ROBINSON. — STUDIES IN THE EUPATORIEAE. 37 



some efforts to identify the species among the Brazilian Seneciomae. 

 This search proved wholly unsuccessful, and accordingly a wish to 

 examine the type of this problematic plant added no small incentive 

 to a recent visit to Copenhagen, where many of Vahl's plants are 

 preserved. The specimen of the plant in question was easily found 

 and corresponded in all respects to Vahl's description and plate. It 

 proved as anticipated a tSenecio, but what was even more interesting, a 

 faint but still quite legible label on the back of the sheet disclosed the 

 fact that the specimen had not come from Brazil, but had been col- 

 lected by Commerson on the Isle of Bourbon in the Indian Ocean. 

 With this important clue, it has been easy to identify it positively 

 with Senecio penicillatus (Cass.) Sch. Bip. The synonymy of the 

 species is as follows : — 



Eupatorium tomentosum Lam. Diet, ii. 410 (1786). 



" auriculatum Vahl, Symb. iii. 95, t. 72 (1794). 



Mikania tomentosa Willd. Spec. PL iii. 1744 (1804). 



Cacalia penicillata Cass. Diet, xlviii. 460 (1827). 



Senecio penicillatus Sch. Bip. Flora, xxviii. 499 (1845). 



Senecio tomentosus Cordemoy, Fl. de llle de la Rdunion, 543 (1895), 

 not Michx. 



Although the specific names tomentosus and auriculatus are both 

 earlier than penicillatus they have already been employed for other 

 valid species of Senecio and are accordingly not available for this 

 plant, which should continue to pass as S. penicillatus (Cass.) 

 Sch. Bip. 



Vahl seems to have been quite aware of the identity between his 

 Eupatorium auriculatum and the earlier E. tomentosum of Lam., as he 

 has indicated this upon his label. Although Lamarck's species was 

 also founded on material collected by Commerson on the Isle of 

 Bourbon, he appends to his description the note "on la trouve aussi 

 dans le Brdsil," having probably confused with the plant of the Indian 

 Ocean some habitally similar species of South America. It was doubt- 

 less this circumstance which led Vahl to ascribe his E. auriculatum to 

 Brazil, notwithstanding the fact that his type-sheet bears a note ap- 

 parently in his own hand to the effect that the plant came from the 

 Isle of Bourbon, 



Eupatorium confeHifolium Klatt, Abh. Naturf Ges. Halle, xv. 324 

 (1881). This species does not differ essentially from E. vaccinii- 

 FOLiuM Benth. PL Hartw. 200 (1845). 



Eupatorium coperense Hieron. in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. xxi. 330 (1895). 

 This species, examined and photographed at the Royal Botanical 

 Museum at Berlin, appears identical with the earlier E. angustifolium 



