User talk:Peter coxhead/Archive 29

Conservation status of heterotypic synonyms created as articles by Polbot
I don't think it is appropriate to maintain a IUCN status for heterotypic synonyms such as Sideroxylon confertum. IUCN describes it as endemic to two provinces in Cuba. S. cubense has a much broader distribution, and hasn't been assessed by IUCN, but is presumably less threatened since it has a larger range. There are a fair number of articles with manual taxoboxes (especially in families with few remaining manual taxoboxes) that are Polbot creations that are treated as synonyms by POWO et al. It is pretty typical that these cases are narrow endemics (per the IUCN) that have been lumped into a more broadly distributed species.

I think what should happen with these, is that new articles should be written for the accepted name (when that article doesn't already exist), and the Polbot creation should be redirected, rather than moving the Polbot article to the accepted name. The history and prior content of S. confertum isn't really relevant to S. cubense, and moving resulted in an incorrect Wikidata link to the en.wiki article. I've discussed "new article and redirect existing heterotypic synonym" vs. "move" with you before, and if I remember correctly, you though that was sensible, but you had also suggested bringing that up in a larger forum.


 * Yes, I agree that it would have been better to do as you suggest (write a new article and redirect to it) when, as in this case, it's a case of a narrowly defined concept being subsumed into a larger one. Put it down to inadequate checking before acting. Peter coxhead (talk) 16:04, 28 January 2023 (UTC)

For Polbot creations, I think a discussion of "new article and redirect" vs. "move" is mostly relevant to plants. Most IUCN assessments are for vertebrates and plants, and vertebrates are pretty likely to already have an article for the accepted/valid name (which renders the "move" option moot). But considering "new and redirect" vs. "move" for heterotypic synonym with no existing valid/accepted article isn't limited to Polbot creations, so I think I'll raise this at TOL soon.

I'm not very sure what to do about links on lists such as List of IUCN Red List Vulnerable plants. I've edited that list a few times to correct gender suffixes of species epithets (which I had tagged with R from misspelling; and being tagged, somebody else would've eventually corrected the misspelling if I hadn't). The simplest solution is probably just to periodically regenerate that list via Wikifying an IUCN dump (as most recently happened in July 2016) and correcting any links that are blatantly wrong (piping misspellings, but not correcting the displayed spelling?), rather than eliminating any links to redirects (including lumped heterotypic synonyms, and messing around with homotypic synonyms in e.g. Rhipsalidopsis/Schlumbergera). Plantdrew (talk) 02:58, 28 January 2023 (UTC)


 * What I don't like is the situation now, namely that List of IUCN Red List Vulnerable plants has a link to Sideroxylon confertum but if anyone follows the link it ends up at a species that (rightly) isn't marked as vulnerable. I would prefer an entry like:
 * Sideroxylon confertum (now considered part of Sideroxylon cubense, not assessed as vulnerable)
 * Peter coxhead (talk) 16:04, 28 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Or maybe it's ok with the bit I added to Sideroxylon cubense, which explains the situation? Peter coxhead (talk) 16:15, 28 January 2023 (UTC)


 * so I don't deal incorrectly with Polbot articles that need moving, I've decided to work through the species articles with manual taxoboxes created by Polbot. Right now there are 364 of them. Some can't be dealt with, because the correct name isn't known or clear. Also the genus article may need an automatic taxobox. So it's going to be a slow process! Peter coxhead (talk) 12:16, 31 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I approve of how you handled S. confertum in the S. cubense article, and your proposal for the list of vulnerable plants. I haven't worked systematically on automatic taxoboxes for Rubiaceae, a big chunk of Fabaceae and a few tribes of Asteraceae (but Vernonieae is the only large one). Genus articles will be lacking automatic taxoboxes in these families. There are 122 Polbot articles with manual taxoboxes in Rubiaceae, 90 in Fabaceae and 24 in Vernonieae. I would suggest focusing your efforts on other families where taxonomy templates should (mostly) already exist, and where articles with remaining manual taxoboxes are more likely to be synonyms. Plantdrew (talk) 16:58, 31 January 2023 (UTC)


 * Ok, I'll start without those families. This search gives 148 articles – quite enough! Peter coxhead (talk) 17:03, 31 January 2023 (UTC)


 * There are a variety of reasons why I may have left Polbot created articles with manual taxoboxes in families where I've otherwise implemented automatic taxoboxes. Heterotypic synonyms with no accepted article do account for a lot of them, and are probably the hardest to deal with. Baynesia is monotypic, Baynesia lophophora needs to be merged. With Panax zingiberensis, I wasn't sure whether to implement the infrageneric classification in presented in Panax. Trianaea naeka is straightforward, but there's a statement in Trianaea that it is one of two genera in Solandreae, which isn't consistent with the classification given in Solanaceae. Plantdrew (talk) 22:53, 31 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I'm rapidly realizing why these articles haven't been given automated taxoboxes; most of them have substantial issues: unrecognized names in PoWO, synonyms of species with a wider distribution, etc. And that's before you get to the issue of how to classify the genus. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:17, 1 February 2023 (UTC)


