THE PHILIPPINE SPECIES OF GARCINIA. 



By Elmer D. Merrill. 

 {From the Botanical iicction of the Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science, 



Manila, P. I.) 



This difficult genus is rather largely represented in the Philippines, 

 and its local study has been considerably complicated by difficulties 

 encountered in the proper identification of the several species described 

 l)y Blanco, as well as a number of manifestly erroneous identifications 

 of Philippine plants made by later authors. The species are often 

 obscure, and frequently difficult to classify even when complete material 

 is available, while the difficulties encountered become proportionally 

 greater when attempts are made to classify incomplete specimens. Fre- 

 quently two species will closely simulate each other in all superficial and 

 gross characters, but examination of the flowers will show them to l^elong 

 to quite different sections of the genus. 



Seventeen species are recognized in the following paper, which can 

 liardly be considered' as more than preliminary, but I am not at all sure 

 that all those admitted will stand the test of time, especially those in 

 the group with Garcinia venulosa (Blanco) Choisy. A full series of 

 specimens, showing both staminate and pistillate flowers and mature 

 fruits of each species, is greatly needed in this group. 



Of the species previously credited to the Philippines, nothing has been 

 done with the list given by F.-Villar in the ISTovissima Appendix to the 

 third edition of Blanco's Flora de Filipinas, as no descriptions are given 

 and no specimens are extant, so that any reductions of these species 

 would be mostly a matter of surmise only. Vidal enumerates a number 

 of species in his Eevision de Plantas Vasculares Filipinas, some of which 

 are manifestly admitted on erroneous identifications. I have examined 

 most of the specimens cited by him, in the Kew Herbarium, and some of 

 the species are disposed of below. Others I could not match with any 

 recently collected material and these will have to be considered at a 

 later date. Garcinia morella, to which three specimens are referred, is 

 probably an erroneous identification, while G. andersonii certainly is, 

 and one or both are probably undescribed; the specimen referred to the 

 latter is remarkable in having leaves 1-J to 2 feet in length, and has 

 only been found on the island of Alabat off the east coast of southern 

 Luzon. 



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