One of the prime systems of plant taxonomy, the Engler system was devised by

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

(1844–1930), and is featured in two major taxonomic texts he authored or co-authored. His influence is reflected in the use of the terms "Engler School" and "Engler Era". Engler's starting point was that of Eichler who had been the first to use

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

principles, although Engler himself did not think that he was.

Engler's works

His modified Eichler schema first appeared in 1886 in his ''Guide to Breslau Botanic Garden'' (of which he was the director) and was expanded in his ''

Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien ''Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien'' (1892–) by Adolf Engler (1844–1930) is a complete revision of plant families down to generic level and often even further. As such it forms part of the Engler system of plant taxonomy. Engler's starting poin ...

'' in 1892. This reflected the new post-

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

perspective. Engler's ''Syllabus'' first appeared in 1892 with the title ''Syllabus der Vorlesungen über specielle und medicinisch-pharmaceutische Botanik''. Many subsequent editions have appeared since, and it was continued after Engler's death in 1930. The most recent edition was the 13th in 2009. The other major work was ''

Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (1887–1915) by Adolf Engler (1844–1930) and Karl Anton Prantl is a complete revision of plant families down to generic level and often even further. As such it forms part of the Engler system of plant t ...

'' (1887-1915) written with

Karl Anton Prantl Karl Anton Eugen Prantl (10 September 1849 – 24 February 1893), also known as Carl Anton Eugen Prantl, was a German botanist. Prantl was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, and studied in Munich. In 1870 he graduated with the dissertatio ...

in 23 volumes. An incomplete second edition was issued in 28 parts (1924-1980). ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' consisted of a complete revision of plant families down to generic level and often even further. ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' is still considered one of the few true World Floras. Finally there was the also incomplete ''Das Pflanzenreich'' (1900–1968), a multi-authored work which attempted to provide a modern version of Linnaeus' '' Species Plantarum'' (1753). The Engler system rapidly became the most widely used system in the world. References to the Engler system may imply an edition of the ''Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien'' or ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien''. The different approaches between the two works and the different editions has resulted in inconsistencies in the descriptions of the system. A number of references to the Engler system actually refer to later revisions (' modified Engler system') undertaken by

Melchior Melchior is the name traditionally given to one of the biblical Magi appearing in the Gospel of Matthew. There are many notable people with this name, or close variations. As a first name * Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914), Swiss mountain guide * ...

and colleagues, the 12th edition of the ''Syllabus'' (1964). Many of the world's

herbaria A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

have been organised on the Engler system, particularly in North America and in Europe other than Britain. The Engler system is also reflected in his multi-volume collaborative work, begun in 1900, ''Das Pflanzenreich: regni vegetablilis conspectus''. Plants were considered to form a number of divisions (''Abteilung''), the number of which continually changed but initially (1886) was four and in 1919 was thirteen. Many of these referred to lower life forms such as bacteria and algae that would not necessarily be considered as plants today. Initially higher plants (

Embryophyta The Embryophyta (), or land plants, are the most familiar group of green plants that comprise vegetation on Earth. Embryophytes () have a common ancestor with green algae, having emerged within the Phragmoplastophyta clade of green algae as siste ...

or terrestrial plants) were considered in two divisions, ''Embryophyta Asiphonogama'' (bryophytes, pteridophytes) and ''Embryophyta Siphonogama'' (

Spermatophytes A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...

: gymnosperms, angiosperms), but were later subdivided. ''Embryophyta Siphonogama'' replaced the older term Phanerogamae, and the classes were further divided into groups of families, called orders. Engler followed Eichler's phylogeny, placing the monocotyledons before the dicotyledons, and within the latter the

Archichlamydeae Polypetalae was a taxonomic grouping used in the identification of plants, but it is now considered to be an artificial group, one that does not reflect evolutionary history. The grouping was based on similar morphological plant characteristics. ...

before the Metachlamydeae. While the groupings were largely based on those of

Bentham and Hooker A list of systems of plant taxonomy, taxonomic system, the Bentham & Hooker system for seed plants, was published in Bentham and Hooker's ''Genera plantarum ad exemplaria imprimis in herbariis kewensibus servata definita'' in three volumes between ...

, the ordering was very much based on the concept of the primitive plant and those that were derived from these. Embryophyta Engler

''Führer durch den Königlich botanischen Garten'' (Engler 1886)

Synopsis * Division

Mycetozoa Mycetozoa is a polyphyletic grouping of slime molds. It was originally thought to be a monophyletic clade, but recently it was discovered that protostelia are a polyphyletic group within Conosa. Classification It can be divided into dictyoste ...

