[Crown Copyright Reserved. 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW. 
BULL E TIN | 
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 
No. 2] [1923 
V.—CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS A PHYLOGENETIC 
CLASSIFICATION OF FLOWERING PLANTS. I. 
J. Hurcuinson. 
Mr. Hutchinson has devoted much of his leisure time during 
the past few years to a careful study of the genera and species 
of the more primitive groups of archichlamydeous (polypetalous) 
families of flowering plants. 
This very valuable piece of work has been undertaken with 
the object of preparing a phylogenetic system of classification 
of natural families and genera, and it is intended in due course 
to publish the full results of these studies as a separate work. 
Since it is very desirable to make known some of the conclusions 
already reached by the author, it will be convenient to publish 
occasional papers in the Bulletin, and the present contribution 
represents the first instalment. 
These contributions will provide keys to the larger families 
and include all the described genera arranged, as far as may 
The general ee governing this phylogenetic sequence 
are explained on p. 7 
Mr. Hutchinson Tas already published two papers which 
properly belong to the series in contemplation, namely, The 
Winteraceae (Kew Bull. 1921, 185-191), and The Genera of 
Fumariaceae and their Distribution wre Bull. 1921, bit: 1), 
and also a joint paper with the late Mr 
Isopyrum and Allied Genera (Kew Bull. 1920, 145-169). ae W. i. 
Perhaps no subject is of more general interest to botanists of 
the present decade than the pra of the early race-history 
or phylogeny of plant life, and during recent years, especially, 
of flowering or seed-plants. The study of phylogeny, combined 
with that of the past and present distribution of plants, furnishes 
important evidence in regard to the question of former land 
connections between areas now separated by wide oceans, a 
subject which has repeatedly attracted the attention of biologists. 
Especially is this the case where marked similarity in the floras 
of far distant regions is clearly evident, such, for ee as 
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