How to remember classification order

Remembering the classification of life can be simplified with some mnemonic devices and understanding of the hierarchical structure. The classification system organizes life into several categories, each more specific than the last. Here’s a breakdown and mnemonic to help you remember:

Classification Hierarchy

• Domain

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

• Family

• Genus

• Species

Mnemonic to Remember the Order: 'Dear King Philip, Come Over For Good Soup'

• Dear - Domain

• King - Kingdom

• Philip - Phylum

• Come - Class

• Over - Order

• For - Family

• Good - Genus

• Soup - Species

Understanding the Levels

Domain: The highest level of classification, dividing life into broad groups such as Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Kingdom: Within each domain, organisms are further divided into kingdoms like Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists, etc.

Phylum: Each kingdom is divided into phyla (plural of phylum), which group organisms based on major body plans or features.

Class: Phyla are divided into classes based on more specific characteristics.

Order: Classes are further divided into orders.

Family: Orders are divided into families.

Genus: Families are divided into genera (plural of genus), grouping species that are closely related.

Species: The most specific level, identifying individual organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Summary of classifications 

DOMAIN

An example domain  would includes all multicellularlife such as with plants, animals, fungi, and protists. Eukaryotes are characterised by their more complex cell structure compared to bacteria and archaea.

KINGDOM

A kingdom includes all Plantae or plant life. 

There are six Superorders in the Dicotyledonae (Magnoliidae, Hamamelidae, Caryophyllidae, Dilleniidae, Rosidae, Asteridae), and four Super-orders in the Monocotyledonae (Alismatidae, Commelinidae, Arecidae, Liliidae)

The names of the Superorders end in -idae

PHYLUM

A phylum is a major rank in the biological classification system, used to group organisms based on major structural and developmental similarities. It is one level below kingdom and one level above class in the taxonomic hierarchy. In plants, examples of phyla (often referred to as divisions in plants) include Angiosperms (flowering plants) and Gymnosperms (conifers and cycads).

CLASS

Organisms in a class exhibit more specific similarities compared to those in a phylum. These similarities often include detailed structural and functional traits that further define their evolutionary relationships. In the plant kingdom, the class Magnoliopsida (or dicotyledons) includes flowering plants with two cotyledons in their seeds, while the class Liliopsida (or monocotyledons) includes plants with one cotyledon.

ORDER

Each Super-order is further divided into several Orders.

The names of the Orders end in -ales

FAMILY

Each Order is divided into Families. These are plants with many botanical features in common, and is the highest classification normally used. At this level, the similarity between plants is often easily recognisable by the layman.

Modern botanical classification assigns a type plant to each Family, which has the particular characteristics which separate this group of plants from others, and names the Family after this plant.

The number of Plant Families varies according to the botanist whose classification you follow. Some botanists recognise only 150 or so families, preferring to classify other similar plants as sub-families, while others recognise nearly 500 plant families. A widely-accepted system is that devised by Cronquist in 1968, which is only slightly revised today.

The names of the Families end in -aceae

SUBFAMILY

The Family may be further divided into a number of sub-families, which group together plants within the Family that have some significant botanical differences.

The names of the Subfamilies end in -oideae

GENUS

This is the part of the plant name that is most familiar, the normal name that you give a plant - Papaver (Poppy), Aquilegia (Columbine), and so on. The plants in a Genus are often easily recognisable as belonging to the same group.

The name of the Genus should be written with a capital letter.

SPECIES

This is the level that defines an individual plant. Often, the name will describe some aspect of the plant - the colour of the flowers, size or shape of the leaves, or it may be named after the place where it was found. Together, the Genus and species name refer to only one plant, and they are used to identify that particular plant. Sometimes, the species is further divided into sub-species that contain plants not quite so distinct that they are classified as Varieties.

The name of the species should be written after the Genus name, in small letters, with no capital letter.

Plant-specific groupings

VARIETY

A Variety is a plant that is only slightly different from the species plant, but the differences are not so insignificant as the differences in a form. The Latin is varietas, which is usually abbreviated to var.

The name follows the Genus and species name, with var. before the individual variety name.

FORM

A form is a plant within a species that has minor botanical differences, such as the colour of flower or shape of the leaves.

The name follows the Genus and species name, with form (or f.) before the individual variety name.

CULTIVAR

A Cultivar is a cultivated variety, a particular plant that has arisen either naturally or through deliberate hybridisation, and can be reproduced (vegetative or by seed) to produce more of the same plant.

The name follows the Genus and species name. It is written in the language of the person who described it, and should not be translated. It is either written in single quotation marks or has cv. written in front of the name.