# Sticky  Common ID errors



## Cavan Allen

*Incorrect*: Microsorium
*Correct*: _Microsorum_ 
Reason - Microsorium is an old misspelling passed along through the years

*Incorrect* : _Rotala indica_
*Correct*: _Rotala rotundifolia_ 
Reason - _R. rotundifolia_ was introduced as indica over 40 years ago but is still often sold as indica. The two plants are different species that look similar as emersed plants but different submersed.

Please see here:
Rotala rotundifolia

*Incorrect*: Cryptocoryne balansae
*Correct: *_Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae_
Reason - balanse is one of the varieties of crispatula and not a species of its own.

http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/bal/bal.html

*Incorrect*: Cryptocoryne usteriana when refering to C aponogetifolia
*Correct*: Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia
Reason - C. aponogetifolia is widely misnamed as C. usteriana. C. aponogetifolia has all green, long, strap-like leaves with no purple or red color in the undersides. C. usteriana is a different species with shorter, more tapered leaves, which in some varieties have purple undersides. 
See http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/apo/apo.html
for pictures of C. aponogetifolia.

See http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/ust/ust.html
for pictures of C. usteriana

*Incorrect*: Anubias nana
*Correct*: _Anubias barteri var. nana_ 
Reason: nana is a variety of barteri and not a species of its own

*Incorrect*: Telanthera roseafolia, Alternanthera roseafolia, Alternanthera lilacina
*Correct*: _Alternanthera reineckii_
Reason - Telanthera is an outdated genus name. roseafolia and lilacina are types of reineckii

Please see here: 
http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=023
http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=023B

*Incorrect*: Echinodorus compacta
*Correct*: Echinodorus parviflorus?
Reason - There is no such thing as Echinodorus compacta. It is most likely a trade name. The normal variety of _E. parviflorus_ (not 'Tropica') is rare in the hobby, so most plants sold as 'compacta' are most likely small specimens of bleheri.

*Incorrect*: Echinodorus major or E. maior---a mispelling of major. 
*Correct*: Echinodorus martii
Reason - E. major is an outdated name that is still circulating among some aquatic plant dealers.

Other trade names masquerading as valid species are: Rotala magenta, Hygrophila sunset and Ludwigia mullertii.

*Incorrect*: Nomaphila stricta, Hygrophila angustifolia, H. siamensis
*Correct*: Hygrophila corymbosa
Reason: Nomaphila is an invalid genus name. The latter are types of corymbosa.

Please see here:
http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=053
http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=053A

*Incorrect*: _Rotala_ 'nanjean', najean
_Correct_: _Rotala sp._ 'Nanjenshan'

Nanjenshan is a location. 'Nanjean' is a misspelling.

Also, species names in scientific names are not capitalized. That is, _Hygrophila polysperma_ is correct and Hygrophila Polysperma is not. Besides, the former is easier to type and makes scanning a list of plants a lot easier.

Can anyone else point out any more commonly misidentified or misnamed plants?


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## TPIRman

I believe it's Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balans*a*e, not "balanse."


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## ranmasatome

Is it Hemianthus micranthemoides...or Micranthemum micranthemoides?

A lot of people also think Hottonia palustris is Hottonia inflata...


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## Cavan Allen

> I believe it's Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae, not "balanse."


You are correct. Thanks for pointing that out.


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## Cavan Allen

> Is it Hemianthus micranthemoides...or Micranthemum micranthemoides?


It is _Hemianthus micranthemoides_.



> A lot of people also think Hottonia palustris is Hottonia inflata...


They do. _H. palustris_ is a species native to Europe, while _H. inflata_ is native to North America. The one we see in the hobby is _palustris_.


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## ranmasatome

Cavan Allen said:


> It is _Hemianthus micranthemoides_.


so what about Micranthemum umbrosum?? is it still teh same?


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## Cavan Allen

Yes.


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## miremonster

Hello, 


Cavan Allen said:


> *Incorrect*: Echinodorus compacta
> *Correct*: Echinodorus parvifloris?
> Reason - There is no such thing as Echinodorus compacta. It is most likely a trade name. The normal variety of _E. parvifloris_ (not 'Tropica') is rare in the hobby, so most plants sold as 'compacta' are most likely small specimens of bleheri.


In the literature it is written E. parviflor*u*s, not parviflor*i*s

Apparently it is still unclear if E. parviflorus, E. bleheri, and E. amazonicus are "good" species or only different cultivated forms of the polymorph species E. grisebachii. Probably many forms occur in tropical America.

By the way: A chain sword is named E. grisebachii, but this is wrong. This plant is a form of the E.-bolivianus-group while the true E. grisebachii is a plant similar to E. bleheri, parviflorus and amazonicus.


