The Friday Fillip

What with maps of Mars and maps of parades, there’s hardly any need for a Friday Fillip.

But I’m going for something a bit more down-to-earth than Mars and more colourful even than Irish green: the early crocus, a.k.a. Crocus imperati Ten. Spring will soon be here (folks in the far, far, far West will please put their hands down) and when that particular member of the Iridaceae family graces lawns and flower beds, we know we can start to unclench. We also know that other members of the Liliales order will follow in quick succession, until even the chillier parts of Slaw land are under a blanket formed by members of the Liliopsida class.

Yes, taxonomy. But a real taxonomy, one with legs — and petals and spores. All courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Integrated Taxonomic Information System, where you can search for the URI (so to speak) of just about any living thing, whether by common name or some aspect of its scientific nomenclature.

Herewith the “early crocus” in full bloom, as it were:

• Kingdom Plantae
  • Subkingdom Tracheobionta
    • Division Magnoliophyta
      • Class Liliopsida
        • Subclass Liliidae
          • Order Liliales
            • Family Iridaceae
              • Genus Crocus L.
                • Species Crocus imperati Ten. –> ta-da! early crocus

Don’t you love “Liliopsida”?