Re: Re: Cimicifuga -> Actaea rename?

> Being wayout of line here....

Why are you out of line?  Nevermind, I don't want to know.  :)  But you
aren't.

> I think you should list all syn and new names by each plant. Those of us who just got used to calling it ---- need time to learn it now as ----- :(

I'll definitely have synonyms in the database.

> I truely do not understand why they are changing the names. Soon it will be like a common name, one place calls it this, another that.... Plants need one name and keep it forever. Is this due to a marketing scheme or what?!?

Three reasons:

   1.  Taxonomists want to keep their jobs 
 
   2.  DNA testing has spurred a lot of interest in this area.  That's
       the impetus for the Cimicifuga -> Actaea change; the two are very
       similar DNA-wise.

   3.  Humankind's quest for knowledge.  Only by knowing something's true
       name can you ever really gain power over it (I think I saw that in
       a kung fu movie once).  But seriously, if we can start seeing
       how closely allied some plant species are when they were previously
       thought to be separate then this could really open new doors for
       genetic engineering and drug research.  The first step is lumping
       plants together, and that's most easily done by changing the name.

As far as renaming cultivars, a lot of it is people just trying to organize
the market.  If you saw Sedum 'Herbstfreude' and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' at
the store, which would you recognize?  Probably 'Autumn Joy', but they're
really the same plant.  I don't know when 'Autumn Joy' got thrown into 
the mix, but it was probably some US grower who thought that it was a better
name to market them under (and he or she was probably right).  But it 
also confused things for the market, so separating the wheat from the chaff 
in nomenclature is a good thing in my mind.

Another example is Syringa vulgaris 'Michel Buchner'.  It was sold here
in the US as 'Michelle Buchner', probably to Americanize the name and
make it more appealing (Michel is a masculine name, not feminine, and
masculine names aren't as effective when you're trying to think of big
floriferous plants.  If I want flowers, I want something that sounds
pretty, not like it's going to need a daily shave).  But once again,
by renaming the plant they confused the market.

Of course, it all sucks for the average gardener.  

Chris

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