INTRODUCTION. 



I promised in my FLORA TELLUKIANA 1836 

 concluded in 4 parts and 1225 articles, to add 

 soon after some others separately; the Trees and 

 Shrubs being the most important and striking 

 vegetable bodies, deserve to be foremost. They 

 are the most valuable also by their fruits, tim- 

 ber, bark, medical productions, &c: yet have 

 often been neglected by the Botanists not able 

 to distinguish objects accurately. 



It is a fact that Trees have been the last to 

 be well ascertained and described every where: 

 it is only lately that the Elms, Willows, Oaks 

 and 20 other Genera of Trees have been pro- 

 perly distinguished even in Europe, and in North 

 America our Oaks, Willows, Poplars, Ash trees, 

 Grape Vines and 40 other Genera of Trees or 

 Shrubs have been described only within a few 

 years. Our common fruit trees were not even 

 distinguished till Decandole attempted it, and 

 the Plumb trees, Cherry trees, Wortle berries of 

 N. America are yet in utter confusion with ma- 

 ny other fruits. 



And still we meet with Botanists who pretend 

 that every thing is known, and that all our vege- 

 table forms are ascertained and described . . f 



In tropical climates where these w r oody forms 

 abound, there remains still more to be achieved 

 or even discovered. The old Botanists Rheede, 

 Rumphius, Piso, Plumier, and many others have 

 figured a crowd of Trees, from the East and 

 West Indies, Polynesia and South America, 

 that are yet deemed doubtful because not so 

 well described as required by modern refine- 

 ment, and not met bv late travellers in their 



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