PHILIPPINE FREYCINETIA. 



By Elmer D. Merrill. 

 (From the Botanical Section of the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science, 



Manila, P. I.) 



Philippine Pandanaceae had received little attention before the year 

 1900 either from collectors or systematists. However, in 1900, Warburg 

 published his monograph of the family,' recognizing three genera, Sara- 

 rang a, a monotypic genus, its single species, S. sinuosa HemsL, known 

 only from the Solomon Islands and New Guinea, Freycineiia with 63 

 species, extending from Ceylon and Burma to Formosa, Malaya, northern 

 Australia, Polynesia, and the Hawaiian Islands, with 7 species in the 

 Philippines, and Pandanus with 15G species, extending from tropical 

 Africa to tropical Asia, Malaya, Australia, and Polynesia, with but a 

 single species definitely recorded from the Philippines, and five Phil- 

 ippine species described by Blanco considered as doubtful ones. 



Before the publication of Warburg's monograph four species of Frey- 

 cinetia had been described from the Philippines by various authors, 

 Warl)urg adding three additional ones, but recent collections have added 

 a considerable number of species of the genus to the known Philippine 

 flora, while a second species of Sararanga, {S. phiUppinensis Merr.), has 

 been found on the east coasts of Luzon and Samar, and a large number 

 of species of Pandanus have been described and the status determined 

 of most of Blanco's imperfectly descril)ed species. 



In Martelli's recent paper on the Philippine species of Pandanus - 

 twenty-three species with several varieties are recognized as occurring in 

 the Archipelago, beside three doubtful species, wliile more recent collec- 

 tions have added two or three additional ones to the list. As many of the 

 species of Pandanus and Frcycindia are very local, it is very probable 

 that we do not know more tlian one-luilf the species of either genus 

 actually growing in the Philippines. 



The first species of Freycineiia descril)ed from the Pliilippines was 

 F. luzonmsis Presl Epim. Bot. (1851) 238, but previously Gaudiduuul 

 had figured, but not descril)ed, wliat is apparently the same species 



' Pflanzenreich 3 ( !!)(¥») 1-97. 

 ■'This .Ton run I 3 (I'.IOS) «o/. 5i)-72. 



307 



