58 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



* Polygonum Hydropiper x Persicaria. One plant only, grow- 

 ing with its presumed parents. Barnard's Green, Malvern. 

 Mercurialis perennis L. var. ovata (Steud.). Malvern Wells. 



*Juncus effusus L. var. compactus Lej. Hill at Little Malvern. 



■Bromus 'icctorum L. One plant only, on railway siding, Mal- 

 vern, 1896. 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF TABENNA. 



By H. F. Wernham, B.Sc. 



Department of Botany, British Museum (Nat. Hist.). 



The discovery of some new African species of this genus 

 among recent collections sent to the National Herbarium has 

 drawn my attention to the considerable confusion which has 

 arisen in regard to its proper designation. 



The genus was based on a plant named Cupi in the Hortus 

 Malabar icus, ii. 23 (1678), and Linnaeus named it Chomelia in the 

 first four editions of his Genera Plantarum. 



In the Species Plantarum (1753, p. 172) the same plant is 

 named Bondeletia asiatica, and the name Chomelia is abandoned. 

 The latter is, therefore, untenable, though several African species 

 have been described by K. Schumann and others under that name. 

 It is properly assigned to Jacquin's Chomelia, a distinct tropical 

 American genus. 



The next definite reference is by Adanson in 1783 (Fam. des 

 Plantes, ii. 358), where he uses the original name Cupi. The 

 latter, strictly speaking, is thus the earliest name for this genus ; 

 and De Candolle takes it up in the form Cupia, Prodr. iv. 393 

 (1830). The name Cupi has, however, never been used, and it 

 seems desirable that it should be included in the list of " nomina 

 rejicienda." In this case Tarenna Gaertn. Fruct. i. 139, t. 28 

 (1788) stands, and this is adopted in Dalla Torre & Harms, Gen. 

 Siph. 497 (1905). 



Schreber (Genera, n. 1733, 1791) names the genus Webera, and 

 this name has been fairly generally used for the Asiatic species. 

 Gaertner fil., Fruct. iii. 71, figures the fruit and seeds (t. 192) ; 

 the former seems to differ in its erect pentamerous calyx from his 

 father's figure (he. cit. supra) of Tarenna, in which the fruiting 

 calyx comprises four patent lobes. These differences may not, 

 however, be regarded as essential, for there are good reasons 

 for supposing that Gaertner's Tarenna zeylanica and Webera 

 cory inborn \V. are identical. J. Gaertner gives Tarennae as the 

 Cingalese^ name for Tarenna zeylanica; Thwaites, Enum. PI. 

 Zoylan. 158 (1864) gives Tarrana-gass as the native name for 

 Sty locoryne Webera Rich.— i.e., Webera corymbosa W. ; Trimen, 

 Fl. Ceylon, ii, 328, spells the same name Tarana. In any case it 

 seems clear, in view of this association of native names, that 

 J. Gaertner's Tarenna was founded upon a specimen of Webera 

 corymbosa W. ( = Citpi), which is common in the island of 

 Ceylon. 



