In a message dated 8/14/08 3:50:52 PM, Cynthia writes:
> I have been scratching my head for the last year or two. What happened to
> the constantly noted 'conservativeness' of the RHS?
>
I have been trying to explain this situation, but I don't seem to be very
good at it.
1. The various major orchid entities, including OrchidWiz, the IRS, AOS, and
its judging system, have all agreed to accept the Kew Checklist of
Monocotyledons as the final authority on orchid species taxonomy. If a species
is moved
to another genus and the move is accepted by most taxonomists, this will be
noted in the Kew Checklist. If you search in the Checklist under the old name,
you will be directed to the new name.
2. The naming of flowering plant species must follow the International Code
of Botanical Nomenclature. The naming of registered hybrids must follow the
International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. Since the two sets of
rules are not identical, there are occasional discrepancies, especially in the
names of natural hybrids.
3. As you mentioned, the IRS Orchid Committee used to be very "conservative."
In actuality, for many years they refused to obey the ICNCP and followed
their own rules. The situation just got worse & worse. More recently, the IRS
Orchid Committee (I forget their exact name) decided to follow international
rules
for hybrids as well as the Kew Checklist (which is another branch of RHS).
Their suddenly playing catch-up has led to a lot of confusion for the layman.
Hopefully this is temporary, just as the upheaval in the Cattleya alliance will
eventually settle down.
4. Don't blame Julian Shaw for all this. He does make some decisions, but
usually he is following orders from the Orchid Committee or obeying
international
rules. If there is something you don't like or don't understand, don't
hesitate to ask him. If there is something in the Kew Checklist you don't like,
ask
Rafael Govaerts. By the way, those Sophronitis are still Sophronitis. Many of
the new names being bandied about are not official.
Iris
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