Proposed Symposium Title: CULTIVATED PLANT TAXONOMY: BRIDGING THE DIVIDE
Abstract: Cultivated plants represent a fascinating combination of natural evolution and human selection, as Darwin realised in his On the Origin of the Species (1859) and as such can provide a rich topic for research. Currently botanists have come to regard cultivated plants as a completely different area of study and not appropriate for botanical research, while plant breeders lose interest in the taxonomy of wild taxa as soon as they can hybridise them. These cultivated plants, whether vegetatively or sexually propagated, have also been considered as models for various biological and evolutionary questions, however, the complexities of their histories and evolution, as well as sociological aspects, can lead researchers to overlook their value. This symposium will highlight current trends and complexities in investigating the classification of cultivated plants whether using classical or the latest taxonomic tools. We will particularly focus on the importance of reconstruction of phylogenetic and genealogical histories in the classification and naming of cultivated plants with much greater accuracy. We will also draw attention to the importance of cultivated plants in studies of biodiversity. The broad and international audience of IBC will provide a unique opportunity to strengthen links between cultivated plant taxonomists and colleagues working only on wild relatives, as well as those involved in biodiversity conservation and inventorying.
Speaker 1: Alastair Culham
Herbarium, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK
a.culham@reading.ac.uk
Has taxonomy gone to pot? Why the needs and expectations of amateur gardeners and professional botanists lead to opposing desires in taxonomy of cultivated plants and why molecular systematics is not (necessarily) the answer.
Speaker 2: Valéry Malécot
Institut de Recherches en Horticulture et Semences, L'Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, France
valery.malecot@agrocampus-ouest.fr
Unveiling evolutionary and breeding history of selected woody and vegetatively cultivated plants in order to correctly name and classify them.
Speaker 3: Daniel Guillot Ortiz
Serra, Valencia, Spain
dguillot_36@hotmail.com
The study of formerly cultivated plants, part of our historical, cultural and biological heritage.
Topics (Up to three): Systematics
Topic 2: Crops and Wild Relatives
Topic 3: Hybrids and Hybridization
Justification: The aim of this symposium is to highlight complexities of cultivated plant taxonomy, and the needs and possibilities for studies merging wild, cultivated and eventually naturalized plants in order to achieve a better understanding of plant biodiversity that may involve a large number of users, i.e. from taxonomists to horticulturists, through breeders, official registrars of Plant Breeders Rights and conservationists. The opportunity this symposium presents is for us to renew links with the botanical community and point out that there is much more in common between our two fields than perhaps the ‘pure’ botanists think.
