swingle: severinia buxifolia 653 



Desfontaines, in the third edition (1829) of the catalogue of 

 plants of the Paris Botanic Garden, describes as a new species 

 Citrus emarginata, which is undoubtedly the same plant. 



While Don seems to have been the first to record this species 

 from India, Wallich and Roxburgh again report it from that 

 country (1832), but under a different name. This time it fig- 

 ures as Limonia bilocularis Roxb. or Atalantia? bilocularis Wall. 



In 1834 Wight and Arnott described this species as Sclero- 

 stylis atalantioides, referring to it as synonyms Atalantia? biloc- 

 ularis Wall, and Limonia bilocularis Roxb. These authors add 

 that no one except Dr. Berry, who had sent it to the Botanic 

 Garden in 1807, seemed to have found this plant in India. 



The first botanist to recognize this plant as belonging to a 

 distinct genus was Tenore, who in 1840 published anew genus 

 Severinia, transferring to it Citrus buxifolia of the gardeners as 

 Severinia buxifolia. Tenore seems to have overlooked the fact 

 that Citrus buxifolia was no mere gardener's name, but had been 

 properly published by Poiret in 1798. In the following year 

 Tenore submitted this and two other of his new genera to the 

 Third Convention of the Italian Scientists held at Florence in 

 September, 1841, for their approval. The President of the Sec- 

 tion, Professor Moris, appointed three distinguished foreign bot- 

 anists — Robert Brown, Heinrich Link and Charles Morren — 

 present at the meetings, on a committee to report on the mat- 

 ter. Robert Brown, chairman, reported a few days later that 

 Severinia seemed to the committee to be a good new genus of 

 the orange family. 4 



However, George Bentham, in 1851, took exception to Ten- 

 ore's new genus, stating that specimens sent him by the latter 

 had enabled him to identify this as "a not uncommon Chinese 

 plant," and transferring Tenore's species to Sclerostylis as 

 Sclerostylis buxifolia Benth. Ten years later Bentham in- 



4 "Che la Severinia, pianta della famiglia delle Auranziacee sembragli ancor 

 essa poter con buona ragione formare un genere nuovo. Per i suoi caratteri 

 somigliare essa la Bergera, ma da questa differirne per avere le foglie semplici, 

 mentre che quella le ha impari pennate. Esser poi ben distinta in grazia del 

 suo ovario biloculare dalla Limonie, le quali lo hanno uniloculare." Brown, 

 Robt., in Atti della terza rinuione degli scienzati ital., p. 533. 1841. 



