NOMENCLATORIAL NOTES ON PLANTS GROWING IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE ATKINS INSTITUTION OF THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM AT SOLEDAD, CIENFUEGOS, CUBA BY F. TRACY HUBBARD AND ALFRed Rehder In preparing a list of the plants growing in the botanical garden at Soledad, several instances of nomenclatorial difficulty have been revealed. Ordinarily the new combinations made necessary by the transfer of a name from one genus or from one specific name to another are clear without further explanation, but in some cases the nomenclature has become so involved that it has seemed advisable to discuss it. The following notes are issued in order to publish those new combinations which are necessary and to clarify those points which seem involved and uncertain. ACTINOPHLOEUS Beccari in Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenz. 2 (1885) 126, in textu. Beccari in Malesia 1 (1877) 42 originally characterized the group as a subgenus of Drymophloeus Zipp. The spelling of the subgeneric name is Actynophloeus. The species cultivated in the garden is: Actinophloeus Marcarthurii (H. Wendl.) Beccari apud Wigman in Bull. Dépt. Agric. Indes Néerl. no. 31 (1909) 1, nomen --- Beccari in Webbia 4 (1913) 154 Radermacher in Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenz. 35 (1925) 12. [The first complete description of the species]. Kentia Macarthuri Hort. apud Belg. Hort. 27 Ptychosperma Macarthurü H. Wendland apud This species, nomenclaturally, has had a complicated history. Originally introduced about 1877, it was placed in the genus Kentia and was described (rather inadequately) in 1879. Later it was transferred to Ptychosperma. In horticulture it has been frequently cultivated under both names, but usually as Kentia Macarthuri. In 1913 Beccari removed it to Actinophloeus where we believe it more correctly belongs. Brachychiton populneus (Schott & Endl.) R. Brown in Bennett Pl. Jav. Rar., pt. 3 (1844) 234. Sterculia diversifolia G. Don in Loudon, Hort. Brit. (1830) 392, nomen - G. Don, Gen. Syst. Gard. & Bot. 1 (1831) 516, non Brachychiton diversifolius R. Brown in Bennett Pl. Jav. Rar. pt. 3 (1844) 234 which is Sterculia caudata Heward in Herb. Cunn. apud Bentham, Fl. Austral. 1 (1863) 230. Poecilodermis populnea Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Following Engler and Prantl and recent authors it has seemed best to accept the genus Brachychiton Schott & Endl. It is not, however, possible to apply the earl iest specific name “diversifolia" on account of the earlier Brachychiton diversifolius R. Br. Robert Brown's binomial undoubtedly refers, as pointed out by Bentham (Fl. Austral. 1 (1836) 230) to Sterculia caudata Heward in Herb. Cunn. Consequently the oldest available specific name is "populnea" based on Poecilodermis populnea Schott & Endl. and the correct combination is Brachychiton populneus (Schott & Endl.) R. Br. CALADIUM Ventenat, Descr. Pl. Nouv. Jard. Cels, livr. 3 (1801) t. 30 and in Roem. Archiv. Bot. 2 (1801) 347. In discussing this genus, W. F. Wight (in Safford in Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 9 (1905) 208) advanced the idea that Caladium Vent. applied to the genus commonly known as Colocasia Schott. The basis of his argument was that Ventenat drew his generic name from Rumphius who used this name for certain species of Arum. This is undoubtedly true. Starting with this premise, Wight argues that the only species common to both Rumphius and Ventenat is "esculentum", which is likewise the fact. Granted the truth of both statements, we cannot agree with Wight's deduction that Caladium Vent. must apply to that part of the material included in the genus typified by "esculentum". In the first place, from the point of view of Ventenat's genus the governing factor is what did he describe, not the source from which he drew the generic name. The generic description seems broad enough to cover both types of plants included in his subsequent list of species composing the genus. However, the species to which he refers throughout the text and which he illustrates is C. bicolor and no mention of "esculentum" is made until at the end he sums up those species of Arum which he believes belong to the genus. Ventenat's treatment of Caladium in Roemer Archiv für die Botanik follows the same course, discussing C. bicolor and at the end mentioning "esculentum". Consequently, we feel that the standard species of Caladium is C. bicolor and not C. esculentum as advocated by Wight and accepted by certain recent authors. CATHARANTHUS G. Don, Gen. Syst. Gard. & Bot. 4 (1838) 95. Lochnera Reichenbach, Consp. Reg. Veg. (1828) 134, non Lochneria Heist., non Lochneria Scop. On account of the earlier uses of the name Lochnera Reichb. must be replaced by Catharanthus G. Don. Dalla Torre and Harms (Gen. Siphon. fasc. 6 (1904) 406) are obviously in error when they refer Catharanthus G. Don to Vinca L. as Don treated but two species C. pusillus and C. roseus both of which are included in Lochnera by Engler and Prantl. The transfer of the plant known both as Vinca rosea L. and Lochnera rosea Reichb. was made by G. Don (Gen. Syst. Gard. & Bot. 4 (1838) 95). The synonymy of the two varieties of this species growing in the garden is: Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don var. albus (Sweet) G. Don, Gen. Syst. Gard. & Bot. 4 (1838) 95. Vinca rosea L. var. alba Sweet, Hort. Brit. (1827) 274. Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don var. ocellatus (Sweet) G. Don, Gen. Syst. Gard. & Bot. 4 (1838) 95 (sphalmate occellatus). Vinca rosea L. var. ocellatus Sweet, Hort. Brit. Vinca rosea L. var. oculata W. Miller in L. H. Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var. antiquorum (Schott) Hubbard & Rehder, comb. nov. Colocasia antiquorum Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 1 (1832) 18. Authors in general, who separate this variety from the species, have made it the species and have reduced C. esculentum (L.) Schott to varietal rank. While there is hardly any doubt that var. antiquorum is the phylogenetic type of the species, it is nomenclaturally inadmissible to reduce an older specific name to varietal rank under a name of later date of publication. In consequence the ranks must be reversed and C. esculenta become the species with a variety antiquorum. Dipteryx panamensis (Pittier) Hubbard & Rehder, comb. nov. Coumarouna panamensis Pittier in Contrib. U. S. The genus Dipteryx Schreb. is conserved over Coumarouna Aubl. The transfer of this species makes a new combination. Gardenia jasminoides Ellis in Phil. Trans. 51, pt. 2 (1761) 935. Varneria augusta Stickman in Linnaeus, Amoen. Gardenia florida Linnaeus, Sp. Pl., ed. 2 (1762) 305. Gardenia augusta Merrill, Interp. Rumph. Herb. Merrill undoubtedly went too far when he accepted Stickman's Varneria augusta as valid publication. According to the International Rules, it can only be considered as a nomen nudum as the Rhumphius reference given is to a plate lacking analytic details and furthermore at the time of publication the genus to |