Is there an online resource for tracking updates in plant taxonomy?
You may not be able to find up-to-the-minute, late-breaking changes, but you can search by plant family, genus, or species in the following online resources which are considered authoritative on plants and their scientific names:
1. You can download the USDA’s Complete Plant List. You can search for plants by scientific or common name here as well.
2. The GRIN database (also maintained by the USDA) offers several searching options and provides information on changes for each plant retrieved.
3. The International Plant Names Index also allows you to search for plants by scientific name; in addition, you can search for publications.
4. Here are two more name databases for plants in various parts of the world:
Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database and Flora Europaea.
5. Missouri Botanical Garden’s Tropicos website is another source of information on changes to plant names.
6. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew maintains The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species.
7. Here are two links to more information about taxonomy.
Kew Gardens has information about why plants change their names.
The (now archived) Horticultural Taxonomy Group (HORTAX) was set up in 1988, with the objective of providing a forum for taxonomists and horticulturists in the British Isles who have an interest in the taxonomy and nomenclature of cultivated plants.
8. There is a journal called Taxon, available online to subscribers, and available to Miller Library patrons using the library’s computers.
I am looking for rare Siberian lavender. Can you help?
I think what you mean is Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia. You might want to phone your favorite retail nursery to see whether they carry it (it is very popular). If it is not available, here are two Oregon nurseries that list it in their current catalogs:
Forestfarm in Williams, OR.
Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose, OR
The following article (now archived) from University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana Extension describes the confusion between Russian sage and ‘Siberian lavender:’
“To the best of my knowledge, there is no such plant as Siberian Lavender. I have heard of English lavender, French lavender and Spanish lavender. By law all of these offers must list the Latin name of the plant; although sometimes it is in the tiniest of print. Check the ad again and see if you can find the words Perovskia atriplicifolia anywhere in the ad. Russian sage. It is a really fine plant, but it is not lavender. It does not look like lavender and it does not smell like lavender.
Do your homework and read the fine print. I know many people are not familiar with botanical names, but that is the only way to know what you are getting. Once you know the botanical name, even if you cannot pronounce it, you can find information about the plant. Botanical names are unique. Common names can be very misleading.
A good example is an ad I saw recently in the newspaper. It was touting the luxurious beauty and fragrance of Siberian lavender. I had never heard of anything called Siberian lavender so I kept reading. The ad stated (with lots of exclamation points) how Siberian lavender produces thousands of flowers and has the delicate scent of lavender perfume year after year. Wow, sounds pretty fantastic. I continued to look to find the botanical name. In the minuscule fine print it said, Variety: perovskia atripliafolia (which I assume to be the misspelling of Perovskia atriplicifolia) also known as Russian sage. Russian sage is a nice perennial plant with silvery white leaves and soft bluish-purple flowers held in loose spikes. However, even from far away on a foggy day I doubt Russian sage would hold even a slight resemblance to lavender. Russian sage does have a fragrance, but it is more reminiscent of sage than of lavender.”
A list of the best books, articles and websites on plant identification.
“The PhyloCode is a formal set of rules governing phylogenetic nomenclature. It is designed to name the parts of the tree of life by explicit reference to phylogeny.”
![[RHS Genealogy for Gardeners]]cover](https://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/graphix/RHSGenealogyforgardeners (2).jpg)
Confused by plant families? Having trouble keeping track of recent changes based on DNA and other molecular research? RHS Genealogy for Gardeners can help with these questions. Ross Bayton (a long-time volunteer in the Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium and at the Rhododendron Glen of the Washington Park Arboretum) is co-author with Simon Maughan of this Royal Horticultural Society (“RHS”) publication.
Don’t be put off by “for Gardeners” in the title. This is an excellent book for field botanists, or anyone interested in understanding the relationships between plants in any setting. The book is published in the United States under the title Plant Families: A Guide for Gardeners and Botanists.
Bayton has his PhD in taxonomy, while Maughan has an extensive background in writing, editing, and publishing both botanical and horticultural works. The combination means this book has scientific accuracy and is very readable for those with all levels of botanical knowledge. Family descriptions include basic characteristics, the genetic history, best-known genera, and the important uses of the members, including as ornamentals and for food crops or other plant-based products.
The introduction section also coaches good techniques in observation and teasing out the family connections of the plants you’re considering, with the following words of both warning and encouragement: “The intricacies and subtleties of plant identification are unfortunately beyond the reaches of a simple Internet search engine. The best we currently have to rely on are our own observational skills.”
Published in the April 2018 Leaflet for Scholars Volume 5, Issue 4.
In my work as a horticulture reference librarian, I am often presented with a scrap of leaf or flower or twig, and asked to identify it. Although I have a pretty good visual memory for plants and their names, I have no formal training in botany. A Botanist’s Vocabulary by Susan Pell and Bobbi Angell (Timber Press, 2016) is a useful tool not just for botanists but for all who work with plants—home gardeners and professionals alike. The book is arranged in straight alphabetical dictionary order, which makes it easy to look up a term you may have come across in the course of learning about a plant. It complements a book like The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms (Michael Hickey and Clive King, 2000), which is organized by the parts of a plant—the roots, seeds, flowers, leaves, fruits, and so forth. The pen and ink illustrations by Bobbi Angell are very clear, and red arrows or markings indicate the part of the plant referred to by a term, when such clarification is needed. The definitions are also concise, and include synonyms or in some cases antonyms, as relevant. I found familiar as well as unfamiliar terms, and as a word-nerd this is the kind of reference book that is a great joy to browse. The only desired feature the book lacks is consistent identification of the plant or plant family shown in each illustration. Some are named, but many are not. It would be helpful, once one has looked up the word, to have at least one example of which genus or family exhibits the characteristic being described and defined.
A list of the best books, articles and websites on plant nomenclature.
A collaborative project by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden to compile a complete list of all known plant species, including vascular plants and bryophytes.
An index of plant family names and their alternative names as suggested by leading taxonomists.