Hi "icones". This is rapidly degenerating into pointless a "I said, you said" situation, so unless you come up with a total corker, this is likely to be my last word on the matter.
I maintain that Schechter's "Die Orchideen von Deutsch-Neu-Guinea" is not a flora. You kindly provided the definition of a flora, vis "A systematic treatise on the plants of a given area." and then correctly pointed out that Schlechter's book does not qualify since it is not confined to New Guinea. Since the work does not match the definition, I fail to understand why you insist on calling it a "Flora". Schechter's work goes well beyond the limited scope of a flora, and labelling it as such does both him and his work an injustice. If you want a nice tidy librarian's tag for the work, call it a "Treatise", just like Schlechter did. A "Complete Revision" ? Sorry. For a revision to qualify as "complete" the author has to critically examine every known species (or at the minimum, every species that is both known and available) in the group, but publish his findings in less depth than would be found in a monograph. A monograph involves a critical examination of every available specimen of every known species in the group, and publishing a detailed description (usually with full keys and diagrams) for every known species in the group. Schlechter did neither of these, so what he provided in "Die Orchideen" was a revision of Dendrobium, not a "complete revision". If you have a different understanding of "complete", please share it. You typecast me as "a person that uses inaccuracies to try to prove my points", so rather than address every point you made, I have confined my response to the inaccuracies that you used to try to prove your points. I'm calling off the dogs ? No. I'm just getting bored with the pedantic direction this arguement has taken, which really boils down to being able to comprehend the meaning of simple words that are well-defined in most English dictionaries. Schlechter's book is goes beyond the scope of a Flora, and his revision of Dendrobium was not complete. Cheers, Peter O'Byrne _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
