ANATOMY, TAXONOMY & PHYSIOLOGY OF

AGRICULTURAL PLANTS
CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS

DEPARTMEMT OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND CROP PRODUCTION

DR. OMONIYI I. LAWAL

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• SYNOPSIS
• Classification of agricultural plants
• Botanical principles of classification (taxonomy)
• Botanical classification
• Agricultural classification, with provision of examples
on economic crops etc.
Introduction
• PLANT TAXONOMY
• Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, describes,
classifies, identifies and name plants.
• Systematics deals with the scientific study of
interrelationship, taxonomy, identification, nomenclature,
classification, diversity and differences between crops.
• Taxonomy is one aspect of systematics that is concerned
with the study of principles, procedures, rules, regulations
and it is the bases of classification.
• Plant taxonomy has two aims:
• 1.) To identify all kinds of plants; this requires making a complete
inventory of all plants.
• 2.To arrange the kind of plant in a scheme of classification that will
show their true relationship.
• In scientific studies it is essential to apply names with precision
because the validity of research depends on correct identification of
materials involved.
• To arrange the kind of plant in a scheme of classification that will
show their true relationship.
• To be able to achieve this, the taxonomist must utilize the methods
and resources of all the major fields of botanical investigation.
• The morphologist gives him an understanding of forms and structure.
• The physiologist can point out the requirements for the existence of
physiological species that appear identical but differ in their life
requirements.
• The ecologist can furnish information about the relationship
between plants and environment, about
• how environment may affect form and structure and
• how the effective action of the environment determine which plants
will survive.
• The geneticist and cytologist contribute information
concerning inheritance and reproduction as well as
chromosome and morphology of plants.
• Biochemistry is used effectively to solve taxonomic riddles.
- The nomenclature of plants are sometimes changed. E.g.
Eupatorium odoratum to Chromolaena odorata; Voandzeia
subterranean to Vigna subterranean.
- Such changes are based on new information that will enable
the taxonomist to name and classify plants according to
acceptable rules of plant nomenclature.
• The science of taxonomy is a synthesis of four interested fields:
• Systematic botany: includes genetics and cytology as well as other
techniques applicable to the fields.
• Taxonomic system: includes taxonomic concepts of plant group, or texa;
concepts of evolutionary sequence of characteristics; classification and
arrangement of texa, description of texa or photography.
• Nomenclature: method of naming plants based on
international rules.
• This permits only a single valid scientific name for each
kind of plant; the discarded name is known as synonym.
• Documentation: preservation of living fossil flora in a
museum or herbarium, including type, specimen and
illustration.
Plant Classification:
• This is the process of ordering plants into groups which are
arranged in hierarchy.
• Each group termed taxon (plural taxa) contain items or objects
with close resemblance which may be natural or artificial.
• The first classification of plants were based on their economic
uses, e.g medicinal plants, oil yielding plants etc. or
• on gross structural resemblances e.g herbs, shrubs, trees,
climbers etc.
• Others are Agronomic classification, Botanical classification etc.
Agronomic classification:
• Cereal or grain crops e.g. wheat, rice, maize, oat, sorghum, millet
etc.,
• Legumes for seeds (Pulses): e.g. peanut, fieldbean, fieldpea, pigeon
pea, cowpea, soybean etc.,
• Forage crops: e.g. grasses, legumes, crucifers etc.
• Root crops: e.g. sugarbeet, mangel, carrot, turnip, sweetpotato,
cassava, yam., Fibre crops: e.g. cotton, kenaf etc.
• Tuber crops: e.g. potato, yam, etc. Sugar crops: e.g. sugarbeet,
sugarcane etc. Vegetable crops: e.g. potato, sweetpotato, carrot, tunip
Amaranthus, Celosia, Tomato etc.
• All natural classification has a sound scientific basis while
artificial classification is based on conveniences.
• In botany the following (Table. 1) are hierarchical classes in
descending order.
• The different hierarchies end with certain recommending letters
thus: class-ae; order- ales; family-aceae; subfamily- eae.
• From the hierarchical arrangement, there is a relationship between
the groups and the division according to the differences between
them.
• Varieties/varietal names are important for agricultural purposes.
Hierarchical Classification
- PLANT CLASSIFICATION
- Kingdom
• -Division
• -Class
• -Order
• -Family
• -Tribe
• -Genus- Plural: Genera
• - Species
• -Varieties, races,
lines
• For example, yam has a specific (species) name and a generic
name.
• The classification of of yam according to its hierarchical inter-
relationship is as follow:
• Species- rotundata
• Genus or Generic name-Dioscorea
• Tribe- Dioscoreaceae
• Family- Dioscoreaceae
• Order- Dioscoreales
• Class- Dicotyledoneae
• Division- Spermatophyta
• Kingdom- planta
Table 2. List plant families and their
local name
• Family name Local name
• Agavacea Sisal hemp
• Alliaceae Allium cepa; Onion
• Amaranthaceae Amaranthus sp. Greens
• Anacardiaceae Mangifera indica
• Araceae Colocasia; cocoyam
• Bromeliaceae Ananas pineapple
• Caricaceae Carica papaya -pawpaw
• Convolvulaceae Sweet potato
• Dioscoreaceae Yams (Dioscorea sp.)
NOMENCLATURE
• As the number of plants known to man increased, it became
apparent that some form of generally acceptable set of principles
had to be adopted in naming them to avoid confusion.
• Botanists adopted rules known as the international code of
Professionals.
• Nomenclature may be defined as the system of naming plants,
animals or other objects.
• In botanical nomenclature, the names given to plants are either
Latin names or Latinized names taken from other languages.
SPECIFIC NAME:-
• This may be any of the following;
• (a) An adjective agreeing with the generic name in gender, and
usually indicating a distinguishing characteristic of the species or
• sometimes referring to a locality where the species was first
discovered e.g. Ulmus americana, Pennisetum americana etc.
• (b) A noun such as it occurs when the species is named in honour
of one or more persons e.g Carex davissi after Mr Davis, Gilia
piersonae after Miss Pierson.
• Note the ending letters in the two names.
• We form its name, except for a few that antedate the
standardized system, by
• adding aceae to the stem of an included generic name e.g
Rosaceae for Rosa etc.
• A few family have long been designated by nouns that
predate this system
• Below for instance (Table 3)
Table 3

