I was looking through some of the plants that I had submitted and were approved for the DB and noticed that the common names seem to different on a number of them. Did something get merged with or added to the DB recently to give obscure names as the common ones to plants? Thanks.

What part of the database was it in Janice?

I just looked at your plant list http://garden.org/plants/brows...
and don't see anything unusual with the common names. Most seem to only have one common name. Which in particular were you wondering about?

It looks like most of the Cattleya have that as a common name as well, I can change it to that. And the Dendrobium are mostly Dendrobium as well with a couple as Dendrobium Orchid. Would just Dendrobium be the best common name?

Thanks, Lynn and Sue.
Dave already approved my name change. It was for Ipomoea Quamoclit. I requested the common name of Hummingbird Cypress vine.

Then I changed Cardoon as the common name for the Cynara. And then I took a look at Monarda. Bee Balm is the common name. That genera could be standardized as far as the order of the names, consistency, etc.

Then there were a few others I fixed by giving a thumbs up to the correct name from an obscure one.

The reason I asked if something had changed is that when I proposed the plant, it was approved with the correct common names and it appeared to have changed since then.

Great job Janice. All this sleuthing is such fun.

sandnsea2 said:The reason I asked if something had changed is that when I proposed the plant, it was approved with the correct common names and it appeared to have changed since then.

I wish I could tell you exactly the chain of events but I don't have the information in front of me.

There are a few members who submit a lot of name edits and they do a fantastic job. I have grown accustomed to seeing their user names in the queue and approving without doing a rigorous check on the proposal. It's possible, even likely, that one of these submitted a name change on something that was previously edited, too.

Thank, Lynn and Dave!

So Bee Balm IS the most common name for Monarda. That's what I grew up with but I've seen Bergamot used more often for fistulosa.

The way the is set up I was thinking the most popular would get precedence. Common name wars in the offing.

Evan do you know anything about this? The thread "How to speed up my internet connection" in Site Talk forum
Or anyone else in this thread.

Evan, Bergamot is more a plant persons name for Monarda. fist. Bee Balm is how the general public (and many seed and plant companies) come to learn of Monarda. It is also a very useful common name, as it describes the lure the plant presents to the Bee.

Thanks Janice, Bee Balm it is.
Lynn, I'm no techie but there are some basic things which help. I'll post on the other thread.