Growing Food: A Guide to Food Production

an international agreement about the general characteristics of plants, and how they can
be described. Comprehensive details on plant taxonomy are available online at the
USDA s website GRIN—the Germplasm Resources Information Network.
Recent research involving gene transfer (modification) and identification has lead to
a greater understanding of the similarities and differences between species, so the never
ending renaming of species and sub-species will inevitably continue.

Division
All flowering plants belong to one of two Divisions:

• Angiosperms—plants that have their ovules and seeds enclosed within the pistil,
  and which develop into a seed-bearing fruit. Almost all agricultural and
  horticultural plants, including all of those described in this document, are
  Angiosperms.


• Gymnosperms—plants which have “naked seeds”. Their seeds develop on the
  surface or at the tip of an appendage, and are not enclosed in it. Examples: pine
  trees, juniper and the ferns.
  Class
  Plants are also classified into one of the two plant Classes:


• 
  

  see above. The veins on the leaves are normally parallel, or nearly so. Virtually all

  
  

grasses—are monocotyledons.

• Dicotyledons—often called “dicots”, each seed contains two cotyledons ie virtually
  all of the other food crops and non-food species. The veins on the leaves normally
  have a type of a network pattern.

Order
An Order consists of several related families. For example the Families Papaveraceae

Family
Similar genera are grouped into families. Any group of plants that can normally cross-
pollinate and reproduce with each other are classified into the same family. This divides
them from plants of other families with which they do not normally reproduce.
Most of the important field crops are in two families, the Leguminoseae (legumes)

food producers are: Solanaceae (eg tomatoes, Irish potato, eggplant), Crucifereae (eg
cabbage, broccoli and other brassicas), and Chenopodiaceae (eg sugar beet and
spinach).

Genus
A genus consists of a number of similar species. The plural form of Genus is “Genera”;
similar Genera are grouped into Families. For example, some of the important Genera of

Monocotyledons—often called “monocots”, their seed has only one cotyledon-

of the true cereal crops—rice, wheat, barley, maize etc.—and sugarcane and

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the Order Rhoedales.

(Poppies), Fumariaceae, Cruciferae (Brassicas) and Resedaceae are all members of

and the Poaceae (Gramineae) (grasses and cereals). Other plant families of interest to

GROWING FOOD – THE FOOD PRODUCTION HANDBOOK

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