Hi:

I came across the image of the following plant, identified
only as "Yellow Fingers", and wondered if it was of the genus
"Strelitzia"?

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=994098

The reason that I thought that it might be is that it bears
some resemblance to a plant that I recently photographed.
This plant that I photographed was a "Crane Flower" or
"Strelitzia reginae":

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1394299

Thanks,

Bill Angel
Silver Spring, Maryland

In article , Bill Angel
writes
Hi:

I came across the image of the following plant, identified
only as "Yellow Fingers", and wondered if it was of the genus
"Strelitzia"?

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=994098

The reason that I thought that it might be is that it bears
some resemblance to a plant that I recently photographed.
This plant that I photographed was a "Crane Flower" or
"Strelitzia reginae":

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1394299

Thanks,

Try looking up Heliconia (Parrot Flower). I'm barely familiar with
either genus, but your photograph looks more like the one I have of a
(labelled) Heliconia than Strelitzia reginae. AFAICT, the obvious
difference is that Strelitzia bears flowers singly, whilst in Heliconia
they are borne in a zigzag fashion along an inflorescence. There must be
other differences; Strelitzia is in the banana family (Musaceae) or its
own family (depending one where you look), whilst Heliconia is in its
own family (Heliconiaceae). Both families are in the order Zingiberales.

"Strelitziaceae ... inflorescences with tough, boat-shaped, green
inflorescence bracts. The distinctive flowers have more or less connate
lateral abaxial petals ..."

"Heliconiaceae ... inflorescences with large, colored bracts in the
axils of which are fascicles of flowers with petaloid tepals"
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
http://www.meden.demon.co.uk/Malvaceae/gallery.html

This is a Strelitzia:

http://www.dannyburk.com/strelitzia.htm

while your picture looks more like this:

http://www.dannyburk.com/heliconia.htm

PvR

+ + +

Bill Angel schreef

I came across the image of the following plant, identified
only as "Yellow Fingers", and wondered if it was of the genus
"Strelitzia"?

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=994098

The reason that I thought that it might be is that it bears
some resemblance to a plant that I recently photographed.
This plant that I photographed was a "Crane Flower" or
"Strelitzia reginae":

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1394299

Thanks,

Bill Angel
Silver Spring, Maryland

This picture looks very much like that in the American Hort. Soc.
Encyclopedia of Garden Plants which is listed as Heliconia aurantiaca
from Central America. Sorry I can't do a scan of it. 'Auriantiaca' means
yellow or golden, so it would fit with the common name on the picture
you saw.

Gene Newcomb

Bill Angel wrote:

Hi:

I came across the image of the following plant, identified
only as "Yellow Fingers", and wondered if it was of the genus
"Strelitzia"?

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=994098

The reason that I thought that it might be is that it bears
some resemblance to a plant that I recently photographed.
This plant that I photographed was a "Crane Flower" or
"Strelitzia reginae":

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1394299

Thanks,

Bill Angel
Silver Spring, Maryland

In article , Gene Newcomb
writes
This picture looks very much like that in the American Hort. Soc.
Encyclopedia of Garden Plants which is listed as Heliconia aurantiaca
from Central America. Sorry I can't do a scan of it. 'Auriantiaca' means
yellow or golden, so it would fit with the common name on the picture
you saw.

I'd translate 'auriantiaca' as orange; yellow/gold would be 'flava',
'lutea' or 'aurea'.

http://home.no.net/arsenic/latin.html
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Stop reading horticultural dictionaries as if they were valid references.
They are full of errors.

Heliconia aurantiaca Ghiesbreght is obviously in the genus Heliconia.
However, the correct name for the species is Heliconia psittacorum L.f. The
color of the bracts varies from yellow to orange to red.

Strelitzia is a strictly Old World genus.

According to the ICBN, you cannot reject a species epithet just because it
is inapproprate or you don't like it.

http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclatur....Luistitle.htm


You lucked out this time because the species has an earlier valid name.

Do a google image search to find pictures.


Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote in message
...
In article , Gene Newcomb
writes
This picture looks very much like that in the American Hort. Soc.
Encyclopedia of Garden Plants which is listed as Heliconia aurantiaca
from Central America. Sorry I can't do a scan of it. 'Auriantiaca' means
yellow or golden, so it would fit with the common name on the picture
you saw.

