Re: Trinomials, hybrids, holidays

From: SCHLAUER@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de
Date: Thu Jul 24 1997 - 17:15:38 PDT


Date:          Thu, 24 Jul 1997 17:15:38 
From: SCHLAUER@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2784$foo@default>
Subject:       Re: Trinomials, hybrids, holidays

Dear Paul,

> Is there a rule or formula that helps arrive at the correct TRINOMIAL for a
> plant?

First, trinomials are not usually regarded as lege artis. They are
only used (in a rather sloppy way) for infraspecific taxa.

> I'm not talking about naming a plant. I'm asking about what a trinomial
> would be for a plant that is already named.

_Sarracenia purpurea heterophylla_

> The difficulty (I find) is knowing which bits of the latin name are
> left out to leave the correct trinomial.

NB: this is not necessarily what *should* be done but it may be done
without too much damage.

You may leave out the rank and the superordinate infraspecific name(s)
even if your taxon is *not* considered to belong to the typical
superordinate taxon.
_Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii_ may be called _S.
purpurea burkii_ although it is a var. of subsp. venosa and not of
subsp. purpurea.

> Can anyone show examples of full names and the correct trinomials?

See the examples above (NB: I do not state that the trinomials are
correct, they are just possible).

> If two species of the same genera are crossed, is the resultant
> hybrid a "nothospecies"?

Yes, if the two species different.
 
> How does one end up with (or create?) a nothosubspecies or
> nothomorph? i.e., what would the parents be?

No extant *named* cp example. But if you crossed _Sarracenia purpurea
heterophylla_ with _S. flava_, you would create a "notomorph" of S. *
catesbaei (the earliest binomial for the hybrid between the two
species). "Nothomorph" was a term used previous to 1978 for *all*
infraspecific cathegories of hybrids. It was equivalent to the rank
of variety (cf., but do not confuse with, the similar convention for
cultivars!). Principally, it is nowadays possible to define nothotaxa
at all ranks (e.g. nothosubsp., nothovar., nothof.). The rank of a
nothotaxon is determined by the ranks of the parent taxa. At the same
time, it is possible to recognize "normal" infraspecific taxa within
nothotaxa (hybrid taxa) without the obligation to state the real or
hypothetical parent taxa (e.g. Mentha * piperita f. hirsuta).

_S. flava * S. subsp. purpurea venosa_ is the "typical" nothosubsp.
of S. * catesbaei as this was described after wild plants from S
Carolina (and _S. p. subsp. purpurea_ does not occur in S Carolina).
*BUT* because nothotaxa at the rank of species or lower are always
based on type specimens and described like non-hybrid taxa, the
correct identification of the parent taxa does not matter, and no
infraspecific nothotaxa (except autonyms, of course) are created a
priori.

> If two genera are hybridised does this produce a "nothogenus" and
> if not, is there such a thing as a "nothogenus"?

In orchids, several of these strange things are known (e.g.
* Sophrolaeliocattleya = _Sophronitis_ * _Laelia_ * _Cattleya_ in any
combination/direction/repetition).

> Can one select cultivars of nothosubspecies, nothovarieties and
> nothomorphs?

Yes.

> Thanks for any tutorial anyone can offer. My botanical books ar no
> help at all as far as I can tell.

If you understand French, try:
http://wwwcjb.unige.ch/cjb/code/appendice_1.html

> I assume the enormous response (=nil) to my taxonomy question means
> that all the taxonomists are on holiday or dead?

I was only on holiday. (Sorry to all who may have hoped...)

Kind regards
Jan



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