Classification and Systematics
• Nomenclature – the first system of naming of organisms
for communication purposes
• With the an understanding of evolution and natural
selection taxonomists felt that a naming system should
reflect evolutionary relationships – goals of such a
system
– A natural system whereby the system grouped closely related
organisms together – greater pressure was placed upon the
taxonomist
– Names were based upon evolutionary relatedness
1
Types of Classification Systems
• Artificial Systems – the use of several key characters
used to simply get to the identification of an organism
• Natural Systems – trace the phylogeny of an organism –
their use has grown since more and more information is
know about the organisms being classified
– Physiological information
– DNA
– Still missing pieces
• For fossil organisms, frequently a blending of the two is
used so that we can identify an unknown fossil but also
group it with closely related fossils
2
Historical Aspects of Plant Classification
• The Ancient Period
– Theophrastus of Eresus
• Student of Aristotle
• 4th century B.C.
• Based upon leaf shapes and whether they were trees, herbs or shrubs
• Differentiated between flowering and nonflowering plants
• Identified sexuality in plants, realizing fruits developed from carpels
– Pliny the Elder (23- 79 A.D.)
• Natural historian
• Published Natural History – attempted to describe everything in the world,
even included mythological creatures
• Was the authoritative work for over 1,000 years
3
Historical Aspects of Plant Classification
– Dioscorides
• Greek physician
• 1st century AD
• Published Materia Medica
• Classification based upon medical uses and lasted for over 1500 years
– Herbals and the Doctrine of Signatures
• Herbals – describe the medial uses of plants, including much folk lore
• Signature of Doctrines – the morphology of the part of the plant that was
used related to the part of the body the plant part worked on (walnuts
[brains] hepatica leaves [liver])
4
Historical Aspects of Plant Classification
• Renaissance Period – expanded with the advent of exploration –
many earlier works were proved to be wrong or have inaccuracies –
as the number of organisms grew it became apparent that a
consistent system to name organisms was needed
– Bauhin
• Swiss botanist
• 15th century
• Took advantage of exploration and expeditions
• Classified over 6,000 plants based upon observable characters
• Used a double Latin name, 100 years before Linnaeus and was the first to
establish the concept of a genus
5
Historical Aspects of Plant Classification
– Carolus Linnaeus
• Swedish
• 1753 published 2 volume work, Species Plantarium (Species of the
World)
• Developed the binomial system of nomenclature
– Gave each species a two part name, binomial system
– First word in the genus is capitalized
– First and second words constitute the species name; second name is
usually lower case and both are underlined or in italics
– This method of classification was an artificial one, based upon a few
reproductive features and did not always represent true relationships
6
Historical Aspects of Plant Classification
• The Modern Period: Evolution and Classification
– Lamarck
– Darwin/Wallace (1859)
• Both proposed the concept of natural selection
• Gave rise to natural systems of classification
– Engler and Prantl – turn of the 20th century (1915)
• First to develop a phylogenetic system that became widely used
• Published Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien
• Used floral parts (no petals most primitive, monocots more primitive than dicots
– Bessey – early 1900’s
• Used Magnolia flowers (many parts, spirally arranged as being most primitive) – many
of his ideas are still used today
7
Levels of Taxonomic Categories
• Species the most basic unit – definition is variable; at times
subspecies are used (mention problem of lumpers vs. splitters)
Genus
Family
Order
Class
Division
Kingdom
8
Levels of Taxonomic Categories
• Cladistics – widely used in evolutionary studies – use the
fact that at some point in time a given organisms evolves
a character or characters different from its parent
producing two groups, one with the original character
and a second with the new, derived, character
(represented by a fork in the tree)
9
Levels of Taxonomic Categories
– Terminology
• Plesiomorphies – characters present in a group’s ancestors, relictual or
primitive
• Symplesiomorphies – primitive characters shared by two or more groups
(shared traits)
• Apomorphies – derived characters, not present in ancestors
• Synapomorphies – shared derived characters, found in two or more modern
groups
• Autoapomorphies – when a derived character is found in only one group
(ears of corn as a grass)
• Homoplasies – the result of convergent evolution – appear the same but not
evolved from the same evolutionary trait
10
Types of Evidence Used for Taxanomic Analysis
• Homology and Analogy
– Homologous Features (Synapomorphies) – those that have been
derived from a common ancestor – ex. Members of the
anthrurium family all possess a spathe and spadix inflorescence
11
Types of Evidence Used for Taxonomic Analysis
– Analogous Features (Homoplasies) – result from convergent
evolution – ex. Cacti and Euphorbias (both succulent with
spines; not closely related)
Determining what is homologous or analogous is most
difficult, especially if a small genetic change results in a
gross phenotypical differences
12
Taxonomic Studies
• Exploration and Discovery
– Very slow process, takes time, money, and dedication
– Results in
• Finding new individuals that must be classified
• Studies multiple specimens needed to understand individual
variability of a species
13
Taxonomic Studies
• Preliminary Studies of New Plants
– Using keys specimen must be identified – can be easy to very
difficult
– If it can’t be identified it is then sent to a specialist in the area
and in some cases is deemed a new species and named
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
– A unique binomial name must be assigned to it
– Plant must be described in numerous languages
– Name must be published in a peer reviewed journal
– Location of type specimen must be made evident
14
Taxonomic Studies
• Biosystematic and Experimental Studies
– Initially a new species is classified based upon current
knowledge of the plant
– The same can be true of previously established species as new
techniques arise
– If one were to use these techniques on all specimens this would
take a huge amount of time
15
Major Lines of Evolution
• Five Kingdoms
– Monera (bacteria and cyanobacteria)
– Protista (algae and protozoans)
– Myceteae (fungi)
– Animalia (animals)
– Plantae (plants)
16
Major Lines of Evolution
• Life began approximately 3.5 billion ya
– First Organisms
• Unicellular
• Cell membrane, cytoplasm, DNA, and no membrane bound
organelles
• Grouped in the Monera
• Photosynthesis (chlorophyll a) evolved in this group, produced an
oxygen rich atmosphere
– Second Advance
• Membrane bound organelles (mitochondria; endosymbiosis)
• Living organisms similar to these in the Protista
17
Major Lines of Evolution
– Third Advance
• Cell wall of chitin
• Grouped in the fungi
– Fourth Advance
• Multicellular organisms
• Distinct tissues
• Highly differentiated cells
– Fifth Advance
• Another endosymbiotic relationship; this time with a cyanobacterium,
became a chloroplast
• Occurred about 400 million ya
18
