xi. c, 2 Merrill: Notes on the Flora of Borneo 69 



fascicles occur. The specimens appear to be different from Javan material 

 supposed to represent the same species, but the differences may be due 

 mostly, if not entirely, to the abnormal inflorescences, probably caused by 

 insects. 



MACARANGA Thouars 



MACARANGA INSIGNIS sp. nov. § Caladiifoliae. 



Arbor parva, glabra, ramulis teretibus, crassis, laevis, pruino- 

 sis, cavis; foliis longe petiolatis, glabris, usque ad 40 cm longis, 

 basi late peltatis, 7- vel 9-nerviis, late rotundatis vel truncatis, 

 profunde palmatim 5-lobatis, lobis oblongis ad oblongo-lanceola- 

 tis, caudato-acuminatis, integris; inflorescentiis $ axillaribus, 

 pedunculatis, subcapitatis, bracteis magnis pruinosis persisten- 

 tibus suffultis, floribus dense confertis, staminibus 5 vel 6; 

 floribus ? dense confertis, ovario cupreo- vel ferrugineo-furfura- 

 ceo ; capsulis 5-locularis, extus laevis. 



A small glabrous tree, the branchlets cylindric, smooth, prui- 

 nose, 6 to 10 mm in diameter, hollow, perforated, and inhabited 

 by ants. Leaves coriaceous, glabrous, broadly ovate in outline, 

 very deeply palmately 5-lobed, up to 40 cm in length, shining, 

 peltate; base very broadly rounded or truncate, sometimes 

 slightly undulate, sometimes with a very few minute teeth, the 

 basal lobes spreading or slightly falcate, 8 to 11 cm long, much 

 shorter than the three central lobes, the petiole inserted 6 to 7 

 cm from the margin ; upper three lobes oblong to oblong-lanceo- 

 late, 5 to 10 cm wide, caudate-acuminate, entire or distantly and 

 minutely denticulate, the sinuses extending to within 3 to 7 cm 

 of the insertion of the petiole ; nerves 7 or 9, palmate, very pro- 

 minent ; petioles pruinose, 25 to 40 cm long. Male inflorescences 

 axillary, solitary, their pruinose peduncles up to 7 cm in length, 

 the inflorescence dense, subcapitate, 2 to 3 cm in diameter, 

 ovoid; bracts coriaceous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, concave, 

 curved, acuminate, 1.5 to 2.5 m long, pruinose, persistent. Male 

 flowers very numerous, very densely crowded on the short 

 branches, subtended, and more or less covered, by the bracts. 

 Calyx externally slightly puberulent. Stamens 5 or 6; anthers 

 3- and 4-celIed. Female inflorescence similar to the male, but 

 the bracts apparently not persistent. Flowers crowded. Ovary 

 cupreous- or ferrugineous-furfuraceous, smooth, ovoid, mostly 

 5-celled. Capsules depressed-globose, pedicelled, when dry about 

 1 cm in diameter, the valves longitudinally sulcate when dry, not 

 appendaged, glabrous or somewhat furfuraceous. 



Sarawak, Native collector 169 (type), 171, 1156, 1509 (Bur. Sci.). 



A remarkable species on account of its leaf characters, its dense 

 inflorescences, and its symbiosis with ants. It is intermediate between 

 the sections Pachystemon and Caladiifoliae, but on account of its anthers 



