Rutaceae. 
139; j---Hilibr. Fl. Haw.-Isl. (1888) 71; irae Cast. Il]. Fl. Ins. Mar. Piles Vi. (1890) 
134;—Engler in Engl. et Prantl Pfiztar Til. 4 (1895 ) 127, fig. A-F;—Heller 
Pi, ex: Is]. in Minnes. Bot. Stud. IX. “Cs 97) 841.—Plat; tydesma Faust ee in 
Fedde Repert. X. no. 10-14. (1911) 153.—Melicope spathulata Gray, Bot. U. 8. 
Expl. E. (1854) 352; (doubtful). 
A variable species; leaves signi Aas bia oblong, seem l pacagoe at both ede 
r rounded at the apex, narrowing base, chartaceous, rather thick when 
trons, with transparent dots, the nerves n prominent, Pade ie neh of the midrib 
whic h is salient, punctate on the underside, gla bro above, occasionally ones 
eestor — the veins and midrib, dae es varying in size on different ing of the tree, 
fro 0 35 long, by 2.5 hed 10 a nd 15.5 wide, the pe okies from 1 to 5 em in 
rade “potunetes of about the s e length as the 5: pou ioles, ere ovate subulate bracts; 
ceyme 3 to 5 flowered, occasionally single flowered; pence) s 4 to 6 mm long, bracteolate; 
inchs hermaphrodite, 18 to 20 mm long, 12 to 4 mm in diameter, campanulates ‘sepals 
round, 8 to m long, decussatingly im misoiaped “cloth hed with a sericeous pubescence ex- 
tending er “ “the east el petals 4, cream red, alternate with the sepals, “strongly 
imbricate, 16 to long, obovate, ee pits minutely sericeous, bearde 
margins; de 8, Thy as long as th e petals, inserted on the margin of he ae 
hypogynous disc; the dilated filaments monadelphous to the middle; an nthers sagittate, in- 
trorsely dehiscent, 4 mm long; ovary globular, the ae heer carpels fe ned only by the 
central columnar style, which is four times their length; stigma terminal, eee * slightly 
four-grooved; ovules 5 in each cell, collateral; capsule of if distinet jack o 22 
mm long and 10 i i t, whole capsules 30 mm transver ae endocarp 
to 12 mm in diamete p 
smooth, crustaceous, and half enclosed by the persistent cup-shaped calyx; ets re enemblili 
very much those of Pelea. oe capsule often rots away but the seed remain attached 
to the placenta for some tim Two seeds usually ripen. 
This exceedingly pees tree, which must have been much more common 
than it is now, can still be found in the mountains behind Honolulu on the 
slopes of Konahuanui, and also in the whole Koolau range, especially in the 
mountains of Punaluu, on the windward side of Oahu. The tree is, however, not 
confined to the Island of Oahu, but is found also on the other islands of the 
Hawaiian group, with the exception of Molokai and Lanai. The writer observed 
it only as a shrub outside of Oahu, while on the latter island it reaches a height 
of 15 to 20 feet or perhaps a little more; the trunk is, however, not more than 
5 inches or so in diameter. The whole plant, when bruised, emits an exceedingly 
strong odor of pepsin, which is not unpleasant. This species is the type of the 
genus and has the largest capsules, while the other two species have much 
smaller and quite different capsules. It is certainly very variable. It was 
collected by the writer first at Punaluu, no. 65, flowering August, 1908, and again 
November 13, 1908, flowering and fruiting no. 630; flowering and fruiting No- 
vember 30, 1912, Manoa Valley, Mt. Olympus, no. 10225. 
Hillebrand describes two varieties. 8. var. pallida from Kaala, Oahu; and 
East Maui, Hamakua. It differs from the species in the densely pubescent oF 
tomentose leaves. The second, y var. macrophylla, he records from Kauai. 
The writer collected this variety on Kauai in the mountains of Halemanu and 
Kaholuamano back of Waimea at an elevation of 3600 feet. The leaves are 
quite large, some of them 36 em long, on petioles of 4 em, and are densely to- 
mentose underneath, especially along the midrib; the flowers are arranged i0 
cymes on a peduncle of less than one nillimotee. at the nodes of the naked 
branches ; flowers as in the species; a very robust form which evidently belongs - 
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