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Kubitzki system

Kubitzki system is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kubitzki system rather than just read about it. In short: The Kubitzki system is a system of plant taxonomy devised by Klaus Kubitzki, and is the product of an ongoing survey of vascular plants, entitled The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, and extending to 15 volumes in 2018. The survey, in the form of an encyclopedia, is important as a comprehensive, multivolume treatment of the vascular plants, with keys to and descriptions of all families and genera, mostly by s…

Key takeaways

  • Kubitzki system belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Kubitzki system to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Kubitzki system from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Kubitzki system is a system of plant taxonomy devised by Klaus Kubitzki, and is the product of an ongoing survey of vascular plants, entitled The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, and extending to 15 volumes in 2018. The survey, in the form of an encyclopedia, is important as a comprehensive, multivolume treatment of the vascular plants, with keys to and descriptions of all families and genera, mostly by specialists in those groups. The Kubitzki system served as the basis for classification in Mabberley's Plant-Book, a dictionary of the vascular plants. Mabberley states, in his Introduction on page xi of the 2008 edition, that the Kubitzki system "has remained the standard to which other literature is compared". In ordinal and family arrangements, the classification system in the initial angiosperm volumes closely resembles the Dahlgren system in Monocots and the Cronquist system in Dicots, but later volumes have been influenced by recent molecular phylogenetic studies. The first volume of the series (Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms) covered lycophytes, monilophytes, and gymnosperms, and was published in 1990. By 2010, there were nine published volumes, covering 39 of the 59 orders of flowering plants that are recognized in the APG III system. The order Saxifragales is covered except for the genus Medusandra, which was transferred to it from Malpighiales in 2009. Volume 10 (2011) covers the family Myrtaceae and the orders Cucurbitales and Sapindales. Volume 11 was published in 2014, and two further volumes in 2015. Volumes 2, and 5–7 address dicotyledons, while volumes 3, 4 and 13 address monocotyledons. Volumes 8–12 and 14 deal with eudicots. Because it is the result of a work in progress, the Kubitzki system is incomplete for those groups of plants that have not yet been covered, and groups that have been completely covered are not revised in light of subsequent knowledge. Since the first volume was published in 1990, a great deal has been learned about plant taxonomy, mostly by phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences. The classification of ferns has been completely overhauled in that time. And some of the gymnosperm families have been revised. For the flowering plants, the later volumes of the Kubitzki System follows the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group last revised in 2009 (APG III system), except for the recognition of smaller families. (For a complete listing of all volumes, see Klaus Kubitzki)

Classification

Summary Divisions

Pteridophyta Pinophyta subdivision Coniferophytina subdivision Cycadophytina Magnoliophyta class Monocotyledoneae class Dicotyledoneae

Pteridophyta 1 division Pteridophyta 1 class Psilotatae Psilotaceae 2 class Lycopodiatae Isoetaceae Lycopodiaceae Selaginellaceae 3 class Equisetatae Equisetaceae 4 class Filicatae Aspleniaceae Azollaceae Blechnaceae Cheiropleuriaceae Cyatheaceae Davalliaceae Dennstaedtiaceae Dicksoniaceae Dipteridaceae Dryopteridaceae Gleicheniaceae Grammitidaceae Hymenophyllaceae Hymenophyllopsidaceae Lomariopsidaceae Lophosoriaceae Loxsomataceae Marattiaceae Marsileaceae Matoniaceae Metaxyaceae Monachosoraceae Nephrolepidaceae Oleandraceae Ophioglossaceae Osmundaceae Plagiogyriaceae Polypodiaceae Pteridaceae Salviniaceae Schizaeaceae Thelypteridaceae Vittariaceae

Pinophyta 2 division Pinophyta or Gymnospermae 1 subdivision Coniferophytina 1 class Ginkgoatae Ginkgoaceae 2 class Pinatae 1 order Pinales Araucariaceae Pinaceae Sciadopityaceae Taxodiaceae Cupressaceae Phyllocladaceae Podocarpaceae 2 order Taxales Cephalotaxaceae Taxaceae 2 subdivision Cycadophytina 1 class Cycadatae order Cycadales Boweniaceae Cycadaceae Stangeriaceae Zamiaceae 2 class Gnetatae order Gnetales Ephedraceae Welwitschiaceae Gnetaceae

