
related.
 The name of the Genus should be written
with a capital letter.
 Over 500 species
Examples of plant Genus
Genus
 Acer- all maples

 Pinus- all pines

 Ilex- all hollies

 Quercus- all oaks

 Begonia- all begonias

 Rhododendron- all azaleas

 Juniperus- all junipers

 Viola- all violet types

** Think of the plant Genus name as a noun!

specie
 This is the highest level that defines an individual plant.
 Often, the name will describe some aspect of the plant. The color of the
flowers, size or shape of the leaves, or it may be named after the place
where it was found.
 Together the Genus and species name refer to only one plant, and they
are used to identify that particular plant.
 The specie name is an adjective that describes the genus.
 *Alba means white: Quercus alba= white oak
 *Rubrum means red: Acer rubrum= red maple
 The name of the species should be written after the Genus name, in
small letters, with no capital letter.
Binomial Nomenclature
 “Binomial nomenclature is the biological
system of naming the organisms in which
the name is composed of two terms, where,
the first term indicates the genus and the
second term indicates the species of the
organism.”
Examples of specie and Genus
 Acer rubrum= Red maple
 Acer saccharum= Sugar maple

 Acer palmatum= Japanese maple

 Quercus palustris= Pin oak

 Quercus virginiana= Live oak

Specific names give geographical information:

 Pinus virginia- Virginia Pine

 Taxes canadensis= Canadian Yew

 Tsuga caroliniana= Carolina Hemlock

Example of Classification
Common Name: Corn Plant

Category Scientific Name

Kingdom Plantae

Phylum Spermatophyta

Class Angiospermae

Sub-Class Monocotyledonae

Family Gramine

Genus Zea

Specie Mays
Herbarium
 A herbarium is a storehouse of plant
specimens which are collected, dried and
mounted on handmade paper sheets. They
will be arranged in plant families with the
help of recognized system of classification
and kept in pigeon holes of steel or
wooden cup boards and maintained
carefully for current and future studies.
Herbarium

 The art of herbarium was

initiated by an Italian taxonomist
Luca Ghini (1490-1556).
 The word herbarium was first

used by Carolus Linnaeus

Kinds of Herbaria
 The kinds of Herbaria depends
upon the contents, purpose,
regions/place, plant groups-present
in these:

 The Herbaria of Medicinal Plants

 The herbaria include specimens of
plants of known medicinal properties.
Kinds of Herbaria
 The Herbaria of Weeds
 The herbaria has weeds of cultivated fields & waste places.

 Regional Herbaria
 The herbaria of particular region or place e.g. Herbarium of
Arid Zone Circle, Jodhpur
Botanical Garden

 A botanical garden is a controlled and

staffed institution for the maintenance of
a living collection of plants under
scientific management for purposes of
education and research, together with
such libraries, herbaria, laboratories, and
museums as are essential to its particular
undertakings.
Baguio Botanical Garden
Atlanta Botanical Garden
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!!