Topics in this Article:
Literature Cited
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Excerpts from the writings of C. S. Rafinesque.
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Literature Cited:
- Rafinesque, C. S., 1832.
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107.
Twenty new genera of plants from the Oregon Mountains &c.
By C. S. Rafinesque.
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My friend Dr. John Torrey of New York is one of the best Botanists of our country;
but he is so very cautious that he will not admit any improvement except after long delays and previous precedents.
Thus he has hesitated to admit the natural method of Botany proposed by Adanson,
Jussieu, and even Linneus 80 years ago,
until the Linnean system was nearly given up in Europe,
and discarded in England by Brown and Lindley within a few years.
He employs the same caution with new G. and Sp. and hardly dares to propose any himself.
This in his valuable account of the 491 plants collected in or near the Oregon mts.
by Dr. James, published in 1827, he has described many plants in ambiguous
terms as dubious or under wrong genera, because he was loath to frame N. G. for them.
As I have long ago established the principle that every object of nature must be properly located and named in Botany and Zoology, I have been compelled to rectify this omission by forming many N. G. and N. Sp. out of his plants, for my florula Oregonensis.
They are.
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I sent an account of many of those N. G. to Decandolle in 1830.
I wish Torrey had saved me the trouble by forming and naming these N. G. himself
or making S. G. of them; but now I hope he will not hesitate many years to adopt them.
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He has done the same with 9 doubtful sp. throughout this otherwise clever labor;
he has however several new ones,
but not a single N. G.
Having forgotten the rules of Linneus Philosophia Botanica
he has mentioned a Vitis, Cleome, Dalia, Brachyris
without names nor descriptions, he has some N. Sp. with names but no descriptions,
and described many anonymous N. Sp!
These last I have named as follows.
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Atriplex torreyana Raf. A. anon T. 379.
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... [and seven more]
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Through over caution many distinct N. Sp. are made mere varieties,
which I have thus rectified.
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Verbena mollis Raf. Var of Stricta T. 360.
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... [and four more]
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While the descriptions of some sp. evince that they are different from the sp.
referred to, and this real N. Sp.
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Other articles:
• Golden Checklist Flora:
1832;
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Cercocarpus montanus Raf. C. fothergillides T.
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... [and eight more]
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I must end these remarks by stating that the
Inula ericoides T. is a Diplogon, D. ericoides Raf.
and that the Broussonetia tinctoris is my Toxylon 1817,
quite different from the Morus tinetoria of the West Indies.
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Thus hesitation in science is often as injurous as haste.
It is even better to have two names for an object than no name at all.
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Literature Cited
A list of all literature cited by this web site can be found in the Bibliography.
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Rafinesque, C. S. 1832.
Twenty new genera of plants from the Oregon Mountains, &c.
Atlantic Journal, and Friend of Knowledge. Philadelphia, PA.
(http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/104571#page/155/mode/1up)
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Date and time this article was prepared:
7/13/2024 8:13:06 AM
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Eastern Mojave Vegetation