Nomenclature and Taxa
Table of contents
Specify divides Nomenclature and Taxonomy in the data structure. Nomenclature, the names themeselves and their nomenclatural status, are managed in the Taxon table. All taxonomic names are held in a single table.
Nomenclature - Taxon Table
Taxon names can be queried using the following Query https://herb-rbge.specifycloud.org/specify/query/499/
The first section of the Taxon form will provide information about the parts of the Taxon name, author and rank. There is also a field for the Life Science Identifier (LSID).
The next section provides information about the Nomenclatural Status of the name. This should be used to record whether the name is invalid or illegitimate.
Taxonomy - Taxon Tree
The Taxon Tree provides taxonomic structure and is where the taxonomic status of the name is set.
Select Trees in the left hand menu and then select the Taxon tree in the pop up
The root of the Taxon Tree is Life. You can then click on the > in front of each taxon to open it up.
We are aiming to follow the Catalogue of Life for the higher level taxonomy, but there is still some updating to be completed.
You can use the Search Tree box to search for single words - binomials are not yet supported in this search. Select the option from the drop down. You will not be able just click Return.
This will open up the appropriate section of the Taxon Tree, highlighting the taxon selected. The numbers in brackets after the taxon name represent the number of direct or indirect Collection Objects attached to the taxon name. For example, if the taxon is a genus then the first number indicates the number of Collection Objects determined to genus only and the second number will indicate the number of Collection Objects determined to subgenus, species or to infraspecfic rank.
Taxon names in red are synonyms in Specify. If you hover over them, the accepted name will be shown. For example, Michelia is a synonym of Magnolia.
We aim to align the taxonomy with the physical curation of the specimens but this is not always the case. Therefore, you will see some synonyms in the Taxon tree with Collection Objects attached to them.