39 
Gray, in the article referred to, gives an outline of the synonymy up 
to 1840. It appears as O. virescens, Willd. Sp. Pl. 4, 37 (1805); as 
FHabenaria herbiola, R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew. Ed. 2. v. 193, (1813 ); 
as O. flava and O. fuscescens in Pursh (1814), and O. ézdentata in El- 
liott (1824). It was subsequently named Platanthera herbiola by 
Lindley in his Gen, et. Sp. Orchid., H. herdiola and, as a synonym, 
HT. virescens, by Sprengel in his Systema, and then Platanthera flava 
by Dr. Torrey, Bot. N. Y., and by Dr. Gray in the first edition of 
his Manual. Had Dr. ies abided by the opinion expressed in 
his article in the American Journal of Science, in which he says 
“the specific name is certainly not happily chosen for a plant of 
which Clayton observes “ floribus obsolete lutets,” but it must never- 
theless be retained,’ all would have been well. In spite of this 
sound dictum, however, in his Manual, Ed. 5, 499, (1867) he 
rebaptizes the plantas “ Hadenaria virescens, Spreng,” adopting 
Sprengel’s synonym. This he does, apparently, because “the 
flowers are not yellow,” though why he should have disregarded 
Sprengel’s name HW. Aeréiola, and the still older H. herbiola of R. 
Br. is not clear. In the sixth edition of the Manual the same 
name, “ virescens, Spreng,’ is continued. Besides all this topsy- 
turvy, the species has had several other aliases. It is easy to see 
why our plant synonymy is in such a state of confusion when we 
find authors following their own caprices in substituting new names 
for old ones. Stability can be secured only by adhering firmly to _ 
the principle of priority, no matter what we may think of the ap- 
Propriateness of the first specific name. The species should there- 
fore be named: 
Habenaria flava, (L.) Gray, Am. Jour. Sci. and Arts, xxxvii, 
308 (1840). 
Orchis flava, 1. Sp. Pl. 942, (175 3), 
Cypripedium.—A single change in the names of our North 
American species should be noted. 
C. regine, Walt. Fl. Car. 222 (1 788). 
C. album,—Ait. Hort. Kew. iii. 303 (1789). 
C. spectabile,Salisb. Trans. Linn. Soc. i. 78. t. 3, f. 3 (179%), - 
and later authors. 
