THE MALAY VAKNISH CALLED *• GETAH LULl'* 



By L. WRAY. 



A/f'R. E. M. HOLMES, f.l.s., Curator of the Museum of the Phar- 

 maceutical Society, writes iu the Museum Eeport for 1903-6, 

 p. 32, pubhshed iu 1907 : " Nearly eleveu years ago I described iu the 

 Journal of this Society (3), 25, a specimen of a varnish used by the 

 Malays of the Straits Settleiuents, which is there considered to be the 

 best in use, forming a white brilliant hard varnish. It was received 

 from Mr. L. Wray, the Curator of the Perak Museum, who sent with 

 it a leafy branchlet of the tree, but with fruit only, uot flowers. From 

 the specimens then sent, so far as I could determine, the tree yielding 

 the varnish was either Garciuia menjuetisis, Wight, or nearly allied to 

 it. Now Mr. Wray has sent specimens of flowers, and, on submitting 

 the flowers to Mr. J. T. Duthie, b.a., the Assistant for India, at the 

 Royal Herbarium, Kew, he has confirmed my supposition as correct." 



This species is thus described iu the " Materials for a Flora of the 

 Malayan Peninsula," by Sir George King, k.c.i.e. : 



"2. Gakcinia meroubnsis, Wight, HI. 122, Ic, 116. — A tree 30 to 

 40 feet high ; young branches thin, terete, dark brown when dry. 

 Leaves : ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, bluntly caudate-acuminate, the base 

 cuueate ; upper surface when dry shining, dark brown ; the lower didl 

 pale bi'own, the midrib distinct on both ; nerves indistinct, thin, 

 spn.'ading, about .075 inches apart ; length 3 to 3.5 inches, breadth 1.1 to 

 1.4 inches ; petiole .25 inches. Male flowers : .15 inches in diameter, iu 

 rather dense axillary minutely bracteolate 3- to 6-flowered cymes longer 

 than the petioles ; pedicls .2 inches, buds globose ; sepals fovir, fleshy, the 

 outer pair small, ovate-orbicular, sub-acute ; the inner pair orbicular, 

 all concave ; petals four, orbicidar, fleshy, concave, covering the stigma in 

 bud ; anthers numerous on both sides of four flesliy processes ; sessile, 

 oblong, dehiscing suturally ; rudy-style long, cylindric, thick ; stigma 

 discoid, smooth, flat. Hermaphrodite flowers : sepals four, the outer 

 pair, as in the male, ovate-orbicular, thin ; petals four,orbicular-reniform, 

 fleshy, not covering the stigma ; stamens numerous on both sides of four 

 triangular fleshy processes ; anthers sessile, sub- orbicular, dehiscing 

 vertically by the sutures ; stigma sessile, very large, hemispheric, 

 convex, smooth, covering the anthers when young. Female flowers : 

 sepals four, the outer pair much smaller than the inner, all thin and con- 

 cave ; petals four, orbicular, about the same size as the inner sepals, 

 concave, thinly coriaceous, with a thick-ended coloured patch at the 

 base; staminodes and disk O; stigma semi-hemispheric, almost cover- 

 uig the whole ovary. Fruit: pcdicelled, globular, .75 inches in 



Die, I'M). 



