1636 Weeds CRC_IFIA book_web_v2.qxd - Department of ...

A brief explanation of botanical nomenclature
10
The author
The person who identifies a plant with its unique botanical name by publishing its description in a botanical or
taxonomic journal becomes its author. Rosa canina was named by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753. Linnaeus developed
the binomial (two name) system of plant taxonomy we use today and he himself named a great many plants. An
author’s name is usually written in full or a slightly abbreviated form after the binomial name but Linnaeus is
abbreviated simply to ‘L.’ being rightly considered the father of botanical nomenclature.
There is also the issue of name changes. Taxonomists often reallocate species into other genera, or split a single
species into multiples. This can be followed to some extent by the author citation that appears after the species
name as the following example shows.
Vesalea floribunda was originally named by Martin Martens and Henri Guillaume Galeotti in 1844 and was then
correctly cited as Vesalea floribunda M.Martens & Galeotti. Two years later Joseph Decaisne decided to place this
species into the genus Abelia and renamed it Abelia floribunda. While it is acceptable to replace the old authors
with the latest author when citing a plant name it is useful to provide any previous authors, bracketed and in front
of the current author, ie Abelia floribunda (M.Martens & Galeotti) Decne. This alerts people to any past name changes,
synonyms etc that could provide more information on the species in question.
CRC for Australian Weed Management The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status