MACKENZIE: NOTES ON CAREX—XIII 347 
The use of the name in recent years for a dry ground European 
species with the staminate flowers uppermost in the spikes seems 
to have come about partly from the fact that there was a mixture 
in the Linnaean herbarium (Kiikenthal, Pflanzenreich 42°: 156), 
and partly from the fact that some of the names of the older 
writers quoted by Linnaeus undoubtedly referred to some of the 
species with staminate flowers uppermost. Of this group, there 
are four European species to be considered. Two of these, 
Carex contigua Hoppe (Carex muricata of American authors) 
and Carex divulsa Good., can be at once eliminated as they do 
not agree with the Linnaean description “‘capsulis acutis diver- 
gentibus.”” The other two, Carex Pairaeit F. Schultz and Carex 
Leersiit F. Schultz, do not occur in northern Sweden and, I 
believe, are not plants of wet places at all. 
Of the plates cited by Linnaeus the one in Scheuchzer is of 
Carex stellulata Good., and the one in Micheli looks like Carex 
Pairaei F. Schultz. I have not seen the other plate cited. 
However, what we are really concerned with is with Linnaeus’ 
own Swedish plant, and his synonymy is not at all controlling. 
The correct use of the name Carex muricata L. has been 
known in Europe right along, and I am sure that there must be 
a considerable number of references to it in the European 
literature. One, which I have come across, is as follows: 
“ Nostra e silvis est C. muricata Good. non Linnaei. C. stellulata 
Good. autem est muricata Linn. in paludibus crescens.” See 
Kitaibel; Kanitz, Linnaea 32: 317. ke 
The distinguished German author Kiikenthal refers to the 
troubles connected with the name in Engler Pflanzenreich (4: 
156), and like the Roman senator of old with the cry ‘‘ Delenda 
est Carthago’’ emphatically announces “quare istud nomen — 
delendum est.” Following this he abandons the use of the name 
altogether. This German practice of suppressing Linnaean 
names, where Linnaeus had some mixture, is to be most strongly 
condemned. The fact is that there isa mixture in a great many 
of the Linnaean species, and to apply the German practice 
logically to all cases would result in the displacement of a great 
number of names. The only proper course to pursue is to apply 
the type PRES and in the present case that requires the use 
of the name Carex muricata L. for Carex echinata Murr. (Carex 
Leersii Willd.; noe stellulata Good.). 
