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May 27, 2005 In taxonomy (biological nomenclature), successively smaller groupings are usually called: kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera and species. However, in the kingdom Plantae (plants), the word 'division' replaces the word 'phylum'. There are many interpolated groupings like: subphylum, superclass, subclass, infraclass, etc. But I won't go into these at all in this brief article. Plantae are divided into 12 divisions: Magnoliophyta, Coniferophyta, Anthoceratophyta, Bryophyta, Hepatophyta, Equisetophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Psilophyta, Pteridophyta, Cycadophyta, Gingkophyta, and Gnetophyta. The most interesting divisions are Magnoliophyta (flowering plants) and Coniferophyta (conifers). Excluded from these two major divisions are such plants as ferns, moss, cycads, gingkos and other primitive representatives. Coniferophyta, of course, include pine, cedar, redwood, sequoia, juniper, larch, cypress, hemlock, yew and other cone-bearing trees. Magnoliophyta, including almost all of the other commonly known plants, are divided into two classes: Magnoliopsida and Liliopsida. Liliopsida (liliopsids in English) were once called Monocotyledoneae (monocotyledons or monocots, in English). If the formal name, 'Liliopsida', is used, it should be capitalized. The informal name, 'liliopsids', may appear as just a common noun. The liliopsids were called monocotyledons for having a single cotyledon or seed-leaf, as opposed to Magnoliopsida, formerly called Dicotyledoneae, with two seed-leaves. The terms 'angiosperm' and 'phanerogam' for flowering plants are no longer in use. Liliopsida are divided into about 19 orders: Alismatales, Arales, Arecales, Bromeliales, Commelinales, Cyclanthales, Cyperales, Eriocaulales, Hydatellales, Hydrocharitales, Juncales, Liliales, Najadales, Orchidales, Pandanales, Restionales, Triuridales, Typhales, and Zingiberales. From any of these Neo-Latin words, which are all plural nouns, an analogous English word may be derived. Thus, we have such words as: cyperalian, lilialian, zingiberalian, etc. These words, which may be used either as nouns or adjectives, will not be found even in unabridged dictionaries, but they are perfectly acceptable. Among the more interesting of the abovesaisd orders are: Arales, Arecales, Bromeliales, Cyperales, Juncales, Liliales, Orchidales, Typhales and Zingiberales. An easy way to tell a monocot from a dicot is to look at the venation (pattern of veins) in the leaves. Monocots have parallel leaf veins, which one can see in such plants as: wheat, corn, onions, cattails, palms, rushes, lilies, irises, and bananas. Dicots have reticulate (netlike) venation in the leaves, as in these plants: oak, maple, beans, peas, roses, apples, basil, savory, marijuana, potatoes, morning glories, grapes, and sunflowers. Naturally, botanists use many criteria, usually microscopic, in deciding on classifications of plants. Each of the abovesaid orders is subdivided into a number of families from one to fifteen, with about 65 families for the whole class Liliopsida. The Neo-Latin name of every family among both Magnoliopsida and Liliopsida, ends in the suffix '-aceae'. Some examples of liliopsid families are: Liliaceae (lilies, etc.), Poaceae (grasses), Musaceae (bananas, etc.), Typhaceae (cattails), Zingiberaceae (ginger, etc.), Iridaceae (irises, etc.), Orchidaceae (orchids), Juncaceae (rushes, etc.). From any of these of these plural nouns, an adjective may be formed: zingiberaceous, liliaceous, orchidaceous, etc. These adjectives may appear or not appear in dictionaries. Often the name of a family is etymologically connected to the name of the order that includes it. Thus, we have Liliaceae as an one of 15 families in the order Liliales. If there is only one family in an order, this etymology is always the case: Arecales, Arecaceae; Bromeliales, Bromeliaceae; etc. If you look up the scientific name of wheat, you'll probably find 'Triticum vulgare'. Here 'Triticum' is the genus and is capitalized, while 'vulgare' is the species and is not capitalized. The generic name is unique in taxonomy and can be used meaningfully alone without any previous introduction, while the specific name means nothing by itself. So we may speak of 'Triticum' and be understood, but not of 'vulgare'. The binomial designation 'Triticum vulgare' is a little confusing, in that the genus Triticum includes about 30 other species, which are also called 'wheat', for example, Triticum durum (durum wheat) and Triticum spelta (spelt). It is perhaps better to think of the whole genus as answering to the word 'wheat', with Triticum vulgare just being the most common