[Taxacom] Rankless classifications

[Paul van Rijckevorsel]

From: "Curtis Clark" <jcclark-lists at earthlink.net>
> No one with any experience in flowering plant taxonomy ever searches for
> orders, because they are so labile. They were even labile 37 years ago,
> when I was first taught that they can safely be ignored, in favor of
> families.

***
That is not true either. There are taxa in plant taxonomy that are labile 
(plenty of them!), but I would not associate this with a particular rank. 
Probably families are more stable than orders, but there does not look to be 
a huge difference to me.

It may indeed be the case that taxa are more stable than the scientific
names attached to them, what with all the changes in rank, and the changes
in fashion of naming.
Paul