4. A new species of JDiospi/ros from the Tinnevelly 



Hills. 



By M. S. Ramaswami, M.A. (formerly Government Postgraduate 

 Research Scholar in Botany, Presidency College, Madras) ; 

 Officiating Curator of the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Garden, 



Calcutta. 



[With Plates III-IV.] 



In February 1913, in accordance with instructions from 

 Major A. T. Gage, I. M.S., Director of the Botanical Survey of 

 India, a Botanical collection was made by Mr. D. Hooper and 

 myself in the Tinnevelly hills. In working out this collection at 

 the Calcutta Herbarium, I had occasion to examine all the Herba- 

 rium specimens of Diospyros and discovered that two sheets 

 marked simply 'Diospyros' (Kannikatti, Tinnevelly. Nos. 

 2951, 2960, Barber) exactly matched one of my numbers in the 

 present collection. These sheets, as the records in the Calcutta 

 Herbarium show, were sent for comparison to Kew by Mr. 

 VV. W. Smith, formerly Curator of the Calcutta Herbarium, and 

 were declared there to be unmatched ones. As my specimens 

 contained only female flowers, and the two sheets were incom- 

 plete, I was anxious to obtain fuller material. I therefore 

 requested Mr. K Rangachari of the Madras Agricultural 

 College, Coimbatore, to send me on loan the original sheets 

 corresponding with the two duplicates above mentioned. He 

 very kindly acceded to my request. On examination of all these 

 sheets, I concluded that a fairly distinct and hitherto undes- 



cribed species existed, a description of which I proceed to give 

 below : — 



Diospyros Barberi, Bamaswami, sp. nov. Species D. 

 foliolosa, Wall, et D. Ebenum, Koenig. affinis ; Calycis late 



craterif ormis, lobis subito-acutus in fructu late triangularis 

 distinguenda. 



Arbor; ramuli teretes, juniores puberuli; Folia alterna, 

 densissima, oblonga vel oblongo-lanceolata, apice obtusa, 

 caudato- acuminata, basi cuneata vel rotundata, 3*17 cm. — 8*25 

 cm. longa, 1*27 cm. — 2*22 cm. lata, margine integra, coriacea, 

 glabra, subtus puncticulata ; nervis primariis 6— 9 paribus, ob- 

 liquis, dirtincte reticulatis; Fl. & 2 — 3 fasciculati, sub-sessiles, 

 pedunculi 51 mm.— 63 mm. longi. Calyx campanulato-tubu- 

 losus, 3*2 mm —42 mm. longus, rugulosus sub-truncatus supra 

 sparsus; Dentes 4, breves, obtusi, ciliolati. Corollae tubus, 

 6-3 mm. longus, glaber; lobi 4, 3 mm. longi, carnosi, dextror- 

 sum contorti; Antherae geminae, 16, plus minus lineares glabrae, 

 filamenta breviora, connectivo apiculatae. FL 5 solitarii, 



