GrainTax - synonymy tables project.

GrainTax Synonymy Tables Project: June 2000 progress report.

L. A. Morrison * and W. J. Raupp.

* Department of Crop & Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2902, USA.

Classification Tables for 28 taxonomic treatments of Triticum and Aegilops are now posted on the GrainTax web site (http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ggpages/GrainTax/). All of these classifications were produced during the 20th century, and, as a whole, they present a confusing array of inconsistent names and competing claims of accurate phylogenetic concepts. Although the classification tables do not alleviate this problem, they do offer a reliable reference for treatments that are encountered in the literature and in communications among members of the wheat research community. Researchers are encouraged to make use of them for checking the correct citation of species names and for verifying the handling of taxa within a particular treatment.

Also available on the GrainTax site are the following supplementary tables: a Table of Authorities with correct spelling and abbreviations for the publishing author of valid taxonomic names; a Synonym Table with a list of the most commonly encountered synonyms; and a Rejected Name Table with a list of illegitimate, invalid, and ambiguous names. In the next stage of the project, crossreferencing links will be built to join names to classifications and to relate valid names to their synonyms.

The goals of the GrainTax project will best be realized with the coöperation of the wheat research community (Morrison and Raupp 1999). The Tables are now easily accessible and, when followed, ensure consistency in the use of taxonomic names. To avoid confusion in referencing wheat taxa (e.g., in research articles or in germ plasm requests), it is advisable to cite the classification that is being followed and to follow the classification without changes to the names of taxa, their ranking, and their authority citation.

Reference.

  • Morrison LA and Raupp WJ. 1999. GrainTax Synonymy Tables Project: June 1999 Progress Report. Wheat Inf Serv 88:52-56 and Ann Wheat Newslet 45:17-20.