Question

The word ‘Cryptogamia’ was coined by
A. Theophrastus
B. Linnaeus
C. Benthum and Hooker
D. John Ray

Answer 1

The scientist who coined ‘Cryptogamia’ is popularly known as the father of taxonomy. Taxonomy deals with nomenclature and classification of various organisms existing in an environment. Each organism is classified accordingly in different respective taxonomic categories.

Complete answer:
Theophrastus proposed an artificial classification of plants. This classification was based on morphological features of the plants. As a result, the plants were classified as herbs, sub-shrubs, shrubs, and trees. Due to his major contributions, Theophrastus is commonly known as the ‘father of botany’.
The father of taxonomy is a title given to a scientist, named Carolus Linnaeus. He has given an artificial system of classification for the plants under different taxonomic categories. On the basis of the number of stamens and their connate or adnate state, Linnaeus identified about 24 classes of flowering plants. The last class was named as ‘Cryptogamia’ by him, and all non-flowering plants (such as algae, fungi, mosses, lichen, and fern) were placed under this class.
Benthum and Hooker had proposed elaborative natural classification of the seed plants. They had described this classification in their book titled as “Genera Plantarum”. This book comprises three volumes.
According to John Ray, plants were classified into 2 groups including Arborae and Herbae. Arborae consisted of all trees and shrubs, while herbs were classified under Herbae. These groups were then divided into flower-bearing (or flowering) plants and flowerless plants. Furthermore, the flowering plants were subdivided on the basis of the number of cotyledons present in their respective seeds.

The correct answer is option B, stating ‘Linnaeus’.

Note: There are several ranks concerned with taxonomy, and these include kingdom, phylum (for animals)/ division (for plants), class, order, family, genus, and species. Species is considered as the lowest taxonomic rank, whereas kingdom is considered as ‘highest’. Sometimes, domain is taken in consideration as well, and is placed in the highest position (that is above kingdom level).