A. W. Evans — Hawaiian Hepaticce of the Tribe Jubuloidem. 409 



divisions he called " subgenera " and gave to each of them a name 

 in which the word "Lejeunea" was compounded with an appropriate, 

 descriptive prefix (e. g. Sticto-Lejeunea^ N'euro-Lejeunea, etc.). This 

 work of Spruce is his most important contribution to hepaticology, 

 and by its means he brought a certain degree of order into a group 

 which had heretofore been almost hopeless, both on account of its 

 inherent complexity and on account of the brief and inadequate 

 descriptions of many of the older authors. Spruce pointed out 

 clearly in his writings that his so-called subgenera or, at any rate, 

 some of them wei'e really the equivalents of acknowledged genera in 

 other groups of the Hepaticae, but he continued to write of them as 

 subgenera, and even in his last paper,* published after his death, 

 they are so designated. Since 1885, most of the writers on Hepat- 

 icfe, who have busied themselves with exotic species, have made use 

 of Spruce's divisions and have used his names, now as generic, now 

 as subgeneric, in a somewhat inconsistent way. The tendency to 

 consider these divisions as true genera, however, became more and 

 more manifest, until, in 1893, Schiffner divided his LejeuneetB into 

 forty distinct genera, most of which have the limits and the names 

 of the subgenera of Spruce. In a few cases, the names of the Synop- 

 sis or other older names are substituted ; as, for example, Bryop- 

 teris for Bryo- Lejeunea and Marchesinia for Homalo- Lejeunea. 

 Many of these genera are undoubtedly distinct; others are probably 

 too close to one another, and a more intimate knowledge of the group 

 will doubtless show that some should be united. For the present, 

 however, it seems wisest to recognize most of Schiffner's genera 

 as such, and to use his names. It hardly seems just, nevertheless, to 

 give up Mile. Libert's old name Lejeunea altogether; as Schiffner 

 himself suggests in a foot-note, this name might readily be retained 

 for the genus which he calls Eulejeunea, more especiall}'' as the type 

 of the old genus, L. serpylUfolia., is the type of the restricted genus 

 as well. It is probable also that Spruce's subgenus 3Ilcro-Lejeunea, 

 as restricted by Stephani,f is as well entitled to generic rank as cer- 

 tain of Schiffner's genera, although it is referred by him as a sub- 

 genus to Eulejeunea. 



As Schiffner is the writer who first defined these groups as genera, 

 he and not Spruce should be looked upon as authority for them, and 

 the year 1893 should be considered the date of their establishment. J 



* HepaticiB ElliottianiB. Linn. Soc. Journ. Bot. xxx, 331-372. pi. 20-30. 1894. 

 t Hedwigia, xxix, 84. 1890. 



X This should of course not apply to the old generic names given in the 

 Synopsis and elsewhere. 



