252 J^otices of new and beautiful Plants 



in the word Eschscholtzia," is awelcoihe change. To give our 

 readers, particularly those who are interested in the subject, an 

 opportunity of judging of the propriety of the alteration, we 

 copy the following remarks: Dr. Lindley states that they were 

 sent him by a botanical friend, on whose correct judgment he 

 could place great reliance: — " It is surprising that so great a vio- 

 lation of an established botanical rule, as is contained in the gene- 

 ric name Eschscholtz/a, should have been so long permitted to 

 remain. The rule to which we refer, is, that two different gene- 

 ra should not both be named in honor of the same individual, or 

 of the same family. Thus, for example, the nanie Linnse^a must 

 be held to commemorate both the elder and the younger Linnjeus, 

 and it would not be allowable to establish a different genus Lin- 

 nesB^a in honor of the latter. It is evident that nothing but con- 

 fusion would arise from neglecting a rule of such plain utility. 



"Now, in the present case, the generic name Eschscholtzia 

 has been previously appropriated to a genus among the Labia- 

 ceae, and dedicated to the memory of Eschscholtz, senior; this 

 genus has been universally received, among others by Mr. Ben- 

 tham, in his recent arrangement of the Labiaceae; and, conse- 

 quently, the same name cannot be applied with any propriety to 

 designate a different genus of the order Papaveracese, in com- 

 memoration of his son Eschscholtz, junior, the botanist who 

 accompanied Kotzebue in his voyage round the world. It is 

 true that we find the former name spelt Elscholtzia in botanical 

 works, which appears to make a difference between them; but 

 this has no better foundation than an error of the press; the two 

 individuals to whom the genera are dedicated, standing to each 

 other, as we have already remarked, in the relation of father and 

 son. It is time, therefore, that this anomaly should be removed 

 from our nomenclature, and that the name should be preserved 

 to the plant to which it was originally appropriated." 



Dr. Lindley considers these observations "as unanswerable," 

 and has consequently figured this species (or variety) under the 

 name Chryseis, to which both the old californica and crocea be- 

 long. We can hardly believe the crocea and the compacta to 

 be any thing more than varieties of the californica; we have rais- 

 ed the crocea from seeds, varying in shades of color from yellow to 

 deep orange. Mr. Nuttall has informed us that he saw both the 

 orange and yellow ones growing together in California, and he 

 considers one as only a variety of the other. C. californica is, 

 however, biennial, or of three or four years' duration, while the 

 crocea is only annual, all our attempts to carry it through the 

 winter having proved unavailing. Dr. Lindley remarks that the 

 compacta " seems to stand in much the same relation to C. cal- 

 ifornica and crocea as those to each other; that is to say, 7/ they 

 arc distinct, so is this: but if they are varieties of only one spe- 

 cies, this must be reduced to that species also." 



