Using authentic references from Internet!
Pankaj Kumar
from other sites or links and if there is a wrong information on one
site then it gets transfered to another and so on, at the end, what we
get is wrong information on most of the sites. Its not easy for anyone
to choose which is wrong and which is right. Hence most of the links
and websites cant be reliable.
To give you an example, I am just searching for one orchid on google,
Cymbidium aloifolium. This plant name is randomly selected.
I will select the 20 links from top on google and check if they are correct!!
1 http://orchids.wikia.com/wiki/Cymbidium_aloifolium - CORRECT
2 http://www.orchidspecies.com/cymaloeifolium.htm - INCORRECT
3 http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60070/ - INCORRECT
4 http://www.orchids.co.in/orchid-plant/cymbidium-aloifolium.shtm - IF
THATS THE IMAGE, THEN ITS ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT
5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbidium_aloifolium - INCORRECT
6 http://www.orchidboard.com/community/cymbidium-alliance/37102-cymbidium-aloifolium.html
- NO IMAGE OR DESCRIPTION
7 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cymbidium_aloifolium -
MULTIPLE PICTURES ALL OF WHICH SEEMS TO BE INCORRECT
8 http://www.kidsfortigers.org/index.php?view=detail&id=16&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=89
- INCORRECT
9 http://www.sborchid.com/plantdisplay.php?ocode=CYM000010 - THEY HAVE
GIVEN INCORRECT NAME FOR A CORRECT PLANT
10 http://www.globinmed.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62792:cymbidium-aloifolium-l-sw&catid=367:c
- INCORRECT
11 http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Aloe%20Leaf%20Cymbidium.html
- CORRECT, IDENTIFIED BY ME
12 http://www.flickr.com/photos/b_inxee/4550849819/ - INCORRECT, MAY
BE AN ALBINO OF CORRECT PLANT
13 http://orchidscare.blogspot.com/2010/12/cymbidium-aloifolium.html - INCORRECT
14 http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/node/3785 - INCORRECT
15 http://www.orchisasia.org/genre/Cymbidium/Cymbidium%20aloifolium/index.html
- DOUBTFUL, SEEMS TO BE INCORRECT
16. http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=117670&flora_id=2
- INCORRECT
17 http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchidtalk/orchids-other-genera-bloom/19980-cymbidium-aloifolium.html
- INCORRECT
18 http://b-and-t-world-seeds.com/carth.asp?species=Cymbidium%20aloifolium&sref=6488
- INCORRECT
19 http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/orchidspecies/message/2939 - NO
IMAGES OR DESCRIPTION
20 http://www.jstor.org/stable/4110039 - INCORRECT (THIS WAS MOST
UNEXPECTED FOR ME!!)
CORRECT - 2; INCORRECT - 16; NOT HELPFUL - 2
So 80% of the links have incorrect identification including JSTOR and EFLORA.
Claiming that 100 of sites on internet and may even some reference
books, designate this plant as Cymbidium aloifolium doesnt make this
plant Cymbidium aloifolium. For me in one word such an explanation is
RIDICULOUS. The main issue is, some one misidentified the plant and
then described the incorrect plant as Cymbidium aloifolium. Ironically
it has been followed in eflora and other links, just because its
started with copying and pasting the informations from here and there.
Now the big time question, where to check ?
Cymbidium aloifolium (L.) Sw. in Nov. Act. Soc. Sci. Ups. 6: 73 (1799);
Type: Illustration in Rheede, Hort. Malab. t. 8 (1703) (Lectotype). Plate 26A..
Anyone at Xavier's college may check for this reference to check the
plate and they will know the mistakes in the identity. I am also
forwarding this mail to Shinde sir and his students for help. It would
be great if any one of you can share an image of the plate available
in Hortus Malabaricus.
Very interestingly, a good news for Ms. Rashida Atthar will be that,
Dr. Almeida's plate in his Flora of Maharastra seems to be correct.
