From: Eugene Hoh hohe at symphony.net.au> on 2003.11.07 at 12:20:16(10780)
hi Pete,
Thank you for posting that E. pinnatum synonymy list...
(pardon this v. delayed response - no time to write during a frantic couple of
weeks!)
Re. wild E. aureum:
Sounds like good news, that it is still common in Moorea - but is much known
about its ecology , reproduction and genetic variability in the wild? (...well
maybe it might not be so 'good', if the surviving populations turn out to be
rather homogeneous?)
Anyway, if you write that Aroideana piece on E. aureum - it would be excellent
if you could discuss these aspects of the species, please!
(And a more general rant: )
I find it disconcerting, but also interesting, to hear that such 'common
garden' plants we take for granted (not just aroids, but also other socially
important plants, esp. food crops) are so poorly understood as wild organisms:
how often they have confused taxonomy and origins, and how often new species
are described from things only known in cultivation (e.g. Philodendron xanadu,
Alocasia reginula). I guess, there should be cheers to the folk out there who
do give a damn about biodiversity in cultivated plants, and are doing all this
difficult work sorting them out...
regards
Eugene
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PS Julius's posting about synchronous flowering of E. aureum in 1960 is really
interesting!!!
Anyone know if other aroids do this too?
Peter Boyce wrote:
> Hi Eugene
>
> 'wild type' E, aureum is green (i.e., it resembles golden variegated E.
> aureum when it reverts). There are very few collections of it from Moorea,
> although it's common and quite widespread in the remaining forest.
>
> The synonymy for E. pinnatum ...
Julius Boos wrote:
> ....
> "The plant seems to exhibit synchronized mass flowering, a very rare
> phenomenon in plants overall but common among bamboos....
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