Horticulture Principles and Practices

SUMMARY
The science of classifying and naming plants is called plant taxonomy. Carolus Linnaeus
developed the current Latin-based binomial nomenclature in which plants are given two
names, the first name called the genus and the second name called the species. The International
Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) provides guidelines for the naming of
plants. The taxonomic groups in order of descending hierarchy are kingdom, division,
class, subclass, order, family, genus, species, and variety. Kingdom is the most genetically
divergent level, and variety represents the level at which individuals are most similar in
genotype and external features.
There are three plant kingdoms—Monera, Protoctista, and Fungi. Most plants of
horticultural interest are vascular plants (having conducting tissues—xylem and phloem).
Apart from classifying plants on a scientific basis, there are a number of operational classifications
based on (1) stem type (herbs, shrubs, and trees), (2) kind of herb (annual,
biennial, or perennial), (3) stem growth form (erect, decumbent, creeping, or climbing),
(4) fruit type (herbaceous fruiting plants versus woody fruiting plants), (5) adaptation (cool
season or warm season), and (6) edible parts (roots, bulbs, pods, greens, and so forth).
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READING
Benson, L. 1979. Plant classification, 2d ed. Lexington, Mass.: Heath.
Esau, K. 1977. Anatomy of seed plants, 2d ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Glendfill, D. 1989. The names of plants, 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hartman, H. T., A. M. Kofranek, V. E. Rubatzky, and W. J. Flocker. 1988. Plant
science, 2d ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Radford, A. E. 1986. Fundamentals of plant systematics. New York: Harper & Row.
Rice, L. W., and P. R. Rice, Jr. 1993. Practical horticulture, 2d ed. Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Stern, K. R. 1997. Introductory plant biology, 2d ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown
Publishers.
About Linnaeus, the father of plant classification
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html
Classifying plants—Simplified—Both scientific and operational classifications with
photos http://www.pssc.ttu.edu/pss1321/Web%20topics/plantclassificationnew.htm
Gives English meaning of Latin names used to classify plants
http:www.thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_new_pages/1k2_flower_names.htm
Good general information on classification
http:www.botany.utoronto.ca/courses/bot307/B_How/janename.html
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
1. Visit a grocery store and purchase different horticultural produce in the following
classes:
a. Fruits:
drupes
berries
nuts
b. Roots
60 Chapter 2 Classifying and Naming Horticultural Plants