212 STYitACACETE. [Symplocos. 



slight pubescence on the young buds. Branches short, terete. Leaves ovate, 

 shortly acuminate, 2 or 3 in. long, entire or rarely bordered with small glan- 

 dular teethj on a thick petiole of about 3 lines, coriaceous and shining above, 

 but less so than in the following species and the veins much more prominent 

 underneath. Flowers closely sessile, in very dense axillary clusters ; the 

 bracts broad, short, and slightly hairy. Calyx near l| lines long, divided to 

 below the middle into 5 broad obtuse brown lobes. Corolla-lobes obtuse, 

 about 2 lines long. Stamens numerous, inserted in the very short tube, and 

 longer than the lobes. Ovary quite glabrous, 3-celled, with 2 pendulous ovules 

 in each cell. Fruit oblong, more than ^ in. long. 



Rare in the island, Champion. Received also in Fortune's Chinese collection, but in no 

 other one. 



2. S. crassifolia, Benth., n. sp. A perfectly glabrous shrub, with an- 

 gular branches like those of S. japonica. Leaves oval-oblong, acuminate, 2 

 to 3 in. long, quite entire or with a few small teeth towards the top, nar- 

 rowed into a petiole of 4 to 6 lines, more stiff and coriaceous than in any 

 other species known to me, and not unlike the large entire-leaved varieties of 

 a Holly. Mowers 3 or 4 together in racemes about the length of the petiole ; 

 the lowest flower pedicellate, the others sessile. Bracts small, orbicular. 

 Calyx-lobes orbicular, thin, about 1 line long. Corolla divided almost to the 

 base into obtuse lobes about 2 lines long. Ovary hairy at the top. Fruit 

 ovoid, not ^ in. long. 



On Victoria Peak, Champion. Not seen in any other collection. I had formerly thought 

 that this and the preceding species might be varieties of the S. japonica, but a careful com- 

 parison of more numerous specimens discloses too many points of difference to admit of their 

 being united. 



3. S. microcarpa, Champ, in Kew Jonrn. Bot. iv. 303. A shrub or 

 jsmall tree, glabrous except a slight pubescence on the racemes. Leaves 

 nearly sessile, oval or elliptical-oblong, with a long acumen, 2 to 3 in. long, 

 entire or more usually slightly crenated, not very coriaceous although shining 

 above, the reticulated veins more or less conspicuous underneath. Kacemes 

 (or rather interrupted spikes) ^ to 1 in. long, simple. Flowers small, quite 

 sessile, each in the axil of a small broad minutely ciliate bract. Calyx not 

 1 line, with orbicular thin lobes. Corolla scarcely above 1 line long, divided 

 almost to the base. Stamens about 20. Ovary glabrous on the top. Fruit 

 nearly globular, crowned by the inflected lobes of the calyx, about 2 lines 

 diameter. 



In the Happy Valley woods, Champion ; in a ravine of Mount Gough, Wifford. "We have 

 not precisely the same form from the continent, but in Hooker's Sikkim collection is one 

 which may be a variety of the same species, with more pubescent racemes. 



4. S. spicata, Jloxb. ; A. DC. Prod. viii. 254 ; Wight, Illustr. t. 150. 

 A shrub or small tree, glabrous except the inflorescence. Leaves elliptical- 

 oblong, shortly acuminate, crenate or almost serrate, 3 to 4 in. long, nar- 

 rowed into a petiole of 4 to 5 lines, coriaceous and shining above ; the veins 

 prominent underneath and sometimes on both sides. Racemes 2 to 3 in. long, 

 more or less branched, and usually minutely pubescent or tomentose. Flowers 

 sessile, each in the axil of a broad, short, pubescent bract. Calyx scarcely 1 

 line long, glabrous, with orbicular lobes. Corolla-lobes 2 lines long, with a 



