INTRODUCTION ‘Cae 
ican origin that had been introduced and were cultivated or 
naturalized in the Philippines. Many of the forms he described 
as new were based on material originating in the settled areas 
at low altitudes, species for the most part common and of wide 
geographic distribution, with the result that a high percentage 
of his new species must be reduced as synonyms of species 
previously described by other authors, as in general but about 
12 per cent of the species found in the settled areas at low and 
medium altitudes in the Philippines are endemic. 
It is a well-known fact that Blanco did not permanently pre- 
serve botanical material,** although it seems probable that he 
did preserve temporarily some specimens, which in the course 
of time were destroyed, as their value was not realized. Most 
of his descriptions were based on fresh material collected by 
himself or brought to him by other persons; but some descrip- 
tions were based on dried specimens received from his various 
colleagues, notably from Azaola, and later from Llanos. From 
Blanco’s own statement * it is evident that he did not accomplish 
any great amount of field work, at least in the sense of botanical 
exploration as such. 
Further his botanical work was intermittent and extended 
over a period of many years. He definitely states ** that on 
account of the great difficulty in securing material and data he 
at times became so discouraged that sometimes entire years 
passed in which he added nothing to his notes. It is then natur- 
ally to be expected, that descriptions written at long intervals 
would scarcely be comparative, even within the same genus, 
especially in view of the fact that many of them were written 
as he had opportunity to examine plants in the course of his 
travels and when he naturally did not have access to his own 
notes. The fact that he preserved no material for purposes of 
future study and comparison explains many discrepancies in 
his descriptions, and the reason why he often described the 
Same species twice under different names in the same or in 
different genera. 
“ Botanical material preserved in the herbarium of the Jardin Botanico, 
Madrid, credited to Blanco by Colmeiro [Bosquejo Hist. Jard. Bot. Madrid 
88], and by A. de Candolle [La Phytographie (1880) 395] has been shown 
by Vidal [Rev. Pl. Vasc. Filip. (1886) 14] not to have been collected or 
transmitted by Blanco. i 
“Fl. Filip. (1837) 728, sub. Quercus cerris, translation: For those who 
love the study of nature it is truly lamentable that neither prayers, supplica- 
tions, nor money will bring to the light of knowledge the precious things of 
the Philippine forests. 
“Fl. Filip. ed. 2 (1845) Prologo III. 
