Echeveria

AMPHORALIS  Walther, 1958  

NAME OF A HERBARIUM SPECIMEN, NOT OF A LIVING PLANT.

 

 Walther made the description of Echeveria amphoralis from "plant and flowering material furnished by Mr. Don B. Skinner, L.A., 6/18/58", without further information regarding its origin. He chose this name because – as he stated in his description – its flowers were amphora-shaped. For the publication he produced a sketch of the floral parts, the flower itself however – surprisingly – does not look amphora-like at all. Instead of preparing a specimen of this plant, i.e. the type,  he searched for an already existing specimen he could use to validate his new species, of course a taxonomically totally unacceptable procedure. The specimen CAS 409844 was fit insofar as it had been prepared at an unknown date from a plant of unknown origin, i.e. was nameless. June 18 1958 Walther determined it as : "Echeveria amphoralis sp. nov.", i.e. as type of E. amphoralis. This means : Because – according to the Code – the name is fixed to the type, the specimen CAS 409844 now is E. amphoralis - notwithstanding that it was not prepared from the plant Walther had described and does not correspond to it - and the specimen will bear this name hence and forever while the described plant remains nameless. In short - E. amphoralis is a herbarium specimen, not a living plant. The name cannot be used any longer for a living plant be it as amphora-like as possible.

 

PS

Walther's description does not match any already known / described species so his plant may well have been a hybrid. 

 

 

Note :

Pilbeam's text and photos in The genus Echeveria, 2008, under the heading Echeveria amphoralis lack of course any foundation.

 

 

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