Tree Terminology
The names of trees are quite interesting, especially their botanical names. Each tree has a botanical name made up of 2 words. The 1st word of a tree's name is the genus name and the 2nd word is its species name. The genus and species name of a tree identifies each tree like your surname and 1st name identifies you.
Sometimes plants are named after the person who discovered them or who 1st described them in detail, or after places, other important people or particular features like the way the tree or a part of the tree looks.
Sometimes plants are named after the person who discovered them or who 1st described them in detail, or after places, other important people or particular features like the way the tree or a part of the tree looks.
| Name Divisions |
About |
Example |
|---|---|---|
| Genus |
A group of tree species that have fundamental traits in common but that differ in other, lesser characteristics. |
Common Name: Maple Scientific Name: Acer (Scientific Name) |
| Species |
A natural group of trees in the same genus made up of similar individuals that produce similar offspring, some with minor variations. |
Common Name: Red Maple Scientific Name: Acer Rubrum |
| Variety |
A subdivision of a species having distinct, though often inconspicuous difference, and breeding true to that difference. |
Acer Rubrum Var. Drummondi |
| Cultivar |
A variety, selected for one or more outstanding characteristics, that is being cultivated, and reproduced by asexual means to preserve genetic makeup. | Acer Rubrum "Autumn Flame" |