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
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...
s, with emphasis on the
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...
s of
horticulture
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
, by a horticultural botanist or
''plantsman''—plantsperson."
Horticultural botanists
Professional horticultural
botanists are employed by
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s, 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 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
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
s 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
The ''International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants'' (ICNCP), is a guide to the rules and regulations for naming cultigens, plants whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity. It is also known as Cultivat ...
''.
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
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
*
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
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
*
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