4 NOMENCLATURE 



entries in alphabetical order. Under Cydonia^ with three 

 species, it said, "The species are, 1. Cydonia (Oblonga) foliis 

 oblongo-ovatis subtus tomentosis, pomis oblongis basi productis. 

 Quince-tree with oblong oval leaves, woolly on their under side, 

 and an oblong fruit lengthened at the base." Miller discussed 

 the grouping by Linnaeus of the apple, pear, and quince in the 

 same genus, Pyrus. He opined that the quince and the pear were 

 nearly allied botanically, but the apple not so. Then, in the 

 section on propagation, he continued, "As the Pear will take 

 upon the Quince by grafting or budding, and so vice versa, we 

 may conclude there is a near alliance between them; but as nei- 

 ther of these will take upon the Apple, nor that upon either of 

 these, so we should separate them under different genera, as will 

 be further mentioned under the article Malus. " Under the generic 

 heading Cydonia, Miller gave references to Cydonia Tourn., and 

 Pyrus of Linnaeus in his Genera Plantarum, 1754. Consequently 

 Pyrus Cydonia L. and Cydonia Oblonga Mill, are synonymous in 

 that they are based in part upon the same Tournefort reference. 

 The other references also are accepted as applying to this same 

 species. 



The issue as to whether the quince, the pear, and the apple 

 are to be left in a single genus is a taxonomic one. As to the 

 apple and pear, the question is still moot, but there is a con- 

 sensus of interpretation that the quince forms a separate genus, 

 as can be seen in the manuals, encyclopaedias, and systems 

 of botany. As a genus separated from Pyrus, the first validly 

 published name is Cydonia [Tourn.] Mill. The Index Kewensis 

 gives Miller's Gardeners Dictionary, ed. 6, as the place of origin 

 of this generic name. However, this edition appeared in 1752, a 

 pre-Linnaean date, hence the name is illegitimate, under Art. 13, 

 which, as quoted above, establishes 1 May 1753 as the starting 

 point for scientific botanical nomenclature. The reference given 

 in this case. Miller's ed. 8, of 1768, is the first valid publica- 

 tion of a generic name for this group as a genus. 



Miller's name Cydonia {Oblonga) foliis oblongo-ovatis, etc., 

 might be considered a polynomial, but examination will show 

 that the latter phrases were the description and the word 

 {Oblonga) was the epithet for the species. It was a better and 

 more economical arrangement with the epithet in parentheses 

 following the generic name, than was Linnaeus' method of plac- 