I'd translate 'auriantiaca' as orange; yellow/gold would be 'flava',
'lutea' or 'aurea'.

http://home.no.net/arsenic/latin.html
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Nitpicking is best done with some care

1) the spelling is 'aurantiaca' not 'auriantiaca':
it does mean "orange" (cf Citrus aurantium) but although there is only one
Latin word for "gold" there are many words for yellow (lots of shades of
yellow). Also keep in mind the Greek equivalents.

2) Unless one is reasonably familiar with the systematics of a group it is
very dangerous to state "the correct name for the species is Heliconia
psittacorum L.f." especially when dealing with a group of which the
systematics are as dynamic as Monocots. Lots safer to say "According to
TROPICOS the current name is Heliconia psittacorum"

3) Strelitzia is a South African genus (South Africa is 10% of the Old
World). BTW: How was this relevant?

4) It is always nice if an epithet fits the plant, but to call this luck
would assume that botanists assign names completely randomly.

5) The ICBN is fairly voluminous. It is desirable to be a little more exact,
as is in "see the first provision in

http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de/iapt/no...is/0003Pre.htm "

6) It is unhandy to use "valid" in the same piece in two different
meanings. BTW: what is a "valid reference"? Sounds interesting, but does it
mean anything?

PvR


============
Cereoid+10+ schreef
Stop reading horticultural dictionaries as if they were valid references.
They are full of errors.

Heliconia aurantiaca Ghiesbreght is obviously in the genus Heliconia.
However, the correct name for the species is Heliconia psittacorum L.f. The
color of the bracts varies from yellow to orange to red.

Strelitzia is a strictly Old World genus.

According to the ICBN, you cannot reject a species epithet just because it
is inapproprate or you don't like it.

http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclatur....Luistitle.htm

You lucked out this time because the species has an earlier valid name.

Do a google image search to find pictures.

===========
Gene Newcomb writes
This picture looks very much like that in the American Hort. Soc.
Encyclopedia of Garden Plants which is listed as Heliconia aurantiaca
from Central America. Sorry I can't do a scan of it. 'Auriantiaca'
means yellow or golden, so it would fit with the common name on the picture
you saw.

==========
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote
I'd translate 'auriantiaca' as orange; yellow/gold would be 'flava',
'lutea' or 'aurea'.

http://home.no.net/arsenic/latin.html
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Looks more like Heliconia x nickeriensis (H. psittacorum x H. marginata)
not H. aurantiaca

Jeff Shimonski


"P van Rijckevorsel" wrote in message ...
Nitpicking is best done with some care

1) the spelling is 'aurantiaca' not 'auriantiaca':
it does mean "orange" (cf Citrus aurantium) but although there is only one
Latin word for "gold" there are many words for yellow (lots of shades of
yellow). Also keep in mind the Greek equivalents.

2) Unless one is reasonably familiar with the systematics of a group it is
very dangerous to state "the correct name for the species is Heliconia
psittacorum L.f." especially when dealing with a group of which the
systematics are as dynamic as Monocots. Lots safer to say "According to
TROPICOS the current name is Heliconia psittacorum"

3) Strelitzia is a South African genus (South Africa is 10% of the Old
World). BTW: How was this relevant?

4) It is always nice if an epithet fits the plant, but to call this luck
would assume that botanists assign names completely randomly.

5) The ICBN is fairly voluminous. It is desirable to be a little more exact,
as is in "see the first provision in

http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de/iapt/no...is/0003Pre.htm "

6) It is unhandy to use "valid" in the same piece in two different
meanings. BTW: what is a "valid reference"? Sounds interesting, but does it
mean anything?

PvR


============
Cereoid+10+ schreef
Stop reading horticultural dictionaries as if they were valid references.
They are full of errors.

Heliconia aurantiaca Ghiesbreght is obviously in the genus Heliconia.
However, the correct name for the species is Heliconia psittacorum L.f. The
color of the bracts varies from yellow to orange to red.

Strelitzia is a strictly Old World genus.

According to the ICBN, you cannot reject a species epithet just because it
is inapproprate or you don't like it.

http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclatur....Luistitle.htm

You lucked out this time because the species has an earlier valid name.

Do a google image search to find pictures.

===========
Gene Newcomb writes
This picture looks very much like that in the American Hort. Soc.
Encyclopedia of Garden Plants which is listed as Heliconia aurantiaca
from Central America. Sorry I can't do a scan of it. 'Auriantiaca'
means yellow or golden, so it would fit with the common name on the picture
you saw.

==========
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote
I'd translate 'auriantiaca' as orange; yellow/gold would be 'flava',
'lutea' or 'aurea'.

http://home.no.net/arsenic/latin.html
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley