CONTRIBUTIONES AD COGNITIONEM FLORAE INDIAI 



BATAVAE, 



auctore 



C. A. BACKER. 



j 



H E L 1 C N 1 A I N D I C A L a n a r c k, 



an iiiSLifficiently kiiown species of Ihe East-Indian Archipelago. 



In his Herbarium Amboinense V (1750), p. 140, Rumphius gave a 

 description 'and a figure (tab. LXli.fig. 2) ') of a plant from Amboina named 

 by hini Folium mensariain { Diitcii : Tafclblad,-^\?[.\^y: Kokin). 



The description, translated rather inaccurately into Latin by Burman, 

 runs, corrected, as follows: 



..Frutex est ab octo ad decem pedes altiis, ejus vero stipes non ultra binos 

 ,, tresve pedes altus est, lierbaceus, planus, palmam latus, binos crassus di- 

 ,,gitos, ex multis compositus caulibus, sibi ambientibus. interne penitus 

 ,,fungosus, lacunosus ^), & aquosus. Supra hanc altitudinem sese dividit 

 „hic stipes in quinque vel sex longa folia, forma cum illis Musae con- 

 „venientia sed plerumque minora, firmiora, ac superius magis acuminata nec 

 „tam facile fissuras patientia. Albae speciei folia quatuor pedes longa sunt, 

 ,,quatuorque palmas lata, sed ita ut una folii pars, dextra nempe, binis 

 ,,digitis sit latior altéra, tôt quot ^) & prope petiolum altius ■*) excurrit. 

 ,, coloris laete virentis. In superna parte multae transversales costae dis- 

 „tincte '") protubérant ad digiti latitudinem distantes, in inferno vero sul- 

 ,,cas formant, 



„Quodvis folium peculiari ") insidet petiolo, binos circiter pedes longo, 

 „rotundo, ultra digitum crasso, intus fungoso quoque et lacunoso ^). Ex uno 

 „mediorum & crassissimorum petiolorum ad latus erumpit brevis ramulus 

 ,,ex quo fructus excrescunt mirae formae. Dividit enim sese in quinque 

 ,,vel octo cornua transversaliter & altevnatim locata. Ac quodvis iterum 



Burman erroneously referred the first figure of tab. LXII to this species. 



2) The Dutch lias hère gegaat, which BuRAiAN inadequately rendered by perforatus. 



3) The Dutch zooveel, i.e, as much as was by Burman vvrongly rendered by ubi. 

 '') Burman was wrong in translating the Dutch verder by latius. 



'") Burman wrongly translated the Dutch merckelyk by maxime. 



^) i.e. as appears from the Dutch. separate, not: peculiar. 



') The Dutch has hère gegoot, i.e. canaliculato. Apparently this is a typograph- 



ical error for gegaat, i.e. lac un ose. Burman translated not quite adequately by 



perforato. 



