TALINUM TERETIFOLIUM. 



T E R E T I<: TALINUM; F A M E - F L O W E R. 



NATURAL ORDER, PORTULACACE.^. 



TALI^fUM TERETfFOLiUM, Muhlenberg. — Leaves terete, acute; peduncles long, naked, and 

 scape-like, dichutomous, and cymose at summit. (Darlington's Flora Ccstrica. See 

 also Gray's Miniial of the Botany of the Northern United States, Chapman's Flora of 'he 

 Southern United States, and Wood's Class-Book of Botany.) 



K have taken our botanical description from Darlington's 

 " Flora Cestrica," chiefly because its author discovered 

 a station for the plant now under consideration near his own 

 home, and therefore was enabled to observe it well ; and again, 

 because an opportunity is thus offered to point out how differ- 

 ences may sometimes arise between botanists, for which the 

 student may be unable to account without an explanation. A 

 reference to the works of Dr. Gray and Dr. Chapman will 

 show that these authors give Pursh as the authority for the 

 name of this species, while Dr. Darlington credits it to Muhl- 

 enberg. The facts in the case are that the name appears in 

 Muhlenberg's "Catalogue" of 1813, while Pursh's "Flora of 

 North America" was not issued till one year later, in 1814. As 

 far as priority of publication goes, Muhlenberg is, therefore, cor- 

 rectly credited. Strictly speaking, however, it is not merely the 

 publication of a name that confers the right of priority in botany, 

 but rather the pointing out of the characters by which the plant 

 has acquired the right to bear a distinctive name of its own; 

 and as Pursh was the first to publish the name, together 7vith a 

 description, those who credit it to him are quite as well (if not 

 better) justified than Darlington. 



