1896.] from New Britain (Neu Pommern). 93 



namely Rumphius' form major ; and there are many reasons which 

 make one regard this as correct. Now Schumann sees in his 

 Alpinia nutans the other element, namely Globba sylvestris minor, 

 — a decision the correctness of which is questionable. The follow- 

 ing statements give the reasons for and against Schumann's iden- 

 tification. 



Alpinia nutans K. Schum. agrees with Globba sylvestris minor 

 in its nodding inflorescence, persistent bracts, leaves less than two 

 palms' breadths broad, and narrow petals. In other points, however, 

 it differs, thus : — leaves oblanceolate instead of lanceolate and not 

 undulate (cf. Rumphius' figure lxiii.), tapering very rapidly above 

 to a shortly acuminate point, flower not conspicuously red, yellow 

 and white. The reader, remembering the difficulties which beset 

 the identification of species of Alpinia, will form his own opinion 

 upon the necessity of caution in this case. The probabilities seem 

 to be in favour of the following decisions being correct. 



Alpinia nutans Roscoe (1805), not known till described by 

 Wendland 1 as Zerumbet speciosum in 1798. 



Alpinia gigantea Blume (1830), apparently the plant figured 

 by Rumphius as Globba sylvestris major, and therefore is Globba 

 nutans L. 



Alpinia nutans K. Schumann (1889) may possibly be, but 

 probably is not, Globba sylvestris minor, but if so is also Globba 

 nutans L. For this last species I propose the name A. oceanica. 



Hollrung collected A. oceanica on the two islets of Mioko and 

 Kerawara belonging to the New Lauenburg group 2 ; Warburg has 

 obtained it from Kerawara and the north of New Britain (xvill.). 

 In the Kew Herbarium are specimens from the following sources : 

 Quadalcanar, Solomon Isles, Milne, 1855, — Admiralty Isles, Moseley, 

 'Challenger' Expedition, — and New Ireland, Barclay 3 . All these 

 localities lie fairly close together, the most westerly being more 

 than 1200 miles from Amboyna. 



A. oceanica lies very near A. scabra Benth. from British India, 

 and is easily distinguished from other species of the section Hellenia 

 with a nodding inflorescence such as A . decurva Ridley. 



Baron von Hugel's specimens lead one to suppose that the 

 curvature of the inflorescence becomes more marked as it grows 

 older, being very slight when the buds first begin to open. In 

 cases where the flowers are much crowded the axis of the inflor- 

 escence becomes twisted so as to obscure the ^ divergence which 

 is present. Such might account for the want of it in Rumphius' 

 figure. 



1 Schrader et Wendland, Sertum Hannoverianum, iv. Gottingen, 1798, 3, t. 19. 



2 Flora v. Kaiser Wilhelms Land. loc. cit. 



3 Bentham recognised it as a new species. Enumeration of plants collected in 

 the Feejee Islands, Tanna, New Ireland and New Guinea. Hooker's Lond. Journ. 

 of Bot. n. (1843), p. 235. 



