NOTE ON BOTANICAL NOMENCLATURE. 



It may perhaps be of interest to some users of this book, and may make 

 the changes in the names of plants which are shown in this volume appear 

 more reasonable, if 1 briefly explain the principles underlying the 

 scientific naming of plants. Every kind, or species, of plant or animal is 

 known by a double nume, the second being the special or individual name 

 of the species and the first that of the group or genus to which the species 

 obviously belongs. This system was introduced by Linnaeus in the l8th 

 century, and fits in so well with the natural relationships of the varied 

 forms of life that it has been universally adopted. Its usefulness is 

 unquestioned. 



The second, species name, is always that given to it by the man who 

 first scientifically described the species, i.e., ' founded ' it, and is in general 

 unalterable. The only valid reason for changing the name of a species is 

 the discovery that the name had already been given to another species of 

 the same genus, or that the supposed new species is not really distinct from 

 an older-named species. For the first reason the South Indian Asparagus 

 subulatus Sieudel has had to be changed to Asparagus Fysoni M ac Bride 

 (p. 1 16) and for the second Derris oblonga has been * reduced ' to Derris 

 canarensis (p, 39 , The decision on second of these reasons must necessarily 

 be to some extent a« matter of opinion, as also sometimes whether a certain 

 plant does really belong to a pre-existing species (perhaps as a ' variety ') 

 or should be considered distinct. The tendency at the present time is to 

 split off varieties or distinct species. (See the species of the Sect. Alaias 

 of CROTALARIA in vol. I, p. 102 et seq.). 



The first of the names is the genus to which the speces belongs. It 

 also is the name first scientifically given to that genus. The same rules 

 apply as with species. Thus zkhneria (of the F.B.I, i) was merged 

 in (reduced to) melothria, a few years ago, and mukia is now following 

 suit (see p. 54). Brassaia, a genus founded by Clarke, is now judged 

 to be not really distinct from heptapleurum, and the latter name has had 

 to give way to the earlier schefflera. Sometimes, on the other hand, a 

 genus — formed perhaps by the amalgamation in this way of several — 

 becomes so large that it is convenient to split it^up again. For this reason 

 andropoguN has been divided into seven or eight genera (see vol. I, p . 

 455) and now eugenia also into smaller genera, of which one genus 

 belong to SYZYGIUM (p. 47). 

 B 



