var. or f.

[Joe Kirkbride]

I have felt your pain; in my monograph of Cucumis, C. melo L. has more than 600 synonyms, many at ranks that you could never imagine existed.  Refer to:

Jirasek, V. 1961. Evolution of the proposals of taxonomic categories for the classification of cultivated plants. Taxon 10(2): 34-45.

JOSEPH H. KIRKBRIDE, JR., Research Botanist
USDA Agricultural Research Service
Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory
Rm. 304, Bldg. 011A, BARC-West
Beltsville, MD 20705-2350 USA
Telephone: 301-504-9447
FAX: 301-504-5810
E-mail: joe at nt.ars-grin.gov
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taxacom Discussion List [mailto:TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Thomas G. Lammers
> Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 10:05 AM
> To: TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU
> Subject: Re: [TAXACOM] var. or f.
> 
> At 08:53 AM 11/8/2005, Dirk Albach wrote:
> >a colleague and I just discussed possible definitions of the ranks of
> >variety and forma. It is difficult to find exact definitions 
> of these and
> >those that can be found are contradictory, especially as 
> there seem to have
> >been different traditions in the Anglosaxon and the 
> continental European
> >communities. This concerns especially the questions a) how to treat
> >single-allele mutants (e.g. flower color) and b) whether ecological
> >modifications should be recognized at the rank of forma or 
> even variety. I
> >would be interested in your definitions ­ either published 
> or personal
> >opinion.
> 
> In my work, neither situation merits formal nomenclatural 
> recognition.  In 
> my opinion, the only groups of populations below species rank 
> that merit a 
> name are those that are not only morphologically discernible 
> but that also 
> show some level of geographic or ecological coherence, e.g., 
> allopatry or 
> parapatry, or occupation of distinct niches.  Variants within 
> a population 
> or variants that form discrete but scattered populations with 
> no ecological 
> correlation do not merit naming.  Under NO circumstances 
> should variation 
> that is environmentally induced be named!  This leads to the 
> ridiculous  situation where the name given to an *individual* 
> might change 
> over its life: "Well, last year it was var. altus, but we've 
> had a drought 
> this year so now it's var. procumbens."
> 
> I am wrapping up a checklist of all names in world 
> Campanulaceae and I 
> curse every European botanist of the past 150 years who felt 
> compelled to 
> create a plethora of var.'s, subvar.'s, formae and subformae in their 
> flora.  I'd have been done two years ago if not for their 
> provincialistic 
> foolishness.
> 
> If I had my way, var. and f. would be written out of the 
> Code.  All var.'s 
> would be considered to have been published at subsp. rank 
> (add "pro var." 
> in formal bibliographic citations), and all formae would be 
> considered 
> validly published (so they can serve as basionyms if needed) 
> but unranked.
> 
> 
> Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.
> 
> Associate Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
> Department of Biology and Microbiology
> University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
> Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA
> 
> e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
> phone:      920-424-1002
> fax:           920-424-1101
> 
> Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and 
> biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.
> 
> Webpages:
> http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
> http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
> http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> "Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
>                                                               
>  -- Anonymous
>