Hoseanthus Merrill, n.gen. SB 79: {17} S 1918 Hybleapuera Cram
This short note by H. N. Ridley protests against Merrill’s establishment of the new genus Hoseanthus to replace Ridley’s own genus Hosea (Verbenaceae), arguing that the supposed prior claim by Dennstedt is invalid (p. 17).
Summary
Ridley contends that Dennstedt’s 1818 Schlüssel zum Hortus Indicus Malabaricus merely assigned names to poor-quality drawings from Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus without any description or even indication of plant order, making them nomina nuda of no taxonomic value (p. 17). He argues that substituting Hoseanthus for Hosea to accommodate an unidentifiable and undescribed name is an unnecessary addition to synonymy that serves only to increase confusion and bulk in the literature.