154 AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



Plagidia.' The name as customary at times is suggested as a 

 subgenus if not acceptable as genus, and accordingly not dignified 

 by being put in type quite as large as the other genera in the work. 

 That Rafinesque's mind was primarily to propose a real genus, 

 and not simply a subdivision or subgenus in this particular case 

 is evident from the fact that he further on he names and gives the 

 characters of the types species as Plagidia rufa Raf.^ The author 

 seems to have some doubt as to the identity of this type with the 

 Anychia hernarioides Mx., because Michaux omitted one or 

 characters which Rafinesque considers important in his type. 

 Comparison of the characters described under Plagidia and Plagidia 

 rufa Raf. herewith reproduced with Michaux' Anychia hernarioides,-^ 

 latter called Paronychia hernarioides, and transferred by Small 

 to his genus Anychiastrum, shows that it is identical with R .fin- 

 esque's Plagidia rufa in every minute respect. Dr. vSmall has 

 designated as the type of his segregated genus above mentioned. 

 Paronychia riparia Chapm."^ and includes also Paronychia Bald- 

 winii (T. & G.) Fenzl. and Paronychia hernarioides (Michx.) 

 Nutt. Although Rafinesque's type and Small's type are not the 

 same, it would seem that as long as the two plants are not con- 

 sidered distinctively different enough to be in separate genera, 

 any group containing the two should be given the older name. 

 We therefore transfer the plants under the name Plagidia which 

 possesses priority. 



Plagidia Raf. 1. c. p. 42, (1836), (Buinalis Raf.? ace. to deduc- 

 tion on authority of Kew Index) not of Buinalis Rafin- 

 esque ace. to description. 



Anychiastram Small 1. c. p. 400, (1903). 



Paroynchia Adans. Fam. des PI. 2, p. 272, (1763) segregate. 



Plagidia hernarioides (Michx.) Nwd. 



Anychiastrum hernarioides (Michx.) Small, 1. c. 



Plagidia rufa Raf. 1. c. p. 43, (1836). (Rafinesque's type 



of Plagidia. 

 Paronychia hernarioides (Michx.) Nutt. 



Plagidia Baldwinii (T. & G.) Nwd. 



{Buinalis Baldwinii Kew. Index, not Raf. 1. c. p. 43. 



I 1. c. p. 42. 2 1. c. p. 43- 



3 Michaux, A., Fl. Bor. Am. i, p. 172, (1803). 



4 Chapman Fl, vS. U. vS. Supp. p. C07, (i860). 



