Time: Tuesday 2 May 2023 at 7.30pm (BST)
Wolfgang Borgmann studied biology and some civil engineering. He currently works in adult education, mainly in the field of corporate management systems. His hobby and interest in cacti and other succulents started as a schoolboy about 50 years ago.
His background in biology helps him to better understand the ecology of these plants, as well as questions about their relationships and naming. Thanks to his didactic experience, he is unperturbed by the prospect of teaching harmless hobbyists about nomenclature and taxonomy!
Wolfgang’s talk is primarily intended to explain why changes in the names of plants can occur, when they are obligatory and how, in other cases, one can opt for one of the existing choices, i.e., either stay with the familiar name or adopt a new name. Even if it is not always easy to recognise, there is a logic according to which the naming and classification of our favourite plants works from a scientific point of view. To make this understandable, some examples from the world of cacti and other succulents will be presented.