62 AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



had been omitted from that work. Among these was his genus 

 Trilopus called by Linnaeus Hamamelis, the latter name having 

 been used by older botanists, and even the ancients for a vac- 

 ciniaceous, or pomaceous plant. Linnaeus had in other cases 

 caused confusion by assuming old classical names for newly dis- 

 covered genera, as for example in case of Ilea, Ptelea, DodocatJieon, 

 etc. 



Linnaeus was quite aware of Mitchell's work by correspondence, 

 but before the latter had succeeded in having this article printed, 

 Linnaeus^ had himself taken up most of these genera giving 

 them names of his own. Moreover, there seemed to have been 

 a questionable motive in "setting back" the date of some of his 

 publications, apparently to make it appear that he had not gotten 

 his information from Mitchell, so that the actual date of the Act. 

 Ups. from title at least was not " 1741 " but 1746. Mitchell himself 

 dated his observations " Dabam ex aedibus meis Virginiae 

 II, 3, 1 74 1," so that the reprint of 1769 seems a further protest 

 against the apparently unjust procedure of Linnaeus. The relative 

 priority of all the names in question is discussed individually 

 by Kuntze.^ Hamamelis was then first published in Linnaeus' 

 Genera Plantarum where it was attributed to Gronovius' Flora 

 Virginica. The name however, is not to be found in the latter 

 work part I, and part II appeared only in 1743. The following 

 is the synonymy : 



Hamamelis Linn. Gen. PI. Ed. 2, p. 54, (1742). 



Trilopus Mitchell Ac. Acad. Leop. Carol. VIII, app. 211, 

 (1748), also (1769), 1. c. 



Hamamelis Linn. Gen. P. Ed. 5 p. 59, (1754). Sp. PI. p. 124, 

 (1753)- 

 Hamamelis virginiana Linn. Sp. PI. p. 124, (1753). 



Hamamelis corylifolia Moench, Meth. p. 274, (1794). 



Hamamelis virginica Linn., Syst. Ed. XII, p. 129, (1767). 



Trilopus virginicus Raf., New Fl. Am. Ill, p. 15. 



Trilopus riparius Raf. 1. c. 



Hamamelis riparia Raf. 1. c. 



Tr. or H .hyemalis Raf. 1. c. 



Rafinesque having attempted to make segregates extensively 



6 Linnaeus, C. Act. Ups. "Annum 1741" (1746). 



7 Kuntze, O., Revisio Gencrum Plantarum pt. II, p. 519, (1891). 



