ABSTRACT:

To the amateur plantsman it is important that the name on a tag in a pot, is the correct name for that plant. It can be devastating (or sometimes exciting), when a plant flowers, to find that it is not what was expected. When we make a label for a plant we generally record the genus, species and if necessary the subspecies, variety or form. Rarely do we investigate the original correctness of the name, we accept that the source from whom the plant was obtained knew what they were doing.