714 LViii. MYRTACE^. [Melaleuca. 



when young), i"5 to 5 in. long, '2 to i in. wide (largest on young 

 shoots) ; petioles short. Spikes 2 to 6 in. long, flowers in whorls, 

 numerous; rachis silky. (The spike is really the end of a branch 

 with axillary flowers, the leaves suppressed. It continues to grow 

 and become leafy and branch after the fall of the perianth.) Fruit 

 sessile, 'i^ in. across, cylindric, short. Hab. In wet low-lying spots 

 and sandy heaths; indigenous, but sometimes planted also. 

 Singapore, Changi. Malacca, wet ground near the town. Setul 

 Heaths. Kelantan, near Kota Bharu. Perils, Kanga. Distrib. 

 Mergui, Cambodia, Borneo, Amboina. Native names : Gelam ; 

 Kayu Putih (white wood). Uses : Leaves for making Caje-put 

 (kayu putih) oil. Bark for caulking boats and lighting fires. 

 Timber for poles, etc. 



The form here is M. minor with silky spikes. It is certainly wild in the 

 north of the peninsula, and there were apparently wild plants in Singapore, 

 on the east side, at one time. The Malacca Gelam forests were said formerly 

 to have been planted by the Dutch, but are probably wild also. 



4. TRISTANIA, R. Br. 



Shrubs or tall trees. Bark red, peeling off in long flakes. 

 Leaves alternate (rarely opposite), coriaceous, glabrous. Flowers 

 small, white, in pedunculate axillary cymes. Calyx-tube turbinate 

 campanulate; lobes persistent. Petals 5, imbricate. Stamens 

 numerous, shorter in 5 bundles, opposite petals. Ovary inferior 

 or half inferior, 3-celled. Capsule loculicidally 3-valved. Seeds 

 linear or winged above. Species 25, Malayan and Australasian. 

 Malay name : Palawan. 



Leaves sessile sub-auriculate . . . . (i) T. sub-auriculata 



Leaves narrowed to petiole ; big trees ; cymes 



shorter than leaves; leaves coriaceous. 

 Leaves 6 to 8 in. by 2-25 in.; petiole winged to 



base (2) T. merguensis 



Leaves lanceolate, distinctly petioled, 175 to 3-5 in. 



long ' . ' . (3) T. Maingayi 



Leaves oblanceolate ; shrub. 



Nerves very numerous ; calyx in fruit very short, 



recurved (4) T. fruticosa 



Nerves 13 pairs; calyx cupular one-third length 



of fruit (5) T. spathulata 



Tree. Cymes longer than leaves; leaves thin; 



flowers very small . . . . . (6) T. Whiteana 



(i) T. sub-auriculata Kmg, I.e. 72. 



Tree 10 to 40 ft. tall, up to 20 in. through. Leaves very cori- 

 aceous, sessile, obovate-oblong, blunt or sub-acute, base auricled, 

 glabrous, 2 "5 to 6 in. long, 1-5 to 2*5 in. wide. Cymes few-flowered, 

 ■5 to 75 in. long; peduncle stout, silky. Flowers "25 in. across. 

 Calyx tubular, campanulate, pubescent ; teeth triangular, short. 

 Petals round, pale yellow. Capsule sub-globular, -25 in. across. 



