Maybe this is a dumb question...

But can someone please explain to me the difference between Genus, Species and Cultivar? I'm trying to add a plant to my want list and it's asking me these questions. For example:

Genus: (I have this blank)
Species: Black Krim
Cultivar: Tomatoes

What am I doing wrong?

Genus is the Latin name for each species of plant, I think, this tells everyone no matter where in the world what the plant is, like potato is the same genus as the tomato so everyone can find the genus but maybe Ecrane will pick up this thread and be able to give you a better or even proper answer to your question than I can, it all confuses me at times too so your not alone. good luck. WeeNel.

When I am adding to my have/want list I open the site in two windows. One with the page you fill in and one with the plant files open to a plant I want to add. Just copy and paste the names! Make it alot easier for me.

For tomatoes, genus is Lycopersicon, species is lycopersicum, and cultivar would be Black Krim. When you see the Latin name of a plant listed, the genus will have a capital letter, and the plant will always have a genus name assocaited with it. The species name will be in small letters but will still sound Latin. Then the cultivar name will typically be set off in single quotes, and it's also capitalized and can often sound more like an English word, or someone's name, etc. Following this rule, your tomato would appear as Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Black Krim' if it were written out in a plant catalog, etc.

One thing you can do that's a lot easier though is if the plant is in Plant Files, go to its entry and scroll down to the bottom, there you'll see a link to add to your have or want list, if you click on that link then everything gets transferred correctly into your trade list. Here's the entry for your 'Black Krim' tomato http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/67025/

It can seem like a daunting task trying to understand the taxonomic naming for plants, but once you understand the "levels" it gets easier.

In college, a lot of students had trouble with the family, genus, species,cultivar thing in the Plant ID courses.

One teacher tried to make it simpler by using this as an example:
(This is a very basic way of learning it)

Think of any famous athlete as if he were a plant.
i.e. Kobe Bryant

He would be classified as such:

Family: NBA (National Basketball Ass'n)
Genus: Los Angeles Lakers
Species: Kobe Bryant
Cultivar: #5

The class was 90% guys, so we understood it, but the girls didn't.
The teacher then tried to do the same thing but regarding a character on a soap opera, and then the girls got it !

Thank you so much......................I think I got it...

It's definitely good to have some understanding of the nomenclature, but as I mentioned before, the easiest thing for your trade list is to find the plant in Plant Files, then use the link there to add it to your have/want list, that makes it very easy and you don't have to remember what goes in what spot because it puts it all there for you.

Ecrane, as always, you come up trumps, thank you very much, Jasperdale, I want the address or phone number of your tutor, as I can never remember the Latin names of any plants, I find it so daunting, but thank you both for the lesson today, WeeNel.

Thanks again for all the help from everyone. It's going to take a bit but I think eventually I'm hoping that this is going to stick. I don't understand why this stuff is so confusing to me.

WeeNel: The Latin names of plants came easy to me because I was raised Catholic and we took Latin in school, so we were exposed to it on a daily basis.

It's really not that difficult to learn it. Medical students have to learn a lot of Latin as well for their courses.

If you can find a Latin/English English/Latin dictionary (I assume they exist) and then use it in conjunction with a pronunciation guide to Latin plant names, you can see by the syllables how the plant got it's name, by looking up the definition of each syllable.

After looking up several names, you'll begin to see the patterns they used when they came up with the various names and it will start making sense after a while.

You could probably do the same thing on the internet on a site like Wikipedia, although I've never done it.

Thanks Jasperdale, this could be a winter project for me and it will keep me away from all those seed/plant catalogues eh. you been chatting to my husband by any chance ha, ha, ha, that's the kind of trick he would use as he see's me writing plant wish lists on those dark winter evenings and the garden is a no, no.
best wishes, WeeNel.

One of my favorite cartoons of all times is a Peanuts strip. First frame shows Lucy looking down at a spider. Second shows her stomping on it saying, "Yuck, a spider". Third frame has a character (not normally part of the gang) asking what kind of spider it was and offering a couple Latin looking names to assist her decision. Last frame is Lucy glaring at him retorting, "I didn't ask for no ID."

Except for the stomping part that's pretty much how I've dealt with plants, butterflies and insects. "Ooh, look at that flower", if someone gave me the name of it I could usually remember it when I saw another one. If I was given Family, Genus, Species it would bounce right off this thick head of mine. Being a carpenter for 30 years I can name most boards by the species. I don't do well looking at the bark. I can differentiate between a rose and a hollyhock. My well-rounded (or so I thought) education didn't include hanging out with serious gardeners.

Thanks for the thread, mimianvy. Hopefully we'll be able to hold our own in such a discussion soon. And thanks Gang for making it seem simple.

Gary

gk: Years ago, when I worked at a nursey, a lady came in and asked to buy a "Veneer Oak Tree " because they're "very flat and have such nice bark".

Oh, oh.... this is a inside joke, isn't it??? "note to self.... must but latin dictionary and look up veneer...." :)

The reason the latin names are important to even the average gardener is communication. For example, when US residents talk about "marigolds" we are usually talking about the annual bedding plant in the genus Tagetes. But if our british friend Resin were to come along he would fuss at us and say that "marigold" is a member of the genus Calendula (which we often call "English marigold") and that all Tagetes should be called "pot marigold". The plants in the two genera look clearly different but because they have been given the same common name they could easily be confused in conversation. However, if we refer to them using their latin names we know exactly which plant we're talking about.

This problem can also occur on a more local level. In my area, many native Carolinians refer to plants the way their grandmother did. And so their common names for most plants involve the words dancing, naked and/or ladies :) It's cute, but it takes forever to figure out what plant they're talking about (and I'm a native). Plus, you often end up with a hundred common names like Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby, Carolina Allspice, Sweetshrub and Strawberry Shrub just for one plant (Calycanthus floridus).

One last source of confusion is the fact that some common names are the latin name for a completely different plant. The annual that most people know as "geranium" (with the large heads of hot pink or red or white blooms) belongs to the genus Pelargonium. True geraniums, of the genus Geranium are completely different. They're perennial and usually have small, single flowers in pastel shades of lavender, blue and pink. But if you try to talk to someone about "geraniums" without specifing "zonal geranium" or "hardy geranium" you may end up talking about two very different plants. The same thing goes for "vinca" which can refer to the annual, bedding plant