A hybrid clump:
Look at all the
Drosera ×obovata here! There is, incidentally, an
interesting nomenclatural oddity that I recently learned about, and it
was in the context of Drosera anglica and
Drosera ×obovata. Here it is...
Apparently, if you believe that Drosera anglica originated via
hybridization
between D. rotundifolia and D. linearis, you could think
of the species Drosera anglica
as a hybrid swarm. And therefore, back crosses between
Drosera anglica and Drosera rotundifolia should just be considered
that--back crosses. And since back crosses are not given separate names,
Drosera anglica and Drosera ×obovata
are synonymous.
Explained in another way,
Drosera anglica = D. (rotundifolia × linearis)
Drosera ×obovata = D. (rotundifolia × linearis) × rotundifolia
Notice that the second plant above is just a back cross? So the two
plants should be just be considered Drosera anglica.
This is weird for me, and it just doesn't seem to make
sense on a gut level. The two entities behave very differently
reproductively and have a different morphology--the ancient origin of
Drosera anglica shouldn't seem to matter in separating the
modern-day two taxa.
Ah well, nomenclature (or perhaps my understanding of it)
is forever incomplete.
