That should be a true statement, however it is not. Too many taxonomists never step into the field. There are of course many that do and are true experts in their discipline due to a more complete understanding of what they study. Its like comparing someone who has read every book on a topic in his library to the authors writing the books. A book or herbarium sheet is just a snapshot and does not tell the whole story, there is always more to see and learn than what has already been documented. Tim C On Nov 1, 2012, at 9:46 PM, Tim Harvey <zigur@hotmail.com> wrote: > Complement? Herbaria and molecular work RELY on fieldwork, surely? > > T > > _