How To Identify Plants At The SRP: How Species Are Defined

• Botanists define a species based on how it is different from other species

• To propose a new species, a botanist has to publish exactly how to distinguish the new species from all other species.

• In the paper, the botanist usually also gives a key which tells how to do this.

• The key never is presented as "look at this pix; it looks different from all other species".

• No one is forced to accept the new species; each botanist decides for herself whether to accept it.

http://tchester.org/srp/plants/how_to_id/12.html Comments and feedback: Tom Chester Last update: 16 October 2003.

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