In The Garden: Plant identification

Could someone help me identify this fragrant shrub currently in blossom?

 

Edgeworthia chrysantha...? or E. papyrifera?

 

I agree, and Wikipedia says those names are synonyms. It was featured on February 13, 2013 as Botany Photo of the Day: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2013/02/edgeworthia-chrysantha.php

 

Aerulean had it wrong for a bit too. The plant list says
Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl. is a synonym of Edgeworthia tomentosa (Thunb.) Nakai

 

There seems to be a difference of opinion by scholars on this one. We go with the Flora of China here and use E. chrysantha at the Garden.

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014518

 

Thanks Eric. I will look into this as a viable alternative to theplantlist.

 

If a body is going to use Flora of China as the last word then they are sometimes going to be adopting classifications that are not standard in the west - they should be sure to read accompanying discussions for various entries in the Flora which point out that naming being used in those instances are not universal or fully demonstrated to be apt. For instance, western and eastern botanists do not agree on Cotoneaster, Flora of China has Magnolia split up into multiple genera and so on.

 

The last word around here goes to Douglas (Justice) I guess. I look for consensus. If there is disagreement, we have to make a judgement. We look to Flora of China as an authority for Asian plants, but all decisions are weighed out with the views of other scholars.

In the case of Edgeworthia USDA GRIN also uses this nomenclature.

It's good to look at as many resources as one can. The sciences is not all decided yet.

We use several web resources and books to determine our plant names at the Garden.

http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=20369