(Myxomycetes) * Division Thallophyta ** Subdivision Schizophyta ** Subdivision Algae *** Class Bacilleriaceae (Diatomaceae) *** Class Chlorophyceae *** Class Phaeophyceae *** Class

Rhodophyceae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

(Florideae) ** Subdivision

Fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

*** Class Phycomycetes *** Class Ustilagineae *** Class Ascomycetes (Lichenes) ** Subdivision Characeae * Division Zoidogamae (

Archegoniatae Archegoniatae was a higher Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic term that indicated those embryophytes having a female sexual organ in the form of an archegonium. The term was first introduced by the Russian botanist Ivan Nikolaevich Gorozhankin (1848–19 ...

) ** Subdivision Bryophyta *** Class

Hepaticae The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

*** Class

Musci Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornw ...

frondosi ** Subdivision

Pteridophyta A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as " cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns ...

*** Class Filicinae (2 orders) p. 11 *** Class Equisetinae *** Class Lycopodinae * Division Siphonogamae ( Phanerogamae, Anthophyta) ** Subdivision

Gymnospermae The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, '' Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό ...

(Archispermae) *** Class Cycadinae *** Class Coniferae *** Class Gnetales ** Subdivision Angiospermae (Metaspermae) *** Class Monocotyledoneae (10 orders) p. 18 *** Class Dicotyledoneae **** Subclass Archichlamydeae (Choripetalae, Apetalae) (25 orders) p. 30 **** Subclass Sympetalae (10 orders) p. 57

Division Zoidogamae (Archegoniatae)

* Subdivision Bryophyta ** Class Hepaticae ** Class Musci frondosi * Subdivision Pteridophyta ** Class Filicinae (2 orders) *** Order Filices p. 11 *** Order Hydropterides p. 13 ** Class Equisetinae ** Class Lycopodinae

Division Siphonogamae (Phanerogamae, Anthophyta)

Subdivision Gymnospermae (Archispermae)

* Class Cycadinae * Class Coniferae * Class Gnetales

Subdivision Angiospermae (Metaspermae)

* Class Monocotyledoneae (10 orders) p. 18

= Class Monocotyledoneae

= * Order Pandanales (3 families) p. 18 * Order Helobiae (Fluviales) (9 families) p. 18 * Order Glumiflorae (2 families) p. 18 ** Family Gramineae ** Family Cyperaceae p. 21 * Order Principes (1 family) p. 21 * Order Synanthae (1 family) p. 22 * Order Spathiflorae (2 families) p. 22 * Order Farinosae (11 families) p. 23 * Order Liliiflorae (Solido-albuminatae) (8 families) p. 23 ** Family Juncaceae p. 23 ** Family Liliaceae (10 subfamilies) p. 23 *** Subfamily Melanthioideae p. 24 *** Subfamily Herrerioideae *** Subfamily Asphodeloideae *** Subfamily Allioideae p. 25 *** Subfamily Liliodeae p. 25 *** Subfamily Dracaenoideae *** Subfamily Asparagoideae p. 26 *** Subfamily Ophiopogonoideae *** Subfamily Luzuriagoideae *** Subfamily Smilacoideae p. 26 ** Family Haemodoraceae ** Family Amaryllidaceae (3 subfalies) p. 26 *** Subfamily Amaryllidoideae p. 26 *** Subfamily Agavoideae p. 26 *** Subfamily Hypoxidoideae ** Family Velloziaceae p. 27 ** Family Taccaceae ** Family Dioscoreaceae ** Family Iridaceae (3 subfamilies) p. 27 *** Subfamily Crocoideae *** Subfamily Iridoideae *** Subfamily Ixioideae * Order Scitamineae p. 28 * Order Microspermae

= Class Dicotyledoneae

= * Subclass Archichlamydeae (Choripetalae, Apetalae) (25 orders) p. 30 * Subclass Sympetalae (10 orders) p. 57

''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (Engler and Prantl 1887–1915)

Synopsis of first edition * Myxothallophyta (Myxomycetes) (1)1897 * Euthallophyta *

Zoidiogama (Archegoniatae) (later Embryophyta Asiphonogama) (3)1909 *

Siphonogama I (1)1889

''Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien'' (Engler ed. 1892–)

Synopsis of first edition * Myxothallophyta * Euthallophyta *

Zoidiogama (Archegoniatae) *

Siphonogama ( Phanerogamae) **

** Angiospermae

''Das Pflanzerreich'' (Engler ed. 1900–)

In the foreword included in the first part of this monumental work, Engler explained the need for a more detailed monograph than in ''Pflanzenfamilien''.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Works by Engler

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Google Books
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Works about Engler

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External links

Engler & Prantl system

Bhandary, J. Engler & Prantl system of classification. 2013
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Engler System system, Engler Systems of bacterial taxonomy Systems of fungus taxonomy Systems of algal taxonomy