This is where I would strongly recommend using the search function. It has served me well. With lilies, there are a number of folks who grow the many species (or at least try to).

I do realize the most people grow hybrids though. For cultivars, one needs only to click on the starting letter of the name to bring up those names alphabetically. At least that is what I think works...

It does work fine that way. I think at the beginning of each of our forums we can discuss how best to use the database. I know over on Cubits a lot of people still don't use the advanced search, and it works much better.

I agree too! I don't think I mind having the species up front for lilies, though it might throw some newbies off when they first open the database.

Whew, this thread has taken a lot of turns. Evan I split your post off into a new thread so it doesn't get lost.

The "Browse by genus" page is by no means finished or set in stone. I altered it yesterday (or was it this morning) just to demonstrate the flexibility we have here.

We can have the plants all listed with all the accurate and important information, such as the species field, without sacrificing navigation. The big take-away here is that we can make as many different navigation systems as we want.

In fact, we can have a special custom "View all the irises" page that is completely different from any other page. We can have a "Rose finder" page that showcases the roses in whatever format and layout we desire.

The sky is the limit here and I'm absolutely open to making special pages for everything.

Dave for Athyrium Bradford Rambler the actual name should be Athyrium filix-frmina X niponicum should I do a name change on the one with picture and submit the other one for delete.

Bob, that sounds good, thanks!

Thanks Dave here is another one. Hellebore Ivory Prince is sold by the names Lenten & Christmas Rose , I take it that it is a hybrid of both. So I would like to change the naming to Hellebore Helleborus niger Ivory Prince. This plant also goes by the name Helleborus X nigersmithit Walhelivor. Should that go under synonyms?

Bob, I'm curious. Is it a species cross?

Dave/Polly, I find the Irises Cubit advanced search feature the best I've found anywhere for finding specific classes of plants. For Japanese Iris for example you not only get the ensata but the species crosses as well. I found it invaluable in trying to recognize the various classes, etc.

That's my best guess. If you look up Lenten Rose Ivory Prince and then look up Christmas Rose Ivory Prince They both lead you to the name Helleborus X nigersmithit Walhelivor, Which leans more toward Christmas Rose. But when I bought mine they were called Lenten Rose. Both are referred to as hybrids. So I figured at this point it is safer to just call them Hellebours niger Ivory Prince.

Thanks.

Isn't Lenton Rose and Christmas Rose the common names for the same plant?

They are the common names of different species of Hellebores. Helleborus niger is Christmas Rose which blooms earlier. And Helleborus orientals are Lenten Rose. The names come from under the right growing conditions one can bloom as early as Christmas and the other around Easter.

Bob, if you use the RHS plant search you can find the acceptable names for Helleborus.

A search for Helleborus orientalis brings up a list, by clicking on each you will get the information for each..

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplan...

A search for Helleborus niger ..

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplan...

A search for just Helleborus..

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplan...

If you want more information on Helleborus species, I went to a supplier listed on the RHS which mentioned including plants of known wild origin. They have a web site, and notes on each species they have.

http://www.phedar.com/catalog/

Janet thank you great information.It showed that Ivory Prince is a cross of H. X ericsmithii X nigercors.
.H. X nigercors comes from H. niger and H.argutifolius.
H. X ericmithii comes from H. niger and H. stemi which itself is a hybrid of H. argutifolius and H.lividus.

Glad to be of help Bob.

I'm often confused about proper naming for plants, and I used to think it was just ignroance on my part.

But I'm glad to find out that there are learned, subtle and even scientific reasons for confusion!

In the battle between scientists wanting to fit everything into neat, unique, uniformly-defined and mutually exclusive categories, and plants' desire to defy simplicity, resist resrtictive definition, and be infinitely various in many subtle ways, I think that it's:

Plants 1, Science 0

"Infinite diversity in infinite combinations"

Y