publishing and "amateurs"

[Rodham E. Tulloss]

The difficulty with requiring a key to the 10 most similar taxa that I
have experienced is that in large groups with poorly developed taxonomy
(e.g., Amanita section Vaginatae (Fungi)), only a very few people in
the world may have a half-way clear view of what the 10 most similar taxa
are.  Since many descriptions of the example section are still written
disregarding the last forty years of microscopic work (and development
of descriptive techniques of microanatomy), the view of most professionals
and amateurs about similarity is still going to have to do with such
characters as color, size, spore size, and a few other characters.

Rod Tulloss