x, c, 3 Merrill: Erroneous Credits to Philippine Flora 173 
dened with these numerous names is not evident to the casual 
investigator of the Philippine flora, but a recent consideration 
of the subject has shown that from this one source alone — mis- 
takes in identification — more than 2,400 species have been ac- 
credited to the Philippines which do not occur in the Archipelago. 
Previous to the year 1883 practically all work accomplished 
by local botanists was done with little or no correspondence with 
European botanists, with no comparisons of Philippine material 
with types preserved in European herbaria, with no preparation 
or preservation of herbarium material, and with very limited 
library facilities. ' Llanos was the only local botanist, before 
the arrival of Vidal, who preserved botanical material, who sent 
any specimens to Europe for comparison or for identification, or 
who corresponded with European botanists. Under these cir- 
cumstances it is not strange that Blanco, Naves, Fernandez- 
Villar, and even Llanos, to whom we are indebted for most of 
the species erroneously credited to the Philippines, committed 
numerous errors in identifying and reporting their botanical 
material. 
Blanco’s “Flora de Filipinas 1 2 ” was prepared under peculiar 
circumstances. The work was written in the Philippines, and 
the three editions were published in Manila. Blanco died in 
1845, and of course had no part in the preparation of the third 
edition. The preparation of the manuscript of the first edition 
extended over many years, and the work was intermittent, as 
we learn from the author’s own statement in the preface. 
Blanco complains that it was rare that residents of the Archi- 
pelago took any interest in botany, and that many looked on the 
subject with disdain. He closes with the following statement: 
“Mil veces me he fastidiado por esto mismo, y se han pasado anos 
enteros sin dar una plumada en la Flora.” According to Blanco’s 
own statement, he commenced his investigations of the Philippine 
flora with but a single botanical publication, the “Systema Vege- 
tabilium” of Linnaeus. Later he secured other works of Lin- 
naeus, and at a still later date, Jussieu’s “Genera Plantarum,” 
and some other botanical works, the authors and titles of which 
are not mentioned by him. Between the publication of the first 
and second editions of his “Flora de Filipinas” it is probable 
that Blanco acquired the earlier volumes of DeCandolle’s “Pro- 
dromus,” this work being cited in the text although not mentioned 
in the introduction. 
1 Ed. 1 (1837) LXXVIII-f 1-857 ; ed. 2 (1845) LVII + 1-619; ed. 3, 1-4 
(1877-83). 
