A conspectus of the genus Bhesa (Celastraceae)

In his Numerical List Wallich inserted four specific epithets in the genus Kurrimia, viz 4334 K. pulcherrima Wall., 4335 K. calophylla Wall., 4336 K. paniculata Wall., and later 7200 K.? macrophylla Wall. The latter one was provided with a question mark; it was a new combination for Itea macrophylla Wall. No generic or specific descriptions were provided, merely the indication that the name Kurrimia was named in honour of Kurrim Khan who had faithfully served the Calcutta Botanic Garden as its curator for four decades. A few years later Walker-Arnott described a genus Bhesa Ham. ex Arn. (Edinb. New Phil. J. 16, 1834, 315) for which he provided a full generic description and brief but clear diagnoses of two species, viz B. moja Ham. and B. paniculata Arn., the former one based on Hamilton 788 from Hamilton’s herbarium at Edinburgh, the latter on a Penang specimen from J. D. Hooker. He found himself “not able to discover any reference to it in Dr Wallich’s List”.