Because I'm a member of the LNP.
http://www.liberalnationalparty.com

Ludwig,

I owe you one, you botanistische buschtukkerluffer! You have just saved me from putting my foot in it.

Here was I thinking that 'polycarp' meant 'many fish', or maybe 'many complaints', but of course from your botanical digression I now divine that it means 'many fruit'. I suppose from that we are to conclude that the original Polycarp was a Smyrna greengrocer in his secular, as opposed to ecclesiastical, role. No? Timely truth from the eucalypt!

Fractelle,

I had no idea chaos theory was so powerful. It can evidently be used to read minds! There I was thinking that Ireland was owed an apology for being left out of the discussion or something (anything qualifies these days, as long as you say 'Sorry'), and blow me down if you don't go and give the apology for me: "(apologies to little Britain)"! It's so obvious. Under the convention for naming island groups whereby the island containing England, Scotland and Wales is named 'Great Britain', that for the island of Ireland must be Lesser, or Little, Britain. Amazing!

How in the cosmos do you do it?

I can, however, see much stress for you in life if you keep asking 'Why, why, why' about every little thing. You have to learn to accept things the way they are. Did you ever see the film 'Babe'? If you did, just remember the advice of the cows.

Not that a truly enquiring mind is a bad thing.

Think outside the square, Fractelle. Perhaps nobody is trying to fool anybody. Perhaps Polycarp is recovering from a virus, or a Nigerian Central Bank physhing expedition, or fleeing from a cyberstalker. He has never complained. Why should he ever explain? Any explanation might undo all the good work already done to escape from such problems.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

Always look on the bright side of life.

Que?

Ludwig, perhaps you could explain for me the Eucalyptus/Corymbia controversy? One of my favourite timbers is that of E. maculata (the spotted gum), which has now been reclassified as a subspecies of the lemon-scented gum which has also been taken right out of the Eucalyptus genus and become a Corymbia (C. Citriodora).
I've not yet heard a comprehensive reason for this.

Another one that puzzles me is the change in genus for Cedrella Toona (Mackay Cedar)into an Albizzia. There must be simple explanations for these things?

With pleasure Antiseptic. Thirteen years ago some bright spark of a botanist decided that the bloodwoods should be split off from the genus Eucalyptus. They formerly made up the subgenera Corymbia (true bloodwoods) and Blakearia (paper-fruited bloodwoods). The new genus Corymbia was accepted pretty well universally quite quickly, with just a few detractors.

Then the most eminent eucalypt botanist in Australia published the opposite view, placing Corymbia back in Eucalyptus! Lo and behold, this view was just completely not accepted. But the reason was political, not scientific.

The Australian botanical fraternity stuffed up badly over this issue. They accepted one view just because it was published, without waiting for the opposite view to be put even though they knew that the debate was far from over. So when the superior view was published, they (the national and state herbaria, universities and other institutes of botanical research) were all just too embarrassed to reverse the decision.

So now we have classic eucalypts like the spotted gum, lemon-scented gum and ghost gum in silly Corymbia, as they are actually smooth-barked bloodwoods!! However, they are still known as eucalypts! Yep, all species of Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora are collectively known as eucalypts! Confusing?

The Mackay cedar used to be in the genus Albizia but was taken out some years ago and placed in Paraserianthes. I think that this was probably a reasonable move.

The baseline explanation for these changes is simple; there is a constant refining of evolutionary relationships and hence names of species and genera. However in the absence of hard and fast definitions of what constitutes a species or genus, and with some less than adequately rigorous science at times, not all changes are for the better.

I’m a ‘lumper’ at genus level. I think that many narrowly defined genera should be combined with their close relatives. But I’m a splitter at species level, believing that many currently recognised subspecies and varieties and many informal infraspecific taxa should be raised to species status.

.
Botanistische Buschtukkerluffer! Now wouldn’t that be a great pseudonym!!?

Forrest Gumpp,
My collection of Australian verse is mostly in paperbacks but I received a Chrissy present from our kids a few years ago, a Coffee table size book tittled 'The Best of Banjo Paterson, and it contains 'The Pearl Diver'. Murray David Publishing Pty Ltd, 35 Borgnis St. Davidson NSW. First Published 2002.Reprinted 2004.ISBN 0-975242-806. If you are interested you may be able to obtain a copy, it is quite a nice book.

Banjo is not the only poet I like, but his name seems to come up first in any discussion. P J Hartigan, G H Gibson, Will Oglevie and, of course, Henry Lawson, great stuff. All Kids should be made to learn by heart My Country by Dorthy McKellar, Andys gone with cattle by Henry Lawson, Talmalangaloo by P J Hartigan and The Man From Snowy River.

There seems to be a decline in teaching our history and geography these days which is wrong in my view but I hope these names will live on. I too found it interesting as to why we chose our names. Cheers