6 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
the description of P. nervosum Muhl. given by Torrey? and cites as 
synonym, “P.nervosum Mihlbrg.Gram. p. 116,” and also cites ‘‘ Torr. 
Fl. N. Am. I. 143.” Steudel apparently changes the name on account 
of P. nervosum Lam., which he described on the same page. The 
grass described by Steudel, that is, the one described by Torrey, is 
P. latifolium L., but since Steudel intended to change Muhlenberg’s 
name, P. polyneuron Steud. is a typonym of P. nervosum Muhl., 
which is P. commutatum Schult. Hence P. polyneuron is placed as 
a synonym under P. commutatum Schult. 
A change of rank of misapplied names has not infrequently been 
made by authors. Such names are typonyms of the original regard- 
less of the plant described. For example, Panicum nitidum barbu- 
latum Chapm.® is based on P. barbulatum Michx., but the species 
described by Chapman is P. microcarpon Muhl. Nevertheless P. ni- 
tidum barbulatum Chapm. is a typonym of P. barbulatum Michx. 
In the same way all subspecific names based on P. barbulatum Michx., 
to whatever species applied, are typonyms of P. barbulatum Michx. 
and are listed under that species in this paper, though the species 
described, or the one the particular author supposed he was trans- 
ferring, was usually P. microcarpon Muhl. 
The cases are not infrequent where one author has misapplied the 
name of a preceding author—that is, under a given name has described 
a different species. Pursh* uses the name Panicum diffusum Swartz, 
but describes a different species, P. flexile (Gattinger) Scribn. The 
Index Kewensis lists the former as “Panicum diffusum Pursh.” 
This is misleading, as Pursh did not intend to describe a new species 
with the name P. diffusum. It is a case of misapplication of a name, 
or an error of determination. Names of this kind are not listed as 
synonyms, but, where the importance warrants it, they are men- 
tioned as misapplications in a note at the end of the synonymy. 
SPELLING OF NAMES. 
The original spelling of names has been followed, except that 
typographical errors and wrong gender endings have been corrected. 
It is not always easy to determine how far it is proper to carry such 
corrections. In the case of Panicum sphagnicolum Nash, we have 
adopted the change to “sphagnicola,” already made by its author 
in Britton’s Manual, but it has not seemed wise to make such 
changes as “oligosanthes” to “oliganthum.” Occasionally the origi- 
nal spelling of names has been inadvertently altered by later 
authors. As an example of this may be mentioned “ barbatum”’ 
and “barbatulum”’ instead of the original “barbulatum.’’ Such mis- 
a}, North. & Mid. U.S. 148. 1823. ¢F], Amer. Sept. 1: 68. 1814. 
6 FI. South. U.S. ed. 3. 586. 1897. 