kind of wheat. If we proceed in this way, we find that there are basically 9 genera of edible grasses (grain): Triticum (wheat); Zea (corn); Oryza (rice); Avena (oats): Hordeum (barley); Secale (rye); Panicum (millet); Sorghum (sorghum); and Zizania (wild rice). The full binomial designation of each of these grains, which, again denotes only the chief member of the genus, are: Triticum vulgare; Zea mays; Oryza sativa; Avena sativa; Hordeum vulgare; Secale cereale; Panicum miliaceum; Sorghum bicolor; and Zizania aquatica. In England, sometimes the word 'corn' refers to any grain, while what Americans call 'corn' is usually called 'maize'. Since 'maize' is unambiguous, many American writers use it too, but basically it's the same thing. Sorghum is often called 'milo'. These grains all belong to the family Poaceae of the order Cyperales, which includes thousands of grasses and similar plants. Other interesting genera are: Bambusa (bamboo); Saccharum (sugarcane); Lolium (tares), Arundo (reeds); and Poa (bluegrass). So we see that the family Poaceae is the most economically important family in the plant kingdom. The family Arecaceae of the order Arecales includes all palm trees, which number several hundred species. Perhaps the most famous are Cocos nucifera (coconuts), Phoenix dactylifera (dates), Washingtonia robusta (Mexican fan palms) and Roystonea regia (royal palms). Lovers of palm trees will find over 2000 photographs of various species at the following web page: http://www.junglemusic.net/palmgallery.htm Liliaceae, a family in the order Liliales, includes, among many others, the following examples: Convallaria majalis (lilies-of-the-valley), Narcissus pseudonarcissus (daffodils), Narcissus jonquilla (jonquils), Hyacinthus orientalis (hyacinths), Aspidistra elatior (aspidistras), Asparagus officinalis (asparagus), Allium cepa (onions), Allium sativa (garlic), Allium porrum (leeks), Allium schoenoprasum (chives). Lilies and tulips, both belonging to this family, correspond more closely to genera, each with many species. Thus, Lilium and Tulipa, used alone, signify 'lilies' and 'tulips'. As much as I'd like to dwell on these beautiful flowers, I'll skip listing all the species and cultivars (cultivated varieties). Other lilialian families include: Agavaceae (agaves, including mescal, century plants, dragon trees, etc.); Aloeaceae (aloes); Iridaceae (irises, crocuses, gladioli, etc.); Dioscoreaceae (yams); etc. Sweet potatoes are not yams. Sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas) are magnoliopsids closely related to tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, tobacco, belladonna and morning glories. Yams are a very important source of food in China, Africa and Southeast Asia, and come up to five feet long. Strangely enough, the most beautiful of all lilies, the 'Calla lily', is not a lily at all. It's scientifc names is Zantedeschia ethiopica, and it belongs to the family Araceae, which also includes the genus Anthurium (flamingo flowers), in the order Arales- Likewise, the 'Canna lily' is not a lily; it's a genus (Canna) in the family Cannaceae, of the order Zingiberales. This order includes some other notable members: Musa paradisiaci (bananas); Strelitzia reginae (bird-of-paradise); Zingiber officinale (ginger); etc. People who live in Hawaii will be familiar with the traveler's palm, a beautiful lollipop-shaped tree resembling a planar palm. This tree, Ravenala madagascariensis, is in the family Musaceae, including the abovesaid bananas and birds-of-paradise, of the order Zingiberales. Another famous Hawaiian tree is the kahala, also known as Pandanus, a genus in the order Pandanales, maybe the only genus. And, of course, residents of Hawaii will know Ananas comosus (pineapples) of the family Bromeliaceae, of the order Bromeliales, which also includes Guzmannia, a 'flower' that thrives indoors. Actually it has colored leaves that look like flowers from a distance. Orchidales, of course, comprise the 10,000 species of orchids that make it one of the most diverse of orders. Common names of particular orchids are usually the scientific names of genera that have become popular. Examples are: Jacquiniella, Cymbidium, Epidendrum, Cattleya and Vanilla. The last said genus is the source of vanilla extract. The other order that I singled out as 'interesting' is Juncales, which comprises rushes. I hate to think of how many hours I spent poring over encyclopedias, dictionaries, gardeners' manuals, biology textbooks and computer screens, trying to reconcile common names of plants with scientific names, but it gave me a few insights anyway. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. 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