BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION: WHAT PLANT LABELS MEAN AND HOW TO WRITE THEM

Botanical nomenclature is the scientific naming of plants, creating a unique, universal name for an individual plant. Only one (1) plant may be so designated with the genus and *specific epithet, and that name is recognized throughout the world.

*Species is now called Specific Epithet.

Family is a grouping of plants sharing certain genetic and structural characteristics; plant family names end in “-acaea’ (for some historic families “-ae” is acceptable). The family name is capitalized but not italicized. (Pinaceae, Rosaceae, Asparagaceae)

When handwritten (e.g., on an entry/exhibit card), the Genus is written with a capital letter and underlined, e.g., Salvia. An “X” before the genus indicates it is a hybrid of two genera; e.g., X Heucherella.

The *Specific Epithet is written with a lower-case letter and underlined, e.g. farinacea in Salvia farinacea. When Genus and specific epithet are combined, the result is the Binomial Name of the Species. An “x” between the genus and specific epithet indicates that plant is a hybrid of two species; e.g., Petunia x hybrida.

The Variety is written with a lower-case letter and underlined, e.g., koreana in Buxus microphylla koreana – or – with var. placed before it and variety name underlined, e.g., Buxus microphylla var. koreana.

The ‘Cultivar’ is usually enclosed in single quotes and capitalized, e.g., ‘Autumn Sunset’ in Acer rubrum ‘Autumn Sunset’, or preceded by “cv.” such as Acer rubrum cv. ‘Autumn Sunset’.

Series are cultivars identical to each other except for color.

Patented Names are usually different from cultivar names and are used for marketing. They may or may not be trademarked. They are capitalized but not italicized, underlined or surrounded by single quotes.

Common Names may be included within parentheses.

When printed – substitute italics for the underlining, e.g., Buxus microphylla var. koreana