HOWARD & STAPLES. CATESBY'S PLANTS THE MODERN NAMES FOR CATESBY'S PLANTS RI HARDt A. How\ARD AND GEOR(GE W. STAPLES MARK C'\iATrs (1682-1749) collected plants in the southeastern I'nitedStates from Maryland to Florida between 1712 and 1719 and again between1722 and 1725 (Reveal. 1983). During part of 1725. before his return to Englandin 1726. he collected in the Bahama islands of New Providence. Abaco. Andros.and Eleuthera (Britton & Millspaugh. 1920). Dried specimens, as well as seedsand possibly living plants, were sent to correspondents and sponsors in Englandand Europe (Allen. 1937). Plants and animals were sketched in the hield, anddrawings were occasionally done from plants grown from seeds or under cul-tivation in Europe. Catesby (1731. p. xi) said. "As I was not bred a Painter Ihope some faults in Perspective. and other Niceties may be more readily ex-cused....l" Unfortunately. two drawings are so inaccurate that they still can-not be identified. 7h'e Natcral llistory" of Carolina, F1'orida and tlh Bahama Is/ands, termed"a pioneer contribution to the natural history of the West Indies as well as tothat of the southern United States" (Stearn. 1958. p. 328). was published inparts between 1730 and 1743. with an appendix appearing in 1747. The workwas soon cited by J. F. Gronovius in his l/ora 'ir;inica. Linnaeus cited manybut not all of Catesby's plates in Species Plantarumn (ed. 1. 1753: ed. 2. 1762,1763). Sy'vstema \alurae (ed. 10. 1759). Centuria II. Plantarun (1756: containsa single reference to I inca lutca). lantissa Plantaruni (1767). and .llantissaPlantarun .1/tera ( 177 1). Catesby's plates appear to be the types of twenty-five recognized taxa. ofwhich twenty-one were described by Linnaeus and four by subsequent authors.They are also the types of an additional twelve synonymous names. Typotype'specimens from the Sloane herbarium have been indicated for some species.primarily by Dandy (1958). Linnaeus may have seen some of Catesby's collections when he visited Gronovius (1735) or Sherard (1736). It is generallystated that the plate is the type. and supporting specimens "in the Sloane setcan be associated with certain of the plates" (Stalleu. 1967. p. 78). Not all ofCatesby's plates have been satisfactorily identified, in spite of existing listings.In a search of the Sloane herbarium (IMi) and the Sherard and Du Bois herbaria(o(x\). no specimens were found to aid in the identification of plates 30, 45, or52 in volume two. Catesby's specimens are also known to occur in the generalherbarium at the British Museum (Natural History). These are primarily from 'iT potlpe:a specimen that served as the basis fora published illustration or description subsequent-ly designated as the type of a validly published name. Typolype specimens have no nomenclaturalstanding but may be considered as supporting evidence in the interpretation of ambiguous or incom-plete type descriptions or illustrations.c President and Fellows of Harvard (ollege, 1983.Journal of the Arnld l rboretum 64: 511-546. October. 1983.1983]
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