Identification: Dieffenbachia ID (Getting conflicting answers elsewhere)

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by plantnerd, Jul 16, 2012.

  1. plantnerd

    plantnerd Member

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  2. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    Dieffenbachia amoena is a synonym of Dieffenbachia seguine. I would name the plant Dieffenbachia seguine 'Amoena'.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2012
  3. plantnerd

    plantnerd Member

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    Thank you very much! That makes sense now!
     
  4. SusanDunlap

    SusanDunlap Active Member

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    ThePlantList (a world wide collaborative list of plant names managed by KEW) shows that Dieffenbachia amonea is what they call an "unresolved" name (meaning that the world authorities could not agree that it was a legitimate name). Dieffenbachia seguine is an accepted name (on that species page they do not list D. amonea as a synonym of D. sequine).
    http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/search?q=Dieffenbachia

    Missouri Botanical has a photograph of D. sequine - it has paler green variegation compared to your sample. If the variegation pattern is a legitimate means to distinguish between species of D., then I do not think your plant is D. seguine.

    If you agree the variegation pattern is key, you might want to call your plant "Dieffenbachia species (sold as Dieffenbachia amone)". This is the convention we use at Aerulean to label plants for which we lack confidence about a name. We use this to avoid the confusion of using a legitimate naming convention. Using this name at least would help your customer care for the plant - assuming that online data for Dieffenbachia amone applies.
     
  5. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Susan, all well and good, but Dieffenbachia (even in the wild) are extraordinarily variable in terms of their variegation, even within plants of known species.... For me (and I know my Dieffs), the plant in the photo is solidly D. seguine, which is the accepted name for that species.

    Also, What's with this D. sequine I keep seeing around here? Is spellcheck messing with us? TROPICOS lists a D. sequina as an incorrect name for D. seguine, but D. amonea is listed as a horticultural name only with no connection to any certain species, which places it in incertae sedis.....
     
  6. SusanDunlap

    SusanDunlap Active Member

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    Tropicos works with KEW and is the primary source for the KEW data.

    Thank you for verifying that the variegation is highly variable. This will give our friend in Wisconsin a bit more confidence.
     
  7. plantnerd

    plantnerd Member

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    Thank You All! :) I guess it wasn't simple after all! I will probably just label it as D. seguine. Just so you know I am not from Portland Nursery, but used their pic as it matched my plant perfectly. I am just planning on potting up some trade gallons with cane cuttings to sell out of my home. I have alot of dieffenbachs that are getting a little too big in the house... (some 5+ feet tall)...
     

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