Sapotaceae. 



Var. /? densiflorum Hbcl. 



Leaves large 7.5 em long, generally glabrous when old; flowers in clusters of 4 to 6 

 in the axils of the upper closely set leaves, on pedicels of 4 mm, completely covering the 

 end of the branch. 



Hillebrand records this variety from the leeward slopes of Mt. Kaala of the 

 Waianae range on Oahu. The plant is not known to the author, but he col- 

 lected specimens of another variety, coming rather close to this one, on Molokai, 

 near Kapulo'u below Kamoku camp in the rather dry district, in company 

 with Myoporum sandwicense, Ochrosia sandwicensis, and Nothocestrum lati- 

 folium. It may be described as follows: 



Var. molokaiense (Levl.) Rock comb. nov. 



Myrsine molokaiensis Levl. in Fedde Eep. Spec, nov, regn. veg. X. 10-14 (1911) 154 et 

 Suttonia molokaiensis Lev!, nov. nom. in Fedde, 1. c. X. 24-26 (1912) 373. 



Leaves elliptical oblong, dark green, glabrous above, with a fine silvery pubescence 

 underneath, young leaves yellowish pubescent; flowers either single or 4 to 6 in the axils 

 of the upper leaves, often very densely flowered, on pedicels of 10 to 12 mm, whole in- 

 florescence of a golden yellow, the glabrous petals longer than the calyx, staminodia 

 petaloid, ovary densely hirsute with distinct style; fruit subglobose, beaked, resembling 

 the fruit of 8. spathulatum. 



In Abbe Faurie's collection, which I have at hand, is a plant numbered 435 

 and labelled " Myrsine molokaiensis Levl. sp. nov. Molokai, Kamolo 1000 m. leg. 

 Faurie Junio 1910. ' ' The plant is at a first glance recognizable as a Sideroxylon 

 and is identical with my number 6154 Sideroxylon spathulatum var. molokai- 

 ense Rock. 



At first the writer could not believe that such a gross error could be committed, 

 but after reading the most incomplete description by Leveille, which says: "Af- 

 finis M. sandwicensis DC. a quo secernitur foliis supra atro-viridibus, subtus in- 

 canis vel incano-tomentosis, " it can be no other plant than Faurie's specimen 

 marked 435. Faurie's specimen is in fruit, but quite immature. 



The material collected by the writer came from almost the identical locality 

 where Faurie collected his plants, but a little more toward the west. However, 

 one cannot depend very well on Faurie's exactness in citing localities, as can be 

 seen in Leveille 's publication, who places Hilo on the Island of Maui and Mt. 

 Haleakala on a different island than Maui. Some plants are simply marked: 

 Sandwich. It is indeed very regrettable that the material of Abbe Faurie (which 

 is often beyond recognition) fell in the hands of H. Leveille, whose ambition 

 seems to be to bring the number of his new species up to 1000. A goodly 

 number of his new species are European weeds which have been imported by 

 the cattle estates with grass seeds, and have become scattered over the mountains 

 in the pasture lands which he calls in herbidis; may it be said that in these vast 

 meadows not even a native grass can be found, still less herbaceous native plants, 

 which have been crowded out by imported grasses and such weeds which Leveille 

 describes now as new species, and thus would change the whole endemic aspect 

 of our most interesting flora. 



392 



