Latest Botanical nomenclature Stories
Dramatic shifts in the planet's climate and geography over millions of years changed the course of evolutionary history for conifer trees, according to a Yale paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Yale researchers examined the fossil record and genetic makeup of 489 out of more than 600 living conifer species and discovered that while most conifers belong to ancient lineages, most Northern Hemisphere species, including the majority of pines and spruces, appeared...
In a major effort to speed up the process of officially recognizing new plant species, botanists will no longer be required to provide Latin descriptions of new species, and publication in online academic journals and books will be considered as valid as print publication. The new rules, which were approved at a nomenclature conference held in conjunction with the International Botanical Congress in July, become effective January 1, 2012. They overturn longstanding historical requirements...
Important changes that will affect the publication of new names in algae, fungi, and plants accepted by the XVIII International Botanical Congress are detailed in a paper that is being published simultaneously or will be published soon in a total of sixteen leading academic journals. The paper, co-authored by Sandra Knapp (London), John McNeill (Edinburgh) and Nicholas Turland (St. Louis), presents the draft text of new articles to the Code and some ideas for best practice for authors and...
The Nomenclature Section of the 18th International Botanical Congress in Melbourne, in July 2011, proposed and approved sweeping changes to the way scientists name new plants, algae, and fungi. To demonstrate the efficiency of electronic publishing, the first open access plant taxonomy journal PhytoKeys published a correspondence note by a team of botanists from various USA institutions (Smithsonian Institution, The Missouri Botanical Garden, The Chicago Botanical Garden, and The Field Museum...
Four new Neotropical plant species in the hyperdiverse genus Solanum (Solanaceae), which includes plants as diverse as the deadly nightshade as well as the more palatable tomato have been published in the open access online-only journal PLoS ONE by Dr. Sandra Knapp of the Natural History Museum, London. Although several thousand new plant species are described each year, this paper represents a botanical pioneer: it is the first to be published in an online-only journal whilst adhering to the...
Researchers at Uppsala University has succeeded in extracting long DNA fragments from dried, pressed plant material collected in the 1700s by Linnaeus' apprentice Adam Afzelius. It is hoped that the study, led by Associate Professor Katarina Andreasen, will shed light on whether plants growing today at Linnaeus' Hammarby estate outside Uppsala reflect the species cultivated by Linnaeus himself.A large number of plants of uncertain provenance grow at Carl Linnaeus' Hammarby estate, a museum...
By Michael McCarthy Happy anniversary: the man who gave us the key to the natural world was born 300 years ago today. Carl Linnaeus, who created the system of scientific names that we still use for all living things, began life in a turf-roofed farmstead in southern Sweden on 23 May, 1707. If Hamlet is the world's most famous Dane, Linnaeus is the world's most famous Swede, surpassing in renown even the warrior- king Gustavus Adolphus, Strindberg, Ingmar Bergman and Abba. His face has...
Latest Botanical nomenclature Reference Libraries
Perennial plants live for two years or more. Perennials differ from annuals and biennials with annuals replanted every year and biennials every other year. Perennial’s that bloom during spring and summer will die back in autumn, rest during the winter, then re-grow the following spring from the existing root-stock; these are also known as deciduous perennials. If the climate is continually warm, a perennial will continually grow and produce flowers and or fruit. A perennial relocated from...
Biennial plants have a two year life cycle; roots, stems and leaves in the first year with flowers following the next year after a cold winter dormant period. Biennials will produce seed and fruit before dying. There are not as many biennial plants as there are perennials or annuals. Biennial plants, when exposed to extreme climate conditions, may have a shortened life cycle of a few months especially if the plants were exposed to colder than normal temperatures. Most biennials can be...
Annuals are plants that flower and/or set fruit in one growing season. Most vegetables are annuals as well as domesticated grains. Vegetables such as carrot and celery are biennials grown as an annual whereas tomato and bell pepper are perennials and grown as an annual. Annuals grow well mixed in with perennials and biennials. There are also ornamental flowers that are perennials in one region and an annual in another. An annual can produce seeds that continue the life cycle in as little...
