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6 HISTORY OF LICHENOLOGY
plants are included twenty-five species of lichens, several of which he
considered new discoveries, no fewer than five being some form of Lichen
Buxbaum 1
, in his enumeration of plants from Halle,
gelatinosus (Collema}.
finds place for forty-nine lichen species, with, in addition, eleven species of
Coralloides; and Vaillant 2 in listing the plants that grew in the neighbourhood
of Paris gives thirty-three species for the genus Lichen of which a
large number are figured, among them species of Ramalina, Parmelia,
Cladonia, etc.
In England, however, Dillenius 3
, who
at this time brought out a third
edition of Ray's Synopsis and some years later his own Historia Muscorum,
and no
still described most of his lichens as "Lichenoides" or "Coralloides" ;
other work of note was published in our country until after the Linnaean
system of classification and of nomenclature was introduced.
plants.
D. PERIOD III. 1729-1780
Lichens were henceforth regarded as a distinct genus or section of
4
Micheli an Italian ,
botanist, Keeper of the Grand Duke's Gardens
in Florence, realized the desirability of still further delimitation, and he
broke up Tournefort's large comprehensive genera into numerical Orders.
In the genus Lichen, he found occasion for 38 of these Orders, determined
mainly by the character of the thallus, and the position on it of apothecia
and soredia. He enumerates the species, many of them new discoveries,
though not all of them recognizable now. His great work on Plants is
enriched by a series of beautiful figures. It was published in 1729 and
marks the beginning of a new Period a new outlook on botanical science.
Micheli regarded the apothecia of lichens as "floral receptacles," and the
soredia as the seed, because he had himself followed the development of
lichen fronds from soredia.
The next writer of distinction is the afore-mentioned Dillen or
Dillenius. He was a native of Darmstadt and began his scientific career
in the University of Giessen. His first published work 5 was an account of
plants that were to be found near Giessen in the different months of the
year. Mosses and lichens he has assigned to December and January.
Sherard induced him to come to England in 1721, and at first engaged his
services in arranging the large collections of plants which he, Sherard, had
brought from Smyrna or acquired from other sources.
Three years after his arrival Dillenius had prepared the third edition of
Ray's Synopsis for the press, but without putting his name on the title-page 6 .
Sherard explained, in a letter to Dr Richardson of Bierly in Yorkshire, that
"our people can't agree about an editor, they are unwilling a foreigner should
1 Buxbaum 1721.
4 Micheli 1729.
2 Vaillant 1727.
5 Dillenius 1719.
Dillenius 1724 and 1741.
s
See Druce and _
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