2906 



Leaflets of Philippine Botany 



[Vol. VIII, Art. 116 



Hornstedtia daitcan Elm. 



n. sp. 



Spreading clumps; stems ascending, 2.5 cm thick, with 

 a thick bulb at the base, terete, hard, green or reddish 

 toward the base. Leaflets alternate, 8 cm apart toward the 

 top, scattering and much reduced toward the base, the basal 

 one third leafless, ascending and finally recurved, conduplicate 

 on the upper dull green surface, much lighter green beneath 

 and finely puberulent, glabrous except the irregularly wavy 

 yellowish gray pubescent margins, apex obtuse though witb 

 an abrupt acuminate point, base broadly cuneate or obtuse, 

 the larger blades 8 dm long by 12 cm wide, oblong, curing 

 similarly brown on both sides; sheaths rigid, deep brown 

 when dry, glabrous except the exposed portion, striate, mar- 

 gins thin, separated especially toward the top; ligule oblong, 

 1 cm long, decurrently extending along the sheath margin, 

 densely yellowish hairy; petiole 1.5 cm long, stout, densely 

 pubescent along the caniculate margins, glabrous beneath; 

 midrib also glabrous, sunken above, pronounced beneath and 

 deeper brown when dry. Inflorescence arising from the 

 rhizome, cone-like, 5 to 8 cm long, one half as thick; 

 odorless flowers erect and forming a truncate top when in 

 full bloom; peduncle 4 to 9 cm long, canescent, provided 

 with ovate to oblong imbricating bract.*; bracts persistent and 

 brown, the basal ones short, the upper ones 4 cm long, 

 minutely striate and sparsely canescent, on the outside, apex 

 subtruncate and deeply notched or obscurely toothed; the 

 flower subtending bracts linear, 3 cm long, subniembranous, 

 nearly glabrous, longitudinally nerved, broadest across the 

 5 to 7 mm wide irregularly toothed s-ubtruncate apex; brac- 

 teoles 5 mm shorter, somewhat compressed, the basal two 

 thirds tubular, the upper portion divided into 2 or 3 lobes 

 with pubescent apiculate points, longitudinally nerved, tips 

 usually red, otherwise whitish as are also the bracts; calyx 

 3.5 cm long, tubular except the 3-toothed top which is slit 

 open along one side for the protrusion of the curved corolla, 

 puberulent on the exterior exposed portion, similar in 

 texture and color to the bracteole; corolla at least 4 cm 

 long, the basal two thirds tubular, the upper portion ap- 



