244 Philippine Journal of Science i^a 



EXCOECARIA COCHINCHINENSIS Lour. Fl. Cochinch. (1790) 612, var. 

 VIRIDIS (Pax & K. Hoffm.). 

 Excoecaria bicoior Hassk. Retzia 1 (1855) 158, var. viridis Pax & 

 K. Hoffm. in Engl. Pflanzenreich 52 (1912) 159. 



Kwangtung Province, Kochow region, Kwong T'am, To Kang 

 P'eng, 2672, March 22, 1919. 



I believe the cultivated form with colored leaves described 

 by Loureiro as Excoecaria cochinchinensis to be identical with 

 Excoecaria bicoior Hassk., which being the case Loureiro's 

 name should be retained. The type of Excoecaria bicoior Hassk. 

 var. viridis Pax & K. Hoffm. was from Cochin China, and the 

 description agrees entirely with the specimen cited above. 

 The species is new to China. 



ALCHORNEA Swartz 



ALCHORNEA RUGOSA (Lour.) Muell.-Arg. in Linnaea 34 (1865) 170. 

 Alchornea hainanensis Pax & K. Hoffm. in Engl. Pflanzenreich 63 



(1914) 242 ! 

 Cladodes rugosa Lour. Fl. Coehinch. (1790) 574. 



Kwangtung Province, Kochow region, Kwanshan temple, To 

 Kang P'eng 2662, March 18, 1919. 



This is the first record of the species from China proper, al- 

 though it had previously been recorded from Hainan Island. 

 Unless Alchornea rugosa (Lour.) Muell.-Arg. is variable in the 

 number of its stamens, it would seem that Pax and Hoffmann 

 are wrong in their interpretation of Alchornea rugosa, and that 

 they described as a new species the typical form as described 

 by Loureiro under Cladodes rugosa. Loureiro describes his 

 species as having eight stamens, the only character depended 

 upon by Pax and Hoffmann in separating the Hainan form from 

 Alchornea rugosa. In Alchornea hainanensis the staminate 

 flowers have eight stamens, as does the Kwangtung specimen 

 cited above, thus agreeing with Loureiro's original description 

 of Cladodes rugosa. J. J. Smith states that in all staminate 

 flowers of the Javan form referred by him to Alchornea rugosa 

 the number of stamens was four; Pax and Hoffmann state 

 stamens 4, rarely 5 or 6. The actual specimens so closely re- 

 semble each other that I strongly suspect that the species has 

 a variable number of stamens, 4 to 8. Should this not prove 

 to be the case, then Loureiro's specific name will have to be re- 

 tained for the form characterized by Pax and Hoffmann as 

 Alchornea hainanensis, while for the common Malayan form 

 the name Alchornea javanensis (Blume) Muell.-Arg. will have 



