It's not unusual for nurseries to get names wrong, plants sometimes come from their suppliers with a wrong name also. But there are"names" and there are "names". Sometimes plant dealers, to make their plants seem unique, give them a name. They are the only supplier, under that name. So the name means nothing, it's just a marketing ploy (think back to the story of Kiwi Fruit, in actual fact Chinese Gooseberry). Then sometimes some dealers get hold of a plant that looks extra good and they clone it so they have exact genetic copies. They can register that with another name, and get a patent on it.

One interesting case is the plant sometimes referred to as Alocasia "Hilo Beauty". An American (professional) plant collector found it in South America. Not being a botanist, not knowing that Alocasia only occured in Asia through to Australia, and not really knowing what an Alocasia looked like, he decided it must be an Alocasia. To make it more marketable it need to come from Hawaii, so he called it Alocasia "Hilo Beauty". There were people who realised it wasn't an Alocasia but thought it must be a Colocasia, you get those in Hawaii (the Polynesians took them there). When the scientific examination was done, turns out it was a Caladium, a South American genus. But there are those who refuse to accept its non-Hawaiian status and say it only botanists trying to change things around again. You need to realise that when you're speaking in scientific terms it's very precise. But when you're dealing with marketing, well ... then it's Raffety's Rules, anything goes.

Scientific names are regulated quite strictly. There are set rules for naming as well as for later changing names. The centre point for those records is Kew Gardens. They work in with botanic gardens and institutions from around the world. It keeps a tight lid on things when it's all kept under the one roof, so to speak.

Love you Jasmine.
The perfume must be delightful.

Isn't it wonderful to have such knowledgeable people on the GW. Who'd u thunk it? Thanks so much for the valuable info.

My little old star Jasmine goes strong but no flowers yet of course.

tropicbreezent and all,

I live in Hilo, Hawaii, and this plant is found frequently in the forest. It has a typical Aroid flower, white in spathe and spadix, and can grow as large as 1 meter and will have a few to many keiki/pups/offsets. Blooming is very rare here, but must happen, as new plants pop up in isolated places. Probably bird dispersal.

I just realized that my previous post a few minutes ago was referring to "Hilo Beauty"

By way of follow up to my first post. The Corymbia ficifolia was replaced free of charge after I forwarded pics of the tree and the graft to the mail order supplier - a popular and respectable one. The new one is growing strongly but as yet has not flowered, still early days. Also, a few months ago, I purchased a wrightia - a smallish white flowering bush-cum-tree. The label said it's 'Wrightia antidysenterica, (a horrid name) 'Coral Swirl'. Last week I bought another from the same supplier (Bunnings) and the label attached to it says it's W. religiosa 'Coral Swirl'. Both labels bear the same flower, and are the same plant. A different breeder, a different name. As far as I know there are laws governing breeders, as the yanks say, 'go figure'!

Could just be mis-identification, but both those species names are accepted. Perhaps you can register a cultivar/variety name used in another species, which does sound logical. The prohibition is probably if you try it with a plant of the same species but not the progeny of the first registered plant. I can think of a number of situations with this issue, but it becomes a bit convoluted and complicated.