344 aroidEjE. [Coloca&ia. 



ingpart. — Alocasia macrorrhiza, Schott, Prod. Aroid. 146, and A. commutata, 

 Schott, 1. c. 148. 



Hongkong, Hance. In Khasia and Burmah. Cultivated, like the last, of which it may 

 be a variety. 



5. RHAPHIDOPHORA, Hassk. 



Spatha sessile, deciduous, convolute or concave. Flowers hermaphrodite, 

 in a cylindrical spike, without scales or perianth. Stamens 4 round each 

 ovary. Filaments flat. Anthers terminal, 2-celled. Ovary 1-celled or in- 

 completely 2-celled, with several ovules. Stigma sessile on the truncate top. 

 Berry 1-seeded. Seed albuminous. — Climbers, or creeping herbs or shrubs. 

 Leaves stalked, entire or pinnately divided. 



A small genus limited to tropical Asia, unless it be extended to include the whole or the 

 greater part of the American Monsterince of Schott, in which case the genus would take the 

 name of Monsiera. 



1. R. Peepla, Schott, Prod. Aroid. 380. Stems rooting and attaching 

 themselves to trees or rocks. Leaves on long petioles, oblong, acuminate, 

 more or less falcate, 6 to 8 in. long, entire, coriaceous, with numerous parallel 

 veins diverging from the midrib. Peduncles inserted in long sheathing bracts. 

 Spatha convolute, deciduous, scarcely longer than the spike. Spike about 1-J- 

 in. long. — Pothos Peepla, Roxb. ; Wight, Ic. t. 780. Rhapkidophora hongkong- 

 ensis, Schott, Prod. Aroid. 378. R. lancifolia, Schott, 1. c. 380, and (a rather 

 broader-leaved form) R. calophylla, Schott, 1. c. 380. 



Hongkong, Champion, a single leaf upon which Schott founded his R. hong hong ends, but 

 which appears to me precisely similar to those of the Khasia specimens of R. Peepla, which 

 I here describe. The species appears to be common in Sikhim, Khasia, and Silhet. 



6. POTHOS, Linn. 



Flowers hermaphrodite, in a globular or cylindrical spike, usually stipitate 

 above the convolute or concave spatha. Perianth of 6 small concave scales or 

 segments. Stamens 6, opposite the perianth-scales. Filaments flat. Anthers 

 2-celled. Ovary 1-celled, with 1 to 3 erect ovules. Stigma sessile. Berries 

 1- or 2-seeded. Albumen none. — Stems usually creeping or climbing. Leaves 

 entire, coriaceous, usually articulate on the more or less dilated petioles. Pe- 

 duncles axillary, often bracteate below the spatha. 



A tropical Asiatic genus, extending from E. Africa to N. Australia. 



1. P. scan dens, Linn. ; Ktinth, Enum. i. 65 ; Pot. Reg. tf. 1337. Petioles 

 winged, varying from 2 or 3 lines to above 1 in. in length, or sometimes at 

 the base of the branches much longer with an abortive lamina ; the lamina 

 usually oblong, acuminate, 2 to 4 in. long, coriaceous, but varying much in 

 breadth as well as length. Peduncles recurved (when the flowering branches 

 hang), seldom % in. long, with 3 to 5 concave ovate bracts, the uppermost 

 (the* spatha) rather larger and more spreading. Spike globular or slightly 

 ovoid, 3 or 4 lines diameter. Berry red. — P. Seemanni, Schott, Prod. Aroid. 

 564, and probably the whole of the first 19 species enumerated in that work. 



Common in ravines, creeping over rocks, Champion, and others. Frequent in India, from 

 Ceylon and the Peninsula to the Archipelago, and northward to the Himalaya and S. China, 



