20G NOTES ON THE FLORA OF CEYLON. 



type the leaves often reach 9-12 in. in length on petioles of 3-4 in., 

 which are much thickened and fleshy. The flowers of this curious 

 species are still unknown, but there are young trees in the Gardens 

 which will, it may be hoped, in time supply them. I collected in 

 the Morowe Korle another variety with the leaves almost rotund in 

 outline, with a very marked short acumination. 



This species is frequently the subject of a curious malformation. 

 Hard rounded pale green bodies are produced in the leaf-axils, 

 consisting of half-fused masses of very short crowded coral-like 

 abortive branchlets, the lobulated ends of which form the surface of 

 the mass, which is covered with a viscous exudation. These are 

 probably abortive and metamorphosed inflorescences. 



Doona oblonga Thw. ms. — Leaves 3^-4^ in. long by 1^-1^ in. 

 broad, narrowly oval-oblong, rounded at base, gradually caudate- 

 acuminate ; margin recurved; lateral veins 8-11 on each side, 

 parallel, curved, distinct; flowers not seen; fruiting calyx-segments 

 not more than 1^ in. long, oval-oblong, faintly veined. 



C. P. 3986 in Herb. Perad. (no locality). 



This is very near D. congestiflora Thw., but differs in the leaves 

 and in the short broad calyx-segments of the fruit. 



Vateria nervosa Thw. ms. — Leaves lanceolate-oblong, 

 81-5 in. long, caudate -acuminate at apex, wedge-shaped at base, 

 pale beneath, with few, faint, arched, lateral veins connected by 

 reticulation ; the base somewhat 3-nerved ; flowers and fruit 

 unknown. 



Hab. Hewessee, Pasdun Korle, Sept., 1865. (C. P. 3815 in 

 Herb. Perad.). 



The material is scarcely sufficient, but Dr. Thwaites seems to 

 have been satisfied that he had here a new species. It apparently 

 comes nearest to V. [Stemonoporus) nitida Thw., var. lancifolia 

 Dyer. Thwaites' genus Stemonopoms is a very distinct group 

 confined to Ceylon, and perhaps on a general revision of the order 

 may make good its claim to re -separation from Vateria. 



Triumfetta conspicua Trim. — Semi-shrubby ; stems 3-5 ft. 

 high, cylindrical, much branched, wiry, rough with stellate hairs ; 

 branches elongated, erect, ascending; leaves suborbicular, rather 

 broader than long, with a caudate base and acute apex, irregularly 

 crenate-dentate and finely 3-lobed, quite glabrous above, pale and 

 with a pubescence of stellate hairs beneath ; inflorescence much 

 elongated and quite leafless, with rather distant irregular paniculate 

 clusters of stalked crowded flowers ; sepals with a rather long 

 curved spreading apiculus, densely stellate-pubescent, reddish ; 

 petals quite as long as the sepals, broad-spathulate, with long 

 claws, spreading, ciliate at base, brilhant yellow ; stamens 20 ; 

 fruit globose or nearly so, f in. long or more with the spines, 

 rather densely covered with short stiff simple yellowish hairs and 

 with hard spreading hooked red spines, the lower parts of which 

 are set with similar hairs. 



Hab. Li vast abundance on waste ground about Tissa-maha- 

 rama. Southern Province, Dec, 1882 ; the quantity of its compara- 

 tively large flowers and their brilliant colour making it quite a 