 * I was looking at Agasthiyamalaia pauciflora, and I think I've discovered multiple errors in POWO. The basic fix for that species on Wikipedia is to merge to the monotypic genus. POWO gives the family as Clusiaceae. The genus was described to accommodate a species formerly in Poeciloneuron, which POWO has in Pentaphylacaceae (Poeciloneuron is linked from both Calophyllaceae and Pentaphylacaceae on Wikipedia, which are in different orders). Calophyllaceae was split out from Clusiaceae. APWeb includes Poeciloneuron and Agasthiyamalaia (as a synonym of Poeciloneuron) in Calophyllaceae. I think POWO is incorrect in the family placement for both genera; Poeciloneuron in Pentaphylacaceae is straight error (species:Poeciloneuron has a note to that effect), and Agasthiyamalaia in Clusiaceae is just outdated (but may stem from the mess with Poeciloneuron). Plantdrew (talk) 16:57, 1 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Agasthiyamalaia in Clusiaceae stems from the original description; see here and also the entry in IPNI, which generally just gives the original placement. IPNI also has Poeciloneuron in Clusiaceae, I assume again because this was the original placement. places Poeciloneuron in Calophyllaceae: Calophylleae, but doesn't accept the move of Poeciloneuron pauciflorum to Poeciloneuron; however, they only sampled P. indicum. Of course if P. pauciflorum and P. indicum are really that different, given that only P. indicum seems to have been studied molecularly, it's in principle possible that Agasthiyamalaia pauciflora should remain in Clusiaceae. (I'm surprised PoWO accepts the transfer, since it wasn't based on a molecular phylogenetic study and PoWO editors are usually lumpers.) Govaerts is away right now according to an autoreply to an e-mail I sent about another issue, but PoWO should be notified of this problem, for sure. Peter coxhead (talk) 17:27, 1 February 2023 (UTC)
 * If you're contacting Govaerts, Neotatea is another one to bring up. It's Bonnetiaceae on POWO, but Calophyllaceae according to APWeb and two papers from 2011 and 2021 that I've added as sources. (However, neither paper had material to run a molecular analysis). Plantdrew (talk) 20:04, 1 February 2023 (UTC)
 * the preference seems to be for one problem per e-mail; I bcc'd an e-mail about Poeciloneuron / Agasthiyamalaia to you. Peter coxhead (talk) 10:58, 2 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Oh, it turns out Poeciloneuron has been shuffled around various families over time, and was first placed in Ternstroemiaceae (now a synonym of Pentaphylacaceae). Plantdrew (talk) 17:03, 1 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Ah, I missed that in the paper. Peter coxhead (talk) 17:29, 1 February 2023 (UTC)

reply from Govaerts to say that both corrections will be accepted. Peter coxhead (talk) 13:27, 2 February 2023 (UTC)

Example
so for Heptapleurum heptaphyllum I followed your advice and created a new article, redirecting Schefflera rubriflora to it – Heptapleurum heptaphyllum has a very wide distribution as opposed to that claimed for the heterotypic synonym Schefflera rubriflora. I have included a note about Schefflera rubriflora. Peter coxhead (talk) 13:45, 31 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Looks good. Plantdrew (talk) 16:59, 31 January 2023 (UTC)

Classification of Phyllanthaceae
the classification to tribes and subtribes at Phyllanthaceae and List of Phyllanthaceae genera are substantially different. So for now I've left Thecacoris trichogyne (Polbot, synonym of IUCN assessment) with a manual taxobox. What should we be using? Peter coxhead (talk) 12:21, 2 February 2023 (UTC)
 * The classification at Phyllanthaceae follows Hoffman et al. (2006). List of Phyllanthaceae genera apparently mostly follows APWeb as of 2005. APWeb's current classification is based on Hoffman (and also incorporates Vorontsova and Hoffman's (2008) treatment of Poranthereae; Wikipedia should be following the 2008 paper for Poranthereae, but I do have a note to myself to double-check that Wikipedia is consistent there). List of Phyllanthaceae genera needs to be updated to follow Hoffman (I also have a note to myself about doing that). Plantdrew (talk) 16:47, 2 February 2023 (UTC)
 * NCBI follows the 2006 and 2008 papers, and apparently GRIN does as well. The taxonomy templates should all follow the 2006 paper (and the 2008 paper pending a double-check), but I made them before I was in the habit of adding references to the templates. Chonocentrum, Lingelsheimia and Heterosavia are the only genera using manual taxoboxes. Heterosavia was described in another 2008 paper authored by Hoffman, and isn't mentioned in the outdated list article nor in the lists of genera (alphabetical and by tribe) in the family article. Chonocentrum isn't placed to tribe in the 2006 paper. The Lingelsheimia article mentions possible placement in Putranjivaceae, but the 2006 paper rejects that. Plantdrew (talk) 17:12, 2 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks – so Template:Taxonomy/Thecacoris is ok for a Speciesbox at Thecacoris trichogyne when I have time. I had noticed that GRIN seems to be consistent with the classification at Phyllanthaceae, and used it to revise Antidesmateae (which was at "Antidesmeae"), but hadn't looked at the issue in any depth. (At this rate, I can only fix about one remaining Polbot manual taxobox a day, if that!) Peter coxhead (talk) 17:18, 2 February 2023 (UTC)

SYNTHesised cladograms
Peter, I fixed the cladogram disaster at Viridiplantae; there is a similar one, rather more difficult to fix (as I don't happen to have a decent tree to hand), at Archaeplastida, and I suspect there'll be others. I'll nose about to see if I can find a good recent source from which I can draw and cite a new tree. If you find others, feel free to ping me from here. Chiswick Chap (talk) 18:42, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * if you haven't seen it, there was an extremely long discussion about synthesis in cladograms at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Tree of Life/Archive 52. I rather gave up on the subject after that, although still unhappy about some of them. I applaud your action, but be aware that some editors may not. Peter coxhead (talk) 21:50, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Actually the conclusion of that discussion, with Reid's proposal which seems to have been broadly supported, is fine with me, and I could be seen has having followed it to the letter (though I hadn't seen it). The "long list of citations preceding the cladogram" is exactly what we all agree is unacceptable. I have no issue with pruning a published tree down to families or whatever, nor of the other minor manipulations mentioned by Reid; but mashing together a dozen different interpretations into one tree really isn't ok. Chiswick Chap (talk) 11:44, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * my giving up wasn't due to the conclusion, which I too support, but the later observation that editors who had disagreed during the discussion were (at that time anyway) ignoring it, and I simply couldn't face opening it up again (plenty of other things to do). I suspect it's different now. Anyway, should there be any opposition, I will certainly support you. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:58, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Cheers. The next thing is to try to find a decent replacement cladogram that actually covers the patch in a recent source. The current tree in Archaeplastida goes from Diaphoretickes as the root, which is a big ask for any one source really. Starting from Archaeplastida would be easy... Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:05, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I've fixed it by divide-and-rule. The Archaeplastida tree is, I hope, fairly uncontroversial. That leaves the 'external' phylogeny starting from Diaphoretickes, which is a much smaller tree, and most of the long list of sources don't even apply to it. So the mess is much reduced. As to whether the remaining small tree is even vaguely correct ... Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:35, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * On a related note, aboout the Frankenstein cladogram in animals, there is a consensus tree in The Invertebrate Tree of Life (Giribet & Edgecombe, 2020). This type of review tree seems a more appropriate "cladogram" for the top level animal article, which needs an overview rather than the latest phylogenetic hypothesis. There might be alternatives, but a consensus review tree seems better than an amalgamation of recent phylogenetic works (even if they passed WP rules). —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 20:29, 9 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Well I already cast out a few of the more absurd devils there. Maybe someone will put on the new tree sometime. Chiswick Chap (talk) 22:03, 9 March 2023 (UTC)

Merger discussion for Amphimenia
An article that you have been involved in editing&mdash;Amphimenia &mdash;has been proposed for merging with another article. If you are interested, please participate in the merger discussion. Thank you. UtherSRG (talk) 20:17, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

Criteria for problem plant species articles
I've got your sub-page on my watchlist and was wondering what criteria you were using to select the most recent batch of articles. Plantdrew (talk) 16:03, 31 March 2023 (UTC)


 * I downloaded the list of Polbot species articles with manual taxoboxes and set up a list on the sub-page with a link to the taxonomy template. My thought was that it would be easy to convert the manual taxoboxes if there was already a taxonomy template, so I removed all those with a redlink to the taxonomy template.  However, as you can see from the work I've done to date, it's often not easy, because the articles need moving.  (Reinforcing the comment I made at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Plants.) Peter coxhead (talk) 16:52, 31 March 2023 (UTC)


 * Some of the species aren't linked from the genus page (i.e., the list of species needs to be updated (or completed)); Pluchea obovata, Ruschia namusmontana, Dialium lopense. I've largely worked genus by genus, going through the listed species when implementing automatic taxoboxes, so there are certainly cases where my initial pass through a family left species articles with manual taxoboxes because they weren't listed in the genus article.


 * In your earlier round of working on Polbot manual taxoboxes you noted that Melhania milleri and Grewia milleri weren't in POWO, but you gave M. milleri a speciesbox today; both are from Socotra, and there are several Socotran Polbot creations in Category:Undescribed plant species. And I think that points to another potential issue with IUCN Red List accuracy. Maytenus sp. nov. A is obviously undescribed, but I'd guess the Melhania and Grewia haven't actually been described either and I'd be wary of an Socotran Polbot article that isn't in IPNI/POWO (but I've probably done speciesboxes for a few without realizing it).


 * Monotypy is an issue for a significant number of remaining manual taxoboxes (and not just Polbot creations), and that can manifest in various ways. Genera that aren't monotypic (per species recognized by POWO) that Wikipedia claims are, genera that are/were monotypic but are treated as synonyms of polytypic genera by POWO, and cases where Wikipedia has separate articles for genus and species (Kalappia celebica/Kalappia is on your list, and you gave Zenia insignis a speciesbox, but Zenia (plant) is monotypic). Plantdrew (talk) 19:42, 31 March 2023 (UTC)


 * I thought I'd checked each species against PoWO, but in the case of Melhania milleri, I clearly hadn't. I'll try to be more careful.
 * I've now added a note at Melhania milleri about its lack of acceptance. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:47, 1 April 2023 (UTC)


 * well, there were a few that could just have a Speciesbox added, but not most of them unfortunately.
 * List of Astragalus species is an issue. There are missing species and synonyms present, I guess because of the way the sublists have been put together. I couldn't add Astragalus cavanillesii, because I'm not sure of a reliable source for where it should go. How can the page be fixed? Peter coxhead (talk) 09:00, 1 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Scrap the infrageneric classification in the Astragalus list? The Arizona site only existed as an archive in 2013, and the (archive of the) front page says it was last updated in 1999 (perhaps some subpages were updated since then, but I'm not spotting anything in the bibliography page after 1999). If there isn't more recent infrageneric classification, I don't think Wikipedia needs to preserve the information from an ancient website which can't account for 24 years of new species being described. Plantdrew (talk) 01:34, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Scrapping it does seem to be the only solution. I looked around with Google Scholar, but predictably in such a large genus, I can't see that there has been any overall molecular study of Astragalus, only individual sections, some of which aren't in the list (e.g. there's a reference in the article which includes sect. Dissitiflori, but the section isn't in the article). The articles I've seen all say something like this 2021 paper: "the phylogenetic relationships within the genus are still poorly known" . Peter coxhead (talk) 07:35, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * My reading of the Arizona site is that the subgenus/phalanx and sections delimitations are based on Barneby (1964) for North America and Podlech (1986) for Old World, with no sections for South America. New species may have been described but would have be assigned to the sections already described. There is a 3 volume, 2500 page work by Podlech published in 2013: A Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Astragalus L. (Leguminosae) in the Old World. I'm not sure if this is a new work or a republished compilation. It does seem a shame to abandon the sectional work, which may not have been updated, but would still represents the current state of knowledge. I wouldn't put any sectional information in the taxoboxes without new sources, but feel the list article may have some value as long as it is properly sourced. A long alphabetical list isn't more useful. —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 08:57, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * it's not clear to me that it does represent the "current state of knowledge". Looking at articles in the last 5 years via Google Scholar, sure, people refer to the sections in the old classifications, but often to say that they aren't monophyletic, as do many of the ridiculously long list of references at the end of the opening paragraph. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:50, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * As for Astragalus cavanillesii, it's in the Caprinus-group of section Caprini and subsection Caprini (see original description and Caprinus-group). —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 10:03, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * further to my comment above, says that sect. Caprini isn't monophyletic, so why should the species be listed here based on a 1998 source? Peter coxhead (talk) 11:50, 2 April 2023 (UTC)

the other issue is the sheer incompleteness and inaccuracy of the list. There are 1082 species in the article, of which only 865 appear to be in PoWO, so there are 217 synonyms or otherwise outdated names. But PoWO has 3066 accepted species, so only 865/3066 = 28% of the PoWO species are in the article under their correct names. Why is this useful? Peter coxhead (talk) 13:09, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't think monophyly is an major issue. If that is the latest taxonomy available for the sections and it is sourced, then that is the best we can do until there is an updated taxonomy. However, if there are many conflicting sectional divisions that would be a problem.
 * On the other hand, inaccuracy is a major problem. I did look at the North American species and it did seem to following the listing in the archived of Michael Sanderson's Arizona site. The source(s) for the Old World Species is less clear, as Sanderson's site just lists sections. There are some more recent regional revisions, e.g. Podlech (2008) for 112 European (non-Soviet) species, which might be used to address incompleteness.
 * The synonymy seems a bigger problem, as that means there would need to be much more work to make the list compatible with POWO accepted species. There is also the question of whether taking old section listings and modifying them according to current POWO accepted species might make the list too much of a synthesis.
 * Overall, I feel a list of 3000 species needs breaking up. Over 250 sections is too fragmentary to be useful (unless clearly defined) and there isn't even agreement on the number of subgenera. So I think I agree, the list as it is too incomplete and its not worth the effort of updating unless there is a clear recent source for guidance. A list of POWO accepted species with articles might be more useful. —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 16:38, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Actually, the work to make our articles agree with PoWO isn't as large as it seems. Yes, there appear to be 217 synonyms or otherwise outdated names listed, but only 12 of these are blue links, i.e. have articles.
 * There's a draft of a straightforward alphabetical list at User:Peter coxhead/Draft List of Astragalus species; see the "Probable synonyms" section. Peter coxhead (talk) 17:11, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I found a few more articles in Category:Astragalus that are not in the lists at List of Astragalus species and are not at PoWO names – added to the the "Probable synonyms" section. Peter coxhead (talk) 08:48, 3 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Now put the alphabetical list at List of Astragalus species. Peter coxhead (talk) 18:56, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

Origin of the name of Neem tree Genus
Hi,

Thanks for your suggestion about providing a valid reference about the origin name of the neem tree's genus. I have found one and added it.Bsskchaitanya (talk) 15:23, 8 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I moved the material around, because the scientific name is already discussed in the Taxonomy section (which is where it belongs). The meaning of neem seems to belong at the very beginning, where the word is first used. Peter coxhead (talk) 19:04, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

Reply to your comment on the merger proposal for "Amphimenia neapolitana"
That "mirror" is for if another species of Amphimenia gets discovered. I know that monotypic taxa should not have a seperate article for their one species. IdfbAn (talk) 10:15, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
 * ok, noted. I wasn't quite sure of the purpose of the "mirror". Peter coxhead (talk) 11:18, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I could've worded it a bit better. IdfbAn (talk) 11:21, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

Spider in bananas (again)
This is the front page of The Sun today. Is it possibly a Heteropoda venatoria?  ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 06:30, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
 * It certainly seems a highly plausible identification. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:37, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Error
I rolled back your edits in error, please accept my apologies. 331dot (talk) 09:46, 12 April 2023 (UTC)
 * No worries. The set of articles is still in a bit of a muddle, as I slowly move those left in Dendroseris. I've also only just moved the genus article to Sonchus subg. Dendroseris, which I should really have done first to clarify the taxonomy. Peter coxhead (talk) 09:48, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Template:Taxonomy/Mystroptera
Sorry, my mistake, I didn't realise mirorder was placed between magnorder and superorder by some people. I ought to have used mirordo-mb (for McKenna and Bell) instead ...though this may be unimportant in the end, since maybe the template itself is entirely unnecessary as nothing actually uses it currently. I don't think Mystroptera is even used in the literature anymore. Monster Iestyn (talk) 22:28, 14 April 2023 (UTC)
 * my mistake too; even though I wrote the code that checks rank ordering, I'd forgotten that there are "-mb" variants. I should just have changed the rank to "mirordo-mb" as you've now done. Peter coxhead (talk) 08:40, 15 April 2023 (UTC)
 * ...I haven't actually done that yet, but, again, I might actually just delete the template anyway on second thoughts. Monster Iestyn (talk) 14:04, 15 April 2023 (UTC)

DYK for Sasajiscymnus tsugae
Aoidh (talk) 00:03, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Heloderma texana
Please close the move request over at Talk:Heloderma texana. 〜 Festucalex  •  talk  09:07, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I made the move because it seemed to me absolutely clear cut, and risked Wikipedia becoming a source for a vernacular name, but as I first supported the move, I am an "involved editor", so I think I am not supposed to close the request. Peter coxhead (talk) 09:11, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Well, you shouldn't have moved it in the first place. If you're not supposed to close it, you're not supposed to move it. 〜 Festucalex  •  talk  09:16, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
 * The move is justified because there is no source for a vernacular name and the name most used (i.e. that expected by WP:COMMON) is the scientific name. This is a clear cut move that any editor can make. Once someone moves the article they become an involved editor and shouldn't close any further discussion of the issue. —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 09:37, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Very well, I'll close it. 〜 Festucalex  •  talk  09:42, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Thanks
I didn't realize that putting Rancho Gordo on the bean page amounts to advertising. Thanks for catching that! I'm a bit confused though on what exactly constitutes advertising. I mean, the other link, abeancollectorswindow, also sells beans so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Anyway, I noticed you're a veteran in botanical editing and I thought I might introduce myself, since we might cross paths again. I am just an amateur gardener, though I have lots of training in scientific research and teaching, so I know how to navigate primary sources and peer-reviewed papers (which is where I tend to get most of my info from; thank goodness for academic access). Nevertheless, as a newbie, I might need serious help (and I probably shall bother you for advice in the future). Please understand that should I mess up some edits it is surely not out of malevolence, stubborn ignorance, or ulterior motives. English is also not my mother tongue, so I could use a native's eye there as well. All in all, thanks for the work you do on Wikipedia! WikiUser70176 (talk) 19:05, 20 April 2023 (UTC)
 * it's always a matter of judgement as to whether a commercial website is acceptable as an external link (or even as a source). Is there enough useful factual information, like a list of cultivars with illustrations and descriptions, to balance the advantage we would give one business over another? I thought that in this case there wasn't. "If in doubt, leave it out" seems to me to be the best approach.
 * If I can help in any way, just ask here. Peter coxhead (talk) 21:23, 20 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I will thank you too Peter Coxhead for helping me understand the purpose of Wikipedia and why sometimes a topic with its information doesn’t sound correct on Wikipedia (in my head)!
 * Anyway, do you mind if I list the countries of each division that I believe will always make the most sense to me? 🙂 I would like to do all divisions just for fun!Craig Lungren (talk) 20:04, 4 May 2023 (UTC)
 * it's not a question of what I mind, but whether there are reliable sources for different lists of countries. We should, of course, report what all reliable sources say. Whether it makes sense to us is another matter! As a plant editor, I have to work with the definition of "Northern America" that is briefly explained at World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (and the reciprocal definition of "Southern America"), which still seems a bit strange to me. Peter coxhead (talk) 17:00, 5 May 2023 (UTC)

Poplars and tulip trees
Per your edit summary, I added sources at the magnolia article for the name "tulip tree" in a footnote. "Tulip tree" is a common common name sometimes used for magnolias, especially Magnolia × soulangeana, but also other ornamental spring-flowering magnolias like Magnolia liliiflora (but not summer-blooming Magnolia grandiflora). The name does not cause confusion in areas it is used for magnolias because "poplar" is almost universally used for Liriodendron tulipifera. I did not put the name in the intro because it doesn't seem to be used for magnolias in toto. —  AjaxSmack 16:33, 14 June 2023 (UTC)


 * thanks! I was a bit concerned about it in the intro because tulip tree redirects to Liriodendron. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:17, 15 June 2023 (UTC)


 * I had already added it at tulip tree (disambiguation) and put a sourced note at Magnolia × soulangeana. I should've referenced it at magnolia as well.  —  AjaxSmack  03:52, 16 June 2023 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Category:Brasiliorchis


A tag has been placed on Category:Brasiliorchis indicating that it is currently empty, and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion. If it remains empty for seven days or more, it may be deleted under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and removing the speedy deletion tag. Liz Read! Talk! 03:15, 4 August 2023 (UTC)

Corunastylis
Hello Peter,

I have almost finished the task of redirecting the Corunastylis species. The difficulty I now have is in redirecting the Corunastylis article itself. According to PoWO, C. obovata is now known as Prasophyllum obovatum and C. unica as Prasophyllum unicum. Is it acceptable then, to simply redirect the Corunastylis article to Genoplesium? Is there a better alternative? Gderrin (talk) 07:05, 8 August 2023 (UTC)


 * the question is whether Corunastylis deserves treating as a historically recognized genus as per Category:Historically recognized angiosperm genera or should just be redirected. My view is that the first approach should be used sparingly, only when the old genus name has some real use. For example, Sansevieria is still widely used in horticulture, although it has been sunk into Dracaena, so an article seems right to me. If Corunastylis is still used in enough Australian sources, then treat it as a historically recognized genus: remove the taxobox, change the category, and explain why most of its species have been sunk into Genoplesium. If not, redirect. I trust your judgement. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:18, 8 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Thanks! I'll go the "historic" route. Even a book published last year, lists 60 species of Corunastylis. Gderrin (talk) 11:42, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

History of botany
The indian section of the article history of botany does not match with the reference given. This is the same reference given below https://archive.org/details/historyofbotanic0000mort/mode/1up Kudiophi clopsvimbi (talk) 16:23, 17 August 2023 (UTC)
 * feel free to correct the section. I don't think the exact details of any classification are relevant in an article on the history of botany, which should discuss the general approach and principles. Peter coxhead (talk) 07:01, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Fern ... and its sub-articles
Peter, you recently reverted an uncited edit by Videsh Ramsahai to the cladogram at Fern. The user has made similar edits to numerous other cladograms... which might warrant reversal as well. All the best, Chiswick Chap (talk) 08:16, 18 August 2023 (UTC)
 * There are two issues here, I think. The first is what the latest evidence supports; I believe that at least some of 's edits are ok for that, but they haven't always updated the reference(s), which is wrong. The second is when the article is saying what older sources said, in which case the change I reverted was not correct. I don't have time to work on ferns right now, unfortunately. Peter coxhead (talk) 09:08, 18 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Maybe tell him something of the above? Chiswick Chap (talk) 09:37, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

Huperzia serrata ‎Revert
Hi there Peter! Hope all is good. Your profile looks impressive btw :-) I just wanted to ask you about the revert you did on one of my edits. I am trying to improve and want to understand how to approach updating scientific articles in the future. I am referring to this page: Huperzia serrata

Anyway, I was surprised you said the sources don't meet Wikipedia's criteria. This link in specific that I had added is a scientific study from a book: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/huperzia-serrata. The website as well is a very notable and credible website. I am not sure I can find a more reliable source to be honest. The sentence I added expanded on the topic and added value to the page (I believe). In all cases, let me know your reasoning and thanks in advance! SeriousBuilder (talk) 04:12, 24 August 2023 (UTC)
 * please read WP:MEDRS. There are stricter criteria for the acceptability of sources for medical information, because of the risk of harm to readers. I recommend asking if you are unsure – he's always my "goto" on these issues. Peter coxhead (talk) 07:04, 24 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Got it! I will read MEDRS more in-depth. Appreciate the help! SeriousBuilder (talk) 17:54, 24 August 2023 (UTC)

Trochoidea
What's the best link for the family template Template:Taxonomy/Trochoidea (unassigned)? Other (unassigned) templates link to incertae sedis, but Trochoidea differs from them in not having a Trochoidea (unassigned) article but no Template:Taxonomy/Incertae sedis/Trochoidea – maybe that needs to be created too? Certes (talk) 23:40, 10 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't see the point of a parent taxonomy template for a single unassigned genus. Just set the parent in Taxonomy/Lodderena to Trochoidea. An incertae sedis template only makes sense when there are a lot of unassigned taxa, e.g. when a large taxon is under revision. The article Trochoidea (unassigned) is even more pointless. There is nothing there that can't be better explained in Lodderena. —  Jts1882 &#124; talk 16:51, 11 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I've changed the parent. If there are no objections in a reasonable time, are you able to merge the articles?  (I'm not experienced in writing taxon articles; I just look for and fix anomalies.) Certes (talk) 17:26, 11 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I've been away and not on Wikipedia for a while, but back now. I agree with about the article Trochoidea (unassigned) – this isn't a taxon, but an absence of one, and should not have an article. But I disagree about having "Family: incertae sedis" in the taxobox – family is a major Linnaean rank and would be expected in a taxobox. So I would create Template:Taxonomy/Incertae sedis/Trochoidea. Peter coxhead (talk)
 * Thanks to you both. Can you sort out the taxa, or can I help further (though I suspect so far I've just raised problems...)? Certes (talk) 17:41, 11 September 2023 (UTC)

Category:Taxa by author
Hello Peter,

I wonder if I might have some help here please. Perhaps your explicatory skills are greater then mine. Gderrin (talk) 03:15, 16 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I've commented there. Part of the problem seems to me to be that the "Taxa named by ..." categories were never properly discussed at the relevant Tree of Life WikiProjects and so never sharply defined as to their meaning and use. As a different example of an issue, "Category:Taxa named by ..." is regularly categorized into "Category:Botanical taxa by author" or "Category:Animal taxa by author", but this doesn't really make sense unless the base categories are also separated (e.g. "Category:Botanical taxa named by ..."). What about biologists who authored the names of both animals and plants? Suppose a biologist authored the names of hundreds of plants and one animal? Peter coxhead (talk) 09:48, 16 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks very much Peter. I agree with you about the problems with these categories and wish there was a simple way of avoiding the difficulties when well-meaning, but less experienced editors of plant articles don't understand those problems. Gderrin (talk) 10:49, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

Trichocereus macrogonus move pages
I dont know how you want to do this but can you move Echinopsis macrogona and Echinopsis peruviana to Trichocereus macrogonus. They are now the same things. I just made the Trichocereus genus page. I made a page for Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi too but I dont want to manually move stuff into T. macrogonus. --Cs california (talk) 02:47, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Hm... Echinopsis macrogona is treated by PoWO as a synonym for the whole species Trichocereus macrogonus, whereas Echinopsis peruviana is treated as a synonym of Trichocereus macrogonus var. macrogonus. I agree that we should have a separate article for Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi, but I guess we don't want separate articles for Trichocereus macrogonus and Trichocereus macrogonus var. macrogonus, so there will have to be a merger as well as a move.
 * I've moved Echinopsis macrogona. But merging bits of Echinopsis peruviana into Trichocereus macrogonus needs a bit more time and thought, because it needs some major revisions now that they are treated as the same species. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:40, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I've now made preliminary fixes to Trichocereus macrogonus after redirecting Echinopsis peruviana, but it will need more work, I think. Peter coxhead (talk) 08:51, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks it looks good. I combined some stuff from the german and spanish wikipedia. --Cs california (talk) 04:54, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

Rhaponticum
Do you accept the the ruling by Report of the General Committee: 18 in 2017 see here that conserves the name and type of Rhaponticum Ludwig, Inst. Reg. Veg., ed. 2: 123. (1757)? If not why not. Thanks Andyboorman (talk) 07:24, 27 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Of course. It seems that in May 2023 Plants of the World Online had not been updated to take account of this considerably earlier decision, but has been now. So the article Rhaponticum needs to be fixed – and all the articles that are affected by the decision. (There's still a problem at the PoWO entry: if you follow the link to IPNI it takes you to Rhaponticum Vaill. instead of Rhaponticum Ludw. I've told them.)


 * from the reply I received, it seems that the IDs used for Rhaponticum in PoWO and IPNI have not been reconciled, but will be eventually. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:31, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the reply. I have just finished Wikispecies pages as far as I can. Andyboorman (talk) 07:05, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

Move cactus pages
So I have all the Trichocereinae genus are now consistent with Kew POWO. But There are a few small changes to be made that require moving and preserving the edit history:
 * Echinopsis chamaecereus needs to be moved to Chamaecereus silvestrii
 * Done. Peter coxhead (talk) 12:18, 30 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Echinopsis scopulicola should be combined into Echinopsis lageniformis
 * Done. Peter coxhead (talk) 12:18, 30 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Setiechinopsis, I dont think you like how this monotypic genus is setup I remember you liked it to be on the genus rather than species
 * Done – consensus is that monotypic genera should have a page at the genus name unless this needs disambiguation. Peter coxhead (talk) 12:18, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks. Hopefully this is more consistent and easier to deal with going forward. --Cs california (talk) 05:06, 28 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Hopefully this is more consistent and easier to deal with going forward – well, maybe, but the taxonomy of the Trichocereinae seems to be confused/confusing, and names get changed back and forth. For example, I first acquired Chamaecereus silvestrii under this name, and then changed my labels to Echinopsis chamaecereus; now I'll have to change them back!
 * The discussion at Echinopsis § Taxonomy needs fixing as well, since it says that Trichocereus and Lobivia have been subsumed into Echinopsis, but this seems to have reverted as well.
 * I'll work on it. Peter coxhead (talk) 06:41, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks again they also did changes to the tribes apparently everything is in Cereeae and that is broken up into 3 subtribes Cereinae, Trichocereinae, Rebutiinae. I changed some of it but it still needs work--Cs california (talk) 06:46, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, there's also a category Category:Trichocereeae that needs fixing – change up to Category:Cereeae or change down to Category:Trichocereinae?? There may be more categories, I haven't looked. Peter coxhead (talk) 07:08, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I changed the genus list for Cereinae at Cereeae to match a recent source. There are columns waiting to be filled in. As there's an article for Trichocereinae, then either Cereinae should be a separate article, or all three subtribes should be dealt with at Cereeae. I don't mind which.
 * I've also started to look at the categories. More work needed. Peter coxhead (talk) 13:23, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree I have kind of refrained from moving stuff around because I am having an issue finding sources I can cite that are not behind a paywall --Cs california (talk) 03:15, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
 * actually I can't find many recent (i.e. last 5 years) papers on the phylogeny/classification of Cereeae, except the one I found for Cereinae. (If you haven't already joined, the Wikipedia Library is a way to get round many paywalls.)
 * There are some other issues:
 * Weingartia is a synonym of Rebutia in PoWO. Although there seems to be good evidence that a broadly circumscribed Rebutia is not monophyletic, more recent papers seem to say "need more evidence". I'm not sure whether to leave it or not.
 * Update: I decided to leave it. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:46, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Stephanocereus is a synonym of Arrojadoa in PoWO – I'm inclined to follow PoWO on this one.
 * Update: Done. Peter coxhead (talk) 12:58, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Lasiocereus is accepted by PoWO, but we have as a synonym of Haageocereus – I'm inclined to follow PoWO on this one.
 * Update: Done. Peter coxhead (talk) 11:47, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Peter coxhead (talk) 10:06, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
 * For reference, all the Cereeae genera that have articles in Wikipedia are listed at User:Peter coxhead/Work/Cereeae genera with the subtribe they are placed in. Peter coxhead (talk) 14:02, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

Species lists on subtribe pages
although I copied the style used at Trichocereinae and Rebutiinae when I created Cereinae, I really don't think giving a list of species in pages on ranks above genus is a good idea. The problem is that the list is necessarily present on the genus page, so is redundantly duplicated, in these cases on the subtribe pages. Thus I updated the species list at Melocactus and then had to change the one at Cereinae. Since the two lists have different formats, one can't just be copied to the other. I've updated other species lists on the genus pages and forgotten to update the subtribe pages.

I would prefer the tables on the subtribe pages just to have two columns "Image" and "Genus", although I could live with "Distribution" as well, I guess.

What is your view? Peter coxhead (talk) 15:14, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

CS1 error on Rhododendron
Hello, I'm Qwerfjkl (bot). I have automatically detected that this edit performed by you, on the page Rhododendron, may have introduced referencing errors. They are as follows: Please check this page and fix the errors highlighted. If you think this is a false positive, you can [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?action=edit&preload=User:Qwerfjkl/Botpreload&editintro=User:Qwerfjkl/boteditintro&minor=&title=User_talk:Qwerfjkl&preloadtitle=Qwerfjkl%20(bot)%20–%20Peter_coxhead&section=new&preloadparams%5b%5d=&preloadparams%5b%5d=1179053798 report it to my operator]. Thanks, Qwerfjkl (bot) (talk) 15:49, 7 October 2023 (UTC)
 * A "bare URL and missing title" error. References show this error when they do not have a title. Please edit the article to add the appropriate title parameter to the reference. ([//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rhododendron&action=edit&minor=minor&summary=Fixing+reference+error+raised+by+%5B%5BUser%3AQwerfjkl%20(bot)%7CQwerfjkl%20(bot)%5D%5D Fix] | [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&action=edit&section=new&preload=User:Qwerfjkl%20(bot)/helpform&preloadtitle=Referencing%20errors%20on%20%5B%5BSpecial%3ADiff%2F1179053798%7CRhododendron%5D%5D Ask for help])

Speedy deletion nomination of Category:SIA-Class Spiders articles


A tag has been placed on Category:SIA-Class Spiders articles indicating that it is currently empty, and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion. If it remains empty for seven days or more, it may be deleted under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and removing the speedy deletion tag. ✗ plicit  12:37, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Parent refs
Just granted an edit request at the Taxonomy/Passeriformes template. There is a reference given on the talk page for correcting the spelling of the parent. I tried to find a way to include the reference in the box called "Parent's taxonomic references:" and was unable to do so. I tried authority, parent_authority and various forms of parent_refs but was unable to fill the box with the reference citation. Would appreciate your help as I see you did a lot of work with the Don't edit this line template family. Since I know that some editors appear to dislike refs in taxoboxes, I thought I'd ask you whether or not the ref should even be included, and if so, how to do it?  P.I. Ellsworth &thinsp;, ed.  put'er there 10:19, 28 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm very much in favour of at least one ref in taxonomy templates that supports the parent parameter; it may be redundant to the refs in the relevant article, but does show that it's not just some editor's opinion. (But I admit to being guilty of not always supplying one when I create a taxonomy template.)
 * The parent's refs field is picked up from the parent's taxonomy template, so for Taxonomy/Passeriformes it would be whatever is at Taxonomy/Psittacopasseres. I'm not sure why this field is shown; any rationale is lost in the mists of Wikipedia history! Peter coxhead (talk) 11:16, 28 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you beyond words, Peter! I added the ref to the parent's page and sure enough, it automatically appeared in the parent's-ref field on the child page. Excellent! Don't know how it works, but it does work beautifully! Thanks again!  P.I. Ellsworth &thinsp;, ed.  put'er there 11:58, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * thanks, no problem!
 * By the way, it's a little fiddly to set up correct wikilinks for plants and fungi whose ranks are below species. In such names, the 'connecting term' is not italicized. So for Pleurotus eryngii var. ferulae you have to put  to produce Pleurotus eryngii var. ferulae. Peter coxhead (talk) 17:00, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I got it. Latin names are used in scientific studies. I tried hard to find the Latin and Turkish names of many weeds growing in the mountains in the eastern region of Turkey. This edible Ferula mushroom can grow even up to 8 kilos. After the rain, sunny weather accelerates the growth process. I found it many times in the Akdoğan Mountains. Vartolu3566 (talk) 17:11, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
 * wow, 8 kg! That is certainly a mushroom worth finding! Peter coxhead (talk) 17:48, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, if I remember correctly, it was the end of May or before June 10th. The time for mushrooms in the mountains had already passed. But the mushroom I found was white. And not a single insect was on it. It was as strict as a soccer ball. I found it on the edge of the Big Akdoğan lake. Vartolu3566 (talk) 18:04, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

Cephalocereus polylophus and Neobuxbaumia polylopha merge histories
I created a page for Cephalocereus polylophus but did not see Neobuxbaumia polylopha. They need to be merged histories as they are synonym. -Cs california (talk) 04:18, 5 November 2023 (UTC)
 * merger done, but see note at Talk:Cephalocereus polylophus. Peter coxhead (talk) 17:45, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

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