Account of Mr. John Banister. 137 



year 1687, when he sent a small collection of seeds to 

 Mr. Ray. These are mentioned in the Histor'ia Plan- 

 tarum, p. 1928. From the manner in which Mr. Law- 

 son speaks of him*, I conjecture, that the Virginia na- 

 turalist was alive very late in the seventeenth century. 

 Lawson went to Carolina in 1700, at which time, there 

 •Rn, I presume, be little doubt, that Banister was dead. 



The name of Mr, Banister is honourably preserved 

 in the enumeration of the vegetable kingdom. Mr. 

 Houstoun, an able botanist, consecrated to him a genus 

 of climbing plants (belonging to the tenth class), which 

 had been ranked, by Sir Hans Sloane, and other botan- 

 ists, as a species of Maplef. The distinction of Hous- 

 toun stood the test of the rules laid down by Linnaeus, 

 and accordingly is preserved in the sexual system. 

 Twenty-four species of Banisteria are enumerated 

 by Willdenow, in his edition of the Species Plantarum 

 of LinnseusJ. Linnceus himself was acquainted with on- 

 ly seven species. 



Many of the descendants of Mr. Banister are still liv- 

 ing in Virginia, and are some of the most respectable 

 -inhabitants of that part of the Union. The editor of 

 this work will gladly receive from them any further par- 

 ticulars of the life and labours of the great Botanist. 



* See Note B. 



> Acer scandens, £;c. 



% Tom. II. Pars I. p. 73?— 740. 



vol. II. PART II. t. 



