PLANT NAMES 21 



have been introduced. But his method of naming 

 remains substantially as he left it. 



There is now no absolutely authoritative botanical 

 body in the world which meets regularly for the 

 decision of doubtful questions, and with power to 

 register names. But in 1867 an International 

 Botanical Congress was held in Paris, when De 

 CandoUe prepared a set of rules. These were 

 adopted, and were amended at subsequent con- 

 gresses at Genoa in 1896, at Vienna in 1905, and at 

 Brussels in 1910, and they now hold the field. An 

 International Committee was also appointed which 

 assumes control over matters of priority and 

 synonymy. This committee does not assign names ; 

 that is done by whoever first describes the plant. 

 He must publish in some botanical journal of repute 

 a description, preferably in Latin, giving its fixed 

 characteristics which distinguish it from other 

 genera or species. He must also preserve a specimen 

 as a type. The direction is that this is to be mounted 

 on stiff white paper i6§ by 11 J inches, and is to be 

 placed in a herbarium for reference. Once a name 

 is given no one, not even the author, can change it ; 

 and if he has named it wrongly, the error will 

 always be associated with him. 



It will sometimes happen that a plant is found and 

 named by two people about the same time. When 

 this is discovered, it becomes the duty of the Inter- 

 national Committee to decide which name was given 

 first, and that will be the plant's true name, the 

 other being sometimes added as a synonym. For 



