Compositae. 



inner bracts longest, linear lanceolate, the outer ones short, ovate. Eeceptaele flat 

 naked. Corollae regular, slender, deeply 5-cleft into linear acute straight lobes. Stamens 

 affixed to the base of the corolla, the anthers long linear, united until fertilization, ex- 

 serted. Style filiform, long exserted, shortly bi-dentate or entire. Achenes linear-oblong, 

 5-angular, with several faces ribbed. Pappus of many pluri-seriate stiff and scabrous 

 capillary bristles which are twice the length of the achene. Trees or shrubs with very 

 hard grained wood. Leaves alternate, penni-nerved, entire. Heads large and few in 

 terminal clusters, or in the forks of the branches. Corolla brownish-yellow. 



This most interesting Hawaiian genus consists of three species two of which 

 become arborescent. The genus belongs to the tribe Mutisieae which is chiefly 

 American, but especially occurring in the South American Andes. It has been 

 called the Hawaiian Thistle tree. 



Hesperomannia arborescens Gray. 

 (Plate 215.) 



HESPEROMANNIA ARBORESCENS Gray in Proc. Am. Acad. VI. (1866) 554; H. Mann 

 in Proc. Am. Acad. VII. (1867) 176; Brigham in Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 

 I. 4. (1868) 527. p. 20; Wawra in Flora (1873) 76; Hbd. Fl. Haw. Isl. (1888) 

 232; Del Cast. 111. Fl. Ins. Mar. Pacif. VI. (1890) 215. 



Leaves glabrous, dark on both faces, thin chartaceous. or often somewhat fleshy in 

 texture when fresh, and minutely pubescent with grayish hairlets when young, especially 

 along the veins and midrib, obovate-oblong 12 to 34 cm long, 4 to 20 cm wide, with 

 reddish midrib and petiole, the latter 2 to 4 cm; bluntly acuminate, crenate-dentate, often 

 sub-entire; heads about 5 cm high, 5 to 7 in a terminal cluster or cymose umbel on thick 

 pedicels of about 10 to 14 mm; involucre 2.5 cm high, quite glabrous, its bracts in 4 to 7 

 rows, corolla 24 to 30 mm, divided to the middle, anthers 8 to 10 mm, achenes glabrous, 

 12 to 14 mm, linear-oblong, the tawny pappus twice that length. 



The first tree of this species was discovered by H. Mann, on the Island of 

 Lanai on the highest ridge; Hillebrand writes that he saw about eight, four 

 years later. Dr. R. C. L. Perkins who thoroughly explored the islands for in- 

 sects, and consequently became familiar with the Hawaiian Flora to some extent, 

 informed the writer that he saw 2 trees of this species on Lanai about 10 years 

 ago. When exploring the Island of Lanai in the year 1910, from June to 

 August, the writer failed to find even a sign of this tree anywhere on the island. 

 However, large trees of apparently this species were found by C. N. Forbes in 

 the Koolau Mts. on Oahu, and the writer found a tree about 20 feet in height on 

 the lower slopes of Mt. Konahuanui, back of Honolulu, practically at the head of 

 Pauoa Valley. Its leaves were exceedingly large, though the last terminal ones 

 answered the description by Gray. It was in flower and fruit and is figured on 

 plate 214. 



Mr. C. X. Forbes described a very interesting species from Kauai in the Wa- 

 hiawa Mts. where it was collected by J. M. Lydgate. It has the habit of growth 

 of a lobelia. The large flower-heads are on slender filiform pedicels. The 

 leaves are entire. It was named by him H. Lydgatei Forbes. 



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