Date: Wed, 09 Jul 97 11:13:00 EST From: "Mellard, David" <dam7@cdc.gov> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2586$foo@default> Subject: clonal names
I don't pretend to understand the vagaries of naming plants but thought I
would pass on a couple of emails from the orchid list digest that offers
other people's opinion.
>From Xavier Fabermann on July 1, 1997 to the Orchid List Digest
"There are formal rules for giving a plant a clonal name. However, in very
simplified form, the basic rules are as follows:
1. Anyone can give a plant, whether it be a rose, hibiscus, orchid or even
a dandelion, a clonal name. The plant does not have to be awarded or
recognized by any society or group.
2. The plant should be a distinct improvement form others of its kind.
For example, posses variegated foliage, or mature at a smaller height, or
bear sweeter fruit, or have bruise-resistant fruit, or have larger flowers,
or have flowers of a distinct color, or possess a distinct floral scent,
etc.
3. The clonal name must not be in the form of a Latin or Greek epithet.
For example, a Cattleya skinneri with pure white flowers should not be
called C. skinneri 'Alba'. However, it may be called C. skinneri 'Snow
White.'
4. The clonal name must be published somewhere. Publication in a book,
magazine or nursery catalog is preferred. However, simply writing the name
on a label and sticking it in the plant's pot is accepted as "publication"
by the vast majority of the orchid-growing community.
5. The clonal name must be set off in single quotation marks.
6. The clonal name must not duplicate a previous clonal name given to the
same type of plant. Thus, if there already exists a C. skinneri 'Snow
White' one cannot use this name again. If you had a plant identical to
'Snow White' but with larger flowers or better substance, you could call it
'Snow White 2' or 'Snow White Improved'.
7. The clonal name should not contain more than 3 words, a maximum of 2
words is much to be preferred.
8. The clonal name should be brief and descriptive of the plant being
named. Cute names or names that are jokes are forwned upon. Thus, one
should not give the clonal name 'Snow White' to a plant with a deep red
flower.
9. If the clonal name is given in memory of someone who is deceased, it
should be written as 'Mem. John Public.' The abbreviation "mem." stands for
the Latin word "Memoria" and means "in memory of." When reciting the name,
it should be read as "Memoria John Public"."
And still another email to the orchid list digest on the subject from
Marianne Matthews [AOS Judge]. While it focuses on awarded plants and
meristem, some comment may apply to clonal names given under other
situations.
".....If you buy a seedling [not a meristem] from a commercial vendor, you
have the right to give it any clonal name you wish. As a matter of fact,
it's a good idea to do so, especially if you later divide your prize plant
with someone else. The primary reason to do this, other than parental
pride, is to help us keep the records straight.
With so many crosses being made each year, and so many plants, both
meristems and seedlings, being distributed throughout the world, we need to
keep the awards records correct. If you should divide your prize plant with
someone, and they move away to another state and it is awarded in that
state, and then your division is awarded in your home town, it could be very
confusing if the plant clonal names were different. The above-described
circumstance has happened in the AOS awards system, when two people had the
same meristem in different parts of the country, and the meristem was
awarded by two different AOS Centers. One owner had altered the meristem
name [another no-no] and it took awhile to straighten out the confusion. I
myself name all my non-meristem plants when I dvide them, so that later
owners can trace the awards records, if any. sometimes a cross is 'ahead of
its time,' so to speak, and it may not earn an award for many eyars after
the progeny have come to maturity. By that time, many divisions of the
plant may exist and be spread widely among growers. If you name the plant
before the first division is made, you prevent later confusions and allow
future owners to have an accurate record of the plant's achievements.
Besides, it's fun to name your own plants. Hope this helps to clear up the
confusion"
Yea, right.
All typos are my responsibility.
I repeat, the opinions offered above are not my own. I'm just being a
conduit and adding a little fuel.
David
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