Plants and Animals in Nature

Categorizing, Naming, and Describing Plants and Animals

The first scientific classification system of plants was Species Plantarum by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1753 (McNeill et al., 2006). It was a descriptive scheme based on observable morphological characteristics, primarily sexual characteristics. A version of the classification system for animals, Systema Naturae, was first published in 1735. It included mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, insects, worms, and reptiles and is considered to be the starting point for classification of animals. These organizing schemes were important to catalog not only all the known species at the time but also all the wealth of biological diversity that was being encountered in newly colonized areas of the world during the era of exploration. The basic unit introduced by Linnaeus and still used today is the Latin binomial name of genus and species. Species known when the first lists were created also carry the notation L. (for Linnaeus) after the species name. Species added by other botanists and zoologists carry their names. So studying the scientific nomenclature of plants and animals is also the study of the scientists and explorers [Page 100]who found and described them for the first time. For example, Quercus alba L., the white oak, is a North American tree that was included in the original classification system. Quercus macrocarpa Mich., the bur oak, another North American tree, was described by the French biogeographer André Michaux in the 1790s.

Innovations in science, technology, and communication sparked fundamental changes in the knowledge and understanding of plants and animals. Darwin's discoveries of the rapid evolutionary change of closely related birds on the Galapagos Islands led to theories of common ancestry of now-diverse species. More recently, taxonomists can associate and differentiate species at the molecular level. There are also more “kingdoms” recognized, including fungae, bacteria, and viruses.

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