Taiwan or not Taiwan - that is the question!

This pieris has been in flower for a while, but I hadn't noticed it. I have it labelled as Pieris taiwanensis, but nowadays it should be called Pieris japonica Taiwanensis Group, I believe.

That is if it's the Taiwan form at all - that has more matt leaves and less drooping flowers than the Japanese form apparently, but you'd probably need to see them together to be sure.

Taiwan is of course the modern name for the island of Formosa, but the plant bearing the name of Pieris formosa doesn't come from Formosa, the epithet meaning simply 'beautiful', which was why the island was so named.  Any plant with a name such as Lilium formosanum, however, does in fact come from the eponymous island as that specific epithet does mean 'from Formosa'! Confused? No need to be! It's all very logical!