L. maximowiczii syn with variety tigrinum

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:53:51 PDT
On the PBS wiki we sometimes include synonyms for 
the benefit of the public to help them learn what 
is the correct name and which plants are the 
same. So many of the plants we have grown have 
over time had multiple names and we don't usually 
include all of them although it is helpful to 
include ones still in use.  This is complicated 
by more than one opinion about correct names so 
it is difficult to know when someone proposes 
changing a name whether this new name is going to 
be accepted. Here is the Kew entry:

Lilium leichtlinii var. maximowiczii (Regel) 
Baker, Gard. Chron. 1871: 1422 (1871).
Homotypic Synonyms:
* Lilium maximowiczii Regel, Index Seminum (LE) 1866(Suppl.): 26 (1867).

* Basionym/Replaced Synonym

Heterotypic Synonyms:
Lilium pseudotigrinum Carrière, Rev. Hort. 1867: 411 (1867).

Lilium maximowiczii var. tigrinum Regel, Gartenflora 19: 290 (1870).

Lilium leichtlinii var. pseudotigrinum (Carrière) 
Baker, J. Hort. Soc. London, n.s., 4: 47 (1877).

Lilium maximowiczii var. bakeri Elwes, Monogr. Lilium: t. 40, f. 2 (1880).

Lilium maximowiczii var. pseudotigrinum 
(Carrière) Elwes, Monogr. Lilium: t. 40, f. 4 (1880).

Lilium maximowiczii var. regelii Elwes, Monogr. Lilium: t. 40, f. 3 (1880).

Lilium leichtlinii var. tigrinum (Regel) 
G.Nicholson, Ill. Dict. Gard. 2: 271 (1887).

Lilium leichtlinii f. pseudotigrinum (Carrière) 
H.Hara & Kitam., Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 36: 93 (1985).

The wiki entry says:
"Lilium leichtlinii is from Japan. The yellow 
form of Lilium leichtlinii with reddish-purple 
spots grows only in central Honshu, Japan's main 
island, among tall grasses in rich, moist 
meadows. The stem is purplish; the buds (and the 
outside base of the tepals) are woolly. Height 
60-120 cm (2-4'). The flowers are smaller than L. 
lancifolium. The variety maximowiczii synonymous 
with variety tigrinum has orange flowers."

Reading this entry it seems to me that all it 
says is the  Lilium leichtlinii var. 
maximowiczii  ( a name accepted by Kew) was also 
published under the name var. tigrinum in 1887 
in  The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening. I 
believe that is all that is meant by this. The 
Tropicos data base also has this listing as a 
synonym for var. maximowiczii. I suppose we could 
change the synonym reference to syn. Lilium 
maximowiczii var. tigrinum, syn. Lilium 
pseudotigrinum, or include all three but I'm 
wondering if this is really necessary.  The name 
cited by Iain, Lilium maximowiczii var. 
leichtlinii is not listed in either place.

I know Iain is an expert on the genus Lilium. I 
believe most of us in this group are merely 
gardeners. We try to be as accurate as we can on 
the wiki and welcome corrections, but in this 
case it is not clear to me what the problem is.

Mary Sue


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