For several reasons, computer analysis is also an important aspect of systematics. The task of classifying all life (estimated at ten to one hundred million species) is a monumental undertaking, involving the comparative analysis of many organisms; hence, systematists have made significant use of computers to analyze large data sets and to store information so that it is easily retrievable.
Because the areas of study encompassed by systematics are so diverse, the tools or methods employed are also highly varied. One aspect of systematics
| METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES USED IN PLANT SYSTEMATICS |
| General Approach | Information Provided |
| Anatomy | Species relationships, phylogeny |
| Chemosystematics | Species relationships, medicinal plants |
| Cytogenetics | Species relationships, evolution |
| DNA markers | Species relationships, population genetics, evolution, phylogeny, conservation biology |
| Isozymes/allozymes | Species relationships, population genetics, evolution, conservation biology |
| Morphology | Species descriptions, phylogeny, preparation of technical keys and floras |
| Paleobiology | Critical information on now-extinct organisms and the evolutionary history of modern species |
| Palynology | Species relationships, past climates, fossil floras |
involves the collection, pressing, and identification of plant specimens, herbarium management, and archiving type specimens (the actual plant specimen upon which the name of a species is based).
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