376 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 
Among the more important names of fungi that have been 
antedated by use for other plants the following may be mentioned. 
The name Asteridium Sacc. is peculiarly unfortunate. Not only 
was there an earlier Asterrdium Englem' but also an Asteridea 
Lindley, (1839). The name is but a Greek diminutive of Aster, 
and the oldest of them is at most, but a poor makeshift. There are 
beside an Asterias, several Asteriscus’, an Asteropsis, Asterioides, 
and in the same family, an Asteronia, Asterella, and Asterina(!) 
all of these based on the same word with nothing but a suffix 
appended to give slight difference in form. 
Moreover all of these are but Greek forms of Stellaria. To 
replace the untenable fungus name Asteridium may be suggested 
that of Arberia in honor of Agnes Arber who wrote a valuable and: 
learned work of erudition on Herbals, their Origin and Evolution. 
Arberia Nom. Nov. 
Asteridium Sacc. I: 49 not Asiteridium Englem. !. c. (1843). 
Arberia juniperina (Cke). 
Asteridium juniperinum (Cke). 
Arberia lepidigenoides (EJl. & Ev.). 
Asteridium lepidigenoides (Ell & Ev.). 
BELONIA. 
Still another example quite if not more inexcusable is the fact 
that the mycologists have permitted the name Belonia, whereas 
even Linnaeus’ himself had a genus Bellonia! Moreover should 
one be tempted to quibble about the spelling of the word i. e., 
with one | instead of two, Adanson3 had the Linnaean name Bellonia 
spelled with one 1. Besides this the name Belonium with a different 
gender ending, is used as a name of another fungus making the 
chance for confusion, even if possible, still worse. When we rem- 
ember that there is a Belonidium (Greek diminutive form) and a 
Gelloniella (Latin, diminutive form) as also a Belonopsis, we are 
tempted to wonder whether the condition could be made even 
more ridiculous, by dedicating all the genera in the group to 
one botanist, and put numerals after them to distinguish them 
as they did the kings and emperors of old and no. 
To replace the fungus name Belonia we suggest Pradalia 
* Walpers, Rep. II. 958 (1843). 
SSliiiacws Ci Opell ave 7se)e 
§ Adanson, M., Fam, II. 158 (1763). 
