l'heritier's species of relhania 387 



6. R. LAXA. — Another of De Candolle's " species non satis 

 notse." Again silence on Harvey's part. This is an erect slender- 

 stemmed sparsely-branching herb, in all respects like E. pediuicidata 

 L'Herit., except for its habit and the usually longer peduncles, 

 which latter may attain a length of four or even six centimetres. 



7. R. PEDUNcuLATA. — As indicated above, this name will have 

 to go. L'Heritier's type is similar to specimens called by De Can- 

 dolle Bhijnclwimdiuiii pedam-idataiii (l. c. p. 290), both botanists 

 having hit on the same trivial name, although the later author 

 was quite unaware that he was describing an already known plant, 

 for he places Eelhania peduiiculata L'Herit. among his '' species 

 non satis notas " at the end of Eelhania. Harvey reduces Ehynclw- 

 jjsldiuiiiDC. to EelJuDila, EJiijiichopddliiiiipediDivulatuni J)C. becoming 

 Eelhania 2jedu)iculata Harv. As stated above, I believe this to be 

 merely a small diffuse variety of E. laxa L'Herit., which 1 propose 

 to call var. huinilis. The full synonymy will therefore stand thus : 

 Relhania laxa L'Herit. Sert. Angl. p. 23, var. humilis S. Moore. 

 E. pedunculata L'Herit., I. c. p. 23, De Candolle Prod. I. c. p. 287. 

 Ehynchojfsidiiun pedimculatiun DC, I. c. p. 290. EelJiania peduncio- 

 lata Harv., I. c. p. 302. 



8. R. lateriflora. — This is the plant subsequently (1794) de- 

 scribed by Thunberg (Prod. Plant. Cap. p. 146) as E. semUjiora. 

 Thunberg gives as a synonym of this Athanada sessiUjiora Linn., 

 and he thus adopts the oldest trivial for the species. De Candolle 

 {I. G. p. 290) makes E. laterijiora L'Herit. a queried variety of his 

 Ehijndioimdiiun sesdlijiorum=.Fielhania sessilijioi-a Thbg. 



9. R. cuneata. — Harvey (I.e. p. 300) gives Thunberg as the 

 authority for this name, whereas a several years' priority is enjoyed 

 by L'Heritier. As both authors cite Athanada unifiora Linn, as a 

 synonym, the cuneata of both authors would appear to be the same 

 plant. It is the Edopes cuneata of De Candolle {I. c. p. 288). 



10. R. viRGATA. — L'Heritier notes of this as follows : " admo- 

 dum affinis praecedenti, cujus forte varietas " — yet De Candolle, 

 although he places it. cuneata in Eclopes, can do nothing more 

 satisfactory with the present plant than insert it at the end of 

 Eelhania among the insufficiently known species. Harvey is again 

 silent here. After comparing the types of this species and the last, 

 I am of opinion that it. virgata is only a narrower-leaved variety 

 of E. cuneata with more rigid habit of growth. E. ciryata L'Herit. 

 may therefore be called R. cuneata L'Herit. var. virgata S. Moore. 



11. R. PALEACEA. — This was originally described by Linnteus 

 as Leyssera paleacea (Syst. Veg. ed. xii. p. 560 [1767] ), and in the 

 same year by Berg as Leyssera ericoides (Descript. Plant, ex. Cap. 

 Bon.^ Sp. p. 294). It was first referred to its proper genus by 

 L'Heritier in the volume here under notice, and De Candolle 

 [I. c. p. 286) describes the plant as Eelhania paleacea L'Herit. 

 Cassini in 1827 (Diet. Sc. Nat. xlv. p. 30), on the plea that, all 

 the Relhanias having paleae on the receptacle, the prior trivial is 

 objectionable, gave the plant the name of Eelhania ericoides, and 

 this is taken up by Harvey {I. c. p. 299), and he makes E. paleacea 

 L'Herit. a variety of E. ericoides Cass. 



