Please bare with me and my confusion here as I try and work this out or at least understand things a bit better.
This morning we went to a nursery and they had a few "Callistemons". The hand written name on the aisle was C. masotti but the ticket on the tree itself said it was a C. leavis copa, I believe they are two separate trees and I'm more inclined to believe it was the leavis variety(correct spelling would be laevis but that wasn't on the label).
Anyway when I get back and do a search here on the forum and on wiki there is no mention of a C. laevis at all which I find odd but maybe it is a European or US cultivar, either way I searched a bit deeper and found this link.... https://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/ ... -rugulosus which states it is a C. rugulosus and can go by these other names.
Scarlet bottlebrush, Callistemon laevis , Callistemon coccineus, Callistemon macropunctatus. These names interestingly enough don't appear in the forum search either but at least I'm getting somewhere now.
Now I am aware that many Callies often get reclassified and often get changed to a Melaleuca so I wasn't overly surprised to see the wiki entry for C.rugulosus brings up this.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca_rugulosa
So I believe now I have found the correct term for this tree to be M. rugulosa, would that be right or not?
Still it is often called a Callistemon and would I be right in thinking that the laevifolius is an offshoot variety of rugulosus or is it all now just classified as M.regulosa?
http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/texh ... =rugulosus
http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/texh ... aevifolius
Sorry if that is confusing but I'm a touch confused myself, I think.
Any ideas?
What's in a name?
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shibui
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Re: What's in a name?
There are lots of reasons for nurseries having the wrong names on plants.
Maybe someone told them that's what it is called and they did not check. Maybe it is an old redundant name for that plant and they have not checked the current species names. Possibly they don't think anyone in Spain will know the difference so just labelled it with whatever they thought up.
Occasionally I think unscrupulous nurseries invent new names to con buyers into thinking they are getting a new species or variety.
There is also botanical name changes which are a nightmare. It would be great if the botanists would leave the names alone but they all seem to want to make a name for themselves by finding out that someone else was wrong
First, there's precedence. The first correct published description earns the right to name the plant. Sometimes someone discovers an old document in a filing cabinet in somewhere like Portugal or Afganistan that describes the plant we know as Callistemon sieberii but gives it another name. If that document was published earlier than the one that bestowed the name sieberii then the plant's name must change to recognise the first published description. Occasionally the changes affect the genus. We have seen some species we knew as Baeckea become Babingtonia and then change to Sannantha
Varieties and forms sometimes get elevated to species status so if a botanist can demonstrate that (eg) Callistemon speciosus var hillii is different enough from the normal form of C. speciosus to be recognised as a separate species they can give it a new name.
The reverse also happens and a plant that was formerly described as a species can be recognised as a slightly different form of one of the other recognised species.
On top of all that there are cultivars and hybrids that make things even more difficult so it is no wonder you feel a touch confused.
The easiest thing is that pretty much all callistemons are very similar as far as cultivation goes. Just treat it as a Callistemon and don't worry too much about the name.
Maybe someone told them that's what it is called and they did not check. Maybe it is an old redundant name for that plant and they have not checked the current species names. Possibly they don't think anyone in Spain will know the difference so just labelled it with whatever they thought up.
Occasionally I think unscrupulous nurseries invent new names to con buyers into thinking they are getting a new species or variety.
There is also botanical name changes which are a nightmare. It would be great if the botanists would leave the names alone but they all seem to want to make a name for themselves by finding out that someone else was wrong
First, there's precedence. The first correct published description earns the right to name the plant. Sometimes someone discovers an old document in a filing cabinet in somewhere like Portugal or Afganistan that describes the plant we know as Callistemon sieberii but gives it another name. If that document was published earlier than the one that bestowed the name sieberii then the plant's name must change to recognise the first published description. Occasionally the changes affect the genus. We have seen some species we knew as Baeckea become Babingtonia and then change to Sannantha
Varieties and forms sometimes get elevated to species status so if a botanist can demonstrate that (eg) Callistemon speciosus var hillii is different enough from the normal form of C. speciosus to be recognised as a separate species they can give it a new name.
The reverse also happens and a plant that was formerly described as a species can be recognised as a slightly different form of one of the other recognised species.
On top of all that there are cultivars and hybrids that make things even more difficult so it is no wonder you feel a touch confused.
The easiest thing is that pretty much all callistemons are very similar as far as cultivation goes. Just treat it as a Callistemon and don't worry too much about the name.
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Starfox
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Re: What's in a name?
Hi shibui,
Thanks for the reply. You are right that there could be any number of reasons for it, in this case I think it may the leftovers of an old redundant name as you mentioned. Clearly it is commonly used in the EU and US as that is where most of the info I can find comes from and I'm guessing most places overseas don't keep up with name changes.
Sometimes and especially here I find it is often a translation problem too and that never helps.
I probably shouldn't get too hung up on it but it is nice to find out. I think I am happy enough to settle on the term "Bottle Brush", that will do for me for now.
Thanks for the reply. You are right that there could be any number of reasons for it, in this case I think it may the leftovers of an old redundant name as you mentioned. Clearly it is commonly used in the EU and US as that is where most of the info I can find comes from and I'm guessing most places overseas don't keep up with name changes.
Sometimes and especially here I find it is often a translation problem too and that never helps.
I probably shouldn't get too hung up on it but it is nice to find out. I think I am happy enough to settle on the term "Bottle Brush", that will do for me for now.
