THE PHILIPPINE SPECIES OF GARCINIA. 
By Elmer D. Merrtll. 
{From the Botanical Section of the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science, 
Manila f P. I.) 
This difficult genus is rather largely represented in the Philippines, 
and its local study has been considerably complicated by difficulties 
encountered in the proper identification of the several species described 
by BlancOj as well as a number of manifestly erroneous identifications 
of Philippine plants made by later authors. The species are often 
obscure, and frequently difficult to classify even when complete material 
is available, while the difficulties encountered become proportionally 
greater when attempts are made to classify incomplete specimens. Fre- 
quently two species will closely simulate each other in all superficial and 
gross characters, but examination of the flowers will show them to belong 
to quite different sections of the genus. 
Seventeen species are recognized in the following paper, which can 
hardly be considered as more than preliminary, but I am not at all sure 
that all those admitted will stand the test of time, especially those in 
the group with Garcinia venulosa (Blanco) Choisy. A full series of 
specimens, showing both staminate and pistillate flowers and mature 
fruits of each species, is greatly needed in this group. 
Of the species previously credited to the Philippines, nothing has been 
done with the list given by F.-Villar in the Novissima Appendix to the 
thii-d edition of Blanco's Flora de Filipinas, as no descriptions are given 
and no specimens are extant, so that any reductions of these species 
would be mostly a matter of surmise only. Vidal enumerates a number 
of species in his Eevision de Plantas Yasculares Filipinas, some of which 
are manifestly admitted on erroneous identifications. I have examined 
most of the specimens cited by him, in the Kew Herbarium, and some of 
the species are disposed of below. Others I could not match with any 
recently collected nuiterial and these will have to be considered at a 
later date. Garcinia morella,, to which three specimens are referred, is 
probably an erroneous identification, while G, andersonii certainly is, 
and one or both are probably undescribed; the specimen referred to the 
latter is remarkable in having leaves l^ to 2 feet in length, and has 
only been found on the island of Alabat off the east coast of southern 
Luzon. 
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