A PRELIMINARY REVISION OF PHILIPPINE MYRTACE.E. 



By C. B. Robinson. 



(From the Botanical Section of the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science, 



Manila, P. I.) 



Although the Philippine species of this family are distributed over 

 several genera, these as elsewhere in the Indo-Malay region have but 

 few representatives, with the exception of Eugenia. That genus, as 

 here interpreted, includes both Jambosa and Syzygium, besides Eugenia 

 proper, so that the number of genera credited to the Archipelago is less 

 by two than if the limits ascribed to it in the Pflanzenfamilien were here 

 adopted. Moreover, while certain species in other genera have presented 

 puzzling problems, the great bulk of the work has consisted in attempting 

 to solve the questions relating to that genus. In it, alone of our larger 

 genera, the collections made by Cuming, about 70 years ago, have never 

 been worked up by European specialists, and only two supposed novelties 

 were worked out by Vidal, one of these proving identical with a species 

 of very wide distribution. In recent years, most of those found within 

 the limits of the Lamao Forest Reserve were worked out by Merrill, 1 and 

 several others of the more striking species have also been described by him. 

 A smaller number has been described by Elmer. Apart from this genus. 

 the family has been so accurately treated by preceding workers, that no 

 additions have here been credited to the Philippines, although there are 

 several cases of exclusion, due principally to the original incorrect 

 localization of some of Cuming's collections. These also, will be found 

 in previous articles on our flora by Merrill and llolfe. Blanco's species 

 were in all cases imperfectly characterized, though many of them can be 

 identified with some degree of plausibility. 



In the meantime, a large quantity of material has been accumulated, 

 and recent additions have been considerable and often of great interest. 

 Many of the species are of very considerable importance, primarily for 

 their wood, although the larger timber-cutting firms utilize them, as yet, 

 in but few localities, the best-known native wood yielded by a tree 

 belonging to this family being Mancono, (Xanthodcmori vcrdugomanm) . 

 The necessity for a revision of the family was evident, and while many 



1 This Journal 1 (1906) Snppl. 104-107. 



331 



