Cheeseman. — Botanical Nomenclature. 455 



Taking the New Zealand genera first, as coming more 

 ■directly under our notice, we find that the well-known name 

 Astelia, published by R. Brown in 1810 from Banks's and 

 Solan der's MSS., gives place to the forgotten Funckia, pub- 

 lished by Willdenow two years earlier ; the equally familiar 

 Cordyline (1789) is replaced by Terminalis (1744) ; Luzula 

 (1805) is changed to Juncodes (1763) ; Knightia (1810) be- 

 comes Rymandra (1809) ; Pimelea (1788) gives place to Banhsia 

 (1776) ; Calystegia (1810) is changed to Volvulus (1791) ; 

 Wahlenbergia (1814) is sunk in favour of Cervicina (1813) ; and 

 so on. Altogether, between thirty and forty genera of New 

 Zealand plants, if not more, receive new names, involving 

 corresponding changes in the specific names of not far from 

 100 species. 



Among plants cultivated in gardens we find such altera- 

 tions as the following : Pelargonium becomes Geranios- 

 permum ; Tropoeolum is changed to Troph&um ; Oxalis is 

 replaced by Acetosella ; Bambusa gives place to the uncouth 

 Arundarbor ; Protea is dropped in favour of the sesquipedalian 

 Scolymocephalus ; the familiar Zamia becomes Palmi folia ; 

 and so on for scores of others. 



Dr. Kuntze's appetite for change was by no means sur- 

 feited by many hundreds of alterations of a similar character 

 to those just quoted. During his examination of certain ob- 

 scure publications of old date he unearthed quite a number of 

 generic terms which, though of prior date to others, had been 

 ruled out of court by previous botanists because they violated 

 the well-known law that botanical names should not be taken 

 from barbarous tongues, or be unnecessarily long or difficult 

 to pronounce. Thus, for instance, he takes the name of Mokuf 

 from Adanson's ; ' Families," latinizes it by changing it to 

 Mokufua, and then uses it to supersede the long-established 

 Temstrodmia. The still more hideous name of Katoutsjeroe he 

 alters to Catutsjeron, and substitutes it for Holigarna. Finally, 

 as a crowning instance of misdirected ingenuity, he brings for- 

 ward the name Jryaghedi, which I fail to pronounce at all, and 

 uses it for both the generic and specific name of a species of 

 Myristica, which accordingly becomes Jryaghedi Jryaghedi ! 



One result of the wholesale shifting of names brought about 

 by Dr. Kuntze is that well-known genera are sometimes left 

 without a name at all. He then renames them, often dedicating 

 them, in an original and amusing manner, to some of the lead ng 

 botanists of his time. For instance, having decided, as pre- 

 viously mentioned, that the oldest name of the Australian and 

 New Zealand genus Pimelea is Banhsia, and finding that this 

 change leaves the genus we have been accustomed to call 