Family name Old name New name

Grass Gramineae Poaceae

Mustard Cruciferae Brassicaceae

Pea Leguminouseae Fabaceae

Sunflower Compositeae Asteraceae

• SUB-FAMILY:- A major subdivision of a family and is
sometimes used when the size of the family justifies it and when
the included genera may be naturally so grouped.
• We form the name by adding -oideae to the stem of an included
generic name e.g Festucoideae, for Festuca and Panicoideae for
panicum.
• TRIBE:- Is a subdivision of a family, subordinate to the subfamily
when the taxon is employed.
• We form the name by adding -eae to the stem of an included
generic name, e.g Festuceae from Festuca, for the Fescue tribe of
the grass family.
AUTHORITY:-
• This refers to the name of the person(s) written after the scientific
name or taxon.
• The authors name may be written out, but more commonly it is
indicated by a standardized abbreviation.
• For example Poa pratensis (Kentucky blue grass) was first named
and described by Linnaeus.
• he became the authority for that name and it is written as Poa
pratensis, L., Erythronium grandifloruim Pursh.; Lomatuim
montanum C and R.
• When the rank of a plant is changed or when a specie is transferred
from one genus to another,
• the name of the original author is placed in parenteses and it is
followed by e.g
• Abelmoschus esculentus (Moench) L., Medicago zatira (L) All.,
Feruca foeniculacea (Nutt.) C and R
• Table 3 shows summary of Taxa used in classification for Poa
pretenses
 Table3: Summary of Taxa used in classification for Poa
pretenses
1. Kingdom Plantae, plant kingdom
2. Division Embryophyta, embryo plant
3. Subdivision Phanaerogana – seed plants
4. Branch Angiospermae
5. Class Monocotyledoneae
6. Order Poaceae - grass and sedges
7. Family Poaceae – grass
8. Subfamily Festucoideae
9. Tribe Festuceae
10. Genus Poa
11. Section Pratenses
12. Species Poa pratenses
TYPE method of classification:-
• Type method is used by taxonomist to achieve stabilization of
taxa from species and subdivisions.
• The original plant on which the descriptive is based is deposited
in a standard herbarium.
• When the original species is lost by accident, substitutes are
provided and placed in the herbarium.
• The following are the terminologies for the type
• 1) HOLOTYPE: A particular specimen or element designated by
the author which automatically fixes the application of this name.

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• 2) LECTOTYPE: A specimen or element related by a competent
worker from the original material studied by the author, to serve as
substitute for the holotype if the original material gets lost.
• 3) NEOTYPE:- A specimen selected to serve as substitute for the
holotype when all material on which the name was based is
missing.
• 4) ISOTYPE:- A specimen, other than the holotype, which
duplicates the holotypes from the same collection, with the same
locality, date and number as the holotype.
• 5) PARATYPE OR CO-TYPE:- Any specimen, other
than the holotype, referred to in the original
publication of the taxon.

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• 6) SYNTYPE:- One of two or more specimen or
elements used by the author of a taxon if no
holotype was designated.
• 7) TOPOTYPE:- A specimen collected at the same
locality as the halotype and therefore probably
representing the same population.

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APPRECIATION

THANK YOU
END OF SECTION A

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