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16, 6 Merrill: Philippine Euphorbiaceae, III 563 
MEGISTOSTIGMA Hooker f. 
MEGISTOSTIGMA CORDATUM sp. nov. 
Herbacea, scandens, partibus junioribus. inflorescentiisque 
exceptis glabra; foliis ovatis, chartaceis, profunde cordatis, 
acuminatis, longe petiolatis; inflorescentiis racemosis, axillari- 
bus, pedunculatis, usque ad 16 cm longis, floribus inferioribus 
?, superioribus ¢, sepalis @? lanceolatis, acuminatis, 6 mm 
longis, 
A scandent, apparently herbaceous vine, nearly glabrous 
except the inflorescences and very young vegetative parts. 
Leaves ovate, chartaceous, 8 to 14 cm long, 6 to 9 cm wide, 
entire, base prominently cordate, apex acuminate, shining when 
dry, the upper surface olivaceous, the lower paler; lateral 
nerves above the basal pair 3 or 4 on each side of the midrib, 
distinct; petioles 3 to 5 cm long. Inflorescences racemose, 
axillary, solitary, long-peduncled, up to 16 cm in length, the 
flower-bearing portion 3 to 5 em long, the lower flowers in 
each raceme pistillate, the upper ones staminate. Staminate 
flowers about 6 mm in diameter, their pedicels about 6 mm long, 
sparingly pubescent, the calyx-lobes 3, orbicular-ovate, obtuse 
to acute, 3 to 4 mm in diameter; bracteoles lanceolate, acumi- 
nate, somewhat pubescent, 4 to 5 mm long, usually hastate-lobed 
at the base. Pistillate flowers in the lower part of the same 
raceme as the staminate ones and fewer in number, yellowish- 
green. Sepals lanceolate, acuminate, about 6 mm long, pubes- 
cent on both surfaces, somewhat inflated at the base. Ovary 
subglobose, somewhat 3-lobed, pubescent, 3-celled; style pubes- 
cent, 2 to 3 mm long; stigma subglobose, obscurely 3-lobed, 
glabrous, fleshy, about 6 mm in diameter. 
SAMAR, Mount Canislagan, Bur. Sci. 17591 Ramos, April 3, 
1914, in dry forests. 
The genus Megistostigma has previously been known from 
the Malay Peninsula where it is represented by a single species, 
M. malaccense Hook. f., the type of the genus. The present 
Species differs radically from M. malaccense in its ovate, cordate, 
long-petioled leaves and in its very much larger flowers, the 
staminate and pistillate ones being borne in the same racemes, 
not in separate racemes as in Hooker’s species. In essential 
floral characters, by which the genus is distinguished, both the 
staminate and pistillate flowers conform entirely to those of 
_ Megistostigma. 
