![]() ![]() Or, slight and subtle variations in a species were named as new species before it was understood that many of these were merely the result of natural variation within the species. Early botanists rampantly named multitudes of new species, subspecies, and varieties from across North America and, in many cases, several botanists ended up describing the same species independently and unknowingly under different names. The authors’ names are added after the scientific names in order to clarify the taxonomic history of the species for readers.Īnother instance that may result in synonymy is for highly variable or wide-ranging species. Thus, Pinus laricina DuRoi became a synonym of the new name, Larix laricina (DuRoi) K.Koch. Later, K.Koch revised the species name and created a new genus for it and the other larches, Larix. For example, DuRoi originally described the Tamarack under the name Pinus laricina (in those days, virtually all needle-leaved conifers were classified as pines, Pinus). In this situation, the older name would be considered a synonym of the newer name. In some instances, the original author who describes the plant may place it in a particular genus but subsequent authors, often with a more complete understanding of the family and its representatives, may move that species into a new genus, supposedly reflecting a more accurate classification. These two names don’t represent different species, but rather two different names (synonyms) for the same species. For example, the cow-parsnip, which we know as Heracleum maximum here in B.C., goes by the name of Heracleum lanatum in Alberta and the Yukon Territory, and even in many older publications from B.C. These alternative names are known as synonyms of the accepted species name. In many instances, for a variety of reasons, a number of different names may be applied to the same species of organism. The naming of organisms is a complicated procedure. Go directly to Vascular Plant Synonyms Part I: Cupressaceae to Asclepidaceae Why Plants Sometimes Have Other Scientific Names LGL Limited Environmental Research Associates Dull Oregon grape ( Mahonia nervosa), photo by Kevin Newell
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