Practical taxonomy: examples of plant species

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

In botany, as in any other science, a systematic approach to the subjects of research is important. Classifying signs and properties, identifying patterns and exceptions - all this is necessary for the effective study of plants. In botany, this task confronts taxonomy. It is she who identifies instances that have a lot in common. Such plants are combined by scientists into special groups called species.

Plant species of the genus Lily

We can observe illustrative examples of plant species by examining a flower such as a lily. It belongs to perennial herbs, grows from a bulb, has fleshy leaves growing from below and flowers of white, yellow, orange colors. The genus Lily is divided into more than 100 species, most of which grow in their natural environment in Asia and Europe. We will now consider examples of plant species.

The well-known snow-white (or silver) beauty, whose homeland is Greece. There is the so-called Anhui Lily, there is a bolander, calloused andetc. Despite the different, sometimes very exotic, names, these flowers are similar in structure and growth conditions. Their stem is a continuation of the bulbous bottom, and the leaves grow as if in a spiral, without any cuttings (except for a few exceptions). Such examples of plant species just speak of a wide variety of forms of wildlife. But the formation of an onion-"baby" from the main, maternal, is the same for almost all lilies. It originates in the corner of the lowest leaf and matures in a year. If the plant is grown from seeds, then it takes 5 to 7 years to wait for it to mature and bloom.

Lily bulbous (bulbous)

Let's consider some examples of lily plant species - for example, Bulbous Lily. In length, these flowers usually grow more than a meter. Leaves are long, narrow, sharp. Color is dark green. The flowers are bright, rich colors. On the stem there can be from three to five pieces. Shanks are short. The petals are large, within 5 cm. Their inner side is velvety in appearance and touch, covered with brownish spots. Other types of plants, examples of which we are considering, differ in that they do not form bulbs in the axils of their leaves, although they are also called bulbous. This, for example, is the so-called Lilia Bulbiferum, whose homeland is Italy and France.

Lily family

As we have already found out, the type of lilies is very diverse and many-sided. But due to the presence of common features, plants of this species are combined into one genus. And alreadyif there is some similarity between genera, then they also create a “coalition” of a higher rank - a family. For example, the lilies we have already considered have “neighbors”: hyacinths and tulips. Based on this, botanists consider common species of the lily plant family - "Liliaceae". Families are combined into orders - the next step in the hierarchy. And classes are already made up of them.

Afterword

What logical conclusions do we come to regarding systematics? It is a necessary branch of every trend in botany. This is an excellent analytical tool that allows you to identify all possible relationships between different plants, give them names, correctly classify and streamline the classification. Systematics makes it easier for scientists to exchange scientific data in an international format.