plant taxonomy

When communicating about plants, it is important to identify each species using its scientific binomial name. Theoretically, there should only be one binomial name for each plant, but there is more than one authority, and molecular data is changing our understanding of the evolution and relationships between living organisms. Organizations that Walmer Woodlands partner with do not always agree on how plants should be classified. 

Plants of the World Online
The NC State Plant Toolbox under the guidance of Scott Zona, uses the classification system developed by the Royal Botanical Garden, Kew called Plants of the World Online (POWO). POWO provides references to how and when plants were named along with a list of recognized synonyms to help understand some of the name variations.  Brian Aiken, the curator for the American Fern Society spore exchange program, also uses the classification system developed by POWO.

FloraQuest

The NC Botanical Garden created an app called FloraQuest, which focuses on native plants in the Southeastern United States. 

Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group

Tony Avent, the founder of the Juniper Level Botanical Garden / Plants Delight Nursery in Raleigh, NC, directed me to a research article entitled, “A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns” published in the Journal of Systematics and Evolution (November 2016). This article describes a group called the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group, which aims to create a consensus opinion regarding lycophytes and ferns specifically.