Rohaiza Daud

BSc. Conservation of Biodiversity (Plant Taxonomy) (UMT)

MSc. Conservation Biology (Plant Ecology) (UKM)
Centre of Pre-University Studies
University Malaysia Sarawak
1
drohaiza@unimas.my
Part 1:
2
Course Rational: This lecture gains the student ability to recognize
the characteristics, how to exploit them in identifying and naming
plants that make more than 400,000 sp. of the plant kingdom. It also
takes in account essential information on families with reference to
local plants.

Course Description: This lecture aims in gaining the student

knowledge on the role of taxonomy and its importance to other
branches and to what is practiced elsewhere. It includes information
on plants structure and how the hierarchical, lineages, characters and
lifecycles effects the classification.

3
Course Objectives:
1. To understand the history and concepts
underlying various approaches to plant
taxonomy and classification.
2. To develop a knowledge and familiarity
with scientific names and the rules
governing their application.
3. To learn the diversity of patterns and
characters among plants, and types of
data used to classify plants.
4. To develop knowledge of the current
taxonomy of a major plant family and
familiarize with major taxa and identifying
characteristics.

4
Course Milestones:

I. Taxonomy and Classification.

II. Plant Nomenclature.

III. Introduction to Plant Identification.

III. Taxonomic Survey of Plants.

5
Mushrooms are plants Whales & dolphins are fish

6
Mushrooms are plants
Plants have chlorophyll and can make their own food.
Mushrooms have no chlorophyll, so they are not plants. They are
placed in their own kingdom called fungi. As they cannot make their
own food, they need to eat other living things, dead or alive. Eat
for fungi is in the form of breaking the matter down, like your
compost pile.
Mushrooms, as do all fungi, reproduce through spreading of spores,
not seeds.
Whales & dolphins are fish
Whales and dolphins are mammals, not fish. Fish are covered with scales and
breathe through gills. Mammals are covered with hair and breathe through lungs.
Whales and dolphins have lungs? How do they breathe in water?
Well, they dont. Whales and dolphins breathe through a hole at the top of their
heads called a blowhole. The blowhole is so efficient it can empty and refill their
lungs in 1/5 of a second. And, because they breathe air, they have to hold their
breaths. Dolphins can hold their breaths for up to 20 minutes while some whales can
do that for up to 90 minutes!
7
And because they are air-breathers, as incredible as it sounds, dolphins and whales
can actually drown!
Plants have many things in common;
composed of one or more cells
carry out metabolism and transfer energy with ATP
encode hereditary information in DNA
BUT, they are highly diverse, ranging from fresh water green algae (0.1 mm) to Tualang trees
(76 m tall). The earth, encompasses many life forms and sheltering an enormous array of life.
Biologists have tried to group organisms based on shared characteristics, and the most
meaningful groupings are based on the study of evolutionary relationship among organisms
indeed. However, the phylogenetic, molecular sequence and chemometric approaches are
leading to new hypotheses to explain lifes variety. Therefore, in this chapter we will explore
the bless of plant diversity of the living world.
8
 No. Plants No. of Species
1. Mosses 16,236
2. Ferns and allies 12,000
3.Gymnosperms 1,020
4.Angiosperms 281,821
5.Algae 13,134
No. Others No. of Species
1. Lichens 17,000
2. Mushrooms 31,496

The best estimate of the number of known plant species is 400,000. The World
Conservation Union, 2010.
9
Red algae Green algae Brown algae

10
Lichens
11
I. WHAT IS TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION?

Meanings of Taxonomy and Classification in Biological Sciences

1. Taxonomy is the discipline on bases, principles, methods and regulations in
taxon classification; science of classifying organisms (systematics) based on
characters (such as morphology, genetics, behaviour, ecology).
*(taxon; plural: taxa = is a group of one (or more) populations of
organism(s), which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit).

Clive C. Stace (1980) wrote:

Taxonomy can lay claims to being the oldest, the most basic and the most
embracing of the biological sciences; it is certainly one of the most controversial,
misunderstood and maligned. These properties are all closely related to the nature of
taxonomy itself. As one of its purposes is to provide a service to non-taxonomists, its
principles and practices come under scrutiny by non-specialists more often that is the
case with most sciences, and the lack of understanding resulting from such usage is
the cause of much of the mistrust and criticism often directed at it.

12
13
I. WHAT IS TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION?

Meanings of Taxonomy and Classification in Biological Sciences

2. Classification is the assembling processes of organisms into taxon; system of
ordering taxa; hierarchical.

3. In a biological classification, rank is the level in a hierarchy. Rarely, the term

"taxonomic category" is used instead of rank.

4. The Systema Natur (1st ed. 1735), was the Carolus Linnaeus' great work. In
this work, he was divided nature into three kingdoms: mineral, vegetable and
animal.

5. He grouped species according to shared physical characteristics.

14
I. WHAT IS TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION?

Meanings of Taxonomy and Classification in Biological Sciences

6. There are seven main ranks defined by the international

nomenclature codes:
i. Kingdom
ii. Phylum
iii. Class
iv. Order
v. Family
vi. Genus
vii. Species (sp.)

