[Aroid-l] Steve's pages ARE science

From: lbmkjm at yahoo.com (brian lee) on 2008.04.22 at 17:50:37(17440) Dear Julius, Ted, Steve, et. al., Aloha. Science is a process. Naming plants is a process that is on-going. Steve is an easily accessible source for information on a selected group of plants that he grows and has interest in. That it is available in such a format at all, is a blessing. It is not easy for many people to access this information. That Steve and his contributors are willing to volunteer their time and knowledge is refreshing. Graff and his publications, Exotica and Tropica, remind me of Steve and his website. Graff was obviously passionate to assemble an encyclopedia of plants for horticulture with the best information and photos he could for the time. If he knew what we know today, there would not be such a confusion of names. Julius is correct in pointing out that some people will refuse to learn and continue to believe that the world is flat. Heaven help them. Steve, in his website is continuing in the spirit of Graff, with better information. In the future, we will obtain even better information, and so goes the science of the process. +More I wish I had known Steve when I was in Brazil with Roberto Burle-Marx. My notes and memories would have been much more accurate. Back in those days, many plants such as Philodendron stenolobum had not been described...multiply that by dozens of plants and you can understand my confusion at what I was seeing. I still do not know many of the species we saw, some were difficult to even determine family. In fact, I have learned some names only after 30 years. If we found something in a non-flowering condition, it was often impossible to determine the family in some cases. Some may remain undescribed...but there are so many species, so little time... If I have positive contributions to make to Steve's aticles, I will continue to do so in the spirit of science and best available information. Aloha, Leland --- ted.held at us.henkel.com wrote: > That Steve`s pages, which offer correct information > to collectors are > available on line is, I am certain, gratifying to > science. > > Good Growing, > > Julius > > > Let me weigh in on Steve and his wonderful notes. > There is science of the > sort buried in little-read journal papers. And then > there is the > promulgation of knowledge to a wider and interested > audience. > > To me Steve is an amazingly unselfish person. He > adopts the completely > constructive approach of allowing unlimited comment > and correction. This > is also science. It is true to the notion that > scientific opinion is > conditional on new information coming in. What > emerges is a living source, > populated by expert opinion and the best photographs > anywhere. > > We will probably never get all the ducks in a row > for the naming of > commercial offerings. But a public source that is > open to the best > available ID work is a blessing to us all. For those > who care will always > be interested. > > Let me put in a cheer for the Exotic Rainforest. > > Ted. > > _______________________________________________ > Aroid-L mailing list > Aroid-L at www.gizmoworks.com > http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

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