Phrase name
Encyclopedia
In Australian botany, the term phrase name is used for an informal name given to a plant
taxon
that has not yet been given a formal scientific name. The term was adopted in 1992 by the Australian Herbarium Information Systems Committee. The species phrase name consists of four components — the generic name, "sp." (to indicate it is a species), an idenitifier (geographical or morphological) and a collector’s name and number representing a herbarium specimen vouchering the concept of the new species.
This is a fairly typical example except that the number 1 is often replaced by something more informative, such as a location or distinctive morphological characteristic.
A phrase name is used for an unnamed taxon, which may or may not have already been formally described, but only for as long as no scientific name has been chosen for it; afterwards it may be listed as a synonym,
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
that has not yet been given a formal scientific name. The term was adopted in 1992 by the Australian Herbarium Information Systems Committee. The species phrase name consists of four components — the generic name, "sp." (to indicate it is a species), an idenitifier (geographical or morphological) and a collector’s name and number representing a herbarium specimen vouchering the concept of the new species.
- For example, the phrase name "Dryandra sp. 1 (A.S.George 16647)" refers to an unnamed Dryandra species to which belong the herbarium specimen numbered 16647 collected by Alex GeorgeAlex GeorgeAlexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
.
This is a fairly typical example except that the number 1 is often replaced by something more informative, such as a location or distinctive morphological characteristic.
A phrase name is used for an unnamed taxon, which may or may not have already been formally described, but only for as long as no scientific name has been chosen for it; afterwards it may be listed as a synonym,