132 



every known species of plant, together with the most importan 

 synonyms and citations. In this book the Linnaean binomia 

 system of nomenclature was used for the first time. Linnaeu: 

 was not the first to give plants names ; nor was he the first tc 

 name genera. Many Latin plant-names had come down fron 

 antiquity, while others had been proposed by his predecessors 

 Men like Tournefort and Micheli had in some cases clearer idea; 

 of genera than Linnaeus himself. Neither was Linnaeus the firs 

 one to use binomials. In Cornuti's work on Canadian plants, foi 



mple, , 



find i 



r bine 



; polync 



s doubtful if Linnaeus had seen Cornuti's book when i 

 first wrote his " Species Plantarum." He does not cite it 

 the first edition, but does so in the second. Linnaeus was, ho\ 

 ever, the first one to use binomials systematically and consis 

 ently. Before his time botanists had recognized genera ai 



i, they added to these nouns adjective descriptive phrase 



Thes 



sof a 



alba, the white oak, but more often of a long string of adjectives 

 and adjective modifiers, as in the case of the blue-grass mentioned 

 above. The specific name had hitherto been merely a description 

 modifying the generic name ; from this time it became really a 

 name, although a single adjective in form. An illustration of the 

 pre-Linnaean form of plant-names might be had if, instead ot 

 "Grace Darling," one should say, "Mr. Darling's beautiful, 

 slender, graceful, blue-eyed girl with long golden curls and rosy 

 cheeks." " Grace " is just as descriptive of the girl as this whole 

 string of adjectives. It may be that " Grace " is not always appli- 

 cable to the person to whom the name is applied ; but this is also 

 often the case with many specific plant-names. Asclepias syriaca 



is one of the least delicious of the raspberry tribe. This inven- 

 tion and strict application of binomial names could not but cause 

 a revolution in Botany. Since the appearance of "Species 

 Plantarum" in 1753 it has been possible to pigeon-hole not only 



sofplar 



Sefore this useful book \ 



; had becom 



