Drosera × beleziana or D. × belezeana or D. × eloisiana or ?
In 1891 the 5th volume of Journal de botanique. contained the description and drawing by E.G. Camus of a plant he named Drosera x beleziana. He described the plant as a natural hybrid of D. intermedia and D. rotundifolia. The specimen was collected on May 27, 1890 by Mary Beleze from a bog in the Foret de Rambouillet near Saint-Léger, France (SW of Paris). Later taxonomist feel that under the rules of latinization of names it should be changed orthographically to Drosera × belezeana.
Camus' drawings and description from Journal de botanique can be viewed (and downloaded) online here:
t. 5 (1891) - Journal de botanique. - Biodiversity Heritage Library
t. 5 (1891) - Journal de botanique. - Biodiversity Heritage Library
For those who love the arcane here is the description in the original text followed by a crude translation into English via Google Translate
Feuilles étalées, à limbe suborbiculaire, brusquement contracté
en pétiole. Scapes 1, 2, 3, dépassant longuement les
feuilles, le plus souvent courbés à la base puis dressés brusquement,
quelquefois dressés, mais naissant toujours à l'aisselle des
feuilles inférieures et non au centre de la rosette. Capsule environ
de la longueur du calice. Graines avortées ou mal formées,
à testa un peu tuberculeux. Cette hybride ressemble par ses
feuilles au D. rotundifolia ; par sa hampe, elle se rapproche du
D. intermedia.
Leaves unfolded at suborbicular limb suddenly contracted
in petiole. Scapes 1, 2, 3, length exceeding
leaves, usually curved at the base and drawn abruptly,
sometimes prepared, but still nascent in the axils of
lower leaves and not in the center of the rosette. capsule about
the length of the calyx. Aborted or malformed seeds
testa slightly to tuberculosis. This hybrid resembles its
D. rotundifolia leaves; by its stem, it moves closer to the
D. intermedia.
A scan of the Mlle. Beleze's herbarium specimen can be found online here:
http://sonneratphoto.mnhn.fr/2012/06/06/1/P04963231.jpg
Some later taxonomists on examining the herbarium specimen have come to believe the specimen is actually Drosera rotundifolia. If this is so then a few possibilities arise:
Believing #2 to be the case Tim Baily in the UK published a description and submitted a herbarium type specimen to the Kew Botanical Gardens naming the hybrid Drosera × eloisiana. The description was published in the Spring 2015 newsletter of the Carnivorous Plant Society (UK) - PlantaCarnivora (v37n1).
So now it seems D. intermedia × rotundifolia can now be called Drosera × eloisiana.
Well maybe not, according to International Code of Nomenclature Art. 57.1 and Art. 14 the current usage (name) can be (and probably should be) conserved. All that is needed is a new herbarium type specimen and a formal proposal to conserve the D. beleziana/belezena name be published.
The moral of the story? Don't rush off to change the labels on your plants. It can take years for some name changes to gain acceptance. Some never do.
In 1891 the 5th volume of Journal de botanique. contained the description and drawing by E.G. Camus of a plant he named Drosera x beleziana. He described the plant as a natural hybrid of D. intermedia and D. rotundifolia. The specimen was collected on May 27, 1890 by Mary Beleze from a bog in the Foret de Rambouillet near Saint-Léger, France (SW of Paris). Later taxonomist feel that under the rules of latinization of names it should be changed orthographically to Drosera × belezeana.
Camus' drawings and description from Journal de botanique can be viewed (and downloaded) online here:
t. 5 (1891) - Journal de botanique. - Biodiversity Heritage Library
t. 5 (1891) - Journal de botanique. - Biodiversity Heritage Library
For those who love the arcane here is the description in the original text followed by a crude translation into English via Google Translate
Feuilles étalées, à limbe suborbiculaire, brusquement contracté
en pétiole. Scapes 1, 2, 3, dépassant longuement les
feuilles, le plus souvent courbés à la base puis dressés brusquement,
quelquefois dressés, mais naissant toujours à l'aisselle des
feuilles inférieures et non au centre de la rosette. Capsule environ
de la longueur du calice. Graines avortées ou mal formées,
à testa un peu tuberculeux. Cette hybride ressemble par ses
feuilles au D. rotundifolia ; par sa hampe, elle se rapproche du
D. intermedia.
Leaves unfolded at suborbicular limb suddenly contracted
in petiole. Scapes 1, 2, 3, length exceeding
leaves, usually curved at the base and drawn abruptly,
sometimes prepared, but still nascent in the axils of
lower leaves and not in the center of the rosette. capsule about
the length of the calyx. Aborted or malformed seeds
testa slightly to tuberculosis. This hybrid resembles its
D. rotundifolia leaves; by its stem, it moves closer to the
D. intermedia.
A scan of the Mlle. Beleze's herbarium specimen can be found online here:
http://sonneratphoto.mnhn.fr/2012/06/06/1/P04963231.jpg
Some later taxonomists on examining the herbarium specimen have come to believe the specimen is actually Drosera rotundifolia. If this is so then a few possibilities arise:
- the current name usage (e.g. D. × beleziana/belezeana) would be conserved and a new type specimen be put on file
- the current name would be considered a synonym of D. rotundifolia and a new name found.
Believing #2 to be the case Tim Baily in the UK published a description and submitted a herbarium type specimen to the Kew Botanical Gardens naming the hybrid Drosera × eloisiana. The description was published in the Spring 2015 newsletter of the Carnivorous Plant Society (UK) - PlantaCarnivora (v37n1).
So now it seems D. intermedia × rotundifolia can now be called Drosera × eloisiana.
Well maybe not, according to International Code of Nomenclature Art. 57.1 and Art. 14 the current usage (name) can be (and probably should be) conserved. All that is needed is a new herbarium type specimen and a formal proposal to conserve the D. beleziana/belezena name be published.
The moral of the story? Don't rush off to change the labels on your plants. It can take years for some name changes to gain acceptance. Some never do.