Malvaceae. 



shorter, red, the short filaments crowded near the five-toothed apex; style branches 8 to 10 

 mm, spreading horizontally, ciliate; capsule glabrous, 18 mm; seeds 5 mm, reniform 

 covered with a coarse brownish pubescence. 



This species is somewhat rare, at least Dot so common as the white native Hi- 

 biscus. The writer met with two varieties on Molokai one at Mapulehu, where 

 it is a shrub at about 1000 feet elevation; the other at the bottom of Wailau 

 Valley, only a few hundred feet above sea level. On Kauai only, it is apparently 

 a tree. Mr. Lydgate informed the writer that he saw a tree about 40 feet in 

 height back of Lihue, along the pole-line. As the writer did not see specimens, 

 it is doubtful whether it is II. Kokio or Forbes' H. Kaliilii, a tree 27 feet high, 

 which, however, seems not to differ very much from the former, according to 

 Forbes, only in the pubescent calyx and in other minor points, one of which, 

 according to his figure, seems to be the bluntly acute or somewhat obtuse apices 

 of the leaves. His specimen came from near the Wahiawa swamp, Kauai. H. 

 Kahilii Forbes Occ. Pap. B. P. B. Mus. V. (1912) 4, with plate. 



HIBISCADELPHUS Rock. 



Bracteoles 5 to 7, very narrow linear or dentate, free. Calyx deeply and unevenly 

 2 to 3 cleft. Stamiual column antheriferous below the 5-dentate apex. Ovary 5-celled, 

 with 1 to 3 ovules in each cell; style branches 5, suberect with capitate flesh-colored stig- 

 mas. Capsule woody or coriaceous, 5 valved; endocarp chartaceous, detached. Seeds 

 reniform, covered with a dirty white tomentum. Medium sized trees with a stellate 

 tomentum. Leaves cordate, unevenly 3 to 5 pointed or rounded and entire. Flowers 

 single or several in the axils of the leaves at the ends of the branches; color of petals 

 magenta, yellowish and green. Calyx deciduous before maturation of the fruit. 



The genus Hibiscadelphus established by the w r riter consists of 3 species w r hich 

 are peculiar to the dry sections of Hawaii and Maui. Of two of the species 

 only an individual tree is in existence, w r hile of the third several can still be 

 found on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai, in the forest of Waihau, in North Kona, 

 Hawaii. 



The genus, of which Hibiscadelphus Giffardianus is the type, is closely re- 

 lated to Hibiscus, from which it differs mainly in the deciduous calyx, and quite 

 different flowers. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



Flowers 5 to 6 cm long. 



Involucral bracts 2 cm, filiform, free H. Giffardianus 



Involucral bracts linear-spathulate, one nerved H. Wilderianus 



Flowers 2.5 to 3 cm long. 



Involucral bracts dentiform, 1 mm H. Hualalaiensis 



Hibiscadelphus Giffardianus Rock. 



Hau kuahiwi. 



(Plate 117.) 



HIBISCADELPHUS GIFFARDIANUS Bock in Bull. Hawaii Bd. of Agric. and Forestry I. 



(1911) 10. pi. 4. 



A medium sized tree; bark smooth, fibrous, whitish; branches terete, glabrous, covered 

 with leaf scars; leaves on long petioles orbicular in outline cordate, bluntly acute at the 

 apex, 12-15 cm each way, unevenly lobed or pointed, chartaceous, covered on both sides 



297 



