Scientific Names for Fruit Trees

Every species on earth has a scientific name that has two parts: the genus and the species. The genus name is always capitalized. For example, Homo sapiens, or human beings, are in the genus Homo and the species sapien. The whole process of scientific naming is known as taxonomy, a process invented by Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century. Scientific names help us to be more specific when referring to a genus with many species.

Malus domestica

We know this fruit tree as the apple tree, a member of the rose family. Pears, quinces and loquats are also in this family. The apple tree is native to central Asia and brought to our continent by the original colonists. 130 billion pounds of apples were grown, worldwide, in 2004.

Citrus sinensis

Sweet orange, also known as navel orange, is an evergreen tree noted not only for its delicious fruit, and highly fragrant blossoms, but for the thorny twigs on its branches as well. The orange tree is native to Vietnam, India and China. Horticulturists at Purdue University believe that the French brought the orange tree to New Orleans and by the late 1800s it had been introduced in Florida where orange groves were quickly established.

Musa x paradisiaca

Said to be the world’s third most popular fruit, the banana is a tropical plant that originated in southeast Asia, and was introduced to the United States in 1804. Annual world production of bananas is estimated to be 44 million tons, according to botanists at the University of California. The banana plant grows in areas of warmth and humidity and, in fact, will die if exposed to cold temperatures.