170 Mr. D. Don's Descriptions of new Genera and Species 



year 1788 ; but the botanical expedition for the purpose of ex- 

 ploring the vegetable riches of New Granada, under the direction 

 of the celebrated Mutis, was organized on a much more exten- 

 sive plan. From these several expeditions there has resulted an 

 immense mass of materials, the greater part of which still remain 

 unpublished, although many years have elapsed since their col- 

 lection. The whole of the manuscripts belonging to the Peru- 

 vian expedition, having also come into Mr. Lambert's hands, I 

 have been enabled to render the descriptions in some cases 

 much more complete, and to add many circumstances relative 

 to particular species, that could not have been ascertained from 

 an inspection of the dried samples, which, however, are very 

 perfect, and in most instances there are several duplicates of 

 each species. Notwithstanding the labours of Humboldt and 

 Bonpland, whose numerous discoveries have already been given 

 to the world by my learned friend M. Kunth, through whose 

 liberality, while at Paris in the autumn of 1821, I was permitted 

 to examine a considerable part of the Compositce contained in the 

 herbarium of M. de Humboldt; a very small proportion of the 

 species in this collection are identically the same with those I am 

 about to describe. 



I have been successful in determining many of the Compositce 

 figured in the work of Hernandez ; and to the kindness of my 

 inestimable friend Professor Lagasca I am indebted for point- 

 ing out to me the various genera which he himself has described. 

 A small collection from Don Pablo de la Llave has made me 

 acquainted with the genera described in the " Descriptiones 

 Novorum Vegetabilium" I have inserted a few species from 

 other sources, partly with a view to point out their relative 

 affinities, and more fully to illustrate the characters of certain 

 groups ; but although I may differ widely in regard to the 

 generic distribution of the species, the trivial names given to 



them 



