List of systems of plant taxonomy



This list of systems of plant taxonomy presents "taxonomic systems" used in plant classification.

A taxonomic system is a coherent whole of taxonomic judgments on circumscription and placement of the considered taxa. It is only a "system" if it is applied to a large group of such taxa (for example, all the flowering plants).

There are two main criteria for this list. A system must be taxonomic, that is deal with many plants, by their botanical names. Secondly it must be a system, i.e. deal with the relationships of plants. Although thinking about relationships of plants had started much earlier (see history of plant systematics), such systems really only came into being in the 19th century, as a result of an ever-increasing influx from all over the world of newly discovered plant species. The 18th century saw some early systems, which are perhaps precursors rather than full taxonomic systems.

A milestone event was the publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus which serves as the starting point of binomial nomenclature for plants. By its size this would qualify to be on this list, but it does not deal with relationships, beyond assigning plants into genera.

Note that a system is not necessarily monolithic and often goes through several stages of development, resulting in several versions of the same system. When a system is widely adopted, many authors will adopt their own particular version of the system. The Cronquist system is well known for existing in many versions.

Pre-Linnaean

 * Theophrastus classification
 * Historia Plantarum (Enquiry into Plants), c. 300 BC
 * Causes of Plants, c. 300 BC
 * Dioscorides classification
 * De Materia Medica, c. 60 AD
 * Albertus Magnus classification
 * De Vegetabilibus, c. 1256
 * Caesalpino classification
 * De plantis libri XVI, 1583
 * John Gerard classification
 * Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, 1597
 * Gaspard Bauhin classification
 * Pinax theatri botanici, 1623
 * John Ray classification
 * Historia Plantarum, 1686–1704
 * Tournefort classification
 * Éléments de botanique, 1694
 * Éléments de botanique, 1694

From Linnaeus to Darwin (pre-Darwinian)

 * Linnaean systems
 * Systema Naturae, 1st edition, 1735.
 * Systema Naturae, 10th edition, 1758 (vol. 1), 1759 (vol. 2). Starting point of zoological nomenclature.
 * Species Plantarum, 1753. Starting point of botanical nomenclature.
 * Genera Plantarum, 1737 (1st ed.), 1753 (5th ed.).
 * Philosophia Botanica, 1751.
 * Adanson system
 * Familles naturelles des plantes, 1763.
 * de Jussieu system
 * (available online at Gallica)
 * de Candolle system
 * A. P. de Candolle (1819). Théorie Élémentaire de la botanique, ou exposition des principes de la classification naturelle et de l'art de décrire et d'etudier les végétaux (2nd ed.).
 * (available online at Gallica)
 * Berchtold and Presl system
 * Berchtold and Presl. O Prirozenosti Rostlin 1820
 * Dumortier system
 * Lindley system
 * (available online at BHL)
 * (available online at BHL)
 * Bentham & Hooker system
 * (available online at Gallica)
 * Baillon system
 * (available online at BHL)
 * Bentham & Hooker system
 * (available online at Gallica)
 * Baillon system
 * (available online at Gallica)
 * Baillon system

Post Darwinian (Phyletic)

 * Eichler system
 * Van Tieghem system
 * Engler system
 * Dalla Torre & Harms system
 * Bessey system
 * Charles E. Bessey (1907). "A Synopsis of Plant Phyla". Univ. Nebraska Studies 7: 275–358.
 * Wettstein system
 * Rendle system
 * Alfred Barton Rendle. The Classification of Flowering Plants 1904, 1925
 * Lotsy system
 * Johannes Paulus Lotsy. Vorträge über botanische Stammesgeschichte, gehalten an der Reichsuniversität zu Leiden. Ein Lehrbuch der Pflanzensystematik. 1907–1911
 * Hallier system
 * Warming system
 * Hutchinson system
 * Calestani system
 * Kimura system
 * Benson system
 * Lyman David Benson. Plant Classification 1957
 * Emberger system
 * Melchior system
 * (also known as modified Engler system, in Angiospermae)
 * Takhtajan system
 * Cronquist system
 * Thorne system
 * Stebbins system
 * Stebbins, G.L. (1974). Flowering plants: evolution above the species level. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, . [System followed by Heywood, V.H. (ed., 1978). Flowering plants of the world. Oxford: Oxford University Press, .]
 * Dahlgren system
 * Goldberg system
 * (available online: Full text (PDF) here) [there is also a comparison among 11 Dicotyledons systems since 1960 until 1985]
 * (available online: Full text (PDF) here)
 * Kubitzki system (1990- )
 * Shipunov system (1991–)
 * (Available online: Full text PDF)
 * Reveal system (1997)
 * Reveal System of Classification 1997
 * Judd system (1999–2016)
 * (Modified APG)
 * APG system
 * APG I (1998)
 * APG II (2003)
 * (Available online: Abstract | Full text (HTML) | Full text (PDF))
 * APG III (2009)
 * (Available online: )
 * Chase & Reveal System (2009)
 * (Available online at doi link.)
 * APG IV (2016)
 * Stebbins system
 * Stebbins, G.L. (1974). Flowering plants: evolution above the species level. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, . [System followed by Heywood, V.H. (ed., 1978). Flowering plants of the world. Oxford: Oxford University Press, .]
 * Dahlgren system
 * Goldberg system
 * (available online: Full text (PDF) here) [there is also a comparison among 11 Dicotyledons systems since 1960 until 1985]
 * (available online: Full text (PDF) here)
 * Kubitzki system (1990- )
 * Shipunov system (1991–)
 * (Available online: Full text PDF)
 * Reveal system (1997)
 * Reveal System of Classification 1997
 * Judd system (1999–2016)
 * (Modified APG)
 * APG system
 * APG I (1998)
 * APG II (2003)
 * (Available online: Abstract | Full text (HTML) | Full text (PDF))
 * APG III (2009)
 * (Available online: )
 * Chase & Reveal System (2009)
 * (Available online at doi link.)
 * APG IV (2016)
 * APG system
 * APG I (1998)
 * APG II (2003)
 * (Available online: Abstract | Full text (HTML) | Full text (PDF))
 * APG III (2009)
 * (Available online: )
 * Chase & Reveal System (2009)
 * (Available online at doi link.)
 * APG IV (2016)
 * (Available online: )
 * Chase & Reveal System (2009)
 * (Available online at doi link.)
 * APG IV (2016)
 * (Available online at doi link.)
 * APG IV (2016)

Other systems

 * Bartling system
 * Deyl system
 * Endlicher system
 * Fritsch system (algae, )
 * Gundersen system
 * Hallier system
 * Hoek, Mann and Jahns system (algae)
 * Mez system
 * Novák system
 * Pascher system (algae, )
 * Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group system
 * Pulle system
 * Rafinesque system
 * Rouleau system
 * Smith system (cryptogams – algae, fungi, bryophytes and pteridophytes)
 * Skottsberg system
 * Soó system
 * Strasburguer system
 * Tippo system