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D. capensis (alba) naming debacle

Finch

Whats it to ya?
I like my D. capensis typical, and i want to branch out into the other varieties. Red is not for me, and i think the ghostly tentacles of D. capensis (alba) look superb. But… IS it D. capensis (alba)?

Is D. capensis (alba) the same as D. capensis (alba narrow leaf)?? I really like the thick leaf look of the typical over the narrow leaf look (that’s what my D, binata is for) and I have been seeing pictures of . capensis (alba) (or albino) with wide leaves, not narrow ones. But the only place I can find that sells (alba) is California carnivores, wich lists their plants as "D. capensis (alba narrow leaf)".

So are these all the same plant, several similar ones, or something? Whats the dealy’o here? Thanks,

Finch


<span style='color:red'>[Edit: Your post has been edited to improve its value as an archive and to help others understand more precisely which plants you are writing about. You can read more about the details of writing plant names at Plant Names Thread.]</span>
 
Yup, they're all the same. It's just that D. capensis 'Albino' happens to have narrower leaves than the average D. capensis, or D. capensis (Broad Leaf) or (Wide Leaf) as it is also called, AFAIK. D. capensis (Red) is sometimes called D. capensis (Narrow Leaf Red) because it too has narrower leaves than the average D. capensis. I'd just assume that they both are clones of D. capensis (Narrow Leaf). 'Alba' is just short for 'Albino' I think, and if you saw a wide-leaf D. capensis 'Albino', it could just be a light-deprived normal D. capensis, or a light-deprived D. capensis 'Albino'.

-Ben

<span style='color:red'>[Edit: Single quotes are only used with validly registered cultivar names]</span>
<span style='color:red'>[Edit: Your post has been edited to improve its value as an archive and to help others understand more precisely which plants you are writing about. You can read more about the details of writing plant names at Plant Names Thread.]</span>
 
I don't believe that cultivar names are allowed to be turned into nicknames, for example: 'Alba' vs 'Albino'. Especially since the word "Alba" is Latin, and cultivar names are not allowed to be in Latin. So the cultivar name, "Alba" would never be considered eligible to become a cultivar name. However, cultivar names are permitted to be translated between languages, to facilitate clarity.

The valid, registered name for this cultivar is Drosera 'Albino' {Borret & Farrow}, and since this type was discovered by {Borret & Farrow}. It appeared, growing among a batch of other, normal, seedlings. Except in the imaginations of various people who have grown and distributed this cultivar, it has never validly had any other name. Of course, if you're partial to the specific epithet, you can include it when you write the name -- Drosera capensis 'Albino'.

Though the CP Database is not 100% up-to-date, you can most often find the status of cultivars here since this is where the registrar keeps the public record of registered cultivars. To know if a cultivar is valid, just look for the entry: "HC: Registered 10. 11. 1998 (JS)". If it looks like the entry quoted here, and has a registered date, then it is valid, otherwise, not, and in those cases a reason is usually posted there instead of the date.
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It is absolutely understandable that Drosera 'Albino', could be grown right next to an ordinary form of this species and the two might not appear different. Conversely, all-red types of this species, could also be grown to appear normal, or even appear like Drosera 'Albino'. Environment can be extremely important when it comes to variations in the appearance of plants.
 
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