512 Dr. Francis Hamilton's Commentary 



Cansciii, p. 76. fg. 42. 



Linnaeus quoted this for his Trevia nudiflora ; and it continues 

 in Monoecia tetrandria in Burman (FL lnd. 198.) without any 

 synonyma, exept that of Commelin quoting the Canschi by the 

 Latin name given by Syen. The description, however, which 

 Linnaeus gave of his Trevia (Jiores hermaphroditi genuine infero, 

 stylo anico) was so totally different from the Canschi, that I am 

 persuaded he had some other plant in view, and quoted the 

 Canschi by mistake. In the Encyclopedic (viii. 39-) the Trevia 

 was described as in Linnaeus. Soon after W illdenow, not recog- 

 nising the plant from such a description, published it as a new 

 genus, which he called Rottlera ; but, when he published the 

 fourth volume of his Species Plant arum, he had discovered that 

 his Rottlera and the Canschi were the same. He therefore called 

 it Trewia nudiflora, at any rate changing a little the former ortho- 

 graphy, and introducing a letter unknown in the Latin tongue. 

 In thus changing his name Rottlera I think he was wrong, because 

 in all probability Linnaeus had quoted the Canschi by mistake, 

 and described a Trevia not now known : and further, because 

 the Rottlera tinctoria of Dr. Roxburgh does not, I am persuaded, 

 differ from the Canschi so much that it ought to be considered 

 as belonging to a different genus. It is true that Willdenow 

 places the one in the order Icosandria, and the other in Poly- 

 andria ; but that is a paper difference only, and not distinguish- 

 able in nature. I have therefore no objection to the Mallotus of 

 Loureiro being joined with the Canschi, although Willdenow 

 should not have done so, because the Mallotus has not the cap- 

 sula tetracocca, tetrasperma, quadrilocularis, which he ascribes to 

 the Canschi as its diagnostic character ; but I know that this cha- 

 racter is quite fallacious. I have however a strong objection to 

 the Tetragastris ossea of Gaertner (ii. 130.) being made the same 



species 



