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The name issue is not yet
settled. According to Slageren (1994), the diploid D-genome species
in Triticum is, as originally proposed by Bowden, T.
aegilops. Here, Slageren gives priority to the epithet
aegilops which predates tauschii. Because a species name
cannot repeat the name of the genus, Aegilops aegilops is not
allowed. The next available name must be selected, i.e., Ae.
tauschii. Thus, following Slageren, there are two legitimate
names for the D-genome species, T. aegilops and Ae.
tauschii. It is doubtful that wheat researchers, who use the
genomic classification of Triticum sensu Bowden, will drop the
name T. tauschii for T. aegilops. This and other
nomenclatural problems should be addressed by a monographic revision
of Triticum as already recommended by the 1st IWGS Taxonomy
Workshop (see below). Until a revision project is underway, the
easiest remedy for maintaining some degree of nomenclatural
consistency is for researchers to abandon the enlarged
Triticum classification concept, which is filled with
nomenclatural errors, and return to the traditional concepts of
Triticum and Aegilops as separate genera. For
Aegilops, the nomenclatural issues are mostly resolved and two
current classifications are available. Slageren's move of Ae.
mutica into the monotypic genus Amblyopyrum may cause some
researchers to prefer Hammer's classification. Unfortunately, there
is no agreement on how to classify Triticum sensu stricto. The
wide disparity between the genomic treatment of Mac Key (1966) and
the morphological treatment of Dorofeev and Migushova (1979)
exemplifies the problematic complexities of handling a genus with
domesticated taxa. Reaching a consensus will require a collaborative
effort supervised under the banner of an international revision
project which can deal directly and expertly with the classification
controversy as well as with difficult nomenclatural issues.
In my opinion, a formal proposal under Art. 14 of the ICBN to
conserve Ae. squarrosa is illadvised. In support of his
recommendation, Gupta argues that usage of the "popular, though
illegitimate name" Ae. squarrosa has declined due to Bowden's
introduction of the name T tauschii. This reasoning confuses
issues of nomenclature with those of classification. As pointed out
by Yen et al. (1997), nomenclatural rules establish both the
legitimacy and priority of the name Ae. tauschii. These rules
operate independent of classification, whether the issue is an
enlarged Triticum sensu Bowden or any other conceptual
treatment approach taken by the various researchers and botanists who
have dealt with Triticum and Aegilops. Despite Gupta's
claims to the contrary, the name Ae. tauschii has an
established historical precedence which will be difficult to
challenge in a conservation proposal. The argument that Ae.
tauschii will cause a "futile" and "disadvantageous nomenclatural
change" does not account for the recent monographic work of Hammer
(1980a,b) and Slageren (1994) and ignores current use of Ae.
tauschii by wheat researchers and botanists. A conservation
proposal of Ae. squarrosa against Ae. tauschii is sure
to fail because stability of the nomenclature for this species is not
threatened (see ICBN, Art. 14.2).
2nd IWGS Taxonomy Workshop
Regarding Gupta's call for a workshop, I would like to invite
those members of the wheat research community who have an interest in
the taxonomy of the wheats to participate in the 2nd IWGS Taxonomy
Workshop with discussions initiated in 1993 at the 1st IWGS taxonomy
workshop. The report of the 1993 workshop, which was not included in
the 8th IWGS Proceedings volume, is presented in the following
section. J.G. Waines (University of California, Riverside) and I will
cochair the 2nd IWGS taxonomy workshop. In addition to the issues of
nomenclature and classification, this workshop will consider a
recommendation to accept the recent Slageren monograph of
Aegilops L. (1994) as a first step towards an overall
monographic revision of wheat taxonomy.
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