Jane and all; All the various taxonomic name changes that seem to come so frequently now has caused me to give up entirely on trying to be "proper" in my botanical nomenclature. I know and enjoy plants by the names they had when I encountered them. Rydbergia grandiflora was one of my favorite plants when I became aware of the flora of the Big Horn Mountains. I like that its name honors one of the early Rock Mountain taxonomists. For me it will continue to be Rydbergia grandiflora. Others can call it what they like. I have the same attitude to most of the recent nomenclatural reshufflings - particularly since I have become more interested in learning about the physiology of plants (particularly Trillium sp.). Knowledge of plant physiology helps me grow the plants I like - nomenclatural reshuffling does not.
John Gyer Clarksboro NJ USA - now 75 and claiming the right of age to be grumpy! ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2011 11:25 AM Subject: Re: [Alpine-l] another civility issue Jim McKenney wrote: "In most groups to which I belong, members will not hesitate to correct one another (sometimes very rudely) about the identification of plants, especially if the “wrong” botanical name is used. It goes so far that some people will pipe up and – comity be damned – sharply correct a speaker’s identification during a lecture/slide presentation. In the past this was confined mostly to persons with a highly specialized knowledge of the area in question (and we have not shortage of experts here). But now that so many popular gardening publications jump at the chance to use the latest and greatest name, everyman now thinks himself an expert." Forgive me, Jim, if I am misinterpreting your comment. However, I think you were alluding to botanical synonyms. For example, in my alpine area, the large-flowering yellow composite is known to me as Hymenoxys grandiflora. But recently published, very popular, pictorial wildflower guides identify this species as Tetraneuris grandiflora. Additionally, an older synonym I remember from my introduction to wildflowers some 35 years ago was Rydbergia grandiflora. The genus Senecio is another example. The species formerly in Senecio that are native to my area have been split into several genera. However, in my garden, they still bear their "Senecio" identification. If some "highly educated" visitor objects to my "lumping", he or she may excuse him or herself and go visit another garden, possibly managed by a "splitter". Jane Hendrix Mountain View Experimental Gardens Peak 7 Area - Breckenridge, Colorado U.S.A. Elevation: 10,000 feet USDA Zone 4 Website: http://www.picturetrail.com/hendrix ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
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