Taxonomy!

[Magicboy]

I have several questions about taxonomy and first an example:

If i say that I grow Phragm. sp. what does that mean? Do you understand it like I'm growing one specific Phragm. species with no name or only that I grow several Phragm. species?

Wouldn't it be more correct if I said that I grow Phragm. spp. (spp.= species pluralis)? In this way you'll understand that a grow 2 or more different species.

If I buy a plant that is named Phragm. sp. I understand this like it's a Phragm. but it's unknown or hasn't been registrered (it's a little difficult to explain this with Phragm. as example but try to think in other genuses to).

What does sspp. means?

 

[goldenrose]

I don't know if this is correct, my interpretation is
sp = species, I would doubt there's a plural, taxonomy doesn't care how many species you grow, one plant is being described.
ssp =subspecies or subgenus
ex. Phrag. besseae ssp.micropetalum.

 

[NYEric]

If you have a Phragm. sp. that has no name you should sell it for lots o' money. More likely it's a plant that the vendor didn't know the name of. If you're just describing what you grow it is just lazy to write Phragm. sp. instead of species. oke:

 

[cdub]

I don't know if this is correct, my interpretation is
sp = species, I would doubt there's a plural, taxonomy doesn't care how many species you grow, one plant is being described.
ssp =subspecies or subgenus
ex. Phrag. besseae ssp.micropetalum.

This is correct (I think!), except "ssp." is strictly subspecies, not subgenus. I'm not sure what subgenus would be. Having been in the plant systematics world for a short time now, I have seen others use the abbreviation "spp." to mean the plural "species" (as in 2 or more). This may not be because taxonomists decided this, it may just be a variation on "sp." to use while writing or typing because systematists use the word species a lot.