Diana: Mostly, I believe it's a plot to mess with our heads [no :)].

As to who gets the "final say," it doesn't appear to be _anyone_, at least
in general [i.e., for _all_ intents and purposes]. There just doesn't seem
to be general agreement over either all these new or proposed new genera, or
who should get to make the final decision about them.

For purposes of AOS judging _only_, it would have to be the AOS itself,
since that's who the judges "work for," unless AOS decides [by official
policy] to defer to some other authority, such as the RHS [which would
appear to be the logical choice, since it's the official registrar and
maintains the records that AOS judges consult during the judging process].

It could've happened without my knowledge, in which case I hope someone will
enlighten me, but so far, I'm not aware that AOS has adopted official
policies of its own or one which adopt some other authority's decisions on
these issues. And, based on your story and many others I've seen and heard,
it appears to me that even if the AOS has adopted such policies, they've not
been effectively communicated to the judges, much less us growers.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Jeff" wrote in message
...
Which species was this ???


On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 21:12:09 GMT, "Diana Kulaga"
wrote:

All,

It came to my attention recently that one of the judges at a recent AOS
judged show refused to recognize Prosthechea as a valid classification.

I know that reclassifications are done by taxonomists, but why do they
decide to do so, and who gets the final word about what goes where? Who
gets to decide whether the new names are to be recognized?

Or is the whole deal a plot to mess with our heads?

Diana