Horticultural botany is the study of the
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
of current and potential cultivated
plants, with emphasis on the
ornamental plants of
horticulture, by a horticultural botanist or
''plantsman''—plantsperson."
Horticultural botanists
Professional horticultural
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
s are employed by
botanical gardens, large
plant nurseries
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...
, university departments, and government agencies. The activities vary according to the mission goals and priorities of the institutions.
:Duties can include:
*searching for new plants suitable for cultivation (''plant hunting''),
*communicating with and advising the general public on matters concerning the classification and
botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this ...
of cultivated plants,
*carrying out original research on these topics:
**describing the cultivated plants and their history of particular regions in
horticultural flora A horticultural flora, also known as a garden flora, is a plant identification aid structured in the same way as a native plants flora. It serves the same purpose: to facilitate plant identification; however, it only includes plants that are under c ...
s,
**recording new plant introductions;
*maintaining
databases of cultivated plants;
*curating horticultural
herbaria
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
, including collections of dried specimens and images;
*contributing to the ''
International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants''.
Taxonomy of cultivated plants
Perhaps the single major concern of horticultural botanists has been the
taxonomy of cultivated plants and so, at the present time, many horticultural botanists will be members if the ''International Association of Cultivated Plant Taxonomy'' which was established in 2007.
See also
*
Cultivar
*
Cultivated plant taxonomy
Cultivated plant taxonomy is the study of the theory and practice of the science that identifies, describes, classifies, and names cultigens—those plants whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity. Cultivated ...
*
Horticulture
*
International Cultivar Registration Authority
*
Plant taxonomy
Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things).
Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...
Bibliography
{{reflist
External links
The Garden Club of America: SCHOLARSHIPS and FELLOWSHIPS - Botany and Horticulture
Horticulture
Botanical nomenclature
Plant taxonomy