INTRODUCTION. 5 



ncra, that I was compelled to take up the sub- 

 ject of Generic reform simultaneously with this 

 new flora. This has greatly increased my la- 

 bors and delayed the publication ; but vastly 

 enlarged my field of botanical researches, now 

 based on generic accuracy. 



In fact till lately most of the Botanists, both 

 here and elsewhere, were perfectly satisfied 

 with the Linnean Genera, and thought they had 

 done their utmost when they referred the Lin- 

 nean or new species, quite at random to those 

 Linnean Genera; often avoiding or neglecting 

 to notice their peculiar floral characters, not 

 seldom at variance with the Genera referred 

 to. The labors of Adanson, Jussieu, Necker, 

 Mcench, Lamark, &c. upon generic reforms 

 were often overlooked or neglected. At last a 

 better feeling has been prevailing, and the mo- 

 dern improvers Decandole, Agardh, Robert 

 Brown, Lindley, &c. have restored many of the 

 old Genera, or further corrected generic no 

 menclature. 



As I rank among these botanical reformers 

 ever since 1808 when I first published new Ge- 

 nera, and 1815 when I published the outlines of 

 my reformed Natural Families, it was just 

 and proper that I should resume these investi- 

 gations, now that I mean to give the results of 

 a whole life of botanical travels, discoveries and 

 arduous researches. This shall then be done 

 in a colateral work published at the same time, 

 but kept apart, which I shall call Flora tellu- 

 riana or synoptical mantissa of 2000 new fa- 

 milies, Genera and species of plants of the whole 

 earth. There most of my generic and other 

 reforms will be elucidated, and I shali merely 

 refer to them in this N. Amer. Flora. 



