210 EBENACEii:. \Rospidios. 



A genus consisting of the following species only, and perhaps not separated from Biospy- 

 ros on adequate grounds. 



1. R. vaccinioides, A. BC. Prod. viii. 220. A low much-branched 

 evergreen shrub, much resembling tlie common Box when growing. Branches 

 and young leaves covered with appressed rusty hairs. Leaves ovate, acute, 

 l^sually about ^ in. long, coriaceous, glabrous when fuU grown, without any 

 prominent veins except the midrib. Flowers small, axillai-y, pendulous, nearly 

 sessile. Calyx-lobes 4, lanceolate-subidate, about H lines long, hairy. Co- 

 roUa-tube about as long, glabrous except a few hairs on the angles ; the 4 

 lobes short, spreading, and very acute. Berries globular. — Diospyros vac- 

 cinioides, Lindl. in Hook. Exot. M. t. 139. 



Very abundant all over the island, Champion and others. Also on the hills of the Malayan 

 Peninsula. I have only seen male flowering and female fruiting specimens. 



2. DIOSPYROS, Linn. 



Flowers dicecious. Calyx and corolla-lobes 4, 5, or 6. Stamens usually 

 15 or 16 in the males, about 8 and stei-ile in the females. Ovary usually 4- 

 or 8-celled, rarely 10- or 12-ceUed, with 1 ovule in each ceU. Styles 2 or 4, 

 more or less united at the base and usually 2-cleft at the top. Beiiy 4- or 

 8 -celled, usually covered at the base by the somewhat enlarged calyx. — Trees or 

 rarely shrubs. Flowers axillaiy, the females solitaiy, the males usually several 

 together in little clusters, sometimes lengthening out into cymes or racemes. 



A considerable genus, having nearly the same range as the Order, but rare in S. Africa. 



Glabrous. Leaves petiolate 1. D. Morrisiana. 



Branches, young leaves, and calyxes hairy. Leaves almost sessile . . 2. D. eriantha. 



1. D. Morrisiana, Hance in Walp. Ann. iii. 14. A skrub (or tree?), 

 with the young shoots veiy sbghtly pubescent, otherwise quite glabrous. 

 Leaves oblong or the lower ones ovate, obtuse or acuminate, 2 to 4 in. long, 

 coriaceous, shining above ; the veins underneath few and slight, on petioles of 

 2 to 4 lines. Flowers white, the males 2 or 3 together, nodding, on pubes- 

 cent pedicels of about 1 line long. Calyx broadly campanulate, about 1 line 

 long, with 4 short triangular lobes. Corolla-tube nearly twice as long, with 

 4 short spreading lobes. Stamens 15 to 20, with haiiy anthers. Female 

 flowers hitherto undescribed, and I have not seen them. Fruit yellow, ob- 

 long or nearly globular, about 8 lines diameter, 4 -celled. Seeds 1 in each 

 cell, chestnut-coloured, oblong, compressed. 



On Mounts Victoria, Gough, and Parker, Champion, Hance ; also Wright. Not known 

 as yet out of the island. 



2. D. eriantha. Champ, in Keto Journ. Bot. iv. 302. A small tree ; the 

 young branches and under side of the young leaves covered \vith stiff appressed 

 rusty hairs, which disappear on the old leaves except on the midrib or prin- 

 cipal veins. Leaves nearly sessile, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, spreading in 

 opposite rows, smooth and shining above, with prominent very oblique veins 

 underneath. Flowers nearly sessile ; the females solitary, the males 2 or 3 

 together, not nodding. Calyx deeply lobed, very hairy, about 2 lines long 

 when in flower, twice as long in fruit, with ovate acute lobes, and surrounded 

 at the base by 2 or 3 imbricate obtuse deciduous scaly bracts. Corolla 

 white, very hairy outside ; the tube about 3 lines long ; the lobes about 2 lines, 



