Neither necessarily mean/insinuate the plant in question is a new species. Here are some definitions I’ve copied:
•aff. — *species affinis* (akin to) — when the identifier is suggesting that the species may *either* be the indicated species *or* a closely-related or possibly-undescribed species
•cf. — *confer* (compare with) — when the identification is not definitively known and is simply suggesting to compare with the suggested species
So very similar, but basically aff. is slightly more authoritative.
1 Comment
Neither necessarily mean/insinuate the plant in question is a new species. Here are some definitions I’ve copied:
•aff. — *species affinis* (akin to) — when the identifier is suggesting that the species may *either* be the indicated species *or* a closely-related or possibly-undescribed species
•cf. — *confer* (compare with) — when the identification is not definitively known and is simply suggesting to compare with the suggested species
So very similar, but basically aff. is slightly more authoritative.