« Previous Day: Allium turcomanicum |
Main
| Next Day: Pinus contorta var. contorta »
May 9, 2008: Musa textilis
May 11, 2007:
Ornithogalum nutans
May 11, 2006:
Prosartes hookeri var. oregana
May 11, 2005:
Passiflora alata
September 11, 2005 : Ribes sanguineum
Keywords: Grossulariaceae | Ribes sanguineum Pursh | 37107-1003-2004
The fruits of red-flowered currant are edible, but not particularly palatable - it's best to leave them for the birds. Other gooseberries and currants are better choices for those with an appetite.
The family for Ribes, the Grossulariaceae, is an “exception to a rule” of botanical nomenclature. In most instances, the name of a plant family is based off the name of a valid genus within the family, e.g., Rosaceae and Rosa or Salicaceae and Salix. However, even though the genus Grossularia is no longer recognized as a separate taxonomic entity, the Grossulariaceae as a family name has been nomenclaturally “conserved” due to (I'm assuming with these) long-standing use of the name and the anticipated disruption a change in the name would cause.
Botany resource links: The online Atlas of Canada has several ecological maps of interest to Canadian botanists, including maps of Endemic Plant Diversity and Rare Plant Diversity.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at September 11, 2005 4:45 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Eric Simpson at September 11, 2007 5:56 PM
The answer to that is in section 18.5 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Vienna - 2006):
“The following names, of long usage, are treated as validly published: Compositae (Asteraceae; type, Aster L.); ”.
Grossulariaceae is retained under the rules of section 18.3.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at September 24, 2007 3:43 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
Post a comment
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.
About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums
Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
I know this is unlikely to get a response two years after the original post, however...
Daniel, if what you assume is true about the retention of the name Grossulariaceae, how does that jive with the change of Compositae to Asteraceae?