106 THE VICTOKIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXVI- 



take a shining example of scientific nomenclature, one that is 

 definitive both in its generic and specific parts, such as Zygophyllum 

 apiculatum — translated by the sub-committee into "peaked 

 twin-leaf" — surely it will at once be admitted that while the 

 former name might scare the beginner from any further con- 

 sideration of the plant, the vernacular would very likely commend 

 itself to him, and have a very good chance of being remembered. 

 It may further be said, in the case of the invented names, that in 

 the future such as are found wanting will doubtless be displaced 

 by others more suggestive, more appropriate, or more poetic. 

 Notwithstanding, then, most eminent disapproval, it was felt that 

 until the species of our flora were fitted like the birds with single, 

 fixed, and as far as possible, appropriate popular names, the 

 general interest which the Club naturally desires to stimulate 

 would continue to languish. 



The objects of the sub-committee, at first more modest, and 

 aiming only to deal with the commoner species, in addition to 

 the collection of data necessary for the formation of a floral 

 calendar, now includes in its scope all the members of our flora. 



So far the greatest confusion obtains in such popular nomen- 

 clature as already exists. The great majority of our plants, and 

 among these are the best known Hibbertias, almost all of the 

 Goodenias and Pultenaeas, the Cryptandras and Grevilleas — to 

 name only a few genera — do not possess a name of any sort. 

 Other species, and most notably the eucalypts, are, on the other 

 hand, cursed with names galore. Some, like E. pauciflora, E. 

 amygdalina, E. hcemastoma, E. paniculata, E. leticoxylon, E. 

 holryoides, E. goniocalyx, E. Stuartiana, E. roslraia, and E. 

 viminalis, have a dozen names or more apiece, and current in as 

 many diff^erent localities. In this genus twelve of the species 

 found in Victoria are known, in one place or another, as white 

 gums, nine as blue gums, seven as red gums, an equal number as 

 swamp gums ; and such appellations as cabbage gum, mountain 

 ash, peppermint, stringybark, box, ironbark, messmate, blackbutt, 

 and woollybutt seem to have been indiscriminately applied, in some 

 cases to a few, in other cases to many members of this important 

 group, with the result, as we all know, that here confusion is 

 worse confounded. Species in other genera, again, from some 

 fancied resemblance to old-world plants, have been given the 

 popular names of these, with the objectionable "native " prefixed, 

 and we have accordingly such absurdities as Native Fuchsia for 

 Gorrea speciosa, Native Mignonette for one of the Stackhousias, 

 and Native Wallflower for Pultengea ! 



In short, most of our plants have no popular names at all, 

 others have names too many, others only such designations as are 

 obviously inappropriate and misleading, and the minority alone 

 — and of these the bulk are species occurring also in other 

 countries — have names which have seemed worthy of retention. 



