XIV, 2 Merrill: The Flora of Sumatra 241 



distributed Malayan species, there are a few apparently un- 

 described forms, and a considerable number of known species 

 previously not recorded from Sumatra. The collections were 

 apparently made, for the most part, at low altitudes in the 

 settled areas and in the second-growth forests; few species 

 characteristic of the primary forests are represented. It is a 

 well-known fact that collections made in any part of the Malayan 

 region at low altitudes outside of the primary forest invariably 

 present a high percentage of widely distributed species and hence 

 those that are thoroughly well known. The endemic elements 

 of any insular flora in Malaya — and the percentage of endemism 

 is usually high in each of the larger islands of the Malay Archi- 

 pelago — are for the most part confined to the primary forests. 

 With our present state of knowledge of the Sumatran flora I 

 have not considered it advisable to publish an enumeration of 

 this collection, but have recorded some species, for the most 

 part not previously credited to Sumatra, and also give below the 

 descriptions of a few apparently undescribed species detected 

 while studying the material. 



URTICACEAE 



DEBREGEASIA Gaudichaud 



DEBREGEASIA LONGI FOLIA (Burm. f.) Wedd. in DC. Prodr. 16' (1869) 

 235.=" 

 Urtica longifolia Burm. f. Fl. Ind. (1768) 297. 



Karoland, Kaban Djahe, Bartlett & La Rue 81, with the 

 local name tjeppira. 



India to Java and the Philippines. 



OREOCNIDE Miquel 

 {Villebi~imea Gaudichaud) 

 OREOCNIDE NiVEA sp. nov. 



Frutex vel arbor parva, ramulis villosis; foliis chartaceis, 

 ellipticis ad elliptico-obovatis, 12 ad 17 cm longis, supra olivaceis, 

 subtus niveis et densissime tomentosis, apice acuminatis, mar- 

 gine serrato-dentatis, nervis utrinque circiter 12, perspicuis; 

 inflorescentiis fasciculatis, capitulis longe pedunculatis, globosis, 

 5 mm diametro. 



A shrub or small tree, the branchiets and petioles rather 

 densely villous with pale brownish hairs. Leaves chartaceous, 

 elliptic to elliptic-obovate, penninerved, 12 to 17 cm long, 6 to 8 

 cm wide, serrate-dentate except at the base, the upper surface 

 olivaceous when dry, the midrib and nerves more or less pu- 

 bescent, the epidermis with few, scattered, rather long, white 



