Section (botany)
Encyclopedia
In botany
, a section is a taxonomic rank
below the genus
, but above the species
. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series
, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species. A botanist wanting to distinguish groups of species may prefer to create a taxon at the rank of section or series to avoid making new combinations
that would need to be indexed by Index Kewensis
.
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, a section is a taxonomic rank
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
below the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, but above the species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series
Series (botany)
Series is a low-level taxonomic rank below that of section but above that of species.In botany, a series is a subdivision of a genus...
, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species. A botanist wanting to distinguish groups of species may prefer to create a taxon at the rank of section or series to avoid making new combinations
Combinatio nova
Combinatio nova, abbreviated comb. nov., is Latin for "new combination".It is used in life sciences literature when a new name is introduced, e.g. when Calymmatobacterium granulomatis was renamed Klebsiella granulomatis it was referred to as Klebsiella granulomatis comb. nov. to denote it is a new...
that would need to be indexed by Index Kewensis
Index Kewensis
The Index Kewensis , maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a publication that aims to register all botanical names for seed plants at the rank of species and genera...
.