[Taxacom] COllections and APG

[Thomas G. Lammers]

At 01:12 PM 11/12/2007, Tati Konno wrote:
>Do you think that a collection should be organized in order to reflect a
>system?

No.  Two reasons:

(1) Practicality.  Nothing beats the alphabet, especially if your filers 
aren't Ph.D. systematists.  An alphabetical arrangement disposes of the 
need for guide sheets, numbering the families, etc.

(2) Misleading about evolution.  We know that evolution is a branching (and 
reticulating) process; it is misleading to distort that reality into a 
linear sequence.  Conjures up bad misconceptions about the 
"progressiveness" of evolution, Scala Naturae, etc.
Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-1002
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and 
biogeography of the Campanulaceae s. lat.

Webpages:
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=297234
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
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