324 BENTHAM ON MIMOSE^. 



the former foliola, and the latter pinnce. Again, the adjec- 

 tive _^"f(^HS, with a numeral (as i-jugus, 5-jugus, d'c), in some 

 works, designates the number of pair of the organ to wliich 

 it is applied; and, in others, means the number of pair of 

 parts of which it is composed ; and, in general systematic 

 works and compilations, by the mixture of the phraseology 

 copied from different authors, the descriptions are sometimes 

 rendered almost unintelligible.* I have uniformly adopted 

 the phraseology usually followed by De Candolle, giving the 

 name oi pinnce to the primary divisions, and offoliola to the 

 ultimate divisions, and indicating by the numeral attached 

 to — jugus, the number of pair of the organ to which this 

 adjective is applied. I have also designated by petiolus 

 communis^ the whole of the stalk to which the pinnae are 

 affixed, not (as is done by Kunth), that part only which is 

 below the lowest pair of pinnse, and by petiolus partialis I 

 have meant the whole of the stalk to which the foliola are 

 attached. 



I have used the words spince and aculei, in the usually re- 

 ceived sense, applying the former to abortive organs assum- 

 ing that form, and the latter to those prickles which are 

 mere productions of the cuticle. Thus spinas stipulares are 

 prickles produced by the abortion, or transformation of sti- 



* Thus, supposing in the characteristic phrase, the bipinnate leaves 

 were to be described as consisting of four pair of parts, each of them divid- 

 ed into six pair of a secondary order, each of these a^-ain being of an ovate 

 form ; the Latin phrase would be thus worded : — 



By LiNN.EPs : foliis bipinnatis, partialibus i-jugis, propriis ^-jugis 



ovatis. 

 By Jacquin : foliis bipinnatis partialibus i-Jugis, propriis Q-jugis, 



pinnidis ovatis. 

 By L'Heritier : foliis bipinnatis 4-jugis, pinnulis 6-Jugis, folioUs 



ovatis. 

 By Martius : foliis bipinnatis 4-jugis, foUolis 6-Jugis, pinnis ovatis. 

 By De Candolle : foliis bipinnatis, pinnis 4-jugis, foliolis Ojugis, 



ovatis. 

 Each of which forms of expression is more or less adopted to this day. 

 Even De Candolle in his Prodromus, has mixed up several of them in his 

 ipecific character of the genus Mimosa for instance. 



