186 

 REVIEWS 



Britton and Brown's Illustrated Flora: Second Edition* 



The appearance of the second edition of the "Illustrated 

 Flora" marks a new epoch in the study of the plants of eastern 

 North America. That there has been a persistent demand for 

 the older edition, long since exhausted, well illustrates the 

 position that its successor will undoubtedly occupy. The con- 

 ception of a work of this scope, with illustrations of every one 

 of our flowering plants and ferns and fern allies, appeals to the 

 imagination. The very size of the undertaking and its final 

 accomplishment, there are 4,666 species described and figured 

 in the second edition, impresses one with the untiring fidelity 

 of the authors to that original idea which culminated in the first 

 "Illustrated Flora." 



The present work is no mere retouching of the old plates, no 

 laissez-faire revision of an old work as complete in its day as pos- 

 sible. It is a fundamental and thorough revision, shot through 

 with all the principles and precepts that have been fostered and 

 nurtured at the New York Botanical Garden. Besides the 

 changes made necessary by adherence to these principles, the 

 book is further enhanced by the addition of 504 species not pre- 

 viously described or figured by these authors in their first edition. 



During 1908, Dr. Britton issued his paper on the taxonomic 

 aspect of the species question, f in which he announced his view 

 of the status of varieties and species, relegating the former to 

 other than botanical usage, and suggesting for these forms 

 "assumed to be of lower rank than species" the term races. 

 "For general taxonomic purposes, these need not be designated; 

 the conception and description of the species is broad enough 

 to include all races of which it is composed." In the present 

 edition of the flora, this proposition has been adhered to and all 

 the many varietal names, usually trinomials, of the first edition 



* Britton, N. L., and Brown, Addison. An illustrated flora of the northern 

 United States and the British possessions. In 3 volumes. Vol. i, pp. v-xxix + i- 

 680, fig. 1-1658; Vol. 2, pp. 1-735. fig- 1659-3329; Vol. 3, pp. 1-637, fig- 3330- 

 4666. Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York. Price $13.50. (Issued 7 June, 1913.) 



tAm. Nat. 42: 225-242. 1908. 



