139 
genus, but he did not name the species; that was done by Lin- 
nzeus, who so designated it in the first edition of the Species ~ 
Plantarum ; and he always cited Gronovius for Lzauz@a, and him- 
self for Linnea borealis ; but among later authors of acknowl- 
edged erudition, a majority commit the error named. I cannot 
find the shadow of a fact in all the range of the earlier biblio- 
graphy to excuse it. 
I would remark, finally, that Linnzeus, in first publishing the 
species, cites faithfully Campanula serpillifolia, Bauhin, as the 
oldest synonym, and it was by this name that he must have 
known the plant from those days of his youth when he began the 
studies which were to culminate in making him the great 
Nomenclator. : 
Some Morphological Notes on Caulophyllum thalictroides, 
Dr. Asa Gray, in his Manual, describes the genus Caulophyl- 
lum as “sending up in early spring a simple and naked stem, 
terminated by a small raceme or panicle of yellowish-green flowers, 
and, a little below, bearing a large triternately compound leaf, 
without any common petiole,” And under the specific descrip- 
tion of C. thalictrotdes, Michx., he adds: ‘‘a smaller biternate 
leaf often at the base of the panicle.” This plant is quite 
common in Ohio, and the smaller leaf here referred to seems to 
be a constant feature; even a third leaf is occasionally added. 
It is also not uncommon to see the lowest leaf with a common 
petiole nine or ten millimetres in length, and the smallest leaf 
divided once ternately, with only the middle lobe divided ternately 
again. The inflorescence may be characterized as consisting of 
a terminal panicle with a smaller panicle or raceme a slight distance 
below the same in the axil of the smallest leaf. It is not rare to find 
a third small panicle or raceme in the axil of the larger leaf, or even 
in the axil of all three leaves if they are developed. The existence 
of these forms does not indicate that our learned author has been 
caught napping, but serves to show that great variations exist which 
cannot always be taken into account in a condensed work intended 
for the school-room. But they may also serve to show another 
and perhaps more important truth. Many students of botany 
believe that plants did not always exist in the form in which they 
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