198 Rhodora [October 



of the application of the name even at this eariv (hite to our common 

 Spice Bush. The later generic name Lhidrra must therefore fall into 

 synonymy along with the discarded names of Evofimu.'i anil Calosmon. 



Our plant has also borne several specific names, as shown by the 

 following synonymy. 



Laurus acstivali^s L. Spec. PI. i. 370 (1753). 

 " Benzoin L. Spec. PI. i. 370 (1753). 

 fmgrans Salisb. Prod. 344 (1700). 

 '' Pseudo-Benzoin IMichx. PI. Bor.-Am. i. 243 (1803). 



Benzoin odoriferum Nees ex Wall. PI. As. Rar. 63 (1831). 



Benzoin Benzoin Coult. :\Iem. Torr. Bot. CI. v. 104 (1894). 



Of these names aeftiivaJis enjoys not only j^riority of time over all 

 but Benzoin, but jiriority of position over the latter name, since it has 

 precedence on the page of Linneaus's Sj)ecies Plantarum. It is true 

 that this last matter is of little importance, since the combination 

 Benzoin Benzoin is inadmissible according to the Vienna rules, but 

 it may be remarked incidentally that this "duplicate monomial" 

 {to employ an apt expression of the late Mr. Redfield) cannot stand 

 even according to the Rochester Code which by giving weight to 

 jiriority of ]X)sition would necessitate the adoj)tion of Benzoin aesiivale. 

 This is, therefore, one of the hap})y cases in which two sets of rules 

 lead through different courses of reasoning to the same result, namely 

 that Bknzoix akstivale (L.) Xees is the correct name of our Spice 

 Bush. 



In employing the two names Laurns ae.sfivnlis and L. Benzoin, 

 Linnaeus of course believed that he was a])plying them to two different 

 plants, both collected by Clayton in Virginia, but the differences, not 

 very clearly stated in the brief and formal Linnaean descriptions, have 

 not been found reliable or significant in the light of subsequent study. 

 The two sjH'cies have been reduced to one by the best monographers 

 of the grouj); and Mr. James Britten, who at the British Museum of 

 Natural History has access to Clayton's original specimen of B. aesti- 

 vale has been so kind as to verify for the writer its identity with the 

 plant which has long passed as Lindera Benzoin. 



Unfortunately our other lauraceous species, namely the Sassafras 

 tree must likewise receive an unfamiliar name. The species is best 

 know as Sasmfras ofpeinale Nees & Eberm., although in recent years 

 some botanists have called it Sassajtas Sassafras (L.) Karsten. 



