Genus ( / ˈ dʒ iː n ə s / ; pl. : genera / ˈ dʒ ɛ n ər ə / ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses . In binomial nomenclature , the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.
45-545: See Text Boswellia is a genus of trees in the order Sapindales , known for its fragrant resin . The biblical incense frankincense is an extract from the resin of the tree Boswellia sacra , and is now produced also from B. frereana . Boswellia species are moderate-sized flowering plants , including both trees and shrubs . Boswellia species are dioecious , or hermaphroditic. The flowers may have four or five faintly connate but imbricate sepals with an equal number of distinct, imbricate petals . Also,
90-441: A scythe , sickle , or reaper . On smaller farms with minimal mechanization , harvesting is the most labor -intensive activity of the growing season. On large mechanized farms, harvesting uses farm machinery , such as the combine harvester . Automation has increased the efficiency of both the seeding and harvesting processes. Specialized harvesting equipment, using conveyor belts for gentle gripping and mass transport, replaces
135-407: A genus is determined by taxonomists . The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: Moreover, genera should be composed of phylogenetic units of
180-651: A later homonym of a validly published name is a nomen illegitimum or nom. illeg. ; for a full list refer to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010. In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is " correct name " or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split. Prokaryote and virus codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as
225-628: A long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the World Register of Marine Species presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus Physeter Linnaeus, 1758, and 13 for the bivalve genus Pecten O.F. Müller, 1776. Within the same kingdom, one generic name can apply to one genus only. However, many names have been assigned (usually unintentionally) to two or more different genera. For example,
270-554: A non-agricultural sense, the word "harvesting" is an economic principle which is known as an exit event or liquidity event . For example, if a person or business was to cash out of an ownership position in a company or eliminate their investment in a product, it is known as a harvest strategy. Harvesting or Domestic Harvesting in Canada refers to hunting, fishing, and plant gathering by First Nations , Métis , and Inuit in discussions of aboriginal or treaty rights . For example, in
315-583: A noun, came from the Old English word hærf-est (coined before the Angles moved from Angeln to Britain) meaning " autumn " (the season), "harvest-time", or "August". (It continues to mean "autumn" in British dialect, and "season of gathering crops" generally.) "The harvest" came to also mean the activity of reaping, gathering, and storing grain and other grown products during the autumn season, and also
360-409: A reference for designating currently accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature". An available (zoological) or validly published (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for
405-474: A steadily-increasing world population and local overpopulation , even slightly diminishing yields are already the equivalent to a partial harvest failure. Fertilizers obviate the need for soil regeneration in the first place, and international trade prevents local crop failures from developing into famines. Harvesting commonly refers to grain and produce, but also has other uses: fishing and logging are also referred to as harvesting. The term harvest
450-427: A taxon; however, the names published in suppressed works are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question. In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a validly published name . An invalidly published name is a nomen invalidum or nom. inval. ; a rejected name is a nomen rejiciendum or nom. rej. ;
495-455: A total of c. 520,000 published names (including synonyms) as at end 2019, increasing at some 2,500 published generic names per year. "Official" registers of taxon names at all ranks, including genera, exist for a few groups only such as viruses and prokaryotes, while for others there are compendia with no "official" standing such as Index Fungorum for fungi, Index Nominum Algarum and AlgaeBase for algae, Index Nominum Genericorum and
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#1732772462076540-436: Is also used in reference to harvesting grapes for wine . Wild harvesting refers to the collection of plants and other edible supplies which have not been cultivated. Within the context of irrigation , water harvesting refers to the collection and run-off of rainwater for agricultural or domestic uses. Instead of harvest , the term exploit is also used, as in exploiting fisheries or water resources. Energy harvesting
585-612: Is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants , there are some five thousand such names in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, A list of generic homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names, has been compiled by the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). The type genus forms
630-460: Is somewhat arbitrary. Although all species within a genus are supposed to be "similar", there are no objective criteria for grouping species into genera. There is much debate among zoologists about whether enormous, species-rich genera should be maintained, as it is extremely difficult to come up with identification keys or even character sets that distinguish all species. Hence, many taxonomists argue in favor of breaking down large genera. For instance,
675-474: Is the type species , and the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should the specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed. In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with
720-430: Is the process of capturing and storing energy (such as solar power , thermal energy, wind energy , salinity gradients, and kinetic energy ) that would otherwise go unexploited. Body harvesting , or cadaver harvesting , is the process of collecting and preparing cadavers for anatomical study. In a similar sense, organ harvesting is the removal of tissues or organs from a donor for purposes of transplanting. In
