Shakespeare’s saying“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”Aside
from the fact that some roses don’t smell sweet, several“roses”(such as“Christmas
rose,”Helleborus niger, and guilder rose,Viburnum opulus) aren’t even true roses
(species ofRosa), some rose names are ambiguous (“China rose”could beRosa
chinensisor the very differentHibiscus rosa-sinensis), and because of extensive
hybridization among the over 100 species, both the scientific and common names
for roses are often unreliable and even experts often disagree about the precise
meanings of rose names.
1.9.2 Taxonomic Splitting and Rank Inflation
Taxonomic systems dealing with the relationships of organisms are mental con-
structs or models of reality, and so there is a creative or artistic aspect to much of
classification. Biological classification frequently involves some degree of subjec-
tive assessment and arbitrary decision, and this is particularly evident at the species
level. Darwin ( 1859 ) wrote“I was much struck by how entirely vague and arbitrary
is the distinction between species and varieties...I look at the term species as one
arbitrarily given for the sake of convenience to a set of individuals closely
resembling each other, and that it does not essentially differ from the term variety,
which is given to less distinct and morefluctuating forms. The term variety, again,
in comparison with mere individual differences, is also applied arbitrarily, and for
mere convenience sake.”However, this should not be interpreted to mean that
biological taxonomists lack standards and consistency with respect to what con-
stitutes a“species.”As Darwin ( 1859 ) also commented,“various definitions...have
been given of the term species. No one definition has satisfied all naturalists; yet
every naturalist knows vaguely what he means when he speaks of a species.”Since
Darwin’s time, it has become apparent that in practice human psychology and
motivations are important in determining how species are recognized, and these
factors are discussed in this section.
Even when they agree that a set of organisms is distinctive by virtue of shared
traits, taxonomists often differ with respect to (1) whether formal nomenclatural
recognition is even appropriate and (2) if appropriate, the rank that should be
assigned (e.g. species or subspecies). Historically and to this day some taxonomists
(facetiously referred to as“splitters”) have a“liberal”approach, formally recog-
nizing more groupings than would be accepted by most of their professional peers;
and conversely some“lumpers”have a“conservative”approach, recognizing fewer
groupings than most taxonomists consider appropriate. Taxonomic splitting is one
cause of“taxonomic inflation,” the generation of more scientific names than
justified.
1 Classification ofCannabis sativaL. in Relation... 41