Systematics

The word systematics is derived from the word ‘systema’ that means the systematic arrangement of the organisms. It takes into account the evolutionary relationship of the organisms. Plant classification deals with the interrelationships between plants and their evolutionary descent. The study of systematics deals with diversity and organizes the information into classification. The references of classification are also available in Vedas and Upanishads. Our Vedic culture documented about 740 plants and 250 animals. Other major contributions in the field of classification are as follows:-

Chandogya Upanishad: Here, an attempt was made to classify animals. 

 (2) Susruta samhita: Classify all “substances’ ‘ into sthavara (immobile). Plants and jungamas (mobile) (eg animals) 

 (3) Parasara: Here the angiosperms are divided into dvimatruka (dicotyledonous) and ekamatruka (monocotyledonous). He could even confirm that the dicotyledonous Jalika Parana (reticulated leaves) and the monocotyledonous Maun Laparna had parallel leaves. 

 (4) Hippocrates and Aristotle: We have classified animals into four major groups: insects, birds, fish and whales. 

New classification 

 The various classification systems  proposed from time to time fall into three basic categories: artificial systems, natural systems, and phylogenetic systems. However, Redford (1986) included mechanical systems as the fourth category. 

Artificial classification systems: These systems are more or less arbitrary, as  plants are classified solely on the basis of their overall morphology, habits, and  importance to humans. The main supporters of the artificial classification system are: 

 (i) Theophrastus: Father of botany. Theophrastus was a student of Plato and later Aristotle. In his book De Historia plantarum, he classified about 500 species of plants into four major groups. Trees, shrubs, shrubs and herbs. 

 (ii) Caius Plinius Secundus: He designed the biological, medicinal and agricultural phases of plants in 37 volumes of natural history. He gave the term “stamen” for the first time. 

 (iii) Pedanius Dioscorides: He introduced about 600 medicinal plants  in  Materia Medica. 

 (iv) Charaka: The Indian scholar. He categorized plants of medicinal importance in his Charaka Samhita. 

 (v) Andrea Caesalpino : He introduced 1520 species in 16 volumes of De Plantis libri assembled as herbs and trees. He further categorized plants based on fruit and seed characters. 

Natural System of Classifications: 

 These systems of classification are not only based  on the features of reproductive organs and structural morphology but also used as several taxonomic features or traits as possible to categorise the plants. The natural systems of classification are given below: 

 (i) Michel Adanson : He is a French botanist who ordered plants and animals using as many characters as possible and proposed a natural system of classification. 

 (ii) A.L. de Jussieu : He classified plants on natural characters. In his system of classification he classified  the plants resembling each other in a set of characters. 

 (iii) A.P. de Candolle : He collected all similar plants together and formed  a new classification of plants in his book Theorie elementaire de la botanique (1813). 

Basics in classification 

Classification is the method of ordering organisms into groups. The department of science that offers principles and procedures of biological classification is called systematics.

There are tens of thousands of organisms – flora, fauna, microorganisms and viruses. Each one is dissimilar from the other in one way or another. About more than 1,000,000 species of animals and greater than half of 1,000,000 species of flora were studied, defined and furnished names for identification. Many of them are still unknown and are yet to be recognized and defined.  Also, it is tough to take into account their names, characters and uses. However, biologists have devised strategies for identification, naming and grouping of numerous organisms. 

Explanation of terminology 

Taxonomy:

Generally  taxonomy is the science of naming, describing and classifying living things and includes all plants, animals and microorganisms in the world. Using morphological, behaviors, genetics and biochemical, taxonomists identify, describe and classify species into categories, including those which are new to science.

Taxonomy identifies and counts the biodiversity components that provide the basic information underpinning management and implementation of the convention on biological Diversity. In the last 250 years of research, taxonomists have identified about 1.78 million species of animals, plants and microorganisms, yet the total number of species is unknown and probably between 5 and 30 million.

 (1) Taxon : The term taxon is used to denote any unit of classification. The unit  may be large (e.g., Plant Kingdom) or small (e.g., Algae, Fungi, or a single species). 

 (2) Category : Various subdivisions of the plant kingdom such as division, class, order, family, etc., are referred to as categories. In the hierarchy of categories kingdom is the highest and species is the lowest category. The following are hierarchical series : 

 (i) Kingdom : This is the highest category in biological classification. All plants are include in the plant kingdom. 

 (ii) Division : It is a most important group in the Linnaean hierarchy used in the classification of plants (equivalent to phylum in animal classification). It is a taxonomic class between kingdom and class. The subcategory of division is subdivision. The suffix of division is – ophyta. 

 (iii) Class : A division is separated into classes. This is a taxonomic category between departments and orders. Its suffix is ​​–ae. The subclasses of a class are subclasses and series. This class contains the least similar organisms. 

 (iv) Orders: A class consists of one or more orders. This is a taxonomic category between class and family. The suffix is ​​– Yale. Order subcategories are subordinate. 

 (v) Family: Orders are divided into one or more families. This is a taxonomic category between order and  genus. Its suffix is ​​–aceae. Its subcategories are subfamilies, tribes, and sub tribes. 

 (vi)Genus : The plural of the genus is a genus. A family contains one or more genera. The genus name is important and is printed in italics (underlined for handwriting). Genus subcategories are subgenus, section, and subsection. 

 (vii) Species: This is the lowest rank of taxonomic classification. The first letter of the seed is shown in lowercase. The seeds are printed in italics (handwritten underline). A genus can contain one or more species. Species subcategories are variants, varieties, sub variants, forms, and sub forms. 

Significance of Terminology

Generally terminology plays an important role in understanding of contexts and specialized texts. Understanding the complex details of the technical and scientific contexts of the term helps readers understand what the main message of the document is, and helps professionals convey content more effectively.

The terminology used to help people to see the interaction between the units of special texts and the whole context which is often a subconscious way of obtaining information. It also develops interests in the development of new words and terms.

Characteristics of Terminology

It may not be at the forefront of all content creator concepts, but words or terminology are essential to effective, efficient communication. Businesses may have multiple, hundreds, or even thousands of different terms that they use to describe what they are doing.

 That includes the names and services. The problem is that when teams use different words to describe the same thing it can cause confusion and high costs. All of that while minimizing the impact of your communication efforts. Hence the Terminology is very essential for communicating.

Conclusion 

Today, systematics is an exciting and active field of biology, and it is wished to be more life science students are expected to  take systematics as their field of study. Systematics in the broader sense is nothing more than a thorough and complete study of biodiversity. Therefore, that area consists of the study of ecology, evolutionary biology, and biodiversity, in addition to the norms and principles of classification.