Re-classified

 

Back in the 1700's, a chap by the name of Carlus Linnaeus invented binomial nomenclature. That I know doesnt sound very exciting, and I can remember studying at tafe thinking "Why do I need to know this?". Binomial nomenclature is the naming system we use today when we formally name a species. You may have read in previous blogs, me using the botanical name (or species name) of a plant. Prior to the invention of this naming system, a species name would contain a description of the plant/animal and as such could be several words long. This is an example I have ripped straight out of wikipedia:  Plantago foliis ovato-lanceolatus pubescentibus, spica cylindrica, scapo tereti (Plantain with pubescent ovate-lanceolate leaves, a cylindric spike and a terete scape). A bit ridiculous, dont you agree? So Mr Linnaeus invented Binomial Nomenclature, where a species is given 2 names in latin (the first name is the genus that the species belongs to), the second is a brief description of the species. This made things much simpler, and you can tell how successful the system is as it is still in use today.

Now, why do I have a picture of a WA Red Flowering Gum up the top? Well when species are discovered they are studied, classified and named. Further on down the track, species are re-studied so as to better understand them. When this happens, we sometimes discover mistakes that have to be corrected. For example, in the 1990's the genus Corymbia was created to classify a heap of plants that were classified somewhere inbetween the genus Eucalyptus and Angophora. All 3 genus are commonly referred to as Eucalypts or Gum Trees, but scientist like to be exact. WA Red Flowering Gums were one of those species that were reclassified into the new genus and went from being called Eucalyputs ficifolia, to Corymbia ficifolia.

I appreciate your patience with this blog. It is difficult to explain and telling you that naming happens by "Witchcraft" kinda just raises more questions. I hope this has helped a little. If you have any questions or I havent answered your question properly, feel free to ask me for more details in the comments and I will answer what I can.