Eplanation of name - botanical term

Discussion in 'Plants: Nomenclature and Taxonomy' started by dafo, Jun 20, 2018.

  1. dafo

    dafo New Member

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    When I search for plants names there is sometimes (L.) Osbeck beside the latin name. For instance Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck. Can somebody explain a bit what this (L.) Osbeck stands for and what is referring to?
     
  2. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    These are the botanists who first described and named the plant. I don't know the exact details of this taxon, but Carl Linnaeus would have been the first to use the name and Pehr Osbeck is the author of the taxon as it it currently known today.

    This is important to botanists, because often more than one person describes the same material or the same name is used to describe different plants. It is important to say which version of the plant your are referring to.
     
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