Ian Hook, Sydney 02/04.

Ian Hook, Sydney 03/04.

Derek Butcher

Ian Hook, Sydney 01/04.

Derek Butcher

Nidularium innocentii – variegate forms to Bromeliad Cultivar Register by Butcher May 2016
Only Nidularium innocentii is accepted in the World Checklist of selected Plant families whereas Leme in Nidularium- Brom. Atl. Forest 144-153. 2000 included two variegates var. lineatum and var. striatum. I quote from the book:
“The variety lineatum differs from the other varieties in its variegated leaves with white or yellowish lines. This trait is seen occasionally in the wild, as in specimen Leme 23-B, but it apparently reproduces only vegetatively, not sexually. Although this case is an exception to the method used here, I decided to maintain the validity of this variety due to its huge popularity as an ornamental and to the fact that it is already widely cultivated and has been for almost 90 years.
Leaves - green with longitudinal white or yellowish lines, 1-3 mm wide.
Description from Smith & Downs (1979): ‘Leaf-blades green with numerous longitudinal white lines; primary bracts red near the apex and green elsewhere’.
The decision to maintain variety striatum as a valid taxon took into consideration the same arguments presented in relation to the previous variety. In this case, variety striatum has been cultivated for over 100 years and is one of the most popular taxa of this genus.”
LEAVES green with white to yellow longitudinal stripes wider than 5 mm.
Description from Smith & Downs (1979), ‘Leaves, or at least their blades, green; blades marked with longitudinal white lines; primary bracts wholly or mostly red-purple.’

Clearly Leme was uncomfortable in treating them under the ICN – International Code of Nomenclature (at that time ICBN – International Code of Botanical Nomenclature) rules and yet they would have been comfortable if named under the ICNCP (– International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants) rules. Here we have a dilemma. The ICNCP rules covering cultivated plants have been with us since 1953 but as far as I can trace are not acknowledged in the ICN rules BUT the ICN rules are acknowledged in the ICNCP rules. You would think that by now, botanists would accept that the ICN rules do not stand alone and that all naming must be linked to this code whether the plant originates in the wild or cultivation. We do know that this was Linnaeus’s intention long ago. A recent example under ‘Synonymies in Ananas’ by Coppens d’Eeckenbrugge and Govaerts, in Phytotaxa 239(3): 273-279. 2015 shows referral to both cultivated and wild plants and yet all are named as under the ICN system.

In a similar scenario we are seeing varietal status disappearing for variations in colour of petals. Here again botanists should not be shy in that the ICNCP can cover such differences quite adequately.
Such is the reluctance to concede that there is such a thing as the ICNCP rules the only reference list on the internet acknowledging this is the New Bromeliad Taxon list http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/bcg/taxonList.php
Therefore, I am adding the names Nidularium ‘Lineatum’ and Nidularium ‘Striatum’ to the Bromeliad Cultivar Register.