Some notes on St. John’s evaliation of Forster’s plants 1776

Harold St. John has (in Le Naturaliste Canadien 98, 1971, 571-580) given an evaluation of J.R. & G. Forster plants described in their Characteres generum which is newly dated to have been issued March 1, 1776. We feel induced to correct some inaccuracies. Gingidium montanum (l.c. 574, no. 21) — later transferred to Ligusticum as L. gingidium by Forster f., Prod. (1736) 22; DC., Prod. 4 (1830) 159, as an illegitimate homotypic synonym — is unnecessarily named as a new (superfluous) combination Angelica forsteriana St. John. Hooker f., Handb. New Zeal.Fl. (1867) 97, had this (according to the present Code, art. 72) correctly named Angelica gingidium, as because of the earlier Angelica montana Brot. (1804) he could not use the epithet montanum. For the rest Dawson (New Zeal.J.Bot. 5, 1967, 90) has reinstated the generic name Gingidium. He has still more recently changed the name Gingidium Forst., non Hill (1756), into Gingidia as Hill’s herbal has been said to be declared nomenclaturally valid.