Nov 153 min read

Botanical History & Nomenclature: Podcast Ep#107 & Blog

This episode and blog explores the history or plants, where their names come from, and some overarching categories plants are separated into. I know the naming and categories are ever changing but let dive into the basics!

*references used can be found at the bottom of the blog*

Botanical History:

EARLY BEGINNINGS:

The Paleolithic era has the first evidence of agriculture where generations of plant knowledge and practices were shared. Obviously, people need to know what was safe to eat but beyond that, there was evidence of understanding herbal remedies as well.

FIRST RECORDS:

Some of the very first records of plants and botany were used as influential work until much later on.

Theophrastus AKA the father of botany
- He was one of Aristotle's students
- He placed plants in 4 different categories: trees, shrubs, undershrubs, and herbs.
- He also wrote about germination, cultivation, and propagation.
- Notable books included Historia de Plantis (History of Plants) and De Causis Plantarum (On the Causes of Plants)
Pedanius Dioscorides
- Physician and botanist
- Wrote De Materia Medica (Regarding Medical Materials) between 50-70 AD which dealt with pharmacological uses of plants

1600'S-1800's:

The invention of the microscope helped push for a greater understanding of plant anatomy and sexual reproduction.
There was also a resurgence in the flora research around the world as botanists were discovering their local native plants.
IN 1753, Carl Linnaeus published Species Plantarum containing the known plant species at the time. Linnaeus developed the binomial name for each plant that is still used today!

1800'S-1900's:

More academic research allowed for a much more diverse audience and access to in depth discoveries
In 1847, the theory of photosynthesis was introduced
Between the 1940's to the 1960's the complete understanding of photosynthesis was developed
At the end of the 20th century, genetic manipulation was a major point of discussion and with the development of technology, this was just the beginning!

Botanical Nomenclature:

All plant names must conform to two codes: International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)

PLANT FAMILIES:

The names of many families are based on a plant genus with "aceae"
- Examples: Rosaceae, Asteracea, Araceae

GENUS:

This is typically the most useful way of identifying plants. Genera contain one or more species.
- For example: When hear Gala Apple, the botanical name is Malus domestica 'Gala' and the genera is "Malus". The Malus genera is also know to contain Crabapples.

SPECIES:

Practical Botany of Gardeners says "they are groups of interbreeding populations, which are reproductively isolated from other species." It is isolation that is key to determining the different between different species.
- You may see it abbreviated by "sp." or "spp."
- For example in Malus domestica 'Gala, "domestica" would be the species name that is known as a edible fruit tree. Malus coronaria is known as the American Crabapple that still contains fruit but is also more heavily known for its beautiful flowers.

HYBRIDS:

Hybrids are formed when different species interbreed.
It is much more common for interbreeding to happen within the same genera but if they are not in the same genera, the names are typically combined.
Sometimes the botanical names are separated by an "x". For example, the Japanese Crabapple is called Malus × floribunda. Or it may only list the Hybrid name with the genera, like Malus 'Royal Raindrops'.

CULTIVARS:

This is just a new plant variation given a cultivated variety name.
- For example Gala, Fuji, and Golden Delicious are all cultivars for Malus domestica

WANT TO LISTEN?

Go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and more! Search for Houseplant Homebody to hear this episode and MANY more! You can also listen directly on my website under the Podcast page!