How plants get their names
An introduction to plant taxonomy
By Cambridge University Herbarium
Video presented by Anne Dubéarnès and produced by Graham Copekoga of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
What is plant taxonomy?
Plant taxonomy is the science of naming, describing and classifying plants. Taxonomists can be professional researchers or experienced amateur botanists. Understanding relationships between plants is important for agriculture, medicine and conservation.
Taxonomist Anne Dubéarnès discusses how plants get their names and how herbarium specimens support scientists' understanding of relationships between plant species.
Plant descriptions on herbarium specimens
The Cambridge University Herbarium collection contains specimens that were collected from the early 18th century until today. The amount of information we have about each specimen varies. Information about some of our earliest specimens is often very sparse.
Likely collected by Thomas Martyn on his Grand Tour of Europe, this specimen label offers very little information compared to modern specimens.
Changing names
Sometimes taxonomists disagree about the identification of a plant, or new evidence shows that a species is related to a different genus than previously thought. This specimen collected by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands has been given five different names since 1835.
Today, we record more detailed information
Modern herbarium specimens document a plant's habitat and exact location in much more detail. Linking this information to other data about the plant, including images and even DNA analysis, allows researchers to use these "extended specimens" to answer more complex questions.
Identifying new species
Type specimens
Type specimens are the physical reference for a plant which has been identified as a new species in a scientific publication. Cambridge University Herbarium is thought to contain over 50,000 type specimens, making it an important research collection for plant taxonomists.
Clematis lanuginosa
This Clematis specimen was collected in China and became part of the herbarium of John Lindley. This plant has been identified as being the specimen on which the description of the name "Clematis lanuginosa" is based.
Illustrations
Some older specimens include beautiful illustrations of the plant to demonstrate how it looked before it was dried. This type specimen of the succulent Echeveria aculifolia includes an illustration of the plant and its flowers.
Herbarium specimens are an exceptional resource for learning to identify plants, for students as well as professional taxonomists. When you're out for a walk, have a look around and see what you can identify.
Malus sylvestris
Wild apple
Malus ioensis
Prairie crabapple
Iris foetidissima
Stinking iris
Identifying plants on your own
Sally Loesch and Anne Dubéarnès for Cambridge University Herbarium.
Video presented by Anne Dubéarnès and produced by Graham Copekoga of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
Interested in Natural history?
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