1. TAXONOMY The Science of Plant Classification
I will be able to determine how plants are classified by classifying plants.

2. GOALS of TAXONOMY IDENTIFY all members of the plant kingdom
Estimated - 400,000 (known species) to 5 million species of plants
NAME all plants
ARRANGE plants into a HIERARCHY that indicates their TRUE relationship to another

3. Common vs. Scientific Names
ADVANTAGES:
Easy to say, spell
Sometimes descriptive
DISADVANTAGES:
Not unique to plant
Varies regionally, from country to country, language to language
Does not show “True” relationship
ADVANTAGES:
One name per plant - binomial (Genus species)
Well known universal language among scholars
Dead language
DISADVANTAGES :
Harder to pronounce and spell
It doesn’t matter how you pronounce it, but it is important how you spell it!

4. HISTORY of PLANT CLASSIFICATION
ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION
NATURAL CLASSIFICATION
PHYLOGENTIC CLASSIFICATION

5. ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION
Form and Use
Ancient Greeks
THEOPHRASTUS ( BCE)
Father of Botany
Trees, shrubs, herbs, etc.
DIOSCORIDES (40-90 CE)
Medicinal plants (600)

6. ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION
Middle Ages
Monocots vs. dicots
Vascular vs. non-vascular
Descriptive names
Herbalists
Herbariums

7. ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION
LINNAEUS ( )
Binomial Nomenclature
System based on the flower and sexual parts

8. NATURAL CLASSIFICATION
System based on MORPHOLOGY of plant parts (shape or form)
French Botanists
Used today, although not considered “true relationships”, but closer

9. PHYLOGENETIC CLASSIFICATION
Based on TRUE GENETIC relationships of plants
CHARLES DARWIN ( CE)
Origin of Species (1859)
Theory of Evolution explained
Natural Selection as a means of adaptation

10. TAXONOMY TODAY Made up of NATURAL and PHYLOGENETIC classification
Governed by International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN)
Rules for naming plants
Revised as new evidence becomes available
Dynamic – ever changing system
Based on observations and systematic gathering of evidence

11. Review
Write the following questions on the left side of your notebook:
What are the 3 types of Classifications? Explain.
What classifications do we use today?
Complete the summary page for your notes

12. Assignment
Natural Systems of Classification Assignment