3 



[From BiM.i.ETiN of the Torrey Botanical Club, 44: t<ji-222,^1. S, 2q text-Jigs. 14 Ap 1917.] 



Notes on the genus Herberta, with a revision of the species l<nown 

 from Europe, Canada and the United States* 



Alexander \V. Evans 



(with plate 8 AND 29 TEXT FIGURES) 



Introduction 



The genus Herherta (or Herbertus, as it was originally spelled) 

 was published by S. F. Gray in i82i.t It was named in honor of 

 George Herbert, one of the patrons of Micheli, and was based on 

 a single species, the Jungermannia adunca of Dickson. In common 

 with Gray's other genera, Herherta was ignored by botanical writers 

 until Carruthers called attention to it in 18654 Although it has 

 since been accepted more or less widely in both Europe and 

 North America, a strong tendency has recently arisen to re- 

 pudiate it. This is largely due to Gray's unfortunate practice of 

 giving his generic names a masculine termination, even when he 

 derived them from the names of persons. As Dumortier expresses 

 it, they are the names of men and not of plants. Since, however, 

 a change from a masculine to a feminine termination might 

 readily be construed as the correction of an error in orthography, 

 this objection seems hardly sufficient to justify the setting aside 

 of Gray's genera altogether. From a scientific standpoint the 

 claims of Herherta are fully as good as those of many other genera 

 which are accepted without question, and the writer is therefore 

 disposed to recognize it, at least for the present. 



A year after the appearance of Herberta, Dumortier§ published 

 his genus ScUsma, including under it not only /. adunca but also 

 /. juniperina Sw. and /. concinnata Lightf. Nine years later he 

 added another species, S. stramineum Dumort.,|| but excluded 

 /. concinnata, making it the type of his new genus Acolea. At 



* Contribution from the Osborn Botanical Laboratory, 

 t Nat. Arr. British PI. i: 705- 1821. 

 t Jour. Bot. 3: 300. 1865. 

 § Comm. Bot. 114. 1822. 

 II Syll. Jung. 76. 1 83 1. 



191 



