Re: Alocasia of Thailand

**T* A* <t*@plantdelights.com>**

Pete:

I thought it was botanists/taxonomists who like nice neat nomenclatural 
packages.  These cultons sound instead like a botanical grab bag into 
which all of the unsorted material is dumped.  If they are indeed 
selections of A. odora, then they certainly need cultivar names with A. 
odora as a species.  If, as Lari Ann suggests, they are cultivars which 
cannot be assigned to a particular species, but are old hybrid groups or 
species whose origins have been obscured, they still need a cultivar 
name.  Newly selected clones from them would then also need cultivar 
names.  This actually would make these fit much better into neat 
nomenclatural packages.  We would then know which new cultivar came from 
which old cultivar of say, A. macrorrhizos.  I tend to like the analysis 
from plant breeders and can attest that outside of DNA, this is one of 
the best ways to tell what is related to what.  That being said, has 
anyone done DNA analysis on this group?

Peter Boyce wrote:
> Tony:
>
> The x would indicate that they are stabilized hybrid species (nothospecies)
> as, for example, the situation with Cryptocoryne x purpurea (a nothospecies
> resulting from the stabilization of the naturally occurring hybrid C.
> cordata x C. griffithii) this is not the case. Alistair and are both pretty
> much convinced that A. cucullata and A. macrorrhizos are stabilied cultigens
> (cultons) of A. odora. In cultivation thus they COULD be cited a A.
> 'Macrorrhizos' and A. 'Cucullata', but that would then lead to problems with
> cultons of these. Best to leave the situation as is.
>
> Cheers
>
> Pete
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com [aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com]
> On Behalf Of Tony Avent
> Sent: 05 September 2009 00:45
> To: Discussion of aroids
> Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Alocasia of Thailand
>
> Pete:
>
> I was just reading over your fascinating paper on Alocasia in Thailand 
> about both Alocasia cucullata and A. macrorrhizos not being valid 
> species.   If this is the case and they are old cultigens, why would 
> they not be properly written a Alocasia x macrorrhizos and Alocasia x 
> cucullata with an appropriate cultivar name for the clone in commerce? 
>
> Peter Boyce wrote:
>   
>> Dear All,
>>
>>  
>>
>> For anyone interested there is attached to this a recent paper on the 
>> /Alocasia/ in Thailand, including the description of a large-growing 
>> species from the Thai/Cambodian border.
>>
>>  
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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>   

-- 
Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, North Carolina  27603  USA
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