X • • INTRODUCTION 



Genera are gronped into Families, the Palm Family, for example, com- 

 prising the palmettoes and all other true palms. Families are grouped 

 into Orders, the Order Palmales consisting of the Palm Family and the 

 Panama-hat Plant Family. Orders are grouped into Classes, and Classes 

 into Phj^la. 



Botanical Nomenclature provides names for the various categories of 

 plants. Latin is the language accepted for international use, but most 

 common or conspicuous plants are locally known by names in the language 

 of the countr}^ often a translation of the botanical name. 



Species names are binomial; thus the Bermuda Palmetto is Sahal 

 Blackburnianum ; if races or varieties are named a trinomial is used, thus 

 the Variegated India Rubber Fig is Ficus elastica variegata', in this work 

 no attempt is made to describe races or varieties. Genus names are uni- 

 nomial, Sdbal applying to all true palmettoes. Family names are formed 

 by adding the letters aceae to the root of the name of a genus, thus Brassi- 

 caceae, the Mustard Familj^, from Brassica, the genus of the mustards. 

 Ordinal names are formed by adding the letters ales to the root of a 

 generic name. Names of classes are various in formation. Names of 

 phyla take the termination pliyta. 



Priority of publication in time or place, commencing with the ^' Spe- 

 cies Plantarum " of Linnaeus published in 1753, is the general principle 

 maintained in the application of Latin botanical names. In the case of 

 species names, the first one published for a plant is used, even if it was 

 regarded by the original author as belonging to a genus other than the one 

 in which it is now included ; thus, the Sea Grape, named by Linnaeus Poly- 

 gonum Uvifera, when placed in the genus Coccolohis, became Coccolohis 

 Uvifera; Buckwheat, termed by Linnaeus Polygonum Fagopyrum, Avhen 

 included in the genus Fagopyrum, becomes Fagopyrum Fagopyrum. It 

 is also maintained that a name published for a species or a genus is not 

 subsequently applicable to any other species or genus. 



Names of authors (often abbreviated) following genus or species 

 names are those of the botanists who first described the plants concerned; 

 if the plant was first included in a different category from that now ac- 

 cepted, the name of the first author is enclosed in parentheses; thus, the 

 Sea Grape, originally named Polygonum Uvifera by Linnaeus, was sub- 

 sequently transferred to the genus Coccolohis by Jacquin; this is indicated 

 by writing the name Coccolohis Uvifera (L.) Jacq. In the citations of 

 certain genus names, brackets are used to indicate that the name was taken 

 up by Linnaeus from authors preceding him; thus Cassia [Tourn.] L. 

 indicates that Linnaeus adopted the name from his predecessor Tournefort. 



The synonyms cited in this book are mainly names used by previous 

 authors on the Bermuda flora, in case these are different from the names 



