Fwd: Haemanthus
Rodger Whitlock (Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:56:30 PST)
On 5 Nov 2012, at 8:36, Hannon wrote:
Pertinent to recent discussions, Snijman has this to say about variation in
pubescence in H. albiflos:
"*Recent collections have shown however, that the entire range, from hairy
to glabrous forms, exists within a very small area*."
This demonstrates the important point made here by various writers that
often a species cannot be characterized by a single individual that is
known in cultivation. Some variation seems "impossible" until it is
witnessed in the field.
This inspires me to haul out an over-used sermon on the subject and remind
everyone, especially relative newbies, that the type specimen of a species may,
in fact, be very atypical. Indeed, many type specimens are from the margins of
a plant's natural distribution (where it's not particularly common and catches
the eye of the collector) and hence more likely to deviate significantly from
the average form of the species.
Without being able to point to a single example, I'm quite sure that there have
been cases where several marginal forms were given separate names and only when
the full range of variation was later investigated was it realized that these
were all the same species.
So keep that in mind: "type" in the taxonomic sense does not mean "typical".
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Z. 7-8, cool Mediterranean climate