Silly mistakes

[Susan Farmer]

> In vascular plants it is not so easy to recognize an order and one can come
> with numerous examples of mistaken identifications.  I think that a really
> cute example is Lysimachia terrestris that was originally described by Linne
> as "terrestrial mistletoe" - Viscum terrestre.
>

Some of my favorites are some pre-Linnaean names for Trillium.

Trillium erectum
        Solanum triphyllum brasilianum  Bauhin  1620
        Solanum triphyllum canadense    Cornuti 1635
        etc.

It wasn't until 1730 that it was recognized as a relative of Paris.

Susan
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Susan Farmer
sfarmer at goldsword.com
Botany Department, University of Tennessee
http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium