22 



cordate base ; upper surface glabrous, the midrib and sometimes the 

 nerves coarsely puberulous ; under-surface reticulate, stellate-rufous- 

 pubescent on the midrib and 18 to 22 pairs of spreading curving nerves ; 

 length 5"5 to 9 in., breadth 1'75 to 4 in. ; petiole '3 in., tubercular. 

 Floivers small, in short terminal or axillary cymes, rarely solitary : 

 pedicels '3 in. long, densely covered like the outside of the sepals with 

 sub-deciduous coarse, rusty, stellate tomentum ; bracteole solitary, orbi- 

 cular, ovate, close to the flower. Sepals valvate, orbicular, partly con- 

 nate, glabrous inside. Petals imbricate, oi'bicular, fleshy, more or less 

 puberulous outside, glabrous within ; the inner rather smaller than the 

 outer but both under (in the young state) '25 in. in diam. Stamens 

 numeroas, narrowly elongate, the apex truncate more or less obliquely ; 

 anther-cells lateral. Ovaries absent in the staraiuiferous flower. Ripe 

 carpels oblong, blunt (almost truncate) at each end, slightly tuber- 

 culate and densely covered with loose, sub-deciduous, rusty-stellate 

 tomentum : pericarp rather thick. Seeds about 8 in 2 rows, plano-con- 

 vex. 



South Andaman ; King's Collector. 



This has been collected only on two occasions, once with undeve- 

 loped male flowers and once with immature fruit. The full size attained 

 by the flowers is not known, and the measurements of sepals and petals 

 above given are taken from buds. By its leaves and peculiar deciduous 

 rusty stellate tomentum, the species is however readily recognisable. 



14. UvARiA EXCELSA, Wall. Cat. 6477. A creeper 30 to 100 feet 

 long : young parts stellate-pubescent ; the branchlets tawny-tomentose, 

 speedily becoming glabrous dark-coloured and furrowed. Leaves cori- 

 aceous, oblanceolate, obovatc-oblong to elliptic, the apex acuminate 

 (sometimes very shortly), acute, rarely obtuse, slightly narrowed to the 

 minutely cordate base : upper surface shining, glabrous except the 

 puberulous depressed midrib ; lower surface minutely tawny- tomentose ; 

 main nerves 10 to 12 pairs spreading, slender; length 3'5 to 75 in., 

 breadth 15 to 4 in. ; petiole 3 to "5 in. pubescent. Flowers white, '35 to 

 •4 in. in diam., in contracted cymes from the branches below the leaves, 

 or axillary ; pedicels only about '2 in. long, rufous-tomentose with a 

 large bract close to the flower. Sej^als semi-orbicular, sub-acute, val- 

 vate, concave, spreading, tomentose outside, glabrous within. Petals in 

 bud imbricate only at their apices, sub-equal, thick, concave, densely 

 and minutely pubescent on both surfaces : the outer broadly ovate, 

 acute, a little larger than the sepals : inner petals ovate, about as large 

 as the sepals. ^)i//iers numerous, narrow, the cells linear, lateral ; the 

 apical process of the connective thick, sub-quadi'ate, obliquely truncate, 

 minutely pubescent. Ovuries narrow, elongate, grooved, pubescent ; the 



271 



