Botanical nomenclature

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 Botanical nomenclature
 Botanical nomenclature is the naming of
plants and the related principles and rules
 Principles and rules of Botanical
nomenclature are developed and adapted in
series of International Botanical congresses
 Principles and rules are listed in
International Code of Botanical
Nomenclature (ICBN)
 The main goal of ICBN is to provide one
correct name for each taxonomic group
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within a stable system of names or
 What is scientific name?
 A name is merely a conventional symbol or cipher
that serves as a means of reference and avoid the
need for continue use of a cumbersome
descriptive phrases.
 The fundamental principle of scientific
nomenclature is that names must be
unambiguous and universal
 Latin is used.

 The formation and use of scientific names

of organism for nomenclatural purposes
are governed by codes of nomenclature 3
 Codes of Nomenclature
q International Code of Botanical nomenclature
(ICBN) for Plants (including Fungi and
q Cyanobacteria)
International Code for Nomenclature of Cultivated
plants (ICNCP) only for cultivated plants (
q www.actahort.org/books/647/)
Inter national Code of Zoological Nomenclatur e
q (ICZN) for Animals
International Code of Nomenclature of
q Bacteria (ICNB) - for Bacteria
International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
(ICTV) for Viruses
(http://www.virustaxonomyonline.com) 4
 Some differences between codes
 These Codes differ:
 For example, the ICBN does not allow tautonyms
whereas the ICZN does
 The starting points, the time from which these Codes
are in effect (retroactively), vary from group to group.
o In Botany the starting point will often be in 1753 (the
year Linnaeus first published Species Plantarum in
Zoology in 1758.
o Bacteriology started anew, with a starting point in 1980

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 Comparison between Scientific names and
Common (vernacular) names
 Botanical names are universal while common names are
limited
to a single language or to a particular geographical
region
 Sometime one vernacular name may be used to different taxa
or
one taxon may have different common names e.g. Talong
(Bis,Tag); Tarong (Ilokano); Aubergine (Europe); Eggplant (Eng);
Solanum melongena

 Common names may be misleading e.g.

“ Nyanya chungu ” (Swahili) or bitter
tomato is not

“common tomatoes”. But Solanum

aethiopicum while common tomato is

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Solanum lycopersicum
 Characteristics of Species scientific names
 Species Scientific names are binomials (composed of two words

i.e. generic and species )

 Binomial system was founded by Jean Bauhin but used

consistently first by Linnaeus in Species plantarum

 (1753)

The first word of a species name is of a Genus to which the

 plant belongs and the second word is of a species
A generic name is a ‘collective name’ for a group of plants that
 all share similar characteristics.

The specific name, allows us to distinguish between

different plants within a genus.
 There are over 2000 Solanum species in the genus Solanum
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differentiated by specific names
 Characteristics of Species epithets
 Specific epithets refer to different things:
 May refer to distinctive morphological, ecological or

chemical features e.g. Alafia multiflora, Ipomoea aquatica,

Ficus religiosa

Ipomoea aquatica Ficus religiosa

Alafia multiflora

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• Honor individual who first collected the species or a scientist
who have contributed much to the botanical knowledge of a
particular region or a taxonomic group e.g. Discospermum reyesii,
Medinilla theresae

• May refer to geographical origin

• Nepenthes philippinensis

Discospermum reyesii

Medinilla theresae
 Geographical epithets
 Geographical epithets may reflect countries and localities:
o manilensis of Manila
o negrosensis of, or from, Negros, one of the Visayan Islands in the
Philippines
o mindanensis of Mindanao
o okinawae Of, or from, Okinawa
o tortugarum Of the Dry Tortugas, south of the Florida Keys
o virginicus Of, or from, Virginia, USA
o The ICBN recommends however that epithet taken from
geographical names should be adjective and end with - ensis
 (-e), anus (-a, -um), or icus (-a, -um)
The specific name may not be tautonomyous (repeat the generic
name) as in Benzoin benzoin

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 Writing a botanical name and the
protologue
 The specific epithet may be followed by one or more

Authorities
 Authority is a name or names of a person or persons

who first described the species

o Solunum americanum Miller (Miller = Mill.)

• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn (Linnaeus)
 The protologue is the ensemble of all the elements

associated whit the original publication of a taxon

name
e.g. Solanum americanum Miller, The Gardeners
Dictionary, Ed. 8, art. Solanum no. 5 (1768).Type: Cult.
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 Rank of taxonomic categories
Category Standard suffix (ending)
Kingdom -bionta
Phylum/Divisio -phyta
nSubphylum -phytina
Class -opsida
Subclass -idae
Superorder -anae
Or der -ales
Suborder -ineae
Superfamily -ariae
Family -aceae (see exceptions)
Subfamily -oideae
Tribe -eae
Subtribe -inae
Genus None, italize, start with capital letter
Species None, genus name plus specific epithet, italize
Subspecies None , genus name species and sub.
Variety name italize
Forma 11
Major or obligatory ranks appear in boldface
 Features of the Taxonomic Hierarchy
Allowed alternative family names

Apiaceae = Umbelliferae
Arecaceae = Palmae
Asteraceae = Compositae
Brassicaceae = Cruciferae
Clusiaceae = Guttiferae[Hypericaceae Guttiferae]
Fabaceae= Leguminosae
Lamiaceae = Labiatae
Poaceae =
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Gramineae
 Features of the Taxonomic Hierarchy
• Names above the rank of GENUS are based upon
the name of an included genus. Each rank has a
distinctive ending that is attached to the stem of the
name of the genus. e.g. Solanum is a genus in the
family SOLANACEAE
• The word TAXON is used to refer to a
taxonomic category of any rank. The plural is
• TAXA.
The name of a genus is always underlined or
italicized; the first letter is capitalized. The names of
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genera are treated as NOUNS. The plural of genus is
 Features of the Taxonomic Hierarchy end
• The scientific name of a species is the combination of the
name of the genus with the specific epithet. To be
complete, the scientific name includes the authority
e.g. Solanum nigrum Linnaeus
• The word species is both singular and plural
• It is always correct to write the specific epithet in all
lower case [species named after people and after old
generic names may be capitalized]
• The specific ephitet is usually considered to be an
adjective that modifies the genus (noun),
• When several species of one genus are given in sequence,
the name of the genus can be abbreviated to its first letter
e.g. Hunteria congolana and H. zeylanica
Solanum melongena and S. lycopersicum 14
 Features of the Taxonomic Hierarchy
• The authority can be abbreviated to save space,
especially for authors who described a large
number of species.
• The author's name is never italicized or underlined.
• The names of subspecific ranks (subspecies, variety,
form) consist of the name of the species followed by
an abbreviation of the rank, the subspecific ephitet,
and the authority for the subspecific name e.g.
Solanum villosum subsp . miniatum (Bernh. ex
Willd) Edmonds
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 Principles of Botanical Nomenclature
 The naming of plants is covered by the ICBN
 New edition of ICBN is published after each
International Botanical Congress, referred to
by the city where the Congress took place.

o The most current is the Vienna Code of 2006

 Application of names is determined
by nomenclatural types
 Nomenclature is based upon priority
of publication

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 Principles of Botanical Nomenclature

 Each taxonomic group can have only one

correct name, which is the earliest that

is in accordance with the rules, exceptin
specified cases
 Scientific names are in Latin

 Rules of nomenclature are retroactive

(conser vative) unless expr essly

limited
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