346 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. VIII, July, 1954 
ply. Article 68 of the same 1952 International 
Code says, "When a taxon of recent plants, 
algae excepted, and a taxon, of the same rank, 
of fossil or subfossil plants are united, the 
correct name or epithet of the former taxon 
must be accepted, even if it is antedated by 
that of the latter." This applies exactly to the 
issue at hand and rejects the name Steinhamra 
for our living trees. 
The next name for the big tree was Gigan- 
tahies, with the apparent binomial Gigantabies 
Wellingtoniana [J. Nelson] published under 
the pseudonym Senilis. This appeared in a 
privately printed book, offered for sale for 
10/6 by Johannes Senilis, Lymington, Hants. 
It is recorded in English bibliographic sources 
that the author’s real name was John Nelson. 
The book title is "Pinaceae: being a handbook 
of the firs and pines,” and it was published 
(1866) in London by Hatchard and Com- 
pany. This book was soon reviewed, ap- 
parently by the editor, in the Gardeners 
Chronicle (1866: 542) and wholly condemned: 
"The truth is, the author is not qualified for 
writing a book upon Conifers. The reader 
can judge of his literary qualifications from 
the verbose ungrammatical sentences which 
we have above quoted. His qualifications for 
dealing with the subject he has chosen are 
still less. He appears to be unacquainted with 
the very elements of Botany and Physiology; 
seems not to have the most distant idea of 
the principles on which, by the labours of 
many minds of the highest talent, the present 
system of systematic botany has been based; 
does not know what has been already done, 
what has been already proposed and rejected 
by general consent, and why. He has, ap- 
parently, in his present condition no one 
qualification which suits him for such a work." 
Nelson put the redwood under the same 
name, Gigantabies, and gave it the new name 
Gigantabies Taxi folia. If taken as a generic 
name, Gigantabies must be placed as a later 
synonym of Sequoia, because G. Taxifolia was 
only a renaming of the earlier S. sempervirens 
(D. Don in Lamb.) Endl. Nelson did not cite 
S. sempervirens in synonomy, but he did men- 
tion the early collections of it by Menzies, 
Douglas, Hartweg, and the Russians; located 
it in California, particularly on the Santa Cruz 
range; and by his lengthy description made 
abundantly clear that his new tree was the 
well-known redwood. Sequoia sempervirens. 
Article 16 of the 1952 International Code 
reads: "Eor any taxon from order to genus 
inclusive, the correct name is the earliest leg- 
itimate one validly published with the same 
rank. Eor any taxon below the rank of genus 
the correct name is the combination of the 
generic name with the earliest available leg- 
itimate epithet or epithets validly published 
with the same rank." By these legal provi- 
sions, Gigantabies Taxifolia J. Nelson is il- 
legitimate. 
We could dispose of the remaining name 
Gigantabies Wellingtoniana on the same 
grounds, but if the big tree was accepted as 
a distinct genus, it was at this time nameless, 
hence the status of the name Gigantabies needs 
scrutiny. After some initial poems. Nelson 
came to his technical treatment of the Pina- 
ceae which he subdivided into divisions, sub- 
divisions, sections, sub-sections, and species, 
and we quote (pp. 26-27). 
Technicalities used in the Classification and 
Nomenclature 
S.D., (Sub-Division.) A cognate family containing 
few or many specifically distinct species, and of these 
there may be a few, or many quasi-species, varieties, and 
suh-varieties. 
Section, I use as a group of a S.D. having numerous 
and dissimilar species, and which are arranged in sections 
having some peculiarity or other, as distinguishing one 
section from another in the S.D. to which they belong. 
Sub-Section I use after the same manner as section. . . . 
Species, as a specifically distinct tree or plant, having 
one or more well marked and constant characteristics, , 
distinguishing it from the other species of a S.D.; and 
which reproduces itself true from seed. 
CLASSIFICATION. 
ARRANGEMENT. 
Pinaceae 
Division I.— Coniferae.— Cone-bearing Firs and 
Pines. 
Division II.— -Bacciferae.— Berry and Fruit-bear- 
ing Pines. 
