Crazy for Crotons
Well-Known Member
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- 29/06/09
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There is no such thing as a "recognized" name. If there is, please tell me the source (like Kew is for palms) that has done the botanical research to separate the cultivars[/QUOTE
Dean, your statement above is completely unfounded. Do you use the same logic with the thousands of bromeliad growers who register their cultivar names with the Bromeliad Society International (BSI)? How many different Neoregelia cultivars can there possibly be?? Does Kew or some other scientific body oversee their work? The answer is no but the BSI maintains a very detailed database of these nonetheless. There are indeed recognized names for these plants as the half dozen books on Codiaeum I own illustrate. The naming of hybrid seedlings is no different than what the BSI does with their million name Neoregelia cultivar database that continues to grow daily. Codiaeum is unfortunately less respected for its horticultural value worldwide but much of this results from lack of knowledge. The responses I get like "they all look the same" are very similar in nature to your response. This is a result of not being involved with these plants on a daily basis.
The database Ana is compiling has the potential to be thee source for these plants. We are the Kew for Codiaeum. Just as with bromeliads, there needs to be place where established, unmistakable, historical varieties are in a database and cannot be renamed after something like a Pig in a Blanket. These cultivars can be agreed upon by 90% of the people who post here so these will not change. You won't need Jeff and I to confirm these as they very distinguishable to the knowledgeable croton hobbyists on this board. Differences of opinion may occur just as two palm scientists can disagree about whether or not Ponapea should have remained lumped in Ptychosperma.
For newer varieties/seedlings that have appeared, we'll have to agree on a primary name and refer all other more recently given names back to the accepted name. When you search for Pig in a Blanket, you get redirected to the real name. Otherwise, you'll have 400 names for the same plant and the database will be a Mongolian cluster----. Let's treat these plants with some respect for a change. Outside of this group, there is no other "organization" I know of that cares about these plants as much as we do.