Coralroot orchids
- Thread starter Cabezon
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More gnomes
Twayblade
And rattlesnake plantains that may bloom later.
Steve
Steve
If you don’t have this reference it is as thorough as I have seen.
If you don’t have this reference it is as thorough as I have seen.
While I have several field guides at my elbow (literally...), I have been finding two web-based resources to be very valuable. The first is wildflower search.org (see https://wildflowersearch.org/). Once you provide your location and observation time, you can search possibilities by plant category (including mosses and lichens), by number of flower petals, color of the flower, size of the flower, etc. It provides an overall identification percentage based on likely location, elevation, date, showiness. It has links to other collections of plant photographs and plant descriptions. The other source that I like is Pl@ntnet.org (see https://identify.plantnet.org/). You can download the app or use the online version. If you have an unknown plant, you can upload up to four pictures of the plant. The site uses AI engines to compare your image to images posted in the web either in regional floras or worldwide flora. Compared to the regulated common names of birds, the proliferation of various common names for the same plant is annoying, however.
Steve
Steve
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I hate common plant names with a passion, they mean nothing in many cases, and yet...when asked about some favorite plant by a customer, with a vague description and no real details {and I don't know what Aunt Mary called it 30 years ago} , it is assumed I am not up to speed on things.
Words have meanings, botanical Latin makes perfect sense, and there is very little if any confusion.
Except for those damn splitters, whose life isn't complete unless they can find a reason to move things into a different genus, or put a name on species...they need to go back and find a new career
The bird folks (such as the American Ornithological Society and the International Ornithological Union) have done a great job of standardizing common names. In the scientific literature, common names are often used to identify that target species. This standardization provides stability to naming and a group process for lumping vs. splitting. [Although there is going to be some pushback when they implement a policy to change the common names of birds that were named after individuals with questionable histories, (for example, see here discussing Audubon and here)].
I hate common plant names with a passion, they mean nothing in many cases, and yet...when asked about some favorite plant by a customer, with a vague description and no real details {and I don't know what Aunt Mary called it 30 years ago} , it is assumed I am not up to speed on things.
Words have meanings, botanical Latin makes perfect sense, and there is very little if any confusion.
Except for those damn splitters, whose life isn't complete unless they can find a reason to move things into a different genus, or put a name on species...they need to go back and find a new career
In 1933, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (basic research side of Ichthyology) and the American Fisheries Society (applied research side of Ichthyology) established a joint committee to standardize common names of fishes which they publish periodically (see here). They have been somewhat successful among professionals but little penetration in the general public.
The molecular revolution in evolutionary science has provided the evidence to overturn many formerly-stable scientific groupings. For example, Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, and cutthroat trout were placed in the same genus, Oncorhynchus. In addition, it has fostered finer resolution of evolutionary relationships among genera that were overloaded with species. A consequence, as you have described, is that many traditional scientific names have been changed. That creates challenges in investigating the scientific literature in the period before the flurry of changes versus more recently. Ironically, some common names have been more stable...
Steve
JARS v61n2 - The Ericaceae of the Pacific Northwest, Part V
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