In botany, a section (Latin: sectio) is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species.[1] The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections may in turn be divided into subsections (Latin: subsectio).[2]
Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species.[1] A botanist wanting to distinguish groups of species may prefer to create a taxon at the rank of section or series to avoid making new combinations, i.e. many new binomial names for the species involved.[1]
Examples:
Lilium sectio MartagonRchb. are the Turks' cap lilies
123Tod F. Stuessy (2009). "The Genus". Plant Taxonomy: the Systematic Evaluation of Comparative Data (2nded.). Columbia University Press. pp.163–171. ISBN978-0-231-14712-5.
↑Article 4 in McNeill, J.; Barrie, F.R.; Buck, W.R.; Demoulin, V.; Greuter, W.; Hawksworth, D.L.; Herendeen, P.S.; Knapp, S.; Marhold, K.; Prado, J.; Prud'homme Van Reine, W.F.; Smith, G.F.; Wiersema, J.H.; Turland, N.J. (2012). International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011. Vol.Regnum Vegetabile 154. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag KG. ISBN978-3-87429-425-6.