7. The work of Linnaeus had a huge impact on science; it was

indispensable as a foundation for biological nomenclature, now
regulated by the nomenclature codes: which allows names divided
into taxonomic ranks.
15
16
17
Why we need taxonomy and systematics?

Species which is appropriately identified has good prediction value.

As medium for international communication.

As information catalogue.

Giving meanings to Biodiversity.

As a base for hypothesis construction and assessment.

Providing suitable methods for taxon identification and nomenclature.

Producing floristic inventory on a phytogeographic scale.

Providing natural classification system of the biodiversity to portray

their true relationship among the taxa

18
II. PLANT NOMENCLATURE
What is nomenclature?
1. Nomenclature is the system of scientific names for taxa (such as species,
genera, or families) and the rules and conventions for the formation,
treatment, and use of those names. It follows an internationally agreed, quasi-
legal procedure.

2. In plant taxonomy, the hierarchy/naming the plant is regulated by the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) organised by the
International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT). Every level has a certain
flexible regulations ruling it.

3. Linnaeus' system became the basis for the modern systems of the International
Codes of Zoological or Botanical Nomenclature (ICZN and ICBN).

19
II. PLANT NOMENCLATURE

What is a nomenclature?
4. There are 12 level in the botanical hierarchy regulated by ICBN:

Taxa Suffixes

i. Kingdom -ae
ii. Division/ Phylum -phyta
iii. Class -opsida (-phyceae in algae)
iv. Order -ales (vascular plant)
v. Family -aceae
vi. Tribus -eae
vii. Genus Eg. Tectona
viii. Section
ix. Series
x. Species (sp.) Eg. Tectona grandis
xi. Variety Eg. Tectona grandis var. eros
xii. Forma Eg. Tectona grandis var. eros form.
ciliata 20
Kingdom : Plantae - Plants
Phylum : Magnoliophyta Flowering plant
Class : Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons
Order : Malvales
Family : Malvaceae
Genus : Hibiscus
Species : H. rosa-sinensis
Binomial name : Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L.

Kingdom : Plantae - Plants

Phylum : Magnoliophyta
Class : Equisetopsida
Order : Lamiales
Family : Lamiaceae
Genus : Tectona
Species : Tectona grandis
Binomial name : Tectona grandis L.f.

21
II. PLANT NOMENCLATURE
Common / Vernacular Names

1. Common names are names given by local people to refer to plants and animals.

2. It may be totally different from one country to another, from one state to another,
and even from one county to another.

3. Common names change as new people move to an area, or as old common names
fall out of favour for one reason or another - can often be misleading.

4. Typically in lowercase letters and can be used for vernacular names associated
with a particular taxon.

5. It can be found at any level of the taxonomy (e.g. algae, fungi, fern, conifer and
flowering plants).

6. Common name inherently variable, regional and inconsistent.

7. No authoritative regulatory body, and often no perfect correspondence between

common names and scientific names.
22
 Standard Malay Language: bawang
Kelantanese: bawe

Chinese: yng cng

Italian: cipolla
Confusion in Using
Different Languages
Spanish: cebolla

Japanese: tamanegi
English: onion for Names
Hindi: pyaaz

French: l'oignon

Latin Names are Understood by

Allium cepa all Taxonomists and Scientific
communities

23
 by any other name is

Ashitaba : Angelica
Banana : Musa
Camellia : Camellia
Cupid's Shaving Brush : Emilia
Dahlia : Dahlia
Ixora : Ixora
Red Tree-vine : Leea
Rose : Rosa
Santa Cruz Water Plant : Victoria
Star Jasmine : Jasminum
White teak : Gmelina

24
II. PLANT NOMENCLATURE
Scientific Names

1. Scientific names, on the other hand, are unique plant and animal names that
are used the world over by people such as scientists, horticulturalists,
environmental managers and knowledgeable citizens.

2. Scientific names are the same name for the same organism no matter where on
the planet you are, no matter what language you speak.

3. It cannot be changed except by scientific agreement, such as when scientists

convene specifically to debate and agree on plant and animal taxonomy
(Botanical Congress).

4. It's easy to know and use scientific names; a person does not have to be a
scientist to do so.

5. Using scientific names when discussing certain plants and animals greatly
reduces confusion and misinformation, and makes environmental protection 25
a
bit less complicated.
II. PLANT NOMENCLATURE
Scientific Names

6. Scientific names are usually based on Latin or Greek words and are written in italics or are
underlined. For example, the aquatic plant whose common name in Florida is maidencane has
the scientific name Panicum hemitomon

7. A scientific name has two (or sometimes more) parts. The first part is called the genus name
and the second part refers to the species. For example, Potamogeton floridanus is the
scientific name for a species of pondweed. Potamogeton is the genus and pectinatus is the
species.

