120 
Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 
as to the relationships of many of those described since the publication of the 
eailier volumes of the Flora Capensis, but partly also for convenience of reference 
in the field and herbarium, which is the primary object of a check list. The 
scientific arrangement of families and genera has been adopted, however, as 
being less subject to change, and therefore more easily remembered and 
followed, especially when both synopsis and index are furnished. 
The names of alien species naturalized or found wild in the country are 
printed in italics. Genera which are represented only by alien species are 
indicated by an asterisk before the name. It is not always easy to determine 
whether a species is alien or otherwise, e.g. in the case of Cynodon Dactylon , 
and it is possible that some species are erroneously treated as such. 
Species admitted on doubtful authority are included within brackets 
and queried. 
There are in our collections many species known to differ from any of 
those recorded here, and which are not yet identified ; these have usually 
been omitted unless they belong to a genus not otherwise represented. 
The amount of work involved in the preparation of a check-list, bare as 
it is, would astonish any one who has not attempted to make one. Though 
mainly a compilation, it involves no little critical work in the elimination of 
synonyms, homonyms, and erroneous records. In spite of every care, mistakes 
have undoubtedly been made, more than one such having come to light in 
the final reading of the MSS. before sending it to the printer. It would be 
impossible that no mistakes should have escaped detection ; such will be 
found more easily, however, through the publication of this list, and will be 
corrected in the annotated catalogue now in course of preparation and intended 
to be published in the South African Journal of Science , from time to time, 
as completed. 
Some will doubtless inquire why we publish this bare and necessarily 
incomplete list, instead of waiting for the completion of an accurate catalogue. 
Such was our intention, but the need was felt for a preliminary check-list to 
aid in the preparation of the more critical catalogue ; moreover, the prospect 
of immediate publication of the latter, in complete form, was too remote to 
meet the needs of local botanists. A check-list is a valuable means of securing 
greater accuracy and completeness in the annotated catalogue. It is rather 
the fashion among professional botanists and zoologists to scorn the check- 
list, as such, but it is noticeable that the working biologist is usually glad to 
make use of it when the work has been done. 
A check-list is also of great assistance in delimiting the geographical 
distribution of species, and the writer has felt the need of it greatly in the 
pursuit of his work in economic botany. It is also of value in stimulating 
the search for additional species by amateurs and nature lovers, which also 
hastens the completion of a full catalogue, and finally of a flora. 
In the preparation of this list I have been greatly assisted by Mrs. 
Pott-Leendertz, who has furnished a large number of records and localities 
from the herbarium of the Transvaal Museum, and she is entirely responsible 
for the determination of the species recorded by her. Miss S. M. Stent has 
given valuable assistance in the determination of some of the records based 
on my own collections. To the late Dr. Bolus we were all deeply indebted 
for much valuable assistance and for his constant willingness to help. We 
are also indebted to Miss L. Kensit, F.L.S., Mr. J. Medley Wood, A.L.S., Dr. 
S. Schonland, F.L.S., Professor H. H. W. Pearson, F.L.S., Mr. T. R. Sim, 
F.L.S., Mr. E. E. Galpin, F.L.S., the Director and Staff of the Royal 
Botanic Gardens, Kew ; Professor Dr. Hans Schinz, and Mr. Spencer 
le M. Moore, F.L.S., for assistance in [determining critical species or plants 
