297 

 Clermontia Peleana Ruck Indig. Trees Hawaii. Isl. 483. pi. 200. 1013. 



(Plates 9, 1(54.) 

 A snifill tree or shrul) 6 m or more hig'h, usually epiph>'tie, li'labrous through- 

 out ; leaves oblong' acuminate IS to 20 em long by 3.5 to 4.5 em wide, dark green 

 above, glossy somewhat lighter underneath, with dark purple veins and midrib, 

 irregularly crenate to near the base of the leaf, which is on a petiole of 4 to 6 cm; 

 flowers axillary usuall.v two on a short peduncle of 1.5 cm with two small linear 

 bracts at the middle; pedicels 3 to 4 cm with two bracteoles at their common 

 base; calyx dark green, the ovarian portion turbinate 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter, 

 with minute teeth; corolla strongly arched when open, 4 to 5 cm, dark blackish 

 purple, thin not fleshy, silky, the apex almost returning to the level of the l:)ase ; 

 staminal column glabrous dark purple, as are the anthers of which the two lower 

 are jieuicillate ; style glabrous with a bluntly two-lobed stigma; fruit globose, 

 truncate at the apex, about 3 em in diameter, orange y(41ow ; seeds chestnut- 

 brown shining, about 1 mm in diameter. 



HAWAII : Near Glenwood along the road to the Volcano, epiphytic on 

 Ohia Ichua trees, flowering July 11. 1911, Hock no. 8800 type in the herbarium 

 of the College of Hawaii; — same locality. July 12. 1!H2; and fruiting Au'iiist :!(•. 

 1917, Rock no. 1284(i in the herbarium -of tiie College of Hawaii. 



Clermnntia Peleana is named after the Hawaiian goddess Pch . whose abode 

 is in the fires of Kilauea, in the vicinity of which this species grows. 



It is a tree about 20 iVet in height, but nuich smaller plants were observed; 

 the tallest ones were seen in the upjiermost forks of giant Metroskh roa cnUiiia 

 (Oil id lelnia) trees in the wet forest at an elevation of 2500 to 3000 feet; it is an 

 exceedingly handsome species on account of its synunetrical growth, dark green 

 glossy leaves with dei'|i juii-ple venation and dark pui-|ilish-black flowers. It 

 grows in company witli Clrniiontia Hawaiieiisis, Chcirudc iidroii Gaudkhnitdii, 

 Cjirtaiulra phit/jpIniUa. Cibotiiim Cliamissoi. C. Mcnziesii, Ilex anomala sand- 

 wicfiisis. Copnismia pulx iis and others. Like CI. Haleakalensis. CI. Peleana is 

 soon to be a thing of the past. It inhabits the tallest Ohia lelnta trees, which, 

 deprived of their native luidergrowtli, are ready to fall to their death, and with 

 them this interesting Clermontia. 



Clermontia coerulea Hillebr. Flora Hawaii. Isl. 243. 1888. 



(Plates 165, 166.) 

 A small tree or shrub 4-6.5 m high ; leaves oblong 12-20 cm long, 2-4.5 cm 

 wide, shortly acuminate, mucronulate or bluntly acute, or obtuse at the apex, 

 acuminate at the base and contracting into a petiole of 3-5 cm in length, minutely 

 denticulate, membranaceous, glabrous above, with a scattered pubescence along 

 the midi'ib beneath; peduncle slender 2.5-4 cm long, bracteate considerably above 

 the middle; pedicels as long or longer than the peduncle (in Hillebrand's speci- 

 men the pedicels are shorter than the pedinicle), bracteolate below the middle;* 

 calyx greenish white or purple, the tube oblong or turbinate, the lobes either 

 large 15-17 lum, or minute dentiform; corolla moderately curved about 4 cm 

 long\ greenish in Kau specimens, purplish in Kona specimens, of a thin texture ; 

 berry globose yellow about 2 cm in diameter, somewhat furrowed. 



Hillebraml 's statement that the bracteoles are at the iniiWle is incorrect; his speci- 

 men, which the writer examined, has the bracteoles also below the miiMle. 



