130 



THE NATURALIST, 



Persoon, Synop. pi. (1807), vol. ii. p. 50, No. 29, simply copies the 

 diagnosis of the Flora britannica. 



Lejeime, El. de Spa (1811), vol. i. p. 230, No. 7, " leaves cottony on 

 hoth surfacGsy 



Merat, More des environs de Paris, (1812), p. 190 ; Bastard Plore de 

 Maine et Loire (1809-12), say Leaves tomentose^ 



Woods British Species of Rosa (1816, p. 197, No, 12) says of his i?. 



tomentosa, Foliola utrinque tomentosa, duplicatosermta, subtus nunc 



totcB superjicie nunc margine, venisve tantum glandulosa.^^ Woods must 

 certainly have had several different forms before him in describing his type ; 

 to see this we have only to consult the herbarium prepared by him in establish- 

 ing the authenticity of the species described in his Monograph which is in 

 the Linnean Society's herbarium at London. The type of his species is 

 represented in this collection by the Nos. 38 and 39 : No. 38 ! is B. cuspi- 

 data, Bieb., according to the notes which Mr. Baker had the kindness to 

 make for me on Woods' Monograph. Whenever a description includes 

 several doubtful forms of which the limits are unknown, the result must be 

 that the most general characters are substitued in part for genuine specific 

 characters, which would not be the case were the description based upon a 

 single well determined form. The synonyms cited by Woods must 

 certainly be accused of confusion ; indeed it is impossible on such a subject 

 that they could be otherwise. Thus the synonyms of Smith, fl. Brit., Engl. Bot. 

 Dc. El. fr., are far from corresponding with his description. It seems to us 

 that when an author cites a synonym he ought to have a specimen of it 

 before him, or at any rate to take the trouble to consult the texts. By this 

 means we should avoid the gross errors in synonymy which cause certain 

 authors to attach a specific name rather than examine a description. Woods 

 ranks under his type fourteen varieties, which are represented by 19 num- 

 bers in his herbarium. Nos. 44, 48, 51, and 58 are R. tomentosa, Baker 

 (non*Smith) ; No. 40, jB. scabriuscula, Sm. ; No. 41, R. suhcristata, Baker (of 

 the sect, canince) ; No. 42, R. Sherrardi, Davies ; Nos. 49 and 50, R. Jund- 

 zilliana, Baker (non Besser) of the sect. Rubiginosce ; No. 59, R. canescens, 

 Baker, of the sect. Ganince. 



(T.0 be continned.) 



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