765-994: The Great Famine in Ireland ), volcanic eruptions (such as the Year Without a Summer ), heavy rainfall, storms , floods , or drought , or by slow, cumulative effects of soil degradation , too-high soil salinity , erosion , desertification , usually as results of drainage , overdrafting (for irrigation ), overfertilization , or overexploitation . In history, crop failures and subsequent famines have triggered human migration , rural exodus , etc. The proliferation of industrial monocultures , with their reduction in crop diversity and dependence on heavy use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides , has led to overexploited soils that are nearly incapable of regeneration . Over years, unsustainable farming of land degrades soil fertility and diminishes crop yield . With
810-621: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the " valid " (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question. Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to
855-824: The International Plant Names Index for plants in general, and ferns through angiosperms, respectively, and Nomenclator Zoologicus and the Index to Organism Names for zoological names. Totals for both "all names" and estimates for "accepted names" as held in the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) are broken down further in the publication by Rees et al., 2020 cited above. The accepted names estimates are as follows, broken down by kingdom: The cited ranges of uncertainty arise because IRMNG lists "uncertain" names (not researched therein) in addition to known "accepted" names;
900-641: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that one of the primary frankincense species, Boswellia sacra , is "near threatened". Frankincense trees are not covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora , but experts argue that Boswellia species meet the criteria for protection. In a 2006 study, an ecologist at Wageningen University & Research claimed that, by
945-419: The nomenclature codes , which allow each species a single unique name that, for animals (including protists ), plants (also including algae and fungi ) and prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ), is Latin and binomial in form; this contrasts with common or vernacular names , which are non-standardized, can be non-unique, and typically also vary by country and language of usage. Except for viruses ,
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#1732772462076990-404: The platypus belongs to the genus Ornithorhynchus although George Shaw named it Platypus in 1799 (these two names are thus synonyms ) . However, the name Platypus had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. A name that means two different things is a homonym . Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia,
1035-529: The World Online ; World Flora Online only accepts 20 species; B. ameero , B. bullata , B. carteri Birdw. , B. dalzielii , B. dioscoridis , B. elongata , B. frereana , B. globosa , B. microphylla , B. nana , B. neglecta , B. ogadensis , B. ovalifoliolata , B. papyrifera , B. pirottae , B. popoviana , B. rivae , B. sacra , B. serrata and B. socotrana . The genus is native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia . The distributions of
1080-442: The base for higher taxonomic ranks, such as the family name Canidae ("Canids") based on Canis . However, this does not typically ascend more than one or two levels: the order to which dogs and wolves belong is Carnivora ("Carnivores"). The numbers of either accepted, or all published genus names is not known precisely; Rees et al., 2020 estimate that approximately 310,000 accepted names (valid taxa) may exist, out of
1125-446: The form "author, year" in zoology, and "standard abbreviated author name" in botany. Thus in the examples above, the genus Canis would be cited in full as " Canis Linnaeus, 1758" (zoological usage), while Hibiscus , also first established by Linnaeus but in 1753, is simply " Hibiscus L." (botanical usage). Each genus should have a designated type , although in practice there is a backlog of older names without one. In zoology, this
1170-737: The generic name (or its abbreviated form) still forms the leading portion of the scientific name, for example, Canis lupus lupus for the Eurasian wolf subspecies, or as a botanical example, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus . Also, as visible in the above examples, the Latinised portions of the scientific names of genera and their included species (and infraspecies, where applicable) are, by convention, written in italics . The scientific names of virus species are descriptive, not binomial in form, and may or may not incorporate an indication of their containing genus; for example,
1215-636: The grain and other grown products themselves. "Harvest" was also verbified : "To harvest " means to reap, gather, and store the harvest (or the crop). People who harvest and equipment that harvests are harvesters; while they do it, they are harvesting. Crop failure (also known as harvest failure) is an absent or greatly diminished crop yield relative to expectation, caused by the plants being damaged, killed, or destroyed, or affected in some way that they fail to form edible fruit, seeds, or leaves in their expected abundance. Crop failures can be caused by catastrophic events such as plant disease outbreaks (such as
1260-633: The largest component, with 23,236 ± 5,379 accepted genus names, of which 20,845 ± 4,494 are angiosperms (superclass Angiospermae). By comparison, the 2018 annual edition of the Catalogue of Life (estimated >90% complete, for extant species in the main) contains currently 175,363 "accepted" genus names for 1,744,204 living and 59,284 extinct species, also including genus names only (no species) for some groups. The number of species in genera varies considerably among taxonomic groups. For instance, among (non-avian) reptiles , which have about 1180 genera,