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## Salt

Another one I see a lot:

*Incorrect:* Cabomba pulcherrima
*Correct:* _Cabomba caroliniana var. pulcherrima_
Reason - "Pulcherrima" is a species variation of _Cabomba caroliniana_ with purple flowers; it is not a separate species.


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## snowy

I'd be keen to hear other opinions on this one. It is not so much incorrect as a synonym, but worth noting (I have seen both 'green horemanii' and E. uruguayensis listed by sellers).

*Synonym:* Echinodorus horemanii
*Correct:* Echinodorus uruguayensis
Reason - _"Colour formations with dark olive and black-red leaf blades are maintained under the synonum of E. horemanii ... Red is undoubtedly a hybrid ... This hybrid often serves as base for other crossings eg. 'Rubin' "_ - Kasselmann


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## miremonster

Hello snowy, 
according to informations from literature and some plants that I cultivate or I've seen, E. uruguayensis comprises lots of different forms - with long or short, narrow or broad, dark or light green leaves, brownish or reddish tint... Surely these botanists are correct who understand E. horemanii as a synonym of E. uruguayensis (Haynes & Holm-Nielsen 1994), and E. horemanii and this E. uruguayensis listed by sellers are only 2 forms among many others.
But there remains a basal problem: When we avoid such synonyms, it may be right in terms of botany, but then we cannot easily label different cultivated forms of the same species.


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## snowy

miremonster thanks for your reply.

In that case would it not be more correct to refer to it as _E. uryguayensis var. horemanii_, much like _C. crispatula var. balansae_?

However I do understand that for the sake of practicality horemanii has far greater recognition amongst hobbyists and dealers.

I am not trying to nitpick, rather just curious as I am starting to see plants that previously would have been called a 'green horemanii' now labeled as E. uryguayensis and I wonder if they are 'real' uryguayensis or simply a hybrid that resembles the 'original'.


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## miremonster

<<<In that case would it not be more correct to refer to it as E. uryguayensis var. horemanii, much like C. crispatula var. balansae?<<<
This could be a solution. But it would depend on an existence of more or less distinct populations in the nature showing the characters of E. horemanii. We only can wait what taxonomists will find out, the knowledge about natural populations of Echinodorus-species is still insufficient. An alternative could be an informal name, e.g. _E. uruguayensis_ "horemanii green", a cultivar name, or a designation referring to the geographical origin.
Sadly, in many cases the origins of cultivated Echinodorus (except for many cultivars) are unknown (surely the commercial collectors and exporters have no interest to blab it) , so it is difficult to detect if the plants are selections or hybrids from culture or naturals (or natural hybrids).


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## Cavan Allen

*Incorrect:* Fissiden
*Correct:* _Fissidens_

Reason: The plural of shrimp doesn't have an S at the end, but this does.


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## miremonster

A similar case like Fissidens:

Incorrect: Anubia
Correct: Anubias (it is a singular form)


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## zQ.

How about the Moss ? Some time i heard people call them Moos.


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## miremonster

Hello zQ., 
"Moos" is German for moss, or, more precisely, for "bryophyte". The 3 main groups of bryophytes are called in German:
"Laubmoose" ("leafy mosses") = mosses
"Lebermoose" = liverworts
"Hornmoose" = hornworts


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## Tausendblatt

Sorry to post in a really old thread, but this really grinds my gears:

*Incorrect:* _Elodea crispa_
*Correct:* _Lagarosiphon major_

_Lagarosiphon _is the correct genus.

*Incorrect:* _Elodea densa, Egeria desna, Anacharis densa_
*Correct:* _Egeria densa_

Anacharis is an incorrect and obsolete GENUS name! _Elodea_ is an entirely different genus. Desna is a misspelled name.

It really grinds my gears when I speak of the true _Elodea_ genus, but people think I am talking about _Egeria densa_.

I don't know what is the correct name for sago pondweed, I don't know if it is potamogeton or that stuckenia genus. Stuckenia is often cited as having a single species, and sometimes it has 3 or 4 included. Sadly, sago pondweed is not common in the hobby...


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## K Randall

Cavan Allen said:


> *Incorrect*: _Rotala_ 'nanjean', najean
> _Correct_: _Rotala sp._ 'Nanjenshan'
> 
> Nanjenshan is a location. 'Nanjean' is a misspelling.


Hi Cavan, I know this is a REALLY old thread, but this is actually still wrong, (having been there) the plant is named after Lake Nanren, where it was originally found (and as far as I know, it is still the only place it has been found) The "shan" part just means "lake". So "Nanrenshan" means "Lake Nanren". "Nanjenshan" doesn't exist. 

