Kitty, I haven't got a clue as to how the plants look that you are refering to (a picture would be nice!), and Neo Monet I just know by the picture on FCBS but here is what my Neo Treasure Chest looks like! Should be a big diffirence between the two!

Japie
{{gwi:524988}}

Monet and TC DO NOT LOOK ALIKE but look at this and it may explain

http://cgi.ebay.com/BROMELIAD-Neoregelia-MONET-NEW_W0QQitemZ330197810571QQihZ014QQcategoryZ25463QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The 'Monet' on FCBS is a Brazilian hybrid from Bromeliario Imperialis, and most of those are not in the trade in the US, at least not that I'm aware of.

In her eBay listing Shirley states that this is a Patricia Bullis hybrid, and unregistered, so it could easily be just a case of two people using the same name.

It does look an awful lot like Treasure Chest though, and it seems like Patricia would be aware of that, so I'm wondering if the tags got switched. Speaking as a hybridizer who's worked with TC quite a bit, some of its offspring do look an awful lot like the parent, so it may not be identical, but I'm wondering why she would release something that looked so much like it.

At any rate, just in my brief dealings with Shirley, she strikes me as a very nice person who would not knowingly defraud anyone, but she doesn't always know the correct names. It could be an error or just a case of very similar-looking plants, but I'd be inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. If you like the looks of the plant in the picture and what you get is the same plant, then everyone's happy, right? ;-)

This brings up at least two issues here. First is that while the name is listed in the BSI Cultivar Registry with credit to Bromeliario Imperialis as hybridizer, it is not officially "registered" (which I don't understand at all!). I don't know what all the rules are, but what happens if someone else is first to register a different cross using that same name? The second issue regards some commercial nurseries creating "common" names for otherwise unfamiliar plants, such as Hohenbergia 'Fudge Ripple', aka. Hohenbergia correia-araujei. That only creates confusion for most growers. Sorry if I sound a little like Uncle Derek on this one.
Paul

The "Monet" that is on Ebay is the very same as the one Bullis is carrying. The lady who's selling it has it right. My problem is with taking a plant that was already created and named as 'Treasure Chest' by a superb hybridizer, and now this company giving it another name and claiming it as their own. You can see what I'm talking about at their site, www.bullisbrom.com check out the neo's section and when you click on the "Monet" you can see the plant and the ones on the bench have the exact markings as Grant Groves. I'd love to hear what he has to say... I guess you can tell I'm REALLY picky about names & respecting the craft of all hybridizers.

I forgot to thank you all for your responses, I guess in my fit I forgot my manners.

Mistakes will happen...
I don't think those people are trying to rip someone off. Why should they?

Anoying when it happens, but I get that with about 80% I buy over here.

Sander

I don't know why they should Sander,
But it is not the first time Pat Bullis has done it and caused problems.
The other side of the coin is people should not register a plant without the permission of the hybridser. TC was registered against Grant's wishes. He considered the plant very unstable.

I allways thought it was a bit strange that you can name and register a plant without being the one that made it.

Sander

I checked the pic of Monet on the Bullis site (see link). Yes, it does look very much like TC, but how can you prove it's not just a very similar-looking cross without doing a DNA analysis? It happens. I don't really know Patricia so I can't comment on whether she would claim something was hers if it wasn't, but it's not as if that is the only possible explanation. If she did, then I imagine Grant knows about it.

As far as who can register a plant, I'm not sure what the rules are. If the hybridizer doesn't want to do it themselves then someone else can do it for them, but it seems like they should have the breeder's permission, assuming they're still alive. If the breeder doesn't want the plant registered for whatever reason, does that mean that someone else can claim it? I'll have to ask Derek about that. That seems really wrong to me, but I'm not aware of anything being done to prevent it.

There are a number of cases of the same plant being grown under different names. Usually it's because the plant was obtained without a name, and not an attempt to defraud, but there's a fine line there. If the registrar is urging that every plant sold have a cultivar name, then the tendency is going to be for growers to invent one if they don't know the plant's true identity, and that creates a lot of confusion.

I do know that if the breeder doesn't register a NAME, then it's up for grabs for whoever wants to use it. Common sense and common courtesy would dictate that you shouldn't use a name that is already well established for a widely grown plant (even though it's not registered), but some people do it anyway. Common sense would also dictate that you don't register something that looks exactly like another widely grown cultivar, but that happens all the time. Sometimes it's innocent, sometimes not. On the one hand, how can you know every cv. that exists everywhere? On the other hand, maybe you do know but you've still managed to create a nice, commercial plant and you don't want to just throw it away after all of your effort. Maybe the look-alike is not even available in your area. So what do you do?

All I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of grey areas in all of this, and I think it's time for an open dialog to take place between the breeders and the registrar on how to resolve some of these issues.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neo. Monet

I've found the Monet discussion quite interesting, but it made me feel that a lot is missing. I'd just love to read the latest "International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants", but I'm sure I won't find the time.

In my opinion the whole thing is out of control and there is no easy way to change it. Seller's need names to sell and they will probably use whatever name is going to sell. Breeders have totally different agendas and collectors are stuck in the middle.

I guess it doesn't matter that much. I'm almost at the limit of what I can collect. Maybe another 50 and I'm done.

OUT OF CONTROL is good explanation.
Bias and arrogance can not used to control an international registry but that's the system now

Sounds like you had some bad experiences with the registry.

Sander

The current system doesn't scale. It seems that more and more people are breeding bromeliads and I suspect that they will name plants in whatever manner suites them. Why bother with the antiquated systems?