PLANTS COLLECTED IN BAHAMAS, ETC. 5| 



species is divided, the original name persists for one of the 

 parts, the older if that can be determined. 



If an original description clearly refers to a different 

 plant from one which the author has named in an herba- 

 rium, the name would apply to the plant described. 



In regard to priority of genera there is as much differ- 

 ence of opinion as in the case of species, some allowing 

 no limit but taking up names of the old herbalists, while 

 others think that for convenience an arbitrary starting 

 point should be chosen, such as Tournefort's Institutiones 

 Rei Herbaria in 1700, or the first edition of Linnaeus' 

 Genera in 1737 or the sixth edition in 1764. 



One of the questions which causes serious practical diffi- 

 culties is what constitutes sufficient publication. With 

 species it is generally held that what will identify the plant 

 will establish the name, as a description, a reference to a 

 published plate, or a synonym ; and this is published when 

 issued in printed form and publicly distributed. Hence 

 herbarium or manuscript names are not thus published. 

 In the case of printed descriptions privately distributed or 

 sets of exsiccatae placed on sale, it is an open question 

 whether this constitutes publication. If an edition of one 

 thousand copies of a work containing original descriptions 

 of plants, should be accidentally destroyed, except one 

 copy, the new names would probably be considered as 

 published. 



With genera it is more difficult to draw the line between 

 sufficient and insufficient description. Is it necessary to 

 give at least the important characters which are common to 

 the species of a genus ? Or is it only necessary to indicate 

 what species form a genus ? A few examples will illustrate 

 some of the doubtful points. In Linnaeus' Species Planta- 

 rum, a generic name without description heads a list of 

 described species. In Patrick Browne's History of Jamaica 

 we find, for example, " Sciodaphyllum 1. Foliis majoribus 

 oblongis petiolis communibus umbellatim affixis, floribus 

 spicatis. Tab. 19, fig. 1, 2." Following this is a descrip- 



