6 ESSA YS. 



From Gronovius, Linnaeus had received a very small num- 

 ber of Clayton's plants, previous to the publication of the 

 " Species Plantarum " ; but most of the species of the " Flora 

 Virginica " were adopted or referred to other plants on the 

 authority of the descriptions alone. 



Linnaeus had another American correspondent in Dr. John 

 Mitchell, 1 who lived several years in Virginia, where he col- 

 lected extensively ; but the ship in which he returned to 

 England having been taken by pirates, his own collections, 

 as well as those of Governor Colden, were mostly destroyed. 

 Linnaeus, however, had previously received a few specimens, 

 as, for instance, those on which Proserpinaca, Polypremum, 

 Galax, and some other genera were founded. 



There were two other American botanists of this period, 

 from whom Linnaeus derived either directly or indirectly 

 much information respecting the plants of this country, 

 namely, John Bartram and Dr. Alexander Garde^i of Charles- 

 ton, South Carolina. 



ing plant, growing on bogs ; the roots are used in a decoction by the coun- 

 try people for sore mouths and sore throats. The root and leaves are 

 very bitter, etc. I shall send you the characters as near as I can translate 

 them." Then follows Miss Colden's detailed generic character, prepared 

 in a manner which would not be discreditable to a botanist of the present 

 day. It is a pity that Linnaeus did not adopt the genus, with Miss Col- 

 den's name, which is better than Salisbury's Coptis. " This young lady 

 merits your esteem and does honor to your method. She has drawn and 

 described four hundred plants in your system : she uses only English 

 terms. Her father has a plant called after him Coldenia ; suppose you 

 should call this (alluding to a new genus of which he added the charac- 

 ters) Coldenella, or any other name which might distinguish her among 

 your genera." (Ellis, Letter to Linnaeus.) 



1 To him the pretty Mitchella repens was dedicated. Dr. Mitchell had 

 sent to Collinson, perhaps as early as the year 1740, a paper in which 

 thirty new genera of Virginian plants were proposed. This Collinson 

 sent to Trew at Nuremberg, who published it in the " Ephemerides Acad. 

 Naturae Curiosorum " for 1748 ; but in the mean time most of the 

 genera had been already published, with other names, by Linnaeus or Gro- 

 novius. Among Mitchell's new genera was one which he called Chamae- 

 daphne : this Linnaeus referred to Lonicera, but the elder (Bernard) Jus- 

 sieu, in a letter dated February 19, 1751, having shown him that it was 

 very distinct both from Lonicera and Linnasa, and in fact belonged to a 

 different natural order, he afterwards named it Mitchella. 



