[Taxacom] classification of Class Rosopsida

Jim Croft jim.croft at gmail.com
Thu Apr 9 16:22:33 CDT 2009


Evidence?  Or does it just 'look better'?

Expert community compromise consensus?  Or personal divine revelation?

Scientific research?  Or Alchemy?

The answer to these questions is VERY important.

jim

On Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 1:43 AM, Kenneth Kinman <kennethkinman at webtv.net> wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>        I decided to update my Class Rosopsida
> classification (especially since hotmail sort of "chewed up" the
> classification I posted last spring). I think it is VERY important to
> have such a middle-ground classification, if only to more clearly show
> both the commonalities and differences between the two extremes of: (1)
> the "traditional" ones, which are usually too split in my opinion, and
> don't systematically store sister group information in a way that is
> clear and retrievable, and (2) APG, which gets a little too overlumped
> in some taxa, and sadly lacks the ranks of Class and Subclass to give
> classification a balanced and cohesive structure (which "cladifications"
> usually don't, especially the large ones).  I attempt to combine the
> best of both (cladistic and eclectic) into a single classification.
>        Most of the changes are in Subclass Rosidae.  I
> have added Order Picramniales, and I am now dividing APG's bloated
> "super"-Order Malpighiales into just four separate Orders (Violales,
> Euphorbiales, Podostemales, and Ochnales), coded as a polytomy (since
> their cladistic relationships are still poorly known). These are the
> four Orders recognized by Thorne and Reveal, 2007 (in their recent
> classification in Botanical Review, Vo. 73, pp. 67-181). They do not use
> the name Malpighiales, and APG does not use the name Euphorbiales, so
> this thankfully minimizes confusion when those names are used. Frankly,
> instead of Malpighiales sensu lato and sensu stricto, I'd now rather see
> Malpighiales just disappear from use, as in Thorne and Reveal, 2007,
> although I doubt that we will be that lucky anytime soon. I have also
> made some other minor changes in coding to reflect updated sister group
> information.

-- 
_________________
Jim Croft ~ jim.croft at gmail.com ~ +61-2-62509499

"Words, as is well known, are the great foes of reality."
- Joseph Conrad, author (1857-1924)

"I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said,
but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 - attributed to Robert McCloskey, US State Department spokesman




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