XX INTRODUCTION 



that vast new field of botanical exploration, was being 

 traversed by another Swedish scientist. Peter Kalm sent 

 his specimens and his descriptive notes to Linnaeus, wko 

 described and named the new plants in his book. The 

 specimens swelled the great herbarium at the University 

 of Upsala. 



Among trees unknown to science before are the Mag- 

 nolia, named in honor of the great French botanist, Mag- 

 nol. Robinia, the locust, honors another French botanist, 

 Robin, and his son. Kalmia, the beautiful mountain 

 laurel, immortahzes the name of the devoted explorer who 

 discovered it. 



Inevitably, duplication of names attended the work 

 of the early scientists, isolated from each other, and 

 far from libraries and herbaria. Any one discovering a 

 plant he believed to be unknown to science published a 

 description of it in some scientific journal. If some one 

 else had described it at an earlier date, the fact became 

 known in the course of time. The name earliest published 

 is retained, and the later one is dropped to the rank of a 

 synonym. If the name has been used before to describe 

 some other species in the same genus, a new name must be 

 supplied. In the "Cyclopedia of Horticulture" the sugar 

 maple is written : ^^ Acer saccharum, ISlsmsh.. (Acer sacch- 

 arinumy Wang. Acer barbatum, Michx.)" This means 

 that the earliest name given this tree by a botanist was that 

 of Marshall. Wangheimer and Michaux are therefore 

 thrown out; the names given by them are among the 

 synonyms. 



Our cork elm was until recently called " Ulmus racemosa, 

 Thomas." The discovery that the name racemosa was 

 given long ago to the cork elm of Europe discredited it for 



