On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 19:10:27 +0000, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:

In article , Richard Brooks
writes
I've got an old book (30s) entitled The Wright Encyclopaedia of Gardening
and the plant description structure is

Order: A division of the Vegetable Kingdom
Genus: A subsidiary part of the Order.
Species: A subsidiary part to the Genus.

So, are the terms different today ?


Richard.

The old concept of an Order is more like the modern concept of a Family.
Nowadays both terms are used. For example the family Rosaceae contains
apples, pears, quinces, cherries, roses, brambles, avens, cinquefoils,
meadowsweets, kerrias, spiraeas, and many other plants. The order
Rosales (sensu APG II) includes the family Rosaceae, and 8 other
families, including buckthorns, elms, hemp, mulberries and nettles.

Is DNA analysis applicable to plants? I assume it is. In which case,
did they get it right for most family classifications, or are the text
books going to have to be seriously revised?


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net