13 



Flachl. 539. 1898), and Cornelia Rydb. (Bull. Torrey Club 33: 

 147.1906). 



Svida is derived from a Czech word for dogwood. Opiz 

 (Seznam 94. 1852) made it a genus-name and referred to it 

 C. sangiiinea L., the common European shrub called dogwood 

 in England/ and C. alba L., related to our C. stolonifera Michx. ; 

 but failed to describe it. Indeed, we can infer his intention to divide 

 Cornus only from the existence of C. mas on page 33 of his flora. 

 Such a procedure, though legitimate at the time, is contrary to our 

 present rules. Svida was first validly published by Small in 1903 

 (Fl. SE. U. S. 853). 



There are those who say that such a disturbance of the dead 

 bones of nomenclature can be prompted only by the disturber's 

 desire to see his name after new names and combinations. Per- 

 haps I should grasp the opportunity to give the Asiatic flowering 

 dogwoods a legitimate name and to make new combinations under 

 Eiikrania Raf. emend. But botanical bibliography is the servant 

 of taxonomy ; this catalogue of oversights is only incidental to the 

 revaluation of the groups. The point is that a consideration of the 

 genus Cornus over its entire range renders its division far less easy. 



Cornus Volkensii Harms (in Engler, Pflanzenw. Ost-Afr. G: 

 301. 1895), the only known species in Africa, has a paniculate 

 inflorescence much like that of the European C. sangiiinea but 

 enclosed in four early deciduous bracts like those characteristic 

 of C. mas (southeastern Europe and western Asia). The drupe 

 is ellipsoidal as in C. mas but dark-colored as in C. sangiiinea. It 

 fits neatly as an intermediate between the sections which include 

 these species. C. disciflora Moc. & Sesse (ex DC. Prodr. 4: 273. 

 1830) of Mexico has the "capitate" inflorescence (a reduced pani- 

 cle) of our C. florida but its four bracts are small and early decidu- 

 ous as in C. mas and C. Volkensii; its drupe is ellipsoidal and 

 dark-colored. There seems to be a tendency toward dioecism (char- 

 acteristic of several genera of Cornaceae) in both C. Volkensii and 

 C. disciflora. The concrescence of the fruit characteristic of the 

 Asiatic C. Kousa seems hardly to warrant generic segregation, 

 especially since it is approached by C. Nuttallii of our west coast. 



^ Not, of course, an "osier," though C. stolonifera is often called the "red 

 osier." Osiers are properly willows ; the name has sometimes been used for 

 other withe-like shrubs similarly used in Europe for constructing wattles. 



