OK, so I open my mouth, then there it is.
I had to pick up some PVC fittings from Lowe's today. Naturally I have to browse the plant department, and especially the clearance racks.
I saw the Iresine 'Blazin' Rose', which I really like but haven't had for several years. Large, sprawling plants in 1-gal pots, originally $4.98 but on clearance for $1.00. The plants were healthy, but no longer attractively shaped. So what? A little trimming and I'll have a nice bushy plant, plus additional plants from the cuttings. I really don't need more plants to deal with right now, but how can I pass up that deal? In looking over the selection, I saw a couple that were different. I pulled one up for a better look, and there it was: "Perilla Magilla".
Unfortunately, the plant is still being marketed as "Perilla Magilla". And it gets worse. Below the marketing name "Perilla Magilla" in italics is the proffered scientific name "
Perilla 'Magilla' " as if it was scientifically the valid genus and cultivar name. And above it, in larger typeface and all caps is the new marketing name "MAGILLA SHISO"!!
Sheesh!!! Really??? Shiso, another name for Perilla.
I don't know. Maybe it'll take a lawsuit from someone eating this Coleus thinking it is Perilla and having a bad reaction to it for the nursery industry to change their naming scheme. In the meantime, I guess we can do our part to help educate those around us that this is a Coleus and not edible.
