592 CLIV. DIOSCOREACE.E. (J. D. Hooker.) [Dioscorea. 



INDIA, Heyne. CEYLON, Walker, #c. 



Branches very slender, terete, unarmed. Leaves 2-4 by f-2 in., obtusely acumi- 

 nate, thin, obscurely margined, base cuneate or rounded rarely subcordate. Male 

 spikes 3-8 in., rarely branched ; bracts ovate ; flowers -^ in. diain., solitary, sessile ; 

 segments ere?t, concave, elliptic, obtuse ; filaments rather slender, anthers didy- 

 mous. Capsule 1^ in. diam., subquadrate, retuse at top and bottom, glabrous, 

 shining. Seeds winged all round. I follow Thwaitea in referring the Ceylon 

 plant to Koth's very insufficiently described D. spicata, of which I have seen no 

 specimens. Thwaites' specimens of D. oppositifolia (C.P. 2302) in Herb. Kew are 

 certainly this; but as oppositifolia is a Ceylon plant, the error probably arises from 

 a misplacement of tickets. 



** Male spikes Shorled in axillary and terminal panicles. 



t Leaves cuneate 1 or rounded at the base, rarely retuse never deeply 

 cordate. 



Leaves more or less pubescent beneath, or glabrous in D. oppositifolia. 



11. D. pyrifolia, Kunth Enum. v. 384; leaves mostly opposite 

 orbicular or broadly oblong 5-nerved coriaceous more or less finely (not 

 stellately) pubescent beneath, male spikes 1-1| in. spreading, anthers 

 subsessile, pistillode minute. 



TENASSERIM, Heifer (Kew distrib. 5538). SINGAPORE, Wallich. MALACCA, 

 (not Philippine Islands), Cuming (No. 2314), Griffith (K. d. 5562), Maingay (K. tf. 

 1705), Hervey. 



Branches terete, glabrous or puberulous. Leaves 2-4 by 1^3 in., acuminate or 

 cuspidate, base rounded or retuse, reticulate beneath ; petiole ^-1 in. Spikes 

 glabrous; flowers T V~yV m> di am -, globose ; sepals orbicular-oblong ; petals cuneate- 

 obovate ; anthers very small. Capsule broader than long, cordate at base and top. 

 Seeds ^-1 in. diam. Kunth erred in assuming this to be one of Cuming's Philippine 

 plants. 



12. Z>. orbiculata, Hook, in Serb. ; leaves mostly opposite orbicular 

 5-nerved stellately pubescent towards the base beneath, male spikes 

 l|-2 in. spreading, flowers very minute, anthers sabsessile, pistillode 

 minute. D. sativa, Wall. Cat. 5108 C. 



PENANG ; Pliilipp ; on Govt. Hill, Curtis. 



Very near D. pyrifolia, but the leaves are smaller, not coriaceous, and at once 

 distinguished by the stellate hairs beneath, the petals also are elliptic. Fern. fl. and 

 fruit unknown. 



13. D. oppositifolia, Linn. Sp. PI. 1033 ; glabrous or sparsely 

 pubescent, or panicles tomentose, leaves mostly opposite from lanceolate 

 to elliptic- oblong ovate or orbicular strongly 3-5-iierved coriaceous with a 



.cartilaginous margin, male spikes short rarely 1 in. spreading, anther 

 iarge, pistillode minute. Kunth Enum. 390 ; Wall. Cat. 5104 ; Roxb. Fl. 

 'Ipd.'iii. 804; Wight Ic. t. 813; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. J?L 247. D. glabra, 

 Wall. Oat. 5105 D, E. D. trinervia, Roxb. mss. D. lanceolata, Herb. 

 Heyne. D. coriacea, Herb. Wight. ^ / 



Tropical India, from ASSAM, SILHET and CHITTAGONG, southwards to CEYLON. 



A large climber, branches terete, unarmed. Leaves 3-5 by 1-3" in., with a well- 

 defined cartilaginous margin; petiole --1 in., stout. Male spikes rather stout, 

 usually dense-fid. ; flowers rather large, - s in. diaur., but variable in size, sessile, 

 globose; sepals orbicular; petals obovate ; filaments rather Jong, Capsule 

 Lp2| in. diam., retuse or almost 2-lobed at the top, coriaceous,^ glabrous. ..Seeds 

 fj-li in. diam., wing very broad. 



