1904 Leaflets of Philippine Botaxy [Vol. V, Art. 94 



WrLLIAMSIA Merr. 



Williamsia mindanaense Elm. n. sp. 



Erect shrub; stem 5 cm. thick, terete, 5 m. high, ra- 

 ther crooked; wood quite soft, sappy white, odorless and 

 tasteless; branches arising from below the middle, divaricate 

 and laxly rebranched; twigs horizontal, slender, dark green, 

 the glabrous ends obscurely compressed, minutely tubercular, 

 drying greenish. Leaves similarly spreading, rigidly charta- 

 ceous, flat, gradually recurved toward the sharply acuminate 

 to subcaudate apex, base obtusely rounded, opposite and well 

 scattered, oblong, grayish green in the dry state, lucid above, 

 much paler green beneath, entire,, the average blades 1 dm. 

 long by 3.5 cm. wide in the middle region, glabrous; mid- 

 rib conspicuous beneath, minutely channeled along the 

 upper side; lateral nerves also conspicuous beneath, about 7 

 pairs, much ascending and especially curved toward their 

 ends which flve scarcely united except the upper ones, cross 

 bars and reticulations relatively obscure yet quite evident 

 from both sides; petiole glabrous and drying dull green, 

 subterete, grayish puberulent along the upper obscurely groov- 

 ed side, leaving large nodes after falling, 1 cm. long; bud 

 bracts '1.2-5 cm. long, 2 mm. wide, sparsely hairy on the 

 outside, greenish, straight, acute or acuminate, deciduous, af- 

 ter falling leaving a brush of fine grayish white hairs ex- 

 posed. Flowers few clustered in the leaf axils or in their 

 scars, erect or suberect, quite rigid; the thick slightly hairy 

 usually 3 sharply pointed and more or less united subtend- 

 ing bracts dark green and persistent; calyx campanulate, sub- 

 sessile or very shortly yet distinctly pedicelled, 5 mm. high, 

 1 to 2 mm. wider across the obscurely 5 toothed apex, puberulent 

 or finely pubescent, the broad lobes reticulately veiny; corolla 

 greenish white, 1 cm. long, glabrous except the dorsal side of 

 the segments which is puberulent; lobes 7, reflexed, rather thick, 

 linearly lanceolate; stamens also 7, alternating with the seg- 

 ments and inserted upon the throat which bears a dense brush 

 of erect ciliate hairs, free portion of filament short, otherwise 

 adnate to corolla tube clear to the base, glabrous; anthers linear 

 oblong, 3 mm. long, emarginate at the base, apiculate at apex 



