CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE 173 



name of the botanist who is the authority for it. Thus, 

 for example, the common debdaru tree of Bengal has 

 been designated by three different names, namely, 

 Uvaria longifolia Lamk., Guatteria longifolia Wall., 

 and Polyalthia longifolia Benth. and Hk. ; and each 

 of these names, to prevent confusion, is followed by 

 an abbreviation indicating the name of the botanist 

 who is the authority for it, namely, Lamk. for Lamarck, 

 Wall, for Wallich, and Benth. and Hk. for Bentham 

 and Hooker. In India the latest and the most autho- 

 ritative book dealing with the description and naming 

 of Indian plants is Hooker's Flora of British India 

 (F.B.I.). Hooker's nomenclature, as modified occa- 

 sionally by Dr. Prain, has been adopted in this book. 

 This nomenclature differs, in many instances, from 

 that adopted in the classical Flora Indica (F.I.) by 

 Dr. Roxburgh, a book written about a century ago, 

 and based on the Linnean system. Bengal is also 

 fortunate in having Bengal Plants, by Dr. Prain, a 

 very valuable book of reference in which Hooker's 

 nomenclature has been generally followed. Rox- 

 burgh's Flora Indica, edited by Clarke, though anti- 

 quated, is of unique value to students of Indian 

 botany, as it is practically the only Flora of India 

 within their easy reach, both Hooker's Flora and 

 Dr. Prain's Bengal Plants being much too high 

 priced and difficult to procure (perhaps out of print). 

 Throughout this book the abbreviations which indi- 

 cate the authorjty for the names have, as a rule, been 

 omitted for reasons already stated above. 



