Re: [Aroid-l] Anthurium regale and the Issue of Botanical Specimens

Thank you Ted.  And thanks to Dr. Croat, Julius, LariAnn, Ron Kaufmann and the others who have guided me through observing this plant.  I did it because I was curious.  And now I feel there is much more to learn.  So the next time the plant produces a spathe I will be sitting there with camera in hand to document what I see again.  Hopefully I will learn a bit more each time.
 
I make no claim to being a botanist.  I am not botanically trained.  I just like to read and observe the plants in my collection.  And I encourage you all to do the same.  Dr. Croat has made comments along the entire 70 plus days pointing me in the right direction and away from some of the crazy things I wanted to assume in error.  As a result, I learned a lot about anthurium reproduction.  And may have discovered a few things others have missed before.  So, grab a camera and a notepad and watch your plants when they produce a spathe.  You never know what you just might learn.  Besides, it has been fun!
 
Thanks again Ted, and all the others who have helped.  Hopefully after I observe this plant do this a few more times we will all know more about this unbelievably beautiful species from Peru.
 
Steve Lucas
 
----- Original Message -----
From: t*@us.henkel.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 7:58 AM
Subject: [Aroid-l] Anthurium regale and the Issue of Botanical Specimens


Have you folks been following Steve Lucas's developing story about the Anthurium regale bloom? The point that interests me here the most is the morphological and color changes that this inflorescence has displayed over the LONG bloom process.

What happens if a scientifically-minded collector happens upon such a plant in the early stages of bloom? Let's assume she secures a specimen and describes it with perfect accuracy. Later, another collector makes a hike into the same area, finds an exact clone of the first specimen in bloom, but at a maturation date six weeks later than was available to the first collector, when the inflorescence is a completely different color and when all the little "naughty bits" have morphed.

How does the taxonomist know that the two plants are the same?

It seems to this untrained observer that only a painstaking record such as that on Steve's site would be adequate to describe a species and avoid the ambiguity.

Here is the address in case you have not seen it yet:

http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Anthurium%20regale%20spathe%20page%205%20pc.html

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