374 GENERIC NAMES IN 



Arenaria, a plant that inhabits sandy places; 

 and Gi/psophila, one that loves a chalky soil. 

 Such as mark the botanical character of the 

 genus, when they can be obtained for a 

 nondescript plant, are peculiarly desirable : 

 as Ceratopetalum, from the branched horn- 

 like petals ; hasiopetalum, from the very sin- 

 gularly woolly corolla; Calceolaria^ from the 

 shoe-like figure of the same part ; Concilium, 

 from the exact resemblance of its fruit to a 

 bivalve shell. 



In all ages it has been customary to dedi- 

 cate certain plants to the honour of distin- 

 guished persons. Thus Euphorbia comme- 

 morates the physician of Juba a Moorish 

 prince, and Gentiana immortalizes a king of 

 Illyria. The scientific botanists of modern 

 times have adopted the same mode of pre- 

 serving the memory of benefactors to their 

 science ; and though the honour may have 

 been sometimes extended too far, that is no 

 argument for its total abrogation. Some un- 

 couth names thus unavoidably deform our 

 botanical books ; but this is often effaced by 

 the merits of their owners, and it is allow- 

 able lo model them into o'race as much as 



