INTO THE FLORA OF CHINA. 
133 
now in the Mandarin, now in the popular Canton dia¬ 
lect and makes sometimes mistakes in transliterating the 
characters. 
A considerable number of plants described by Loureiro, 
especially of Southern Chinese ones have been gathered by 
later collectors, who investigated the Floras of Canton, Macao 
or Hongkong. Loureiro’s name occurs frequently in Hooker 
and Arnott, Botany of Capt. Beeehey's voyage-—in Meyen’s 
Observ. botan. in it. c. terrain.—in Bentham’s Flora hongkong- 
ensis. Dr. Hance has also rediscovered many Loureirian speci¬ 
mens. But a great part of Loureiro’s plants, in particular those 
from Cochinchina are still known only from his description, 
although they are probably very common in that country. 
It may be also that many Loureirian species relegated by 
botanists among the species dubiae are known under other 
scientific names. From the diagnoses alone given by L., with¬ 
out examining the original specimens, it is impossible to 
identify them. 
I may say finally a few words with respect to the fate 
of Loureiro’s herbarium. From his preface we learn, that 
in 1774, when he was still in Cochinchina, he had sent by 
way of Canton to England and Sweden about 60 specimens 
of plants, accompanied with his own original descriptions, 
and that Berg in his Materia med. p. 5 and Linnaeus fil. 
Suppl. p. 331, have noticed these plants. In 1779, when he 
was already established in Canton he transmitted to London 
230 species more, which seemed to him to be novelties. 
This collection is now in the British Museum. As we can 
conclude from some references found in Benth. and Hook. 
G-en. Plant, these plants have been badly preserved and their 
examination is of little use for deciding dubious questions. 
According to Colmeiro the bulk of Loureiro’s herbarium was 
Parker of the British Cons. Serv. at Canton is the author of this paper, 
and I need hardly say, that the competent botanical author alluded to in 
it, is my respected friend Dr. H. F. Hance. I hope these gentlemen will 
pardon my having disclosed their names. The only faults I have to find 
with Mr. Parker’s paper, are its publication in a Newspaper, where hardly 
any one interested in these questions would dream of looking for it, and 
the arrangement of the list in no intelligible order, scattered over 8 
numbers of the China Mail with the interesting annotations generally not 
placed in the same number as the plants to which they refer. It would be 
worth reprinting in a form more accessible for reference.—M. Parker is 
right in supposing that a great part of the Chinese names of plants, given 
by Dr. Williams (Bridgman’s Chrestomathy) have been derived from 
Loureiro. 
