When one starts to "spread" morphological databases in botany one runs into innumerable problems, as I think I mentioned some time ago. In this case, thinking of monocots and "dicots", will we allow monocots to have stipules? What do we do with the intravaginal squamules of many Alismatales which, as far as I can see, are colleters under another name? But why should they not have a different name, since they are likely of independent origin from colleters in dicots? But, if one takes that tack, can we use the terms haplostemony and diplostemony in monocots, as Ronse Decraene questioned in a monocot symposium volume about four years ago? Indeed, do monocots ever have sepals or petals? Why should "hypogeal" and "epigeal" mean different things for monocot and dicot seedlings?

These are not insoluble problems, but I have seen no recent discussions on how to clarify botanical terminology, although I think that this is definitely needed - and it needs to be an international effort, not least because we can have the same botanical term meaning different things in different languages (I think "crassinucellate" is an example).

Peter S.