318 ^^^6 Philippine Journal of Science isa 



studying them critically or comparing them with Philippine material. 

 Koorders states that the Celebes plant is a climber, attaining a height of 

 10 meters; the Javan Aralia ferox Miq. is an erect shrub. Thus we have 

 another characteristic species added to the already long list of Philippine- 

 Celebes forms, the list of genera and species having this special and 

 restricted distribution being increased as collections from the two regions 

 are studied and compared. It is now thoroughly established that the 

 Celebes and Moluccan floras are distinctly more closely allied to the flora 

 of the Philippines than is that of any other region, indicating clearly that 

 land connections undoubtedly existed in previous geologic times between 

 the Philippines and the islands to the south and southeast. 



The species affords an excellent illustration of one marked line of dis- 

 tribution of species within the Philippines, and that is the extension of the 

 Mindanao flora to the north, through Leyte, Samar, and along the eastern 

 parts of Luzon. This distribution is probably limited by certain climatic 

 conditions, chiefly the seasonal distribution of the rainfall throughout the 

 year. Many parts of Mindanao have no sharply defined dry season, and 

 the geographic distribution of the species characteristic of such regions to 

 the north is limited to those regions having a similar seasonal distribution 

 of the rainfall, such as Samar, Leyte, Catanduanes, and the eastern parts 

 of Luzon generally. The San Antonio region in Luzon is a region that is 

 continually wet, due to its proximity to the east coast range of mountains. 



BOERLAGIODENDRON Harms 

 BOERLAGIODENDRON CATANDUANENSE sp. nov. 



Frutex circiter 1 m altus, inflorescentiis exceptis glaber ; f oliis 

 longe petiolatis, palmatim 7-foliolatis, foliolis longe petiolulatis, 

 usque ad 20 cm longis, grosse lyrato-lobatis, utrinque acuminatis ; 

 inflorescentiis parcissime furfuraceis, radiis primariis circiter 

 10, dichotomis; floribus capitatis, sessilibus, 4-meris; fructibus 

 ovoideis, 4-sulcatis vel 4-angulatis, 7 mm longis. 



A shrub about 1 m high, entirely glabrous except the sparingly 

 furfuraceous inflorescences. Ultimate branches pale-grayish, 

 about 1 cm in diameter. Leaves palmately 7-foliolate, leaflets 

 olivaceous, shining, 15 to 20 cm long, chartaceous to subcoria- 

 ceous, in general lanceolate, coarsely and irregularly lyrately 

 lobed, the lobes few, the larger ones broadly ovate to oblong- 

 ovate, 2 to 3 cm long, apex and base acuminate, the apex slen- 

 derly so; petiolules mostly 3 to 4 cm long; petioles about 25 

 cm long, the basal crests few, short, coriaceous, recurved, not 

 at all pectinate. Inflorescences sparingly furfuraceous, the 

 primary branches about 10, these about 2 cm in length, each 

 bearing two branches as long as the primary ones, these sub- 

 tended by broadly ovate bracts 5 mm in length or less, the se- 

 condary branches with a pair of similar but smaller bracts at 

 about their middle ; each primary branch bears between the two 

 secondary ones a sessile or shortly peduncled group of sterile 



