FFA Horticulture CDE General Practice Exam

Identify the correctly written scientific name.

1. Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief'

2. cornus Florida 'cherokee chief'

3. Cornus florida "Cherokee Chief"

4. Cornus Florida 'Cherokee chief'

The correct answer is: Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief'

The correct answer features the scientific name properly formatted according to the conventions of botanical nomenclature. In scientific naming, the genus name is always capitalized and italicized (or underlined when handwritten), while the species name follows in lowercase and is also italicized. In this case, *Cornus* is the genus and *florida* is the species, with both parts correctly italicized, displaying proper capital and lowercase formatting. Additionally, the cultivar name, 'Cherokee Chief,' is placed in single quotes. The capitalization of the first letter of each word in the cultivar name is also appropriate in this format. This adheres to the guidelines established by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, which governs the naming of plant species and cultivars. Recognizing these rules is essential for accurately presenting scientific nomenclature in a professional or academic context. The other choices display variations that do not conform to these conventions, such as improper capitalization, incorrect use of quotation marks, or lack of italics for the genus and species names.