What’s it all about?

Taxonomy Classification Creating groups Use characters Systematics Phylogenetic reconstruction

Good Taxonomic Group Predictive power Different characters in different groups Good characters –Are inherited but not ‘single gene’ –Vary more between groups than within –Have pattern of variation that correlates with variation in other characters

Classification - Identification Recognition Classification – deciding on groups to recognize Identification – placing unknown plant in a recognized group. Classification must exist, need not have seen the plant before Recognition – realizing that one is looking at the same kind of plant one has seen before

Why bother? It’s fun It’s useful It adds interest to all parts of the world – from your back yard to …. It’s fun