72 



FIELD NOTES DESCRIBING SPECIES 



Mr SCI. 



Dawson ia sp., Nos. 261, 523. 



Soil covering in moss forests, 12 inclies to 15 inches 



high. 



Locality. — Trail from Kokoda to Gap and again 

 from Gap to Uberi; at altitudes of 4,600 to 7,400 

 feet. 



Date. — August. 



Remarks. — Whole forest soil covered with this as 

 you reach the moss forests. It is the distinctive 

 moss all round the mountains of New Guinea, 

 from 2,500 to 10,000 feet. 



Material collected. — Plant. 



Equisetaceae. 



Equiseium sp., No. 784. 



Leaves. — Usual " mares tail " type. 

 Locality. — Some river (4,000 feet). 



December, 1924. 



Date. 



Remarks. — I saw this at about the same altitude 



under Mount Obree, in Papua. 

 Material collected. — Leaves. 



POLYPODIACEAE. 



Dryopyteris gongylodes, No. 255. 



An aquatic clambering fern. Sends out stems into 

 the water, which root on the floating masses 

 formed by 254. 



Locality. — Embi Lake. 



Date. — August. 



Remarks. — The floating islands are covered with 



this fern. 

 Material collected. 



Leaf, stem, root. 



Poly podium, No. 508. 



.V climbing fern epiphytic on green and dead 



timber. 



Locality. — Sarawaket. 



Liboeedrus-Daerydium 



forests, 8,000 to 10,000 feet, 

 Date.— 20th November, 1923. 

 Material collected. — Leaves, with spores. 



Gleicheniaceae. 

 Gleichenia dicliotoma, No. 549. 



Climbing fern. 



Locality. — Nomi River. 



Date. — November, 1923. 

 Native name. — Tulong. 



Remarks. — A common fern, 

 from 2,000 to 10,000 feet, 

 invade burnt forest. 



Material collected. — Leaves. 



with a wide range, 

 The first species to 



Gnetaceae. 

 Gnehtm- gnemon affinities, Nos. 80, 242, 563. 



A T ot 



A small tree, 18 inches girth ; 25 feet overall, 

 buttressed. 



Leaves. — Simple, opposite, . exstipulate, petiole, 

 •£ inch. Blade, 5 inches to 9 inches by If inches 



to 2^ inches; elliptical or lanceolate. Glabrous. 

 Thin. 



Flowers. — Axillary spikes, 2^ inches long. 



F 



ruit 



—Purple or plum coloured ellipsoidal drupes 

 li inches long by 5-inch middle diameter. Mezo- 

 earp, 1-10-inch to -J-incli. Very thin endocarp. 

 Kernel, 1 inch by 5-16-inch; also ellipsoidal. 



Bark. — Grey, smooth, except for regularly set 

 raised rings, 4 inches to 12 inches apart, caused 

 by the growth and fall of opposite set branches. 

 A distinct swelling takes place at junction of 

 branch with trunk. 



Locality. — Widespread in the coastal plains and 

 up the foothills to 2,000 feet. Fruit collected, 

 Veimauri; flowers, Hydrognipher's Range in 

 Northern Division. 



Date. — Fruiting Veimauri, May; flowering, Hydro- 



grapher's, August. 

 Native names. — Tu-a (Suku), Suffitz (Yalu), 



Genda (Buna), Doro (Vailala and Kerema). 

 Remarks. — A useful tree. The leaves are used as a 



cabbage, and are quite a good substitute. The 



kernel of the nut is eaten. The bark contains 

 a strong fibre used for making fishing nets and 



women's carrying nets. The Rev. Sturtzhoffeker, 

 of the Markham mission, states that poles are 

 good for wharf work in fresh water. 

 Material collected. — Leaves, fruits, flowers. 



Coniferae. 



Araucaria Cunningliamii (Ait.), Nos. 376, 639; Arau- 

 caria klinkii, No. 642 ; Dacrydium elatum, Nos. 



404, 519, 567; Dacrydium falciforme, Nos. 397, 

 519; Libocedrus papuana, Nos. 381, 520; Phyl- 

 locladus hypophyllus, Nos. 359a, 518; Podo- 

 carpus amara Blume, Nos. 377, 552; Podocarpus 

 cupressina (Syn. P. Imbricatus, B.C.), Nos. 269, 

 C>~)4; Podocarpus neriifolius Don., Nos. 275, 238; 

 Aff. Podocarpus thevetiifolius Zippel, No. 357a; 

 Podocarpus sp., No. 524. 



Araucaria Iclinhii, No. 642. 



A large tree, 9 feet in 

 Branches whorled. 





irth, and 150 feet overall. 



Leaves. — -Very stiff, festooned at the extremities of 

 the branches. 



Bark- 



rugged. 



1J inch thick; dark reddish-brown; very 

 Inner bark at first a rich red, but 

 deeper is a pink. Exudes resin copiously. Solu- 

 tion, colourless; no precipitate. 



■ 



Wood. — Yellow, uniform, axes well. Pockets of 



the wood where injuries have 



resm occur 

 occurred. 



in 



Rays. — Indistinct; rather coarse, 90 rays to the 

 inch. Show up as slightly darker yellow oblongs 

 on quarter, 1-5 0-inch deep. General. — An even 

 grained, compact wood. The general colour 



alternating rings of 

 These rings are irre- 



is a 



pale yellow with 

 slightly darker yellow. 



gularly spaced, and are not seasonal. Weighs 



38 lb. per cubic foot. Solution, colourless; no 

 precipitate. 



Locality. — Ongoruna, 2,000 feet. 



Date. — February, 1924. 



Native names. — Passu (Ongoruna), Pai (Waria). 



Remarks. — This species is more conspicuous than 



A. 



Cunningham!, 



which 



grows in 



the 



same 



locality, but not socially with it. Its conspicuous- 

 ness is due, not only to its occupancy of the sky- 

 line ridges and mountain crests for Cunning- 

 ham's tree chooses the same sites, but to the 

 tufts of leaves at the end of the branches. It is 

 common between 2,000 and 3,000 feet behind 

 Finschhafen and at the same elevation on the 

 hills of the upper Ramu. It has been reported 

 to me from the Waria and the Gold-fields behind 

 the Huon Gulf. 



