MEANING OF VARIETY 139 



to avoid any confusion due to a species being named 

 more than once by different botanists, it is usual to 

 add the name of the man who first gave to the species 

 its name. 



Thus the Banyan is called FICUS BENGALENSIS, 

 Linn. : because it was first described and named by 

 Linnaeus, over a hundred years ago. He too, first 

 described the Peepul naming it RELIGIOSA and it is 

 therefore FICUS RELIGIOSA, Linn. In the same way 

 FICUS GLOMERATA, Roxb. means the species which 

 Roxburgh first described and named glomerata. This 

 is the edible Fig tree of South India. 



So too, the Custard-apple is ANONA SQUAMOSA, 

 Linn. : because Linnaeus first named it squamosa on 

 account of its luscious fruit. The Bullock's heart 

 (Ramseetah) is ANONA RETICULATA, Linn. : named 

 such by Linnaeus, because of the net-like markings on 

 the fruit, and the Sour-sop is ANONA MURICATA, Linn. 

 from the projections on the outside of the fruit. 



In a few cases, but only in a few, it is necessary 

 to add another name to describe the peculiar variety 

 of the species meant. This is the case mostly with 

 cultivated plants, which, in process of cultivation have 

 given rise to several varieties like, for instance, the 

 different kinds of plantain fruit. The species is then 

 the wild plant from which these varieties are considered 

 to have been derived, thus the Citron, Sweet-lime 

 and Lemon, are considered to be varieties of one species 

 CITRUS MEDICA, Linn. the Citron being CITRUS 

 MEDICA, Linn, (proper) the Sweet-lime CITRUS MEDICA, 

 Linn., var. LIMETTA and the Lemon CITRUS MEDICA, 

 Linn., var. ACIDA. Of most cultivated plants there 



