T1.3 Species
name - species - subspecies - cultivars - hybrids - common names
A species may be defined as ‘‘a sub-division of a genus consisting of plants which have the same constant and distinctive characters and which have the capacity to interbreed amongst themselves.’’
The species is the basic unit of classification and nomenclature Quercus petraea, or Sessile Oak is a species within the genus Quercus which includes all the oaks worldwide. By the use of specific epithets, the range of different Oak trees can be identified; Quercus robur, which is commonly called the Pendunculate Oak or the English Oak (but only in the U.K.!), Quercus cerris, the Turkey Oak, Quercus ilex, the Evergreen or Holm Oak, Quercus rubra, the Red Oak and so on. All of these species are sufficiently similar to be identified as within the genus Quercus, but sufficiently different to be separate species.
The specific name may refer to a characteristic feature of the plant; Quercus rubra is the Red Oak; Populus alba is the White Poplar. Specific names are always spelt using lower case letters when using a combination of upper and lower case letters.
e.g. Quercus rubra