>It is rather the other way round. Don't change a name until you can
>prove that it is necessary (this is the philosophy of the Tokyo ICBN)!
Yes I agree, it is very logical.
>> >> The seeds are said to be subglobose in D.arenicola,
>
>The protologue says something else. All available references/specimens
>should be considered.
That IS all I have available. But anyways, to make it simpler, it
seems that D.arenicola and D.yutajensis have "rounded" or "egg-shaped"
seeds, while D.montana may have both the above and also more fusiform
seeds.
>This is not entirely what I have seen. All vars. of _D.montana_,
>_D.hirtella_, _D.roraimae_, and especially _D.colombiana_ (cf. the
>drawing in the protologue!!) have papillate testa cells (sometimes
>with a central depression, making them appear reticulate to the
>unexperienced eye).
All reticulation is a result of papillae which caved in on
themselves. This is easily observed in the unripe, still green seeds of
Drosera which supposedly have reticulated seeds. Thus, it quite relative
to say a seed is deeply reticulated or papillatet with a central
depression. I agree with you completely that D.colombiana is papillate,
but the others are dubious. The photomicroghaph of D.roraimae I have in
front of me looks reticulated, while D.monta varieties vary between
shallowly reticulated to deeply reticulated, though in the former they
could be considered short papillae with shallow central depressions.
Sometimes these depressions are organized in clear rows, giving the seed a
more reticulate pattern, and sometimes not.
>I do not consider the leaf shape differences you mentioned as
>significant here. If you consider the variability of the absolute
>dimensions within _D.roraimae_ (you yourself do not want to accept
>"D.montana var.robusta" as distinct) and especially between higland
>and savanna populations, size comparisons are IMHO immaterial here.
Species are often variable I agree, and it is possible of
course that D.yutajensis is a larger D.arenicola var.occidentalis. But the
relation between petiole and lamina length, to me, is a tell-tale sign you
are overlooking. What I know from my field experience is that if
conditions are favorable and the leaves become longer, than they
become longer as a whole, lamina and petiole.
All the Best,
Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan