[Cavan Allen]

Pere,

Syngonanthus sp. 'Belem' used to be listed as Tonina sp. 'Belem' (just as Syngonanthus sp. 'Manuas' was listed as Tonina sp. 'Manaus'). The only real Tonina is Tonina fluviatilis.

Please let me know if it's possible to do the following:

A search by genus for Tonina brings up all 3.

In other words, it not only brings up the real Tonina, but also the ones that used to be listed as such. If I could tell you the ones that have been changed and would come up that way, that would be best. I'm only talking about a dozen or so here.

Please, oh please, tell me you can do this.

Thank you.

 

[Cavan Allen]

No rush because of Christmas of course, but I thought of this now...

Could the above be accomplished by a synonym field?

Lamiaceae sp. used to be in there as Hemigraphis traian (a totally bogus name). If you looked at the entry, you'd see the bogus name there with size, origin, etc. One could search by genus for Hemigraphis and the entry with the correct name would show up (perhaps with a note). That way, I wouldn't have to have you do anything manually.

 

[Cavan Allen]

How 'bout it? Possible? =D>

 

[Cavan Allen]

Thanks. I think it will really improve functionality.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Well, it's not so much a fix as a proposed improvement. In addition to the following in the data entry panel for each entry:

Name of plant:
Family:
ADD NEW FAMILY
Location:
Region:
Size:
Lighting Requirements:
Difficulty:
Growth Rate:
Genus:
Aquascape Placement:
Plant Type:
Category:
Can Be Grown Emersed:

There would be:

Hobby synonyms

Any entered hobby synonym would show up in the box everyone sees on the main PF page that lets you search by genus. Syngonanthus sp. 'Belem' was Tonina sp. 'Belem'. I'd enter Tonina sp. 'Belem' as a synonym for it. Searching for it would bring up the real Tonina as well as Syngonanthus. Does that explain it?

 

[Cavan Allen]

Right. It would bring up the Tonina that really is a Tonina as well as the ones that were (or listed that way).

 

[Cavan Allen]

Another example is this:

Pogostemon stellatus used to be known as Eusteralis stellata (erroneously, but that's what it was). People would be able to look up Eusteralis by genus and find Pogostemon stellatus. I don't think Pogostemon helferi was ever known as Eusteralis, so it would have to be entered for each plant.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Bump...

 

[Cavan Allen]

Yes, thanks. I'd like a synonym field for each entry. You could search by the synonym as well as the current name. So, one could do a search for Tonina and it would bring up plants formerly called Tonina (now Syngonanthus). I would therefore enter Tonina as a synonym for the two Syngonanthus. Whatever I'd put in the synonym field would come up in the drop down menu for genus search.

 

[Cavan Allen]

The second option.

 

[Cavan Allen]

The Tonina/Syngonanthus thing works flawlessly. Awesome! However, I tried adding Eusteralis stellata as a synonym for Pogostemon stellatus, but I don't see Eusteralis in the genus drop down and I don't see it as a synonym in the Pogostemon stellatus entry. Same deal for searching for Hemigraphis and coming up with Lamiaceae (correct name). Also, the boxes for all search drop downs are blank. That's more of a cosmetic thing I suppose. I don't mean to be picky, but I really do appreciate your work. Thanks again.

 

[Cavan Allen]

I did not add functionality to create a new genus from a synonym. that would get a bit messy IMO.

I'm confused. I don't think there's really any difference between the Tonina/Syngonanthus situation and the others. Lamiaceae sp. was in there as Hemigraphis traian at one time. The functionality of the former is all I need. I didn't mean to imply that there should be something else as well (I do like and want to keep that last thing you added).

 

[Cavan Allen]

Oops. I moved Lamiaceae to Hyptis (the former is the family, not genus - it's a gradual process..) assuming that it would work. (Hemigraphis - totally wrong, Lamiaceae - family, Hyptis - correct genus). So yeah, I think it would be best if you could search for whatever I put in the synonym field, regardless of whether there's an entry for a plant in that genus or not.

 

[Cavan Allen]

OK, I think I see. I'd be down with the search box. That's a good idea anyway. Thanks again.

 

[Cavan Allen]

The problem with adding genus that exist only in the synonyms is that it is harder to keep good data. Esp if multiple synonyms exist is would be really hard to insure that the names were parsed correctly. I could make a search box that could search all fields or something. The problem is with how this system is designed, if I start hacking things in here this thing will become a mess to maintain.

Is the danger that information might be put in there incorrectly? I could be careful. Would it be better if there was more than one synonym field or some way to separate synonyms in that entry box?

 

[Cavan Allen]

Well, let's add the search box and see how that looks. I think that should be OK.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Looks like it works well. Thanks a bunch Pere.

A minor nitpick, but when you do a search for synonyms without entering anything in the box, it comes up with all the ones for which I've entered a synonym as well as few for which I have not. I accidentally entered one for Marsilea spp., but even after I removed it, it's still there. Again, not a big deal.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Sure. In the new search box, don't type anything. Select synonyms. Hit go. Rotala macrandra 'green' and a few other show up even though they have no synonyms.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Cool, thanks. Just one more thing though...how come they aren't in alphabetical order when you get on that page? It says ordered by alphabetical at the top.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Is there a way I can enter stuff so that doesn't happen?