Question

Which of the statements is correct with respect to the scientific names - Tamarindus indica (L) and Mangifera indica (L)?

• A. The letter L indicates that the Swedish botanist Linnaeus gave this scientific name.
• B. The name is not proper as the first letter of Indica should be capitalised.
• C. The letter L has nothing to do with assigning of the names to the trees.
• D. The letter L means this particular name is from Latin language.

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

• Binomial nomenclature is the system of naming organisms by giving a name which consists of two parts where the first part denotes Genus of that particular organism and its first letter is capitalized, the second part denotes Species of that particular organism and it is written in the small form.
• The generic name is followed by a specific epithet and then the name of the discoverer in full or an abbreviation. The name of the author is kept in Roman script. The names are derived either from the Latin language or are Latinized because of the Latin language is dead and therefore, it will not change in form or spellings with the passage of time.
• From the example, Tamarindus and Mangifera are the generic names of Tamarind and Mango respectively whereas indicia denotes the specific name of both Tamarind and Mango respectively.
• The (L) followed by a specific name in both Tamarind and Mango describes the scientist who initially gave them the scientific name i.e, (L) refers to the Swedish botanist Linnaeus.
• So the correct option is 'The letter L means that the Swedish botanist who gave the scientific name'.