1305-679: The late-1990s, Boswellia papyrifera trees in Eritrea were becoming hard to find. In 2019, a new paper predicted a 50% reduction in Boswellia papyrifera within the next two decades. This species, found mainly in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan, accounts for about two-thirds of global frankincense production. The paper warns that all Boswellia species are threatened by habitat loss and overexploitation . Most Boswellia grow in harsh, arid regions beset by poverty and conflict. Harvesting and selling
1350-461: The lizard genus Anolis has been suggested to be broken down into 8 or so different genera which would bring its ~400 species to smaller, more manageable subsets. Harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses for harvest, typically using
1395-467: The manual task of removing each seedling by hand. The term "harvesting" in general usage may include immediate postharvest handling, including cleaning, sorting, packing, and cooling. The completion of harvesting marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for a particular crop, and the social importance of this event makes it the focus of seasonal celebrations such as harvest festivals , found in many cultures and religions. " Harvest ",
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1440-403: The most (>300) have only 1 species, ~360 have between 2 and 4 species, 260 have 5–10 species, ~200 have 11–50 species, and only 27 genera have more than 50 species. However, some insect genera such as the bee genera Lasioglossum and Andrena have over 1000 species each. The largest flowering plant genus, Astragalus , contains over 3,000 species. Which species are assigned to a genus
1485-428: The name could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800. However, a genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called "homonyms". Although this
1530-541: The provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated. According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed names (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for
1575-470: The same kind as other (analogous) genera. The term "genus" comes from Latin genus , a noun form cognate with gignere ('to bear; to give birth to'). The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum , but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) is considered "the founder of the modern concept of genera". The scientific name (or
1620-408: The scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name ; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature , the system of naming organisms , where it is combined with the scientific name of a species : see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology) . The rules for the scientific names of organisms are laid down in
1665-475: The species are primarily associated with the tropics. The greatest diversity of species presently is in Africa and India. They are native to the countries (and regions) of Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Senegal, (island of) Socotra , Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Himalaya and Yemen. In 1998,
1710-497: The specific name particular to the wolf. A botanical example would be Hibiscus arnottianus , a particular species of the genus Hibiscus native to Hawaii. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by subspecies names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany . When the generic name is already known from context, it may be shortened to its initial letter, for example, C. lupus in place of Canis lupus . Where species are further subdivided,
1755-409: The stamens, that may contain nectar discs, have distinct glabrous filaments that occur in one or two whorls and in numbers equaling or twice the number of petals; the tricolporate pollen is contained within two locules of the anthers that open longitudinally along slits. The gynoecium contains three to five connate carpels , one style , and one stigma that is head-like to lobed. Each locule of
1800-412: The standard format for a species name comprises the generic name, indicating the genus to which the species belongs, followed by the specific epithet, which (within that genus) is unique to the species. For example, the gray wolf 's scientific name is Canis lupus , with Canis ( Latin for 'dog') being the generic name shared by the wolf's close relatives and lupus (Latin for 'wolf') being
1845-482: The superior ovary has two ovules with axile placentation that are anatropous to campylotropous. The one- to five-pitted fruit is a drupe that opens at maturity. The endosperm is usually lacking in the embryo. The genus name honors Scottish botanist John Boswell , 1710–1780 (incidentally, uncle of writer James Boswell ). The genus was first published in Asiat. Res. 9 on page 379 in 1807. As accepted by Plants of
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1890-403: The taxon is termed a synonym ; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names. A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for
1935-458: The tree's resin is one of the only sources of income for the inhabitants, resulting in overtapping. The four main species of Boswellia , B. sacra (synonyms B. carteri and B. bhaw-dajiana ), B. frereana , B. papyrifera , and B. serrata , produce true frankincense, and each type of resin is available in various grades. The grades depend on the time of harvesting , and the resin is hand sorted for quality. Genus The composition of
1980-576: The values quoted are the mean of "accepted" names alone (all "uncertain" names treated as unaccepted) and "accepted + uncertain" names (all "uncertain" names treated as accepted), with the associated range of uncertainty indicating these two extremes. Within Animalia, the largest phylum is Arthropoda , with 151,697 ± 33,160 accepted genus names, of which 114,387 ± 27,654 are insects (class Insecta). Within Plantae, Tracheophyta (vascular plants) make up
2025-429: The virus species " Salmonid herpesvirus 1 ", " Salmonid herpesvirus 2 " and " Salmonid herpesvirus 3 " are all within the genus Salmonivirus ; however, the genus to which the species with the formal names " Everglades virus " and " Ross River virus " are assigned is Alphavirus . As with scientific names at other ranks, in all groups other than viruses, names of genera may be cited with their authorities, typically in
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