Taxonomy

[Ulvinnen]

I am doing a correspondence course in botany and one of my tasks is to identify 10 plants according to phyla, family, genus and species.
Two of my chosen plants are lichens and now I am having trouble finding the phyla for them. Since they are symbiotic organisms of algae and fungi, what is the correct phyla for lichens? Hope anyone can help me!

[Doc44]

Your're having trouble classifying them????...so are the botanists and lichenologists. The continued war of the clumpers and splitters. Some still stick with "division" for plants which is the same level taxon as "Phylum" for animals. So you are not alone. Pick one; Thallophyta, mycophycota, mycophycophyta.....and defend your choice.

Maybe foliose, crustose and fruiticose forms should be in their own separate "divilums."

Doc44

My Usnia strigosa is graying.

[SU_reptile]

As far as I remember phylum is a division. According to this, lichens are considered as separate division Lichenes or Mycophycophyta. Nevertheless the taxanomic position and its name depends on what system do you recognize.

[Ulvinnen]

Thanks for your help! Now I have more lichens problems... I miss to classify the family..I have the species name(in latin) , but nowhere can I find which family they belong to. I tried a database but they didnt include lichens..Anyone knows where I can find the family name(in latin) when I have the species name?

I think I will try to stay away from lichens for the rest of my course, LOL, but they are interesting indeed.

[Ulvinnen]

Ok, I found the answers I needed, in the national searchable lichen herbarium!

[Poison]

Lichenes are classified according to fungi. So you can classify it as a divisio (Lichenes) in Fungi.
And for identification a dicotomic key can help you.

PS: oops, you found the answers? OK then...

[Ulvinnen]

Thanks anyway Poison...some of the problem was that I couldnt find a key for lichens:( But I finished that now:)

Now I have to develope botanical keys for 3 of my chosen plants(will stay away from the lichens this time!) . What does that mean? Is it meant that I just look at an existing key and pulls out what fit on my specie?

Sorry if I seem completely ignorant! But thats what I am! I have never had any biology in school and I also havent studied in 10 years and I have never been familiar with botany..This is all new to me!

[Linn]

They should be a new class I think.

[mkwaje]

Well for plants, if you are going to differentiate them from each other via a dichotomous key; I sugget you use the simplest major characteristics like shape of leaves, branching pattern, leaf venation, fruit type, etc.. You don't have to lift the characteristics from existing keys because they may not apply to your selected plants. Just remember, the rule in making a successful key is the term "dichotomous". A typical yes no characteristic. Present or absent. You can't differentiate using keys such as:
a. 4 leaf clover flowers
b. 5 leaf clover flowers

instead say,
a. 4 leaf clover flowers
b. not 4 leaf clover flowers

Good luck. Key making doesn't have to be difficult. Simplest obvious characters are always the best.

[Ulvinnen]

thanks for your help... could you show me an example of a key of one specific plant?