248 MERRILL. 



An aquatic giabruus plant. I^eaves tufted, their petioles 10 to 25 cm 

 long, the blades reniform, 4.5 to G cm long, about 8 em wide, jjapyraceous, 

 the apex broadly rounded, the base cordate; primary nerves 7 to 9, the 

 cross reticulations lax, indistinct. Male flowers one, or commonly two, 

 from lubular. linear spathes which are very slightly cleft at the apex 

 aiul not keeled or ribbed, exserted in anthesis, the pedicels very slender; 

 sepals and petals as in the pistillate flowers ; stamens 9, the filaments 

 flattened, 1.5 to 2 inm long: aniliers basifixed, oblong. 1.5 mm long; 

 rudimentary pistil represented by a sessile, 1.5 mm long, cushion-like 

 body, the styles none. Pistillate flowei-s white, solitary, their pedicels 

 5 em long or less; sepals 3, elliptic-oblong. al)oiit T iiiin b)ng, 3.5 to 4 

 mm wide, about 12-nerved; petals obovate, 12 mm long; styles G, cleft 

 two-thirds to the base, the arms glandular-hairy; staminodes of two 

 kinds, G linear, 2.5 to 3 mm long, and 3 subsessile, capitate, 1 mm in 

 diameter. Ovary several-celled, cylindric, smooth. Fruit unknown. 



Luzon, Provincp of C'amariiips, Bicol River, Bula, For. Bar. 1227Ji Gnrrnn, 

 June 5, 1!)08. 



An interesting addition to our knowledge of the Pliilippine flora, the first 

 representative of the genus to be found in the Philippines. It is allied to Boottia 

 cordata Wall., of British India, but difl'ers in many characters, notably in its 

 reniform leaves, linear, tubular spathes which contain but one or two flowers, the 

 staminate flowers without rudimentary styles, and the pistillate flowers with two 

 kinds of staminodes, six linear and three capitate. The genus contains about 15 

 species, in tropical Africa and Asia. 



GRAMINI^Z:. 



PANICUM i>iiin. 



Panicum malabaricum (Linn.) comb. nov. 



Poa malabarica Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 69. 



Panicum arnottianum Nees in Steud. Syn. PI. Gram. (1854) 59. 



Panicum nodosum Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 7 (1897) 43, excl. syn., noii Kuntli. 



Hooker f.^ referred Poa malaharica Linn, to Centotheca lappacea (Linn.) Desv., 

 but gave no reason for this. Considering that he was correct I transferred the 

 name to Centotheca as C. malaharica (Linn.) Merr. It seems, however, that 

 Hooker f. was in error in citing Poa malaharica Linn, as a synonym of Cento- 

 theca lappacea. Miuno in his paper on the grasses of the Linnean herbarium 

 states regarding Poa malaharica "/'(oa) malaharica is Panicum arnottianum 

 Nees. The reference to Rheede is correct; it is a very fair drawing."- Linnaeus' 

 species is manifestly based on Tsjama-pullu of Rheede, Ilortus Malabaricus 12:83, 

 t. Jf5. Through the kindness of Mrs. Agnes Chase of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, 1 have received a tracing of the al)ove plate, and although 

 the plate is crude, it seems to be well matched by several specimens in our her- 

 barium determined as Pamcum nodosum Kuiitli. Tlircc N]iciiMiciis fnini Singa- 

 pore, collected by Ridley resemble it very closely. 



' Fl. i'.iil. Tiid. 7 (1897) .332. = J.-wni. Linn. Soc. P,n(. 6 (lSf.-2) 43. 



