taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...

, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular na ...

is split off from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off. A segregate will be either new or ephemeral: there is a tendency for taxonomists to disagree on segregates, and later workers often reunite a segregate with the 'mother' taxon. If a segregate is generally accepted as a 'good' taxon it ceases to be a segregate. Thus, this is a way of indicating change in the taxonomic status. It should not be confused with, for example, the subdivision of a genus into

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

. :For example, the genus ''

Alsobia ''Alsobia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. It contains four species. The species in the genus are succulent and stoloniferous herb In general use, herbs are a widely di ...

'' is a ''segregate'' from the genus ''

Episcia ''Episcia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the African violet family, Gesneriaceae. The ten species it contains are native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. The species are perennial herbaceous plants characterized by a ...

''; The genera ''

Filipendula ''Filipendula'' is a genus of 12 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Well-known species include meadowsweet (''Filipendula ulmaria'') and dropwort ...

'' and ''

Aruncus ''Aruncus'' is a genus of clump-forming herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae. Botanical opinion of the number of species differs, with from one to four species accepted. They are closely related to the genera ''Filipendula'' and '' ...

'' are segregates from the genus ''

Spiraea ''Spiraea'' , sometimes spelled spirea in common names, and commonly known as meadowsweets or steeplebushes, is a genus of about 80 to 100 species

''.

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mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s. Botanical nomenclature Plant taxonomy Taxonomy (biology)