Araliaceae. 



and Kalama in company with a variety of 8 ant alum Freycinetianum (Sandal- 

 wood). Owing to the softness of the whitish wood, it is of no commercial value. 

 The gum or resin which the tree is capable of producing was used by the natives 

 for various purposes. 



The wood was used for making the kukuluaeo, or stilts, employed by the old 

 Hawaiians in a game by that name, and it is spoken of as the "He ohe kahi laau 

 liana ia i mea kukuluaeo." 



In Tahiti the name "Ofe" is applied to a tree of the same family to which 

 our Reynoldsia belongs. 



PTEROTROPIA Hbd. 

 (Dipanax Seem.) 



Calyx border slightly prominent and repandly dentate. Petals 5 to 9, valvate in the 

 bud, thick, cohering or finally spreading. Stamens as many as petals, shorter than the 

 latter; anthers ovate to oblong. Ovary 2 to 5 celled; stigmas sessile on the top of the 

 conical vertex or raised on a conspicuous style. Drupe somewhat succulent, ovoid or 

 sub-globose, with conical apex, round not angular, ringed above, below or at the middle, 

 or at the base by the calycine border and naked above. Pyrenae with a thin endocarp, 

 ovoid or slightly compressed, with a broad back and a prominent ridge on either side. 

 Trees with glutinous sap. Leaves alternate, large, impari-pinnate, with 13 to 21 ovoid 

 or oblong entire leaflets, with a scattering scaly or stellate pubescence, but occasionally 

 glabrous. Inflorescence terminal and lateral; flowers umbellate-racemose on the umbellate 

 racemose branches of a panicle with a short rhachis. Pedicels not articulate; bracts 

 minute', deciduous. (The name Dipanax is not as old as Mann's section name Pterotropia 

 and the latter is therefore retained.) 



A Hawaiian genus of three species. Tall or medium-sized trees with 

 straight trunks and smooth bark. Easily distinguished from all other Hawaiian 

 Araliaceae by their leaves, which reach a size of over three feet and have from 

 9 to 21 leaflets, and their large inflorescence, which is racemose-umbellate and 

 drooping below the leaf -whorls, often two feet and more long ; in P. gymnocarpa 

 apparently above the leaf -whorls. 



The native name for all three species is Ohe ohe. They are peculiar to the 

 dry districts, with the exception of P. gymnocarpa, which occurs in the rain 

 forest. 



The only distinguishing character between P. Kavaiensis (Mann) Hbd. and 

 P. dipyrena (Mann) Hbd. is the number of stigmas. In Hillebrand's key to the 

 species he also mentions the definite number of leaflets, which, since, more mate- 

 rial is at hand, can no longer be relied upon. 



Specimens of P. dipyrena collected by the writer in Kau have 21 leaflets, 

 which are truncate, and flowers with 2 to 3 stigmas. The same number of leaflets 

 and stigmas occurs in plants from East Maui on the southern slopes of Haleakala 

 on the lava fields of Auahi, and also on plants back of Ulupalakua. 



As the number of stigmas varies in that species and differs mainly from the 

 Kauai species in the fact that they are sessile, the writer is almost persuaded to 

 unite them both under P. dipyrena. 



The character of the fruit as given in Hillebrand's Flora regarding the two 



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