54 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



Wikstroemia Sclirad. (Contrib. Gra}^ Herb. n. s. liii. 8G-41 ; 1918) 

 are invalid according to the Kules, since the inclusion of Wikstroemia 

 Endl. in the list of " nomina conservanda " precludes the substitu- 

 tion of Wikstroemia Sehrad. for Laplacea H.B.K. 



Dr. Blake finds it " somewhat incomprehensible " that I should 

 recommend the retention of the name Laj^lacea (Kew Bull. 1921, 

 176). Has he considered the reasons for the recognition of " nomina 

 conservanda " ? Technically he is correct in stating that Lindleya 

 Nees is the earliest valid name for Laplacea under the llules, but it 

 may be hoped that he will not proceed to re-name all the species 

 accordingly. It was precisely to avoid nomenclatural disturbance 

 of this kind that a list of " nomina conservanda " was provided, and 

 the inclusion of Laplacea in the next list would dispose of the diffi- 

 culty. If the next International Congress decides against the claims 

 of Laplacea to be put on the list, it will then be time to re-name 

 the species. Pending a decision, the name Laplacea H.B.K. should 

 be retained. Otherwise another set of new combinations may have to 

 be relegated to synonymy. 



Is it too much to expect from botanists who adhere to the Inter- 

 national Bules that they should refrain from making extensive 

 nomenclatural transferences immediately on the discovery of a prior 

 name for a well-known genus ? One of the chief aims of the Rules 

 is "the avoidance of all useless creation of names "' (Art. 4). Surely 

 the proper course to adopt in such a case is to state the arguments 

 for and against the recognition of the later name as a " nomen con- 

 servandum," and to leave the matter for decision at the next Inter- 

 national Congress. 



Behder's action with regard to the genus Erica may be cited as 

 a commendable instance of nomenclatural restraint. He has shown 

 that the type species of Erica is Galluna vulgaris. Instead, however, 

 of proposing new combinations for the five hundred species now 

 included under Erica he has suggested (Journ. Bot. 1921, 291) that 

 Erica Linn, emend. Salisb. should be treated as a " nomen con- 

 servandum." 



T. A. Speague. 



SHOBT NOTES. 



Nttellopsis oetfsa in Northern India. The recorded dis- 

 tribution of this curious plant is as follows : — Sweden, Finland, 

 llussia, England, France, Germany, Bohemia, and (var. iilvoicles = 

 0. iilvoides Bertol.) Italy. Among the Cliarophyta in the herbarium 

 of the Botanic Gardens at Calcutta, which, through the courtes}^ of 

 Sir David Prain, my late brother and I had the opjiortunity of 

 examining, there is a yery poor specimen of a plant collected in 1892 

 by Abduf Huk at Fort Stedman, Upper Burma ; this, in the absence 

 of gametangia of either kind, we could only refer with doubt to 

 this species. Mr. G. O. Allen, has very kindly sent me a tube 

 containing some charophytes in formalin in excellent condition 

 which were collected by him, in the autumn of 1921, in Dhal Lake 



