First classification; different plant name on label
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Hi, this is my first classification so am a little unsure on if I'm dong this right. Have guessed that the specimen nearest the barcode is mainly in bud, but am concerned that the plant name on the labels is different to the name that came up on the computer classification. Also there are two different labels, and the handwritten one (with different location & very different year) doesn't seem to be the one I was meant to be checking/entering data for - or was it?
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by
Janet_Jaguar
Hi, Nikki,
I'm just browsing here myself, but this is the response John2 gave me.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)
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