542 XCII. HERNANDIACEjE [Eligcra 



Order XCII. HERNANDIACE^l. Engler n. Prantl, iii. 2. 126. 



In Gen. Plant, i. 689 Illigera and Gyrocarpus are included under Combre- 

 tacece, while Hernandia stands under Laurinece. 



Climbing shrubs or large trees, 1. alternate, stipules 0, fl. bisexual or monoe- 

 cious. Ovary inferior, ovule 1 pendulous. Perianth of 4 to 10 segments, 

 stamens 3-5, anther-cells 2, opening by valves. Fr. often winged, seed 

 exalbuminous. 



A. L. trifoliolate, fr. with 2 broad lateral wings. . . 1. Illigera. 



B. L. peltate, fr. ovoid, not winged Hernandia (p. 542). 



C. L. broadly ovate, often lobed, fr. with 2 long wings at 



the apex 2. Gyrocarpus. 



1. ILLIGERA, Blume ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 460. 



Climbers, 1. of 3 (in the African sp. 5) petiolulate leaflets. PL bisexual, in 

 lax pedunculate compound cymes, each fl. supported by 1-3 bracteoles, inflor- 

 escence and perianth outside clothed with 2-celled glandular hairs. Perianth- 

 segments in two circles of 5 each, stamens 5, opposite to those of the outer 

 circle, filaments with 2 oblong hooded scales at the base, stigma orbicular, 

 broad, undulate. Fr. broadly 2-winged, sometimes with 1 or 2 additional 

 narrower wings. Cotyledons plano