I don't have anything important to add regarding the Sempervivum section of the database, but I can relate to the problem. Seems like overkill for those have one or two Sempervivums as part of their overall plant collection.
Lori, when you laid out the problem, I shared your frustration with the apparent inconsistency.
But then, Peter, when you explained your reasoning, I totally identified. Not with plants, but with tropical fish, specifically Killifish. These are small fish (generally 1½-2½"), with males often spectacularly colored.
http://www.killiadictos.com/mi...
http://www.killiadictos.com/mi...
These photos are not photoshopped , and they are not breeder-developed color strains. This is how they look in the wild.
The types I'm referring to colonize small streams and pools. The same species, even the same subspecies, are often found in several different bodies of water in the same general area. But because they are reproductively isolated, each population has it's own look:
http://images.killi.net/n/NIG/...
http://images.killi.net/n/NIG/...
http://images.killi.net/n/NIG/...
As with the Sempervivums you mentioned above, each population breeds true to it's population. The location tag serves the same purpose as an official cultivar tag.
At one time someone was making a major push to drop the location tag attached to each population as having no scientific validity. These fish do not fit into the mainstream aquarium trade and are maintained by dedicated Killifish enthusiasts. They often maintain more than one population of the same species because they appreciate and respect the differences. What none of these enthusiasts want is for all these different populations to be lumped together as representing the same fish. They may technically, legally, genetically all be the same species, but they are certainly different and need to be boldly represented as such.
It seems Sempervivum enthusiasts are as fanatic as are Killifish enthusiasts.
So, regardless how the Sempervivum section is handled in the future, Peter I certainly understand your current stance.
Ron
