Paph gratrixianum var daoense

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bench72

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with the couple of threads on gratrixianum... it got me thinking about a plant I have labeled Paph gratrixianum var daoense.

Now, there's a couple of things that doesn't seem to sit right...

the flower marking are a little different..

2148532254_4551e2548d.jpg


but also, I keep reading that gratrixianum is suppose to have all these colour on the base of it.. so I checked my non varietal gratrix and sure enough...

2238903206_f1d44dcacc.jpg


whilst the variety daoense has no colouration on the base of the leaves (well apart from the bit of brown rot.. ugh)

2238112091_77233b0d77.jpg


so, the question is, are these really the same species?
 
I think we are always amazed as to how fine a line some taxonomists will draw to differentiate species in some cases, but how broad the line is for others. It appears totally inconsistent.

Given that albinos of a given species are not considered separate species from the parent species then I would agree that a reduced amount of pigment from the nominal form (which appears to be the case with daoense) would not give it separate species status.

Using the same logic gratrixianum may not even be distinct species from villosum or insigne.

Personally I think the test for species status should be based on a statistical measure of geographic isolation and pollinator specificity.
 
I think we are always amazed as to how fine a line some taxonomists will draw to differentiate species in some cases, but how broad the line is for others. It appears totally inconsistent.

Given that albinos of a given species are not considered separate species from the parent species then I would agree that a reduced amount of pigment from the nominal form (which appears to be the case with daoense) would not give it separate species status.

Using the same logic gratrixianum may not even be distinct species from villosum or insigne.

Personally I think the test for species status should be based on a statistical measure of geographic isolation and pollinator specificity.

Good point Rick, I'd have to agree. When I looked at the links Roy gave, those 2 flowers, to me, definitely favored insigne & they don't look anything like bench72's.
 
I think we are always amazed as to how fine a line some taxonomists will draw to differentiate species in some cases, but how broad the line is for others. It appears totally inconsistent.

yep, that's what I thought :mad:
 
Well, now I'm beginning to think my 'Wedgewood' x 'Lula
Girl' isn't a gratrix at all. It's in the process of opening and
is far darker than any of the flowers in the links. I haven't
noticed any spotting at the base of the plant, but I'll look
tomorrow. It's a first bloom plant and perhaps that makes a difference.
 

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