# Taxonomy!



## Magicboy (Sep 21, 2007)

I have several questions about taxonomy and first an example:

If i say that I grow Phragm. sp. what does that mean? Do you understand it like I'm growing one specific Phragm. species with no name or only that I grow several Phragm. species?

Wouldn't it be more correct if I said that I grow Phragm. spp. (spp.= species pluralis)? In this way you'll understand that a grow 2 or more different species.

If I buy a plant that is named Phragm. sp. I understand this like it's a Phragm. but it's unknown or hasn't been registrered (it's a little difficult to explain this with Phragm. as example but try to think in other genuses to).

What does sspp. means?


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## goldenrose (Sep 21, 2007)

I don't know if this is correct, my interpretation is 
sp = species, I would doubt there's a plural, taxonomy doesn't care how many species you grow, one plant is being described.
ssp =subspecies or subgenus
ex. Phrag. besseae ssp.micropetalum.


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## NYEric (Sep 21, 2007)

If you have a Phragm. sp. that has no name you should sell it for lots o' money. More likely it's a plant that the vendor didn't know the name of. If you're just describing what you grow it is just lazy to write Phragm. sp. instead of species. oke:


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## cdub (Sep 21, 2007)

goldenrose said:


> I don't know if this is correct, my interpretation is
> sp = species, I would doubt there's a plural, taxonomy doesn't care how many species you grow, one plant is being described.
> ssp =subspecies or subgenus
> ex. Phrag. besseae ssp.micropetalum.



This is correct (I think!), except "ssp." is strictly subspecies, not subgenus. I'm not sure what subgenus would be. Having been in the plant systematics world for a short time now, I have seen others use the abbreviation "spp." to mean the plural "species" (as in 2 or more). This may not be because taxonomists decided this, it may just be a variation on "sp." to use while writing or typing because systematists use the word species a lot.


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