Reference: Material Names
From PlantX.net
This reference covers the use of botanical and common plant names within PlantX.net. By following the tips in this guide you can enter botanial names faster, easier and derive more flexiblity from using PlantX.net.
Contents |
Overview
PlantX.net is all about plants and the best way to identify plants is using their botanical name. The only problem with botanical names is that they are rather long and not easily used by most systems. PlantX.net is the exception and was designed to not only use the full botanical name, it was designed to use the structure and unique nature of the name to better organize and search inventory.
Name Length
Don't worry about the length of the botanical names. PlantX.net never requires you to enter the full name to find a plant. Longer names are automatically abbreviated when necessary. If the name is too long for a display, report or tag, it is shorted in order to fit.
Organization
PlantX.net uses the actual structure of a botanical name to organize vast numbers of plants. The genus, specie, variety and cultivated variety ("cultivar") are used to break long lists of plants into manageable groups. Even with thousands of plants in inventory, a single plant can be found with three clicks.
Searching
Botanical names tend to be quite unique with different Latin like spellings. PlantX.net cuts the time it takes to locate plants by searching on any portion of the botanical and common name. Narrow search results faster by entering the most unique portion of the name. See the searching by plant name tutorial.
Automatic Abbreviation
Longer botanical names are automatically abbreviated so they will fit on the screen or on a reports. The specie is abbreviated first, followed the genus, until the name is short enough to fit. Therefore, it is better to enter the full botanical name and let PlantX.net decide when it is best to abbreviate the name.
Auto-Abbreviation Examples
Acer palmatum 'Crimson Queen'
Acer p. 'Crimson Queen'
A. p. 'Crimson Queen'
Botanical Name Format
Botanical names have a well defined formatting convention. PlantX.net uses this name convention to identify portions of the name as the genus, specie, variety and cultivar. Botanical names can be entered easily by following the naming convention
Example: Genus specie x cross specie var. variety 'Cultivar' (Common Name)
- All plant names require a genus and common name
- The genus must start with a capital
- A cross genus, normally just an 'X', must be capitalized
- Specie and cross specie use lower case characters and follow the genus
- Variety comes after the specie and is prefixed with the word 'var.'
- Variety should be lowercase
- Cultivar is placed in single quotes and follows the variety or specie
- Common name follows the botanical name and is contained in parenthesis
To simplify the entry of names, PlantX.net automatically breaks material names into individual parts. When the genus, specie, variety, cultivar and common name are entered into separate fields, they are assembled into the appropriate format.
Editing Names
Use the Materials window to add or edit material names. Adding plant material uses the Material Name dialog and the Materials windows uses the Name tab to edit plant material, but both behave the same way.
SS: Show Material Dialog
Botanical Name
For ease of use, the material name can be entered in two different ways. Either the name can be entered completely into the Botanical Name' field or separately in the Name Parts fields. Which ever one you modify, the other will automatically reflect changes made. If you enter a valid name in the Botanical Name field, the name will be parsed and filled into the respective Name Parts fields. Modify the Name Parts and the Botanical Name field will update to reflect changes made.
Special Symbols
Drag-and-drop is used to insert special trademark (TM) and registered trademark (R) symbols. Click the TM or (R) symbol and drag it to the required text, either the Botanical Name field or Name Parts. Drop the symbol where it belongs by releasing the mouse button.
Internet Research
While entering material names, it may be necessary to research the quality or spelling of botanical names. PlantX.net makes this easy by providing an Internet search option that takes parts of the plant name and formulates a Google search.
1. Enter the material name in either the Botanical Name of Name Parts.
2. Click on the check boxes next to the Name Parts.
- The selected Name Parts will be included in the Google search. It may be necessary to perform multiple searches, adjust the selected parts, in order to improve the search results.
3. Click the Search the Internet button.
- The default Internet browser will open and show the results of the Google search defined by the selected Name Parts.
NOTE: The formulated Google search is limited to educational sites, specifically those whose domain name ends in .edu. It does this by appending site:edu to the search words. To expand your search beyond educational sites, remove the site:edu portion and search again. This is done to narrow the Internet research to more "authoritative" sites.
