September 12, 1913] Rubiaceae from Mount Urdaneia 1885 



Paederia verticillata tomentella Elm. n. var. 



Twining and scandent; stem 1.5 cm. thick, flexible, flut- 

 ed longitudinally, chiefly branched at the top; wood odorless, 

 tasteless, very soft, with a white pith, greenish; hark smooth, 

 greenish brown, with a green hypodermis; twigs long, twist- 

 ingly twining, puberulent or glabrous with age. Leaves in 

 whorls of 3, horizontally spreading, the shortly acute to acu- 

 minate sharply pointed apex recurved, otherwise flat, round- 

 ed at base, elliptic or oblongish, entire, the larger lamina 

 15 cm. long and one half as wide at the middle, submem- 

 branous, much paler green beneath, curing dull brown or 

 nearly black on the upper side and grayish beneath, glabrous 

 above, short and rather soft pubescent beneath, those leaves 

 toward the ends of the branchlets much smaller; longer pet- 

 ioles 7 cm. long, glabrate, upper side when young puberulent; 

 stipule linear, also puberulent, easily falling. Panicle pend- 

 ant, green or yellowish green, terminal and elongated espe- 

 cially the free subdrooping ends, branched in whorls, the 

 lower branches subtended by foliaceous bracts, the ultimate 

 branchlets with flattened distal ends, divaricate and subtend- 

 ed by minute bracteoles, all olivaceus pubescent in the dry 

 state; terminal flower sessile, the lateral ones subsessile; 

 calyx 2.5 mm. long, 1.5 mm- wide across the truncate and 

 5-apiculate top, somewhat angular, tapering from the base, 

 sessile, yellowish brown tomentose; ovary with a glabrous 

 rira-like disk; fruit compressed, whitish, circular, 1 cm. in 

 diameter, with 3 to 5 lateral veins on each side and with 

 numerous radial lines; ovary 2-celled, central, cartilaginous; 

 the 2 seeds circularly compressed, whitish, with a distinct stalk. 



Type specimen number 13416, A. D. E. Elmer, Cabad- 

 baran (Mt. Urdaneta), Province of Agusan, Mindanao, Aug- 

 ust, 1912. 



In dry and well drained soil of woods upon a small 

 hillock at 500 feet above sea level. The vernacular or Ma- 

 nobo name is "Mabido." 



Usually P. verticillata Blm. is less pubescent or nearly 

 glabrous. 



