322 BOTANICAL DIFFERENCE. 



Loureiro framed his description, (and it was not 

 possible he could have seen any other,) everyone 

 conversant with the subject knows, that the leaves of 

 the Honan plant are exclusively made into black tea. 

 Further, it is believed by Mr. Reeves and myself, 

 that the Thea Bohea of our gardens, and the Stricta 

 of Aiton, are identical with the Honan plant ; and 

 I believe it may be asserted without much fear 

 of contradiction that both these are again identical 

 with the Cantoniensis of Loureiro. It seems to me 

 important that botanists should fully comprehend 

 the fact, that the Cantoniensis of Loureiro, the 

 Stricta of Aiton, and the Thea Bohea of our 

 gardens, are all identical with the Honan plant. 

 They are all descriptions of the same plant, taken 

 from the same plantations. Aiton does not give 

 the Stricta and Laxa as new varieties, but as new 

 terms, in lieu of those of Bohea and Viridis; in 

 the same manner as Stricta and Diffusa are em- 

 ployed by Yon Siebold. Indeed it must be ac- 

 knowledged that the terms Bohea and Viridis may 

 have been adopted too hastily. 



No doubt much confusion has been introduced 

 into the botanical classification of the* tea plant, 

 in consequence of the imperfect sources of infor- 

 mation, from which botanists could alone draw 

 their conclusions. 



Thus in the Encyclopaedic Methodique and other 

 works, we find the Cantoniensis (Lour.) regarded as a 

 variety of the Viridis (Linn.), and by De Candolle 



