Just to chime in, which I have been resisting, I think that those who rely on one discipline, genetic, morphologic, whatever, miss the bigger picture. Over specialization, reliance on convenient theories and/or definitions that are of little practical value across disciplines and are also highly subjective, only try to enforce an order on taxonomy that is, frankly artificial and for our own convenience and can often mean very little to the living organisms we attempt to force our concepts of order on. There is much each approach offers, and just as likely much it wrongly negates. Living systems are far more diverse, complex, and resistant to human devised constraints than we would like to believe. Randy Monterey Bay Region, California On Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 9:14 PM, Hannon <othonna@gmail.com> wrote: > Tim C, > > I don't know any taxonomists who never have stepped into the field, and I > have known many dozens of botanists. How did you form this idea? > > No one would suggest that an herbarium specimen tells the whole story. They > are essentially permanent records that can remain useful for several > hundred years. In the case of type specimens they form the referential > basis for naming plants. > > Dried specimens are the only practical way to sort through variation, for > example, in a species or genus without doing months or years of field work. > Herbaria build upon generations of collectors: millions of specimens, > records of extirpated populations or species, enabling the replication of > previous studies, and on and on. There is no substitute for this, not even > DNA samples. > > "There is always more to see and learn than what has already been > documented." > > Of course. That is why botanists can still find jobs, if they are lucky. > > Dylan Hannon > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- * * * *