10.— THE GENERIC NAMES OF SOUTH AFIIICAN PLANTS 

 RETAINED UNDER ARTICLE 20 OF THE VIENNA 

 RULES OF BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE. 



By Joseph Buktt-Davv, F.L.S. 



The following rulings adopted by tlie International ]3otanicat 

 Congress of Vienna, 1905, have an important bearing on the stability 

 of South African plant names. 



Arfich 19 reads : "Botanical nomenclature begins with the S]>eciff< 

 Flantanim of Linnaeus, ed. 1 (1753), for all groups of vascular plants. It 

 is agreed to associate genera, the names of which appear in this work, 

 with the descriptions given of them in the Genera Plautarum, ed. 5 

 (175-t)." ^ 



Article 20 reads : "However, to avoid disadvantageous changes in 

 the nomenclature of genera by the strict application of the rules of 

 nomenclature, and especially of the principle of priority in starting-^ 

 from 175.3, the rules provide a list of names which must be retained in 

 all cases. These names are by preference those which have come inta 

 general use in the fifty years following their publication, or which have 

 been used in monographs and important floristic works up to the j'ear 

 1890. The list of these names forms an appendix to the rules of 

 nomenclature." 



From this published list N\e find that there are 108 South African 

 generic names affected by the ruling. South African botanists have 

 particular reason to be grateful that so many names familiar in our 

 modern literature should be retained, together with the much lai'ger 

 number of specific names involved, and which it would otherwise be 

 incumbent upon us to alter in accordance with the principle of 

 priority 



Names Changed under Article 20, 



Of the generic names accepted in the published parts of the Flora 

 Capensis, only the following appear to be subject to change under 

 Article 20 :— 



Names Accepted. Names Re.ticcted. 



Acanthacese. 



Phan/opsis, Willd. Phaylo])sis, Fl. Cap. 



Aracese. 



Zrtnf>'de.'ichia, Spreng. Richardia, Kunth. 



Cyperaceae. 



Khynchosjtora, Vahl. Rynchottpjora, Fl. Cap., 



Scrophulariacese. 



Bacopa, Aubl. Mouniera, P. Br. 



