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Plant names aka nomenclature

Today we use the classification system introduced by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (However the English man, John Ray, was an early pioneer in this field and is commonly forgotten about).  Prior to this plants had long winded names which could include ten or more words.   

The Linnaeus system splits plant names into two words.  The first is the genus (always started with a capital letter) and the second specific epithet (always in lower case).    Plants in the same genus share certain characteristics which are not always obvious to the naked eye. Allium, Rosa, Tulipa are all genera, and contained in each genus are species - Allium schoenoprasum (chives), Allium sativum (garlic), Allium christophii.

The specific epithet gives details about the plant.  This could be about where if has come from or who discovered it:

Locations

• sinensis– from China (Camelia sinensis)
• australis – from the Southern hemisphere (Livingstonia australis)
• europaeus – from Europe (Ulex europaeus – European gorse)

Details about the habitat:

• sylvaticus – from woodlands (Fagus sylvatica)
• pratensis – from meadows (Geranium pratensis)

Descriptive details:

• macrophylla – big leafed (Hydrangea macrophylla)
• grandiflora – large flowers (Magnolia grandiflora)
• sanguineus – blood red (Haemanthus sanguineus)

However as with any system, not everything is foolproof.  There are some plants which do not agree with their names like Scilla peruviana which actually comes from the Mediterranean and not Peru as their name suggests.

Experimenting with f-stops

When using a macro lens it is vital to have an understanding of f-stops.  If I left my camera on the automatic setting it would always pick f/2.8 or f/5.0 when I'm taking macro images.  The f-stop will determine the aperture.  The aperture determines how much light enters the sensor on the camera.  The smaller the f-stop number the larger the aperture so the more light hits the sensor.  Alternatively the larger the f-stop the less light will enter the camera.  With larger f-stops the shutter speed is slower so a tripod may be necessary, increased noise may also arise leaving images looking grainy.

For the following images of an asiatic lily, I had the camera on the AV setting.  I fixed the ISO to 200 and changed the f-stop.  The camera determined exposure automatically.

Here I used f/2.8, exposure 1/1000s, ISO 200

F/2.8 gives a minimal depth of field which results in the stigma being the only part which is in focus.

f/5.0, exposure 1/400s, ISO 200

Slightly more detail is starting to reveal.

f/13.0, exposure 1/50s, ISO 200

Now you can see the spots on the petals and more detail in the anthers.

f/25.0, exposure 1/13s, ISO 200

A larger depth of field is given showing the most detail.