12 THE FERNS AND 



■else, examining these sixcies, comes to the conclusion that after all 

 they are only varieties, and he accordingly disallows all the names 

 but the first. As we shall see further on, there is great confusion 

 in the minds of many botanists as to what a species is, and hardly 

 any two can agree as to where the line between species and varieties 

 is to be drawn. Many very celebrated botanists are in favour of 

 reducing the number of species by widening their limits, while others 

 look upon comparatively slight variations as of specific importance. 

 In this last category the majority of cultivators and collectors of 

 ferns, and horticulturists generally, must be included. One result of 

 this difiierence of opinion is that some favourite kinds of plants have 

 had so many names given to them that systematic botanists have 

 great difficulty in clearing up the confusion- which exists. Ferns 

 have probably suffered more in this respect than any other plants, 

 owing to their having been so long collected and cultivated, and 

 also to the wide geographical range of many of the species. The 

 rule for settling this difficulty is a simple one, the first name 

 given being entitled to priority, and being distinguished by having 

 appended to it the name — or a portion of the name — of the botanist 

 who described it ; for example, Pteris aquilina, L., informs us that 

 Linnaeus was the author of the name. Any later name given to 

 this fern ranks only as a syiionyTii. The application is by no means 

 so simple as the rule itself, and often, in spite of great care, extreme 

 •confusion has crept into the nomenclature of ferns, to remain until 

 someone has had the courage to face the difficulty, and reduce 

 the chaos to something like order. The work which has done 

 more than any other to effect this is probably the " Synopsis 

 Filicum" of the late Sir W. Hooker and Mr. J. G. Baker, of Kew. 

 In New Zealand, we are indebted to Mr. Kirk for some valuable 

 work of the same kind. 



Frequently a fern is described as belonging to a certain genus, 

 .and it is afterwards found that it should have been included in 

 another. In this case the specific name first given remains, although 

 the generic name is changed to the correct one. Thus Sir W. 

 Hooker described a certain fern, and named it after the discoverer, 

 Trichomanes malingii. On examination of more specimens it was 

 found that the plant was a true HymenophyUtom, and hence it is 

 now called H. malingii. 



