22 



UEOSTIGMA. 



16. FlCUS CUCURBITTNA, nov. spec 



A tree ? The young shoots verrucose, with rather prominent rings, and covered with 

 deciduous long hispid yellow hairs, ultimately glabrous ; leaves coriaceous, obo vate-elliptic, 

 the apex suddenly and shortly cuspidate, edges entire, base narrowed, rounded, obscurely 

 3- to 5-nerved ; primary lateral nerves 8 pairs, and, like the midrib, pale, prominent and 



minutely puberulous on the lower surface, the rest of the lower surface glabrous, the 

 reticulations distinct ; upper surface glabrous, except the midrib and primary nerves, which 

 are minutely puberulous; length of blade 5 to, 7'5 in., petiole -8 in.; stipules lanceolate, 

 deciduous, hispid, about 1 in. long ; receptacles large, sessile, axillary, in pairs, obovoid- 

 cylindric, the apex prominently umbonate ; the umbilicus triangular, imperfectly closed 

 by 3 scales; hispid pilose when young, glabrous when ripe; basal bracts none, but a slight 

 annular swelling at the point of insertion on the stem ; length 2 in., breadth 1 in. 



Borneo, — Big, Beccari (Herb. Becc. P. B. n. 3436); Celebes, —Beccari. 



The leaves of this resemble those of pilosa, Reinw. and My 'sore its is, Ihyne, but its 

 receptacles are like those of F. xylophylla, Wall. It is a remarkably fine and very distinct species. 



Plate 17. — F. cucurbitina, King. A branch with receptacles nearly mature. 1, stipules 

 of natural size. 



17. Ficus tomentosa, Roxb. ; Willd. Spec. Plant, iv. 1136; Roxb. Hort. Bengalensis ; 



Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 550 ; Wight Ic. 647; Brandts For. Flora 414 ; Miq. in Ann. 

 Mus. Lugd. Bat. iii. 285. — Urost. tomento s um , obversum and connivens, Miq. 

 in Lond. Journ. Bot. vi. 573.— i 7 . mollis, Vahl Symb. (1700), i. 82, and 

 Enum. PL ii. 192 (excl. syn. Willd.).—/ 7 . asinina. Ham. in Linn. Trans, xv. 



138 ; Wall. Cat. 4497A, B, C, D. 



A large umbrageous tree, throwing out small aerial roots from the branches ; the young 

 shoots, petioles, under surfaces of the leaves and receptacles covered with rusty gray tomentum^ 

 leaves crowded towards the ends of the branches, coriaceous, petiolate, ovate-elliptic or 

 obovate-elliptic, bluntly apiculate, with entire edges and rounded or slightly cordate 5- to 

 7-nerved base; primary lateral nerves about 5 pairs, prominent ; upper surface glabrous or 

 glabrescent, mmutely dotted when dry; length 2 to 5 in.; petioles «75 to 1 in.; stipules 

 about -3 to -5 m., densely woolly outside, with broad, scarious, glabrou edges; receptacles 

 mole, in pairs, axillary, pisiform, tomentose, from -25 in. to -4 in. across, apical scales small, 

 glabrous basal bracts 3, large, spreading, pubescent, sometimes 3-fid when you..-; male 

 flowers few, near the mouth of the receptacle, the perianth of 4 lanceolate piece* ; stamen 1 ; 

 gall and fertile female flowers with perianth shorter than the ovary, of 4 pieces ; gall flower 

 with smooth ovary and short style ; fertile female with tuberculate achene and elongate stvle. 



Widely ^stnbuted m the drier parts of the Gangetic plain and of Central and Southern 

 India ; also m Ceylon. 



disenltiT 7 ^ ° IS SP6Cie I " f thOT inV ° 1Ved ' and l Sha11 therefore he '° ***** to 

 W 7t. J , , Dame f ° r tWs Speci6S is ™d°ubtedl y that of Vahl who in h 



Symbol. Bot . (pubhshed in 1790), named it mollis. Willdenow howe 



_ ___fl 



his observations 



the genus Ficus (Act. Acad Berol 1801 Qi t « T , V ' ™ " U 0bservatl0ns °« 



a plant about the identity of "hicTwlt V h J de8 -bed a nd fi d ag ,, ^ Vahl 

 which his no-,,- mm ; JL ,i ? mollw he was himself doubtful, anc 



Ms %l ue unnnstakeably shows to be F. opposUifaUa, Rosb. (= F. |faflk Linn, hi.) 