8. By using scientific names, containing both genus and species, scientists can be very specific.

9. The term Eleocharis spp. refers to all 150 species in the Eleocharis genus.

10. Naming may become even more complex by further classification according to subspecies and
varieties.

26
II. PLANT NOMENCLATURE
Scientific Names

11. Every node in the taxonomy tree required to have one scientific name.

12. This is a validly published name with respect to the relevant code of
nomenclature.

13. Validly published description of the taxon will be Latinized:

uninomials above the species level (e.g. Zornia sp.),
binomials (e.g. Zornia latifolia) at the species level
trinomials for the formally described infraspecific categories (e.g. Zornia
diphylla gracilis).

27
Binomial Nomenclature

1. The concept of naming organisms developed by Linnaeus.

2. His 1st ed. of Species Plantarum (1753) and the 10th ed. of Systema Naturae
(1758) were chosen as starting points for the Botanical and Zoological
Nomenclature respectively.

i. Each organism has a 2-part Latinised name.

ii. The 1st is the genus, while the 2nd is the species.
iii. The 1st letter in the genus is CAPITALISED
iv. All the letter in the sp. name are lowercase
v. Both the genus and sp. name are underlined (if handwritten) or
italicised (if typed).

E.g. The plant known as Begonia kurakura. The genus name

is Begonia and the species is kurakura.

28
Binomial Nomenclature

Genus: A genus is a group of plants sharing a unique set of

common characteristics which have been given the same first
name, no more and no less.

Species: The second word in the botanical binomial is the specific

epithet. It has meaning or it has no meaning of its own, subject to
the same lack of rules, abundance of rules, and avoidance of rules
as found above. For every specific epithet that has a scrap of
meaning in its archaic latinised history, there is another which has
been invented playfully or otherwise, and which has no meaning
whatever.

29
Binomial Nomenclature

A specific epithet may be a noun or an adjective.

It may indicate a distinguishing characteristic of structure or flower colour in the

species. Elatus, for example, is an adjective meaning tall.

It may indicate something about the habitat where a species happens to flourish.
Palustris, for example, is an adjective meaning from swampy places.

It may indicate the location where the species was first discovered. Monspeliensis,
for example, means from Montpelier.

It may honour a person. Davisii, for example, means Mr. Davis

There are thousands of specific epithets. Some are used only once, and never
applied to any other plant. Some are used across many different genera.

30
A rare parasite plant related to the giant Rafflesia flower: Rhizanthes kamarudini
Dwarf ginger species : Scaphochlamys salahuddiniana
Dwarf ginger species : Scaphochlamys iporii
Wild banana : Musa sakaiana
Wild banana : Musa juwiniana
Wild banana : Musa borneensis Becc. var. sarawakensis
Citrus plants : Citrus halimii
Ginger plants : Haniffia cyanescens var. penangiana

The genus Nawawia (fungus) named after Emer. Prof. Dato' Dr. Ahmad Nawawi Hj. Ayub,
ex DVC, Dean & Head of Botany Depart., UM.

The genus Kochummenia (Rubiaceae) is named after the late Mr. K. M. Kochummen,
once the living dictionary of dendrology of FRIM.

Abdulmajidia (Lecythidaceae) is named after the late Mr. Abdul Majid, ex Forest
Conservator of Malaya. He was the father of jazz-singer and celebrity Sheila Majid.

The genus Haniffia (Zingiberaceae) is named after the late Mohd. Haniff, a famous plant
collector, gardener and curator of Penang Botanical Garden.
31
Binomial Nomenclature

Cultivars and varieties.

Both are part of the scientific name.
Both appear after the specific epithet.
Both refer to unique characteristic of a plant.

Varieties occur in nature and are true to type. i.e., the seedlings grown will have
the same unique characteristic of the parent plant. E.g. White flowering redbud
found in nature. Its scientific name is Cercis canadensis var. alba. The varietal term
"alba" means white.

Cultivars are not necessarily true to type. In fact cultivar means "cultivated
variety therefore, a cultivar was selected and cultivated by humans. Some
cultivars originate as sports or mutations on plants. Other cultivars could be
hybrids of 2 plants. To propagate true-to-type clones, many cultivars must be
propagated vegetatively through cuttings, grafting, and even tissue culture.
Propagation by seed usually produces something different than the parent plant.

32
Binomial Nomenclature

Cultivars and varieties.

Varieties and cultivars also have differently naming conventions. A variety is

always written in lower case and italicized. It also often has the abbreviation
"var.. The first letter of a cultivar is CAPITALIZED and the term is never italicized.
Cultivars are also preceded by the abbreviation "cv.".

E.g. cultivar of redbud, consider Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' (or Cercis
canadensis cv. Forest Pansy) which has attractive dark purple spring foliage and
pinkish-purple flowers.

33
What constitutes a valid scientific name?
1. The Accepted, Valid or Correct scientific name currently accepted
for a sp.

2. There should be exactly 1 name per sp., but the opinions of

taxonomist are often quite different and variants of Name Status
are possible.

3. The Accepted scientific name used is the name currently accepted

for the sp. by the compiler or editor of dataset as a quality
taxonomic opinion, but sometime with some element of
taxonomic or nomenclatural doubt.

34
Part 2:
35
Course Milestones:

I. Taxonomy and Classification.

II. Plant Nomenclature.

III. Introduction to Plant Identification.

III. Taxonomic Survey of Plants.

36