BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
Cambridge, Mi 
s, June 19, 1939 
Vol. 7, No. 6 
THE CORRECT NAMES 
OF CERTAIN ECONOMIC PLANTS 
Albert F. Hill 
The acceptance of the International Rules of Bo¬ 
tanical Nomenclature, as revised at Cambridge in 1980 
and Amsterdam in 1935, by botanists in all parts of the 
world was welcomed as a forward step toward the even¬ 
tual standardization of plant names. Once achieved this 
will eliminate the endless confusion which has resulted 
from the use, at times, of two or more names for the 
same species, a condition especially troublesome in the 
case of economic plants. 
This standardization of botanical nomenclature under 
the Rules must of necessity be a slow and gradual pro¬ 
cess. Institutions that are sufficiently well equipped with 
library and herbarium facilities to carry on the work are 
comparatively few in number, and have many other in¬ 
terests with which to occupy their time. Furthermore, 
after the correct names have been made known a certain 
amount of time must elapse before they can be expected 
to come into general use. 
Although considerable progress has been made in 
pointing out necessary nomenclatorial changes, it is to 
be regretted that the adoption of these changes by the 
general botanical public has not proceeded as rapidly, 
even when the correct names have been published 
[89] 
