Dr. Francis Hamizron’s Commentary, $c. 79 
much to be regretted that in the indexes to the Hortus Mala- 
baricus, not only in the work itself, but in the Flora Zeylanica of 
Linnæus, and Thesaurus Zeylanicus of Burman, the plants have 
been arranged according to their specific, and not according to 
their generic names; for in the dialects of India, as well as in 
English, the specific name usually precedes the generic. "There 
are some exceptions :—the Malabar words Maram signifying a 
tree, Kodi a sarmentose plant, Valli a climber, Pullu a grass, 
and Maravara a parasitical plant, are usually placed after the 
generic term, being properly denominations of classes or orders. 
In the same manner Ghas Gaya or Gaha (herba, planta) in the 
dialect of Ceylon is to be considered not as denoting a genus, 
but a class or order. Keeping this in mind, the classification 
of the natives may be readily discovered, and in general will be 
found to show a considerable accuracy of observation. 
The name Karetela, said to be given to this palm by the 
Brahmans of Malabar, I cannot explain; unless we suppose it 
composed of two words, Kare and Tela, the former signifying 
wild; and the latter may be the same with Tala or Tali, the 
Ceylonese name. This is obviously the same with Tal, the 
name given in the north of India to the Borassus flabelliformis, 
to which the Codda Panna has a very great resemblance. The 
term Ghas Gaya or Gaha, annexed by the Ceylonese, I have 
already explained ; but the word Pot added to Tali is the same 
with Pata or leaf, annexed because the leaf of this palm is the 
part most commonly used. 
Commeline, in the note annexed, seems to have an unneces- 
sary doubt in referring to the Codda Panna C. Bauhin's Arbor 
foliis sex brachiorum longis, cujus folio extenso tres quatuorve viri 
in itinere operiuntur, ut pluvias non metuant. Except in coining 
a new name, Ray, as usual with Indian plants, gives us no 
knowledge but what is derived from Rheede ; and the same is 
the 
