2c8 Dr. SmithV Botanical CharaElen cf fome Plants 



an unufual circumftancc in this natural order. I have a!fo another 

 not mentioned by him. 



, With rcl'pect to the name, there being aheady a plant of a very 

 diftind: genus infcribed to Jtmgius in the Supplementum Planlarum 

 of Linnaeus, it becomes necefTary to give this of Gaertner another 

 denomination. ProfefTor Gmehn has, indeed, called itMolUa; but, 

 as I am ignorant of the derivation of that name, I purpofely change 

 it. However eftimable this writer may be in other branches of 

 I'cience, he can claim no rank as a botanift. The miftakes pointed 

 out by Mr. Dryandcr in the fecoud volume of our Tranfa£tions, 

 and by M. Lamarck in thofe of the Natural Hiflory Society at 

 Paris, are but a fmall part of his innumerable errors. Perhaps no 

 book in any fcience contains fo many. The zoological part of 

 his Syftcma is far lefs faulty. In that department he may be con- 

 fidered as authority, till fome original author appears ; but good- 

 nature would wifh to forget his attempts in Botany. I cannot 

 help upon this occafion recommending, that only original authors 

 in . Natural Hiflory fhould have any authority to give permanent 

 names. By original authors I mean thofe who have fccn and 

 examined every objeiSl which they profefs to defcribe or enumerate, 

 in contradiftin6tion to compilers of the obfervations or nomencla- 

 ture of others. 



In preference therefore to Mollia, this genus is named Imbricaria^ 

 in allufion to its imbricated foliage. A farther reafon for rny choice 

 of this name is to abolifh the Imbrkaria of Gmelin, taken up by 

 him from Juffieu, which I know from original fpecimens to be the 

 identical Mimufops Kauki oi Linnaeus, of which Juffieu, after Com- 

 merfon's manufcripts, made a diftindl genus on account of its fruit 

 having eight cells, and as many feeds ; but Commerfon obferved, 

 that four or more of thefe were often abortive ; and, on the other 



hand,. 



