NAJADACEAE 57 
Naves to Pandanus humilis Rumph., a species that does not 
extend to the Philippines. Pandanus whitfordii Merr. in Govt. 
Lab. Publ. (Philip.) 17 (1904) 8 is a synonym of Pandanus gra- 
cilis Blanco. It is of local occurrence in the Philippines, grow- 
ing in virgin forests at medium altitudes. 
Illustrative specimens from Mount Mariveles, Bataan Prov- 
ince, Luzon, March, 1915 (Merrill: Species Blancoanae No. 896) : 
Mount Maquiling, Laguna, Province, Luzon, March, 1915, comm. 
A. Villamil, (Merrill: Species Blancoanae No. 890). 
NAJADACEAE 
NAJAS Linnaeus 
NAJAS PALUSTRIS Blanco FI. Filip. (1837) 660 (sp. nov.) =Najas lobata 
Blanco op. cit. ed. 2 (1845) 459 (nom. nov.); ed. 3, 3 (1879) 65. 
I can see no reason for discarding this species or considering 
it as a doubtful one, and Blanco’s first name should be retained. 
It manifestly belongs in the subgenus Cawlinia, section Euvag- 
matae, and is the form described by A. Braun in 1870 as Najas 
foveolata. Rendle in his monograph of the family, Engl. 
Pflanzenreich 7 (1901) 18, places it among the species dubiae 
vel excludendae, with the statement: “Folia alterna, fiores not- 
abiles, fructus vesicaeformis cum genere haud congruunt.” 
Blanco’s ample description is slightly inaccurate, but certainly 
applies to the species as here interpreted; moreover it is the only 
Philippine plant known to me that at all agrees with Blanco’s 
description, and is very common in stagnant fresh water in and 
about Manila. As to Dr. Rendle’s objections, Blanco’s descrip- 
tion of the leaves as “alternate” was undoubtedly due to an 
inaccurate observation, he probably being misled by the alternate 
branchlets; as to “flores notables,” Blanco states: “Flores 
* * * muy visibles,” i. ¢., readily visible, which is true, and 
further states that: “Los calices son delicados, blancos, y de 
media linea de largo’; and as to the “fructus vesicaeformis,” 
Blanco states: “Cagilla o vegiga que no se abre con una especie 
de harina aguanosa dentro,” which is an exact description, not of 
the fruit, but of the fresh, immature male flowers with the con- 
tained pollen grains! Blanco’s species was erroneously reduced 
by Naves to the Australian Najas tenuifolia R. Br., a species 
that does not occur in the Philippines. 
Illustrative specimen from Manila, Luzon, September, 1914 
(Merrill: Species Blancoanae No, 519). 
