365 



face; persistent; reflexed at maturity. The petals are 4; indup- 

 licate in the bud ; inserted on a fleshy disk-Hke ring in the mouth 

 of the calyx tube ; nearly linear, cleft at the tip ; pale yellow : 

 coated on the inner surface with long pale hairs ; reflexed be- 

 tween the calyx-lobes at maturity, and early caducous. The 

 stamens are 8-12 in" number, in 2 sets; filaments vollose, very 

 short or none ; anthers attached at the base, elongated, introrse. 

 connivent, and areolate. The ovary is conic, partly inferior, and 

 2-loculed. There are 2 awl-shaped, spreading styles, stigmatic 

 at their tips. The nectaries are well-developed, and the flower is 

 an important source of honey. 



The fruit is berry-like, 1 inch long, conical, rusty-brown, leatli- 

 ery, and slightly studded with minute bosses. It is normally 

 1-celled and 1-seeded. It is subtended by the persistent reflexed 

 calyx-lobes, and perforated at the apex by the germinating em- 

 bryo. The fruit is said to be sweet and edible, and its juice, when 

 fermented, yields a light wine. The apex of the seed is sur- 

 rounded by a thin, albuminous, cup-like aril. The cotyledons arc 

 dark purple. The embryo is surrounded by a thin coat of albu- 

 men. The seed coat is thick and fleshy. 



As already has been indicated, the viviparous habit is one of 

 the remarkable features of the mangrove. The embryo has no 

 true resting period. Upon the maturity of the fruit the cotyle- 

 dons develop as a slender, hard, woody, thick-walled tube, pro- 

 truding 0.5-.75 of an inch beyond the apex of the fruit. The 

 plumule is enclosed within this tube. The radicle is elongate and 

 club-shaped and grows pendulously from the tube. It is dark- 

 brown, marked with occasional orange-colored lenticels. It rap- 

 idly enlarges and becomes the most conspicuous part of the 

 reproductive mechanism. When mature it is 10-12 inches or 

 more long, and .25-. 35 of an inch in diameter near the apex. It 

 drops from the cotyledon tube which has supported it. The 

 heavy, club-shaped apical end sticks into the mud, and the lighter 

 basal end, bearing the plumule, is uppermost. The plumule is 

 thus held above the surface of the shallow water; the radicle 

 strikes root ; and the seedling quickly establishes itself. If the 

 water is deep, or there are currents, the nautical seedling may 

 float unimpaired for great distances before finally reaching shal- 

 low water where conditions permit a continuation of its growth 

 processes. 



There is abundant evidence that the mangrove, if once suit- 

 ably established on the shores of the Hawaiian Islands, would 'n 

 time become one of Hawaii's most important littoral trees. 



Editor Hawaiian Forester. 



Dear Sir : — Will you please append the following statement, by 

 Mr. George P. Cooke, of Molokai, to my article upon the Man- 

 grove in Hawaii. In kind response to my inquiry, Mr. Cooke 

 wrote December 15 in part: 



'Tn reply to your favor of recent date re mangrove trees, will 



