On 25/2/07 11:20, in article , "Janet Tweedy"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes

When we next go to Scilly, we'll head to Burncoose and get R. Jackman's
Prostrate, raise some cuttings and send some on to Olivier to trial against
R. Barcelona, too.


Don't plants have the same dna identities as animals? Couldn't they take
a sample and then compare it to what the experts THINK it is?

They probably could but I don't know what that would cost or if the answer
would be definitive, given the wide range of rosemaries that there are.

What does the RHS say?

No idea. I haven't asked them but to be honest, even they have their
limitations as our unknown Lonicera shows. And we have a Passiflora which
David is as sure as can be is the 'lost' P. John Innes but another expert
disagrees. Ditto another Passiflora we have. It's a complex matter if you
go into it in depth as the current thread discussing taxonomy shows.
Personally, I'm pinning my hopes on the owners of the house in Salcombe
remembering where they got it and if possible, the name. They are immensely
keen gardeners and buy plants from all over the place, so my hopes may have
to go unfulfilled! I know they had it in their old house so my guess is
that they might have had it for 12 or 15 years.
I'll send the photos to RHS but like the other nurseries, I think ID from a
photo is going to be terribly difficult. OTOH, once we have some slightly
more mature plants, we could send one up to them and let them trial it.
Tim Longville is probably going to do an article on this Salcombe garden, so
he might be able to shed some light on the matter.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)