Plants of hybrid origen

totototo@telus.net totototo@telus.net
Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:25:57 PDT
Further monkey wrenches to throw into the machinery.

The comment that seed-raised specimens were very uniform makes me wonder if 
perhaps this taxon is apomictic, so seedlings are usually genetically identical 
with the (solitary) seed parent. Is apomixy known in the Cactaceae?

Yet antother possibility is an amphidiploid hybrid between two species with 
incompatible chromosome counts: a spontaneous doubling of the chromosomes in a 
sterile hybrid leading to fertility. 

Even if the plants of interest are hybrids (in the sense of the original 
parents of the strain), they're not just "another hybrid." Hybrids are plants 
too, and have certain vegetative and botanical rights, including the right to 
be named and studied.

I suggest you simply refer to these plants as "Opuntia × charlestonensis 
Clokey", with a foot- or side note stating "believed to be a natural hybrid 
between O. phaecantha and O. erinaceae".

If you want to point back to Clokey's orginal description, put that in the 
bibliography or notes. No need to tack the year of publication onto the name in 
a non-standard way.


-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island

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