Magnoliophyta 3 division Magnoliophyta or Angiospermae subdivision Magnoliophytina

Monocotyledoneae 1 class Monocotyledoneae or Liliopsida [complete] (with Rolf Dahlgren's collaboration) 4 Superorders

Acoranae Alismatanae Lilianae Commelinanae

Acoranae 1 superorder Acoranae Acoraceae Not included in any order Nartheciaceae

Alismatanae 2 superorder Alismatanae 1 order Arales Araceae Lemnaceae 2 order Alismatales Butomaceae Alismataceae Limnocharitaceae Hydrocharitaceae Najadaceae Aponogetonaceae Scheuchzeriaceae Juncaginaceae Potamogetonaceae Ruppiaceae Posidoniaceae Zosteraceae Zannichelliaceae Cymodoceaceae

Lilianae 3 superorder Lilianae 1 order Liliales Campynemataceae Luzuriagaceae Alstroemeriaceae Colchicaceae Melanthiaceae Trilliaceae Liliaceae Calochortaceae Petermanniaceae Smilacaceae Philesiaceae 2 order Asparagales Orchidaceae Iridaceae Doryanthaceae Lanariaceae Ixioliriaceae Hypoxidaceae Johnsoniaceae Hemerocallidaceae Tecophilaeaceae Blandfordiaceae Asteliaceae Boryaceae Asphodelaceae Xanthorrhoeaceae Aphyllanthaceae Anemarrhenaceae Amaryllidaceae Agapanthaceae Alliaceae Themidaceae Asparagaceae Hyacinthaceae Lomandraceae Herreriaceae Hostaceae Anthericaceae Agavaceae Eriospermaceae Ruscaceae Behniaceae Dracaenaceae Convallariaceae Nolinaceae 3 order Triuridales Triuridaceae 4 order Dioscoreales Dioscoreaceae Trichopodaceae Taccaceae Burmanniaceae Corsiaceae 5 order Pandanales Pandanaceae Cyclanthaceae Velloziaceae Acanthochlamydaceae Stemonaceae Pentastemonaceae

Commelinanae 4 superorder Commelinanae 1 order Principes Palmae 2 order Dasypogonales Dasypogonaceae 3 order Bromeliales Bromeliaceae ?Rapateaceae (see also Xyridales) 4 order Commelinales Commelinaceae Pontederiaceae Philydraceae Haemodoraceae 5 order Xyridales Mayacaceae Xyridaceae Eriocaulaceae ?Rapateaceae 6 order Zingiberales Musaceae Strelitziaceae Lowiaceae Heliconiaceae Costaceae Zingiberaceae Cannaceae Marantaceae ?Hanguanaceae (possibly related to Zingiberales or Commelinales) 7 order Typhales Typhaceae 8 order Juncales Juncaceae Thurniaceae Cyperaceae 9 order Poales Flagellariaceae Restionaceae Ecdeiocoleaceae Anarthriaceae Centrolepidaceae Joinvilleaceae Poaceae incertae sedis in monocots Hydatellaceae

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kubitzki system

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kubitzki system claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kubitzki system before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kubitzki system ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kubitzki system

In research
Kubitzki system appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Kubitzki system in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Kubitzki system is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Systems of plant taxonomy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Kubitzki system outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Kubitzki system in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Kubitzki system means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Kubitzki system out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kubitzki system in simple terms?

The Kubitzki system is a system of plant taxonomy devised by Klaus Kubitzki, and is the product of an ongoing survey of vascular plants, entitled The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, and extending to 15 volumes in 2018. The survey, in the form of an encyclopedia, is important as a comprehens…

Why does Kubitzki system matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kubitzki system?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kubitzki system.

Tags

  • Systems of plant taxonomy

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