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Taxonomy of the infraspecific variability of cultivated plants

Taxonomie der infraspezifischen Variabilität von Kulturpflanzen

Таксономия внутриви дового многообразия культурных растений

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Summary

The needs and aims of taxonomy of cultivated plants at the infraspecific level are dealt with briefly in the context of taxonomy in general. The components of infraspecific taxonomy of cultivated plants are formulated and defined. These components are: identification, classification, genealogy, nomenclature — that are complementary to each other. The desired requirements of each component are discussed in the light of a review, conducted for this paper, on the subject covering the period (1975-) 1976–1979.

Developing automatic identification schemes for cultivars is becoming increasingly important. Identification needs to be accurate, rapid and devoid of human error. A classification system must be based on as many characters as possible and use numerical taxonomic techniques to generate and evaluate groupings. A suitable system would be composed of polythetic, non-hierarchical, informal groupings. The most useful genealogies are those that trace individual pedigrees as far back as possible. They can most profitably be done with the aid of computer systems, such as those used for oat and barley cultivars, by the author and his associates. Because there is no one to one correspondence between genealogies and classifications, pedigrees or genealogies enable one to draw inferences about cultivars different from those drawn from classifications. A nomenclature system for cultivars must be as complete as possible. This is achieved by listing all the cultivars names, commercial synonyms, translations and transliterations, and cross referencing. Examples of confusions due to faulty nomenclature are provided. In the author's opinion, a nomenclature system for cultivar groups is not needed because it is too cumbersome and because groups need not be formalized.

It is desirable to work on the four components of infraspecific taxonomy at a world-wide basis to increase their usefulness for growers, merchants, breeders and scientists concerned with cultivar development and improvement. An exception might be in identification within a country whereby a local system might satisfy most current needs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Principal Research Scientist Biosystematics Research Institute, Agriculture Canada, Research Branch Saunders Building Central Experimental Farm, K1A OC6, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Bernard R. Baum

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Baum, B.R. Taxonomy of the infraspecific variability of cultivated plants. Die Kulturpflanze 29, 209–239 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02014751

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