World Checklist of Monocotyledons

Joe Shaw jshaw@opuntiads.com
Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:50:31 PST
Hi Gang,



    The World Checklist of Monocotyledons is online at: 
http://www.kew.org/wcsp/home.do

    The big advantage for bulb growers who are also interested in taxonomic 
accuracy is that all the accepted names are provided.  Also provided are 
synonyms.  I did some quick browsing and found that Homeria is no longer an 
accepted genus, the various species seem to have been placed into Moraea.  I 
knew that revisions had taken place, but I didn't know what was "accepted" 
or mainstreamed.

    To test the database I looked up Cooperia drummondii, and the database 
rightly informed me that the correct name is really Zephyranthes 
chlorosolen.  The list of synonyms for Z. chlorosolen is impressive.  The 
various synonyms are:

  a.. Cooperia drummondii Herb., Edwards's Bot. Reg. 22: t. 1835 (1836).
  b.. Cooperia mexicana Herb., Amaryllidaceae: 182 (1837).
  c.. Amaryllis drummondii (Herb.) Steud., Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2, 1: 71 
(1840).
  d.. Zephyranthes herbertiana D.Dietr., Syn. Pl. 2: 1176 (1840).
  e.. Cooperia kansensis W.C.Stevens, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 40: 95 (1937 
publ. 1938).
  f.. Cooperia brasiliensis Traub, Herbertia 12: 38 (1947).
  g.. Zephyranthes brasiliensis (Traub) Traub, Pl. Life 7: 42 (1951).
  h.. Zephyranthes brazosensis Traub, Pl. Life 7: 42 (1951), nom. illeg.
  i.. Zephyranthes kansensis (W.C.Stevens) Traub, Pl. Life 7: 42 (1951).
    One interesting aspect of this Web resource (provided by Kew) is that 
they place amaryllids in the Alliaceae.  I suppose they are employing the 
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II recommendations.
    Grasses are included in a separate Web site for now but are scheduled to 
be included in the Web site above.  You can find grasses at: 
http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-syn.html .
    Who can say if "accepted names" are biologically accurate, or how the 
database will look in 10 years (revisions and additions will happen). 
However, I think the database is a brilliant achievement in using the WWW 
for botanical purposes.





Cordially,



Joe

Conroe TX 


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