352 PLANT-LIFE 



was born in 1707, and died in 1778. It is true that 

 prior to the advent of this genius numerous attempts 

 had been made to classify plants, but it was Linnaeus who 

 resolved order out of chaos by establishing a system of 

 nomenclature and classification which has paved the 

 way for the accurate identification of species. His idea 

 of a binomial nomenclature is that which is at present 

 adopted; it has stood the test of time. In this system 

 of naming, each plant has two names, one generic and 

 the other specific; the generic name being, so to speak, 

 a surname, while the specific is a Christian name. The 

 species is a unit of classification, while the genus is a 

 group of species possessing some characters in common. 

 Thus in the genus Lamium we have Lamium purpuerum, 

 the Purple Deadnettle, and L. Galeobdolon, the Yellow 

 Archangel (Plate LXXL). Both these species have dis- 

 tinctive characters, entitling them to specific rank, but 

 they have some features in common, on account of 

 which they are associated in the genus Lamium. In 

 their turn the genera are associated in Natural Orders, 

 and these are arranged in Groups. Although the 

 binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus is still in use, his 

 system of classification has been superseded in Britain 

 by that of Bentham and Hooker, and on the Continent 

 by that of Engler. Engler's system has much to be 

 said for it, and seems likely to come into greater promi- 

 nence and use in Britain and elsewhere, But the per- 

 fect system has yet to be evolved. 



When an orderly classification and universal nomen- 

 clature of plants came into being, the study of botany 

 was greatly facilitated, and it began to progress on 

 scientific lines. An orderly and healthy field-botany 



