TAXONOMY

QUANTITATIVE METHODS OF TAXONOMY:NUMERICAL TAXONOMY In 1963, Sokal and Sneath (Sokal, RR and Sneath, P.H.A. 1963-Principles of numerical taxonomy, San Francisco) introduced the new concept of numerical taxonomy. This new approach to taxonomy employs computers and statistical methods for establishing the degree of similarity among taxa. They laid down certain postulates which in their own […]

Taxonomy is the science of naming and classification of organisms based on their genetic (evolutionary) relationships. Taxonomy is very much a field of systematics in that it is based on phylogeny and comparisons between organisms and groups of organisms. It is the science of arranging living things into groups reflecting their relationships. Classification is the

CLASSICAL METHODS OF TAXONOMY Aristotle is credited with creating the first classification system more than 2,000 years ago. He classified living things as plant or animal according to their appearance. This system was expanded later by the Romans to be more specific down to the individual organism types, such as a cow or elm tree.

Nomenclature: Botanical nomenclature is about naming plants. Bear in mind that plant names refer to abstract entities – the collection of all plants (past, present, and future) that belong to the same group. As you will recall, taxonomy is about grouping. Botanical nomenclature is about applying names to taxonomic groups. Scientific names of plants reflect

A species is a reproductively isolated population that shares a common gene pool and a common niche. This definition defines a species reproductively, genetically, and ecologically. The definition of a species given above as taken partly from Mayr, is somewhat idealistic. Since it assumes sexual reproduction, it leaves the term undefined for a large class