Topic of the Week

I did not announce the topics for discussion for November because I could
not get confirmation from a number of people who have said they will
provide introductions for me. I am finding that this job of organizing the
topics is getting to be a bit of a challenge for me, especially as I spend
a fair amount of time on the list and the wiki as well. I understand when
our idea got transferred to Alpine-l they decided to have four people
involved, not one.

My husband says that because so many of our introductions have been so
complete and wonderful that people are reluctant to commit to writing one
because they don't feel they can provide anything that matches the
standard. In addition I know we are all busy and there are times of the
year that this is more true than others. And some people are buried in spam
or behind in their email. All of this no doubt contributes to my lack of
responses when I write about providing an introduction for us or try to
find out when one that was promised might be ready.

I have decided to bring my problem to the group and hope that you can all
help me find some solutions so we can continue to have the topic of the
week. I know I find it to be really interesting. When I stopped doing it
after a year the first time I did it on the IBS list, so many people kept
telling me how much they missed it.

We could go back to doing the topic of the week as Kelly did it for IBS in
Genera 52. He just announced the topic without much of an introduction and
hoped that people would share their experiences. Often they did, but not
always.

I have saved most of the introductions I was able to obtain when I did the
topic of the week for Robert Turley's forum. If that topic has been
requested on this list, I could see if the previous introducer would be
willing to let me use that introduction again. I am sure some of them
would. A few already given permission. We have different participants on
this list and those archives are only available to a selected few and never
were easy to access. Our discussion would be different from whatever
discussion came before and I expect enough time has passed that even the
introduction would seem fresh.

Some of you who do not want to see this die could write me privately and
tell me topics you would be willing to introduce and when. Or you could
offer to write someone you know is an expert and see if they would provide
us with an introduction. Since a lot of people on this list are lurkers I
have no idea what your area of interest or expertise is so I can't write
and ask you if you'd provide us with an introduction.

When I asked people to tell me what they like as topics here are some of
the genera people requested: Alocasia/Colocasia/Xanthosoma, Amaryllis,
Ammocharis, Amorphophallus, Anthericum, Arum, Begonia (tuberous),
Bellevalia, Boophone, Bulbinella, Canna/Musa and Hedychium, Chlorophytum,
Colchicum (several votes), Crinum (several votes), Crocosmia,
Cryptostephanus, Cybistes, Cyrtanthus (many requests), Dierama,
Ennealophus, Eriospermum, Ferraria, Fritillaria (one vote for varieties to
be grown in the ground, one for Mediterranean varieties, a couple general),
Galtonia, Geissorhiza, Gelasine, Gesneriads, Gladiolus (one general vote,
one for species, one for summer growing varieties), Gloriosa, Gynandriris
(now part of Moraea), Hippeastrum (several votes), Homeria (now part of
Moraea), Hyacinths (not sure exactly what this one includes), Hymenocallis,
Ipomoea, Kniphofia, Lachenalia, Ledebouria, Leucocrinum, Lycoris (several
votes and we do have some experts on this list and I have saved Kelly's
intro from before), Neomarica, Nothoscordum, Nymphaea, Pancratium,
Paramongaia, Paris, Phaedranassa, Pleione, Romulea, Scilla, Sinningia,
Species tuberous Solanum, Species tulips, Sprekelia, Stenomesson,
Tradescantia, Trillium, Tropaeolum, tuberous Salvias, Tulbaghia,
Urginea, Watsonia, Worsleya.

In addition I still have a number of the general topics that people have
suggested that give me breathing room as they mean I don't have to have an
introduction ready. So you see it's not that we don't have suggested topics.

Please everyone, help me out. If you are an expert or just intensely
interested in a genus that isn't on this list and are willing to start out
the discussion write me privately and volunteer to do an introduction. I'd
schedule your topic right away. It is one way you can be sure we will talk
about a topic dear to your heart. Others have told me in the past they
learned a lot just by looking up material and thinking through their
experience. So there are some benefits to this. The introduction doesn't
have to be long, nor does it have to be scholarly. It just gets us started
on our way.

So far for November we have for next week Oxalis which Robin Attrill will
introduce and Steve Marak has told me he will provide me with an
introduction for an Aroid topic for the last week in the month. I can
probably fill in again with topics that don't require an introduction if I
have to, but hope this plea for help will generate some responses, both
public and private.

So I suggest that our topic for the week this week will be ideas for
continuing the topic of the week.

Thanks.

Mary Sue