28 NAMES AND SYNONYMS OF BRITISH PLANTS. 



Names and Synonyms of British Plants. Collating the Nomenclature 



of the * London Catalogue,' ' English Botany,'' Babington's 

 ' Manual,' Bentham's 'Flora,' and Hooker's Student's Flora.' 

 "With an Appendix giving other Names and their Synonyms, 

 and a List of Authorities for Plant-names. By Geoffrey 

 Egerton-Warburton, B.A. London ; Bell & Sons. 1889. 

 8vo, pp. xxxvi. 160. Price 2s. 6d. 

 Index of British Plants according to the 'London Catalogue' (eighth 

 edition j, including the Synonyms used by the principal authors ; 

 an alphabetical list of English Names ; also references to the 

 illustrations of Syme's ' English Botany,' and Bentham's ' British 

 Flora.' By Robert Turnbull. London : Bell & Sons. 

 1889. 8vo, pp. [ii.] 98. Price 2s. Gd. 

 These somewhat lengthy titles fully explain the ohject of these 

 little works, which are laudably intended (to quote the latter of 

 them) "to make the difficulties of botanical nomenclature some- 

 what less, whilst it may at the same time point out what perplexing 

 confusion does exist, not only in the names given to various plants, 

 but also in the rank they should take as species, subspecies, or 

 varieties, — a confusion which extends sometimes to the authorities 

 given for the names, — an extreme instance of this being the name 

 ' Potentilla Tormentilla,' which has a different authority assigned to 

 it by each of the works quoted in this list." 



This introductory statement, coupled with one which tells us 

 that "the place of honour [is] given to that name for a plant 

 which is used by a majority of the five works named on the title- 

 page," shows at once that Mr. Egerton-Warburton is not thoroughly 

 qualified for the work which he has undertaken. So long as the 

 world lasts, there will be differences of opinion as to the limits of 

 species ; while, on the other hand, the right authority for a name 

 and the proper one to be adopted are quite capable of being 

 determined, — not indeed by a plebiscite of authors, but by a strict 

 observance of the rule of priority. This the author might have 

 achieved, though not without the expenditure of much time and 

 trouble : but he makes no attempt to do this. He calls attention 

 to the varying authorities given for Potentilla Tormentilla; but 

 instead of settling once for all which should be adopted, he prints 

 " Potentilla Tormentilla Schenk or Neck, or Nestl. or Sibth. or 

 Scop." ; and leaves us free to take our choice. Had Mr. Egerton- 

 Warburton gone into the matter, he would have been able to 

 correct the name itself, which must stand as Potentilla silcestris 

 Neck.* (Delicise, i. 222 (1768) ). The synonymy of the plant is 

 indeed somewhat curious, for if P. Tormentilla be accepted as the 

 name, not one of the authorities to which it is attributed above is 

 responsible for it. Scopoli, indeed (PL Cam. ed. 2, i. 360), called 

 it P. Tormentilla erecta ; but the abbreviated form in common use 

 was first employed by Stokes in his edition of Withering. The 

 names stand thus : — 



Not " Nestl." as given by Nyman (Consp. i. 227). 



