ROBINSON. — DIAGNOSES ETC. OF SPERMATOPHYTES. 509 



Furthermore the species seems to have passed out of cultivation long 

 ago and is now obscure. The object of the present note is merely to 

 call attention to the fact that, judged from character and Loddiges' 

 colored plate, the species would seem to be exceedingly close to if not 

 entirely identical with P. linifoHum (L.) DC, var. braufolium (Hook. 

 & Arn.) Bak. Fl. Bras. vi. pt. 3, 283, t. SO, f. 2 (1884), a maritime 

 plant, native of Uruguay. 



PoROPHYLLUM RUDERALE and P. ELLiPTicuM. Urban, Symb. Ant. 

 i. 467 (1900), unites these species under the name P. ellipticum Cass. 

 Diet. Sci. Nat. xliii. 56 (1826). This course may have been suggested 

 l)y the fact that P. ellipticuiri Cass., a mere renaming of the original 

 Cacalia Porophyllum L. Sp. PI. ii. 834 (1753), in a certain sense per- 

 petuates the earlier element in the combined species. However, the 

 course is contrary to the International Rules of Botanical Nomen- 

 clature, which in Art. 46 are as follows: " Dans le cas de reunion de 

 deux ou plusieurs groupes de meme nature, le nom le plus ancien 

 subsiste."^ In this case the oldest available name (the Linnaean 

 specific name being rejected on account of its identity with the generic 

 name) is rudcrale, which going back to Klcinia ruderaUs Jacq. Enum. 

 28 (1760), much antedates ellipticum of Cassini. 



The writer fully concurs with Prof. Urban that the two plants 

 should be treated as mere varieties of the same species. The following 

 naming will correspond to the requirements of the International Rules. 



P. RUDERALE (Jacq.) Cass. Diet. Sci. Nat. xliii. 56 (1826), at least 

 as to name-bringing synonym. Kleinia ruderaUs Jacq. Enum. 28 

 (1760). Cacalia ruderaUs (Jacq.) Sw. Prod. 110 (1788). PoruphyUum 

 elUpficuni, var. (3 ruderalc (Cass.) Urb. Symb. Ant. i. 468 (1900). 



P. ruderale, var. ellipticum (Cass.) Gray in herb. P. elUpticum 

 Cass. Diet. Sci. Nat. xliii. 56 (1826). 



Faujasia flexuosa (Lam.) Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii. 443 

 (1873) ace. to Hook. f. & Jacks. Ind. Kew. i. 948 (1893). Identical 

 with this species appears to be CacaUa cuspidata Ivlatt, Ann. Sci. Nat. 



3 It may be noted here that the EngUsh translation is inaccurate and mis- 

 leading. It runs ''When two or more groups of the same nature are united, 

 the name of the oldest is maintained." In this very case it may be seen that 

 the name of the older species is ellipticum for that species (under another 

 designation, it is true) dates back to 1753, indeed even into pre-Linnaean 

 times, while on the other hand the oldest (available) specific name is ruderale, 

 dating from 1760. Thus it is clear that the English translation by the use of 

 the expression ' ' the name of the oldest ' ' instead of ' ' the oldest name ' ' is capable 

 of quite another interpretation from the official French version, "le nom le 

 plus ancien," which happily, as well as the German "der alteste Name," is 

 unequivocal. 



