OCTOBEK 10, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



501 



knows just -what Mucuna pruriens is, yet the 

 species undoubtedly still grows in Amboina, 

 and specimens from there which agree with 

 Eumpf's figure and description will closely 

 typify the Linnsean species. I assign to 

 Mucuna pruriens a form that is not uncom- 

 mon at low altitudes in the Philippines be- 

 cause, so far as I can determine, it agrees ab- 

 solutely with Eumpf's figure; moreover the 

 Philippine flora is very similar to that of the 

 Moluccas. Yet other botanists refer to 

 Mucuna pruriens quite different plants, and 

 specimens that much less resemble Rumpf s 

 figure than does the Philippine material. 

 Now a prominent botanist has proposed to de- 

 scribe this Philippine form, my idea of 

 Mucuna pruriens, as a new species, yet 

 neither he nor I can definitely state whether 

 it is or is not the form figured by Eumpf. I 

 assume that it is, he assumes that it is not 

 Carcara pruriens of Eumpf. 



In 1788 Lamarck described a certain Eu- 

 taceous plant as Fagara triphylla, basing his 

 description on a single Philippine specimen 

 collected by Perrottet, and adding a reference 

 to Ampacus angustifolius Eumpf Herb. Am- 

 boin., II., 188, t. 62, as illustrating the same 

 species. In 1824 DeCandoUe transferred La- 

 marck's species to JEvodia, as E. triphylla, and 

 until recently the species has been retained in 

 that genus. An examination of Lamarck's 

 actual type in the Museum d'Historie Nat- 

 urelle, Paris, shows it to be not an Evodia at 

 all, but a Melicope, and a species known only 

 from the Philippines. All botanists, however, 

 have interpreted Evodia triphylla from 

 Eumpf's figure, not from the actual type, and 

 it has been given a range of from Tenasserim 

 and Burma to Japan, China and Malaya. 

 Evodia triphylla of modern authors contained 

 at least three distinct species in two genera, 

 and the number of synonyms is quite appal- 

 ling.' Whether or not the Amboina Ampacus 

 angustifolius is the same as the Philippine 

 Melicope triphylla Merr. (Fagara triphylla 

 Lam., Evodia triphylla DC), it is impossible 



'Merrill, E. D., "On the Identity of Evodia 

 triphylla DC," Fhilp. Journ. Sci., VII., 1912, 

 Bot., 373-378. 



to determine at present, but the case illus- 

 trates remarkably well the errors in interpre- 

 tation made by eminent botanists in attempt- 

 ing the identification of extra-Moluccan speci- 

 mens with Eumpf's figures. 



Eeeently Dr. O. Becarri has published his 

 great monograph of the genus Calamus,' hav- 

 ing access to most of the large European, 

 Indian and Malayan collections. Eumpf fig- 

 ures eleven forms, on which ten species of 

 Calamus have been based by later authors; 

 yet Dr. Beccari, in spite of his great knowl- 

 edge of the group, a personal knowledge of the 

 Malayan species based on his own extensive 

 Malayan collections, and in spite of the vast 

 amount of material examined by him, was 

 able definitely to recognize but four of these 

 ten species. He states, I. c, 90: 



The others represent, I believe, very well-marked 

 species which will be recognized at some future 

 time, because considering the period at which they 

 were made, Rmnpf 's figures are very good and the 

 descriptions, if properly understood, are quite re- 

 liable. I have therefore no doubt that these spe- 

 cies will be found again in the Moluccas when 

 these islands are better explored. 



Some months ago I conceived the plan for 

 a botanical exploration of Amboina, with the 

 primary object of collecting in the original 

 localities cited by Eumpf, actual botanical 

 material that might represent the species, 

 often so crudely figured by him, the actual 

 field work to be done with a consideration of 

 all the data given by Eumpf, localities, habi- 

 tats, native names, uses, time of flowering 

 and fruiting, etc. The plan as developed by 

 the Bureau of Science was approved by the 

 authorities in the Philippines, and has re- 

 ceived the cooperation and support of the 

 Dutch botanists at Buitenzorg, Java. The 

 problem was assigned to Dr. 0. B. Eobinson, 

 of the botanical staff of the Bureau of Science. 

 Plans were perfected and he left Manila in 

 June for Java and is now in Amboina, where 

 he will prosecute botanical exploration for 

 some months. 



It is the ultimate plan to distribute the bo- 



'Ann. Bot. Gard. Calcutta, XI., 1908. 



