of the Class Composites. 185 



it, the paper may therefore be considered as the joint produc- 

 tion of these two distinguished botanists ; but about the same 

 period Professor Lagasca published at Orihuela a separate 

 treatise on this family, which he therein denominates Chanan- 

 thophorcs, with the addition of a few more genera, and several 

 of those occurring in the other memoir are there si yen under 

 different names. The names comprised in the memoir inserted 

 in the " Annates du Museum" have however prevailed, from the 

 more extensive circulation of the work, although the former 

 has the right of priority by some months, as the latter occurs 

 in the commencement of the nineteenth volume, which was 

 published in 1812, the year after the separate treatise by Pro- 

 fessor Lagasca had appeared. In the series of natural affini- 

 ties the Labiatiflorce form the connecting link between the Cicho- 

 racece and Carduacece ; and although an exact definition of them 

 is scarcely attainable, yet they appear to me sufficiently distinct 

 to entitle them to rank as a separate family. Some botanists, 

 however, have doubted of the propriety of this separation, and 

 still think that they ought to be reunited to the other families of 

 Composites ; but it is unnecessary here to argue against such an 

 opinion, — derived more, probably, from the works of others, than 

 from actual observation, — as little investigation is requisite to 

 see that by this reunion, the limits hitherto well-defined between 

 the Cichoracecs and Carduacece would be completely removed : 

 and as no advantage whatever can be derived from this arrange- 

 ment, it is certainly preferable to retain them as a distinct group, 

 and more especially as they evidently have throughout a very 

 marked affinity. 



The Labiatiflorce, with the exception of a few species chiefly 

 belonging to the group Perdicece, are peculiar to the western 

 hemisphere ; and they constitute one fifth of the Composites of 

 the South-American Flora, where they appear to occupy the 



2 b 2 place 