A couple of things I've noticed here is that people regularly use "Subwassertang" as a common name for the gametophyte form of Lomariopsis lineata. The common name is actually Susswassertang, where, in German, the "ss" in "Suss" would be the German letter Eszett, a letter that we cannot produce on an American keyboard. (there is also an umlaut over the u, but who's counting!. There is no "b" sound on the word. It is pronounced (approximately) soos-vasser-tahng, and means, literally, "sweet water seaweed" or "fresh water seaweed". An apt name for the little plant! Of course, this is one of the few cases where the latin name is easier to prounounce than the common name, so mabe we should stick with that! 

Another thing that I find slightly amusing, but mostly annoying,(and this happens occasionally here, but I've been approached many times at club meetings with people using this same terminology) is that some people will call a plant, "Tropica 53" or at best, "Ludwigia 123" (don't check the numbers... I just made them up). The point is, these are just Tropica catolog numbers they mean NOTHING else. They are not like the "L" numbers used for unidentified catfish. If I don't happen to have a Tropica catolog under my arm, and as much as I respect the company, I rarely carry one around, I have NO idea what these numbers mean. They shouldn't be used unless you are ordering a plant from Tropica.

Finally! I recently saw a positing of C. Cordata "KR01" for sale. While I'm flattered, this is my own personal locality labeling, and means nothing to anyone else.


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## Cavan Allen

Oh yes, I do remember you mentioning that in your talk. Think it's worth changing the PF entry for that?

Yes, using catalog numbers is a very bad practice. Especially when the real scientific name is known! I think that's often used for the sake of 'convenience', when it really isn't so much at all. Scientific names are not -usually- that difficult.

Another most unfortunate practice is called _all_ small _Eleocharis_ species "DHG". At least with HC (_Hemianthus callitrichoides_), it only refers to ONE plant. Not so with the former, which is often applied to a range of species of different growth characteristics and sizes, resulting in unnecessary confusion. I like to think we can all do a little better.


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## miremonster

Hello Karen,


K Randall said:


> but this is actually still wrong, (having been there) the plant is named after Lake Nanren, where it was originally found (and as far as I know, it is still the only place it has been found) The "shan" part just means "lake". So "Nanrenshan" means "Lake Nanren". "Nanjenshan" doesn't exist.


"jen" or "ren" seems to be a matter of the used transcription system for Chinese, e.g. Wade-Giles or Pinyin. Also in Taiwanese sources, it's apparently often still transcribed Nanjen shan, e.g. here: http://taiwaninfo.nat.gov.tw/fp.asp?xItem=18740&CtNode=103
As far as I've read, Nanjen (or Nanren) shan means "Nanjen mountain(s)" while the Chinese word for the Lake Nanjen is Nanjen Hu (or Nanren Hu): http://books.google.de/books?id=yKU...gby64GYDA&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false



> Finally! I recently saw a positing of C. Cordata "KR01" for sale. While I'm flattered, this is my own personal locality labeling, and means nothing to anyone else.


 On the other hand, I mean that a numbering like this can be useful for specific naming of certain strains/clones of variable species or populations with unclear species identity. E.g. the members of the European Cryptocoryne Society exchange their Crypts often with accession numbers that refer to informations about the particular strains.

-Heiko


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## bluebirdnanny

Link didn't work for: http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/ust/ust.html
The page cannot be found
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Please try the following:

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## miremonster

Apparently You mean The Crypts Pages, currently they are here:
http://crypts.home.xs4all.nl/Cryptocoryne/index.html


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## illustrator

Speaking of _Cryptocoryne_, it is common to see plants sold as _Cryptocoryne willisii_. Usually this should correctly be written as _Cryptocoryne_ x_willisii_, which is a complex of naturally occuring hybrids.

However, occasionally another plant is hiding under _C. willisii _because of a misidentification from some decades ago: _C. undulata_. I think that it may be good to keep the "wrong" name as a cultivar name in this case, so _Cryptocoryne undulata_ "Willisii".

An extensive overview of synonims (but not misidentifications ... ) of _Cryptocoryne_ can be found on the crypts pages: 
http://crypts.home.xs4all.nl/Cryptocoryne/Botanical/synonyms.html


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## miremonster

illustrator said:


> Speaking of _Cryptocoryne_, it is common to see plants sold as _Cryptocoryne willisii_. Usually this should correctly be written as _Cryptocoryne_ x_willisii_, which is a complex of naturally occuring hybrids.
> 
> However, occasionally another plant is hiding under _C. willisii _because of a misidentification from some decades ago: _C. undulata_. I think that it may be good to keep the "wrong" name as a cultivar name in this case, so _Cryptocoryne undulata_ "Willisii".


In this case the confusion is caused not by a misidentification but by a homonym. The name willisii was given independently by different authors, to different plants.

- _Cryptocoryne willisii_ Engler ex Baum (1909) is a synonym of _C. undulata_ Wendt (1954)

- _Cryptocoryne willisii_ Reitz (1908 ) = _C_. ×_willisii_


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