Orchid Observers Talk

listed species name does not match handwritten label?

  • Janet_Jaguar by Janet_Jaguar

    How do I report if the species attached to the barcode is different than what is handwritten on the card? For this example, the computer thinks it is species "Neottia ovata (L.) Rich." while the card handwritten label says it is "Listera ovata".

    Janet Jaguar

    Posted

  • johnt2 by johnt2 scientist

    Hi Janet, thank you for checking this with us, we'll change the help text to make it clearer.

    If the text box labelled 'species' is empty then please type in the species name that is written on the label. Just like modern handwriting, this can sometimes be very clear and elegant and at other times more challenging to decipher!

    If, however, a name already appears in the white box labelled 'species', then you don't need to do anything - in fact the text should be 'greyed out' and the box locked so that you can't edit it.

    As you've spotted, the name on the label is often different to the typed name. This is because the scientific (or 'Latin') name that isassigned to a particular species can change through time as our understanding of the species changes. Where the two names differ it is because the label contains an old name and the text box contains the currently accepted name.

    I'll add a post to the Science section tomorrow that explains species naming in more detail.

    Best wishes,
    John (Natural History Museum)

    Posted

  • Janet_Jaguar by Janet_Jaguar

    Thanks, John, and good luck in getting in your project and in getting your chats set up. 😃

    Posted