MR HIERN, ON EBENACEJE. 119 



inside ; stamens 5 6 (?), hypogynous, erect, anthers subsessile, hairy towards the base, subu- 

 late ; ovary 0. Occasionally a calyx is pentamerous. 

 Africa, Sierra Leone, Smeathman ! 



14. MABA OBOVATA, R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Austr. p. 527. n. 2 (1810). 



M. foliis obovatis, apice rotundatis vel retusis, basi cuneatis, breviter petiolatis, nervis in- 

 conspicuis ; floribus masculis 3 7-nis, trimeris vel rarius tetrameris, brevissime cymosis, cam- 

 panulatis, staminibus 6 12, scepius 9, ovarii rudimento villoso; floribus femineis solitariis -nib- 

 sessilibus trimeris, staminodiis 0, ovario glabro triloculari. 



Alph. DC. Prodr. vin. p. 241. n. 5 (1844) ; Ettingsh. Blatt-skel. dikot. p. 90. t. 29. f. 6. 

 t. 32. figs. 1, 2 (1861). 



Young parts appressedly pubescent ; branches terete, smooth. Leaves obovate, usually 

 retuse or rounded at apex, cuneate at base, thinly coriaceous, about 1 in. long by 1 in. 

 wide, veins inconspicuous, margins undulated, scarcely recurved, of same colour on both sides ; 

 petioles ^ in. long. 



$ . Flowers campanulate, \ \ in. long, 3 7 together, in very short axillary cymes 

 crowded on the young shoots; calyx 3-fid or unequally 4-fid, somewhat pubescent outside, 

 glabrous inside, lobes ovate ; corolla whitish, exceeding the calyx, 3 4-fid, lobes obtuse, 

 somewhat patent appressedly subsericeous outside ; stamens 6 12, usually 9 and alternately 

 in pairs, glabrous ; pollen white ; ovary rudimentary, hairy. 



9 . Flowers solitary, axillary, subsessile, like $ but rather thicker ; trimerous ; stami- 

 nodes ; ovary glabrous, 3-celled, subglobose, cells 2-ovuled ; style shorter than the ovary, 

 stout, deeply 3-fid, glabrous ; stigmas emarginate at apex, glabrous. 



Australia, Carpentaria Islands, R. Brown!, flowers in November. 



Mr Bentham unites this species with M. humilis, R. Br. The glabrous ovary in the 

 ?- is exceptional in this section of the genus, but the rudiment of the $ ovary is hairy ; 

 possibly the two sexes belong to different species, but the foliage is quite alike in both. 



15. MABA GEMINATA, R. Br. Prodr. p. 527. n. 4 (1810). 



M. foliis obovatis, apice subretusis vel obtusis, basi cuneatis, coriaceis, glabris, petiolatis; 

 fructibus 1 3-nis, subsessilibus, subglabris, ellipsoideis ; calyce fructifero breviter cupuliformi, 

 trilobo, subglabro ; floribus masculis 5 7-nis, sulsessilibus, trimeris, campanulatis, calyce pube- 

 rulo, staminibus 9, glabris. 



Alph. DC. Prodr. vili. 242. n. 13 (1844) ; Benth. Fl. Austr. iv. p. 291. n. 8 (1869), 

 excl. syn. 



Diospyros geminata, F. Muell. Austral. Veg. in Intercolonial Exhibition Essays, 1866 

 67, p. 35 (1867). 



A tree, glabrous except the flowers and fruit, with a diffuse irregular head; branches 

 terete, cinereous, smooth, spreading at 45. Leaves obovate, coriaceous, subretuse or obtuse 

 at apex, cuneate at base, 1J to 3 in. in length, by f to 2 in. in width; petioles f in. 

 in length. 