One of the main reasons could be as simple as the fact that he had an
access to this book, Hortus Malabaricus at BLAT. Unfortunatley, I cant
say this for all his orchids though!!
Moral of the story: JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A REFERENCE OF AN AUTHENTIC
OR NON-AUTHENTIC SITE or BOOK, DOESNT MAKE DETERMINATIVE OF ANY TAXA
CORRECT. PLEASE RELY ON ORIGINAL SOURCES FOR IDENTIFICATION.
Regards
Pankaj
--
***********************************************
"TAXONOMISTS GETTING EXTINCT AND SPECIES DATA DEFICIENT !!"
Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae)
Research Associate
Greater Kailash Sacred Landscape Project
Department of Habitat Ecology
Wildlife Institute of India
Post Box # 18
Dehradun - 248001, India
ulachungpa
I too used internet for lot of background checking of the 365 species
we carried in local media for International year of Biodiversity 2010
in Sikkim.
You are so right.
The same text, often word for word is the same in several websites
like the ones you mention. It makes one doubt most of them when it
comes to correct identification.
And that is when these egroup discussions become so important for
amateurs like us.
The same picture is seen simultaneously by all, experts and amateurs'
replies are seen by all, we all learn and unlearn together!
Its wonderful.
Kind regards,
Usha
On Jan 14, 3:19 pm, Pankaj Kumar <sahanipan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Many websites, have this bad habit of copying and pasting informations
> from other sites or links and if there is a wrong information on one
> site then it gets transfered to another and so on, at the end, what we
> get is wrong information on most of the sites. Its not easy for anyone
> to choose which is wrong and which is right. Hence most of the links
> and websites cant be reliable.
>
> To give you an example, I am just searching for one orchid on google,
> Cymbidium aloifolium. This plant name is randomly selected.
> I will select the 20 links from top on google and check if they are correct!!
>
> 1http://orchids.wikia.com/wiki/Cymbidium_aloifolium- CORRECT
> 2http://www.orchidspecies.com/cymaloeifolium.htm- INCORRECT
> 3http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60070/- INCORRECT
> 5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbidium_aloifolium- INCORRECT
> 7http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cymbidium_aloifolium-
> MULTIPLE PICTURES ALL OF WHICH SEEMS TO BE INCORRECT
> - INCORRECT
> 9http://www.sborchid.com/plantdisplay.php?ocode=CYM000010- THEY HAVE
> - INCORRECT
> 11http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Aloe%20Leaf%20Cymbidium....
> 13http://orchidscare.blogspot.com/2010/12/cymbidium-aloifolium.html- INCORRECT
> 14http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/node/3785- INCORRECT
> 16.http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=117670&flora_id=2
> - INCORRECT
> - INCORRECT
> 18http://b-and-t-world-seeds.com/carth.asp?species=Cymbidium%20aloifoli...
> - INCORRECT
> 19http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/orchidspecies/message/2939- NO
> IMAGES OR DESCRIPTION
> 20http://www.jstor.org/stable/4110039- INCORRECT (THIS WAS MOST
J.M. Garg
Dr. Pankaj interesting. I am not the only follower of Dr. Almeida so many in Mah. and elsewhere will be happy. I have never ever referred links, everyone on efloraofindia knows the pitfalls, nothing new that you have brought out. I only refer to Kew and one or two other well referred sources.By the way do you remember how you misguided everyone for the Tamarind tree scientific name by refering to a yahoo source some time back, when I had posted the same? Shocking isn't it? I had actually believed you till another expert brought the wrong info. to notice. That is the reason I asked you to cite your source for the Alstonia scholaris epithet. As simple as that. Can you cite your sourcee now? But well when you want to make an issue out of simple questions nobody can help it. And on top of that you make insinuations and call people ignorant, you insult respected elders , you ban young individuals like Tanay from responding to you? How does one function with you? .regards,Rashida.
--
J.M.Garg (jmg...@gmail.com)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1
'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna'
The whole world uses my Image Resource of more than a thousand species & eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg. You can also use them for free as per liberal licensing conditions attached with each image.