Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula. 55 



Malay Peninsula by Baker in Fl. Brit. Ind. without locality or collec- 

 tor's name. I have seen nowhere any specimens wild or cultivated 

 in the Peninsula except the last two occasionally occurring in gardens. 



§ 2. Marantaceae. 



Herbs or shrubs, rhizome woody or tuberous not aromatic. 

 Leaves ovate, oblong, or lanceolate petiolate, with a knee at the apex of 

 the petiole. Inflorescence spicate, racemose or panicled. Bracts stiff 

 often persistent. Flowers medium sized or small, fugacious. Sepals 

 free subequal. Corolla base tubular, lobes free upper one usually largest. 

 Fertile stamen one with a petaloid filament and one linear anther 

 cell. Staminodes petaloid connate below, hooded. Style very stout 

 strongly involute, ovary 1-3 celled, cells one ovuled embryo curved. 

 Fruit capsular or baccate seeds one to three, globose or oblong usually 

 arillate. 



Species upwards of 300 all tropical countries but chiefly American. 



Stems erect shrubby branched. Panicles 



subterminal ••• ... ... ... 1. Donax. 



Stemless plants. 



Bracts imbricate, spikes elongate. 



Spikes solitary rarely 2 or 3 from the 



rhizome ... ... ... ••• 2. Stachyphymium. 



Spikes panicled from the side of a petiole 3. Phacelophrynium. 

 Bracts not imbricate, spikes very short in 



a head from the side of a petiole ••■ 4. Phrynium. 



1. Donax, Lour. 



Stems tall shrubby much branched. Leaves ovate or oblong, 

 petiole short, no ligule, sheaths long. Panicles erect or pendulous. 

 Bracts narrow lanceolate. Flowers small white. Sepals narrow. 

 Staminal tube cylindric. Staminodes obovate unequal. Ovary 3 celled, 

 cells 1 ovuled. Style stout incurved. Fruit dehiscent or indehiscent, 

 1-3 seeded globose or trigonous. Seeds subglobose aril lacerate. 



Species 3. Indo Malayan. 



Schumann in Pflanzenreich IV. 48 Marantaceae separates this 

 genus into three : — Donax, Lour., Actoplanes, Schum., and Clinogync, 

 Benth., the latter genus including the African species. I do not think 

 it advisable to separate the three Indian species of Donax generically, 

 but if so the Donax grandis {Actoplanes grandis, Schum.) should be 

 Clinogync grandis, Benth., as it is one of the three types of Bentham's 

 Clinogync. Actoplanes is distinguished by its globose indehiscent cap- 

 sule and exarillate seed. The fruit of Donax is stated by most obser- 

 vers to be indehiscent and is not tricoccous in D. virgata. The only 



