Dylan Hannon wrote: >I think it is worth pointing out here that any of us is free to accept > or reject any validly published name for any given plant. If one > prefers to use Amaryllis over Hippeastrum, for whatever reasons, it is > not technically "wrong". The same goes for recognizing the Liliaceae > in its old, broad sense versus the modern partitioning of this family > into a dozen or more "new" families [some of them are very old family > concepts!]. Some formal changes, as carried by the scientific > journals, are accepted by the botanical community while others are > not. The difficulty is that picking and choosing among the various > classifications can require as much energy or more than growing the > plants themselves. This subject has been frequently discussed here. While it is indeed true that one can pick and choose one's own taxonomy, I always think that if one feels confident enough to override a technical expert in the field who has invested a great deal of time and resources into reaching a conclusion, then one must be able to put forward on equal terms a convincing argument why such and such a taxonomic viewpoint should be rejected. It is not sufficient to say 'I don't like it' - that is the way of the Luddites. The vexed question of Amaryllis versus Hippeastrum is an unfortunate case to use in this instance, since here it IS wrong to say that Amaryllis can be used for Hippeastrum, as the question has been settled by decision of the International Botanical Congress in favour of Amaryllis being restricted to the South African species. Whether or not this was the right decision is immaterial: if the codes of taxonomy are to be ignored at random then chaos can be the only result. John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Tel. 01242 870567 COLESBOURNE PARK OPEN DAYS 2007 Easter Monday 9 April, Arboretum Weekend 15-16 September Gates open 1pm, last entry 4 pm website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/