1874 Leaflets op Philippine Botany [Vol. V, Art. 94 



uve and broader for their length. It is also quite close to 

 L. involucrata Mm. 



MUSSAENDA Linn. 



Mussaenda attenuifolia Elm. n. @p. 



Shrub 5 m. high; main branches arising from below the 

 middle of the 12 cm. thick stem which is crooked though 

 subterete; wood rather soft, whitish, light in specific gravity, 

 odorless and tasteless; bark grayish white mottled, smootieh, 

 brown except the epidermis; twigs slender and lax, dark 

 brown, whitish lenticelled, the young suberect porti(m dense- 

 ly soft ferrngineus. Leaves opposite, scattering along the 

 branchlets, ascending, subraembranous, much paler green be- 

 neath, conduplicate, the rather abrupt sharply pointed acumi- 

 nate apex recurved, usually attenuate at the base but oc- 

 casionally broadly obtuse, entire, subglabrous or only sparsely 

 puberulent upon the brown upper side, the lower soft pu- 

 bescent side greenish when dry, very unequal in size, the larger 

 leaves 2 dm. long, 7 cm. wide above the middle, obovately 

 oblong, the smaller leaves broadly oblanceolate and only 7 

 cm. long; midrib densely yellowish gray strigoss on its prom- 

 inent lower side, puberulent in the groove on the upper 

 side of the blade; lateral nerves 10 to 14 on each side, as- 

 cendingly curved except the basal ones which are very ob- 

 lique and nearly straight, tips minutely united, reticulations 

 quite obscure; petiole about 1 cm. long, subferrugineus tomentose; 

 stipule quite variable in size, brown, membranous, deciduous, 

 strigose hairy on the outside, 5 to 8 mm. long, gradually tapering 

 from the expanded base to the setiform apex, occasionally split. 

 Inflorescence terminal, erect or suberect, usually less than 1 dm. 

 long and nearly as wide; peduncle alwut one third that length, 

 subtended by a pair of leaves and foliaceoua bracts; lower 

 branches ascendingly curved, opposite, subtended by slender 

 or linear hairy bracts which at the base are generally provided 

 by a pair of bracteoles, rebranched above tiie middle; branch - 

 lets quite similar except much shorter, subtended by setaceous 

 bracts and toward the apex bearing few scattering flowers, 

 all the stalks and bracts subferrugineus; terminal flowers sub- 



