What is Orchid Nomenclature?
Orchid nomenclature is based on the binomial system devised by the Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus, in the eighteenth century. Using this system any plant can be succinctly described using two words: one for the genus, and one for the species, hence “bi-nomial.” Prior to Linnaeus, plants were referred to using long descriptions that varied regionally, and similar to the common names used today, were rather ambiguous. The binomial system works because of certain conventions; for example, the genus must be unique across all plant families, and the species must be unique within a genus. The binomials are given in Latin, because when Linnaeus came up with this system, Latin was the language used by educated people in many countries, the language that people who spoke different tongues could use to communicate. Binomials continue to be given in Latin, because it trancends language and political differences. In Linnaeus’s system, the first word or genus, is a noun, and the second or specie
