Field Botany: Plant Naming Conventions

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to plant naming conventions and botanical taxonomy from the lecture notes.

Common Name

A non-scientific name for a plant which can vary by region/culture.

Binomial

scientific name of a species, consisting of the genus name and specific epithet (always presented in italics)

Genus Name

groups of closely related species

Specific Epithet

The second species name, and it is not written capitalized

Authority (in plant naming)

The name of the individual who named the particular species

Family Name (in botany)

plants are grouped by taxonomists into families, where plants grouped together have many common characteristics (ends in '-aceae,' is always capitalized, and not italicized)

Fouquieriaceae

The botanical family name for ocotillo, characterized by the-aceae ending, capitalized and not italicized.

Cactaceae

The botanical family name for saguaro, characterized by the -aceae ending, capitalized and not italicized.

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

online source of taxonomic information for plants and other organisms in North America, found at www.itis.gov.