PREFACE. Vn 



America, and some, even beyond its limits, and that a considerable number of 

 so-called geographical species must be reduced, is an object of great syste- 

 matic importance, and this has been the aim which, during my labour, I have 

 constantly had in view. But another not less obvious task consisted in ar- 

 ranging the species according to the actual state of botanical science. Almost 

 all the principal authors who have written on West Indian plants belong to 

 the last century, and consequently to the Linnsean school, and a general syn- 

 opsis of West Indian plants has never before been attempted, not even by 

 Swavtz, whose Flora contains descriptions of his new species only, with a 

 few remarks on allied. forms. The first important works were those of Sir 

 H. Sloane (1696-1735) and of Patrick Browne (1756), both on the flora of 

 Jamaica : the former, whose collection exists still, and forms one of the trea- 

 sures of the British Museum, gave many rough drawings ; the latter, a small 

 number of most elaborate figures. Both are excellent works for their time, 

 and their drawings are in most cases highly valuable authorities for Linnsean 

 and Swartzian species. Linnseus himself (1759) has published a paper on a 

 small set of Jamaica plants. Plumier's works (1693-1760), with theii- exag- 

 gerated sketches (not published in accurate conformity with the original 

 drawings, which may be consulted at Paris, and are said to be more valuable), 

 referring chiefiy to Haiti, and being devoid of original descriptions, are less 

 useful to the student of our flora. Baron Jacquin, the Austrian, and 

 01. Swartz, the Swedish botanist, are the fundamental authors on the vege- 

 table productions of the British West Indies ; both had the advantage, which 

 I had not, of collecting their specimens in the country, and many of their de- 

 scriptions have been taken from the living plants. Of the British islands, 

 Jacquin. (1754-1759) visited Jamaica, S. Kitts, S. Vincent, and Grenada. 

 Among his numerous iconographic publications, the rare coloured edition of 

 his ^Historia Selectarum Stirpium Amerioanarum' (1780) contains 264 tables, 

 and, being far superior to his former work on American botany (1763), is 

 constantly quoted in our volume (Jacq. Piot.). Swartz was in Jamaica, 

 Haiti, and in a few of the lesser Antilles (1784-1789). In his 'Flora In- 

 disB Occidentalis ' (1797-1806) he describes 835 vascular plants, viz. about 

 one-fourth of the number of species which I have enumerated. The American 

 plants, described by Vahl in his 'Eclogae Americanse' (1796-1798), and 

 other contributions, are not numerous, and often identical with those of 

 Swartz : in a few cases, from want of original specimens, they could not be 

 identified. 



Much less important are the publications of the present century. Tussac's 

 ' Flora Antillarum' (1808-1837) contains 138 coloured plates of Haiti plants, 

 the majority of which had already been figured. Of Lunan's 'Hortus 

 Jamaicensis' (1814) and Descourtilz' 'Flore Medicale des- Antilles ' (1831- 

 1829), the former is a mere compilation, and the latter a series of execrable 

 chiefly copied drawings ; both of little or no scientific value. Hamilton's 

 'Prodromus Plantarum Indise Occidentalis' (1825) is a pamphlet on certain 

 new or doubtful species, but which for the most part cannot be identified. 

 Maycock's 'Flora Barbadensis' (1830) is a compendious list of Barbadoes 

 plants, which I have omitted to quote, being not sufficiently informed on the 

 authenticity of the determinations. Macfadyen's 'Flora of Jamaica' (1837) 



