Re: A. sazensoo

From: grsjr at juno.com (George R Stilwell, Jr.) on 1997.01.03 at 03:10:03(36) Jan, Some mistakes die hard. A hundred years ago some taxonomist equated A. sazensoo with A. sikokianum and his mistake gets quoted every so often. If you look at your Arisaema species list that you received in the Arisaema Enthusiasts information packet, you can answer your own question. you will see: A. sazensoo (Blume) Makino (in bold print signifying a valid species name with 2 valid forms) f. sazensoo +More f. viride others = f. sazensoo A. sikokianum Franchet & P.A. Savatier (in bold print signifying a valid species name with 3 forms) v. serratum (Makino) Hand. -Mazz. v. sikokianum Franchet & P.A. Savatier v. henryanum (Engl.) H. Li v. integrifolium = sikokianum It is not surprising that they don't look alike. They are entirely separate species. Jin Murata placed them as follows in his revision of the Japanese species (also available here) 24. Spathe blade widely ovate, ovate to oblong-ovate, fornicate, acute to acuminate, distinctly declined 25. Spathe blade longer than tube..........................................................A. sazensoo Blume ex Makino 25. Spathe blade shorter than tube........................................................A. kuratae Serizawa 24. Spathe blade obvate, not fornicate, cuspidate, erect or ascending.......A. sikokianum Fr. et Sav. Since he is the reigning expert on Japanese species, we have a definitive separation of the two. I'm not sure which keys you ordered. There are keys for Japanese, Chinese, Burmese, American, Himalayan, and Indian species all available to members for the postage. Ray GRSJr@Juno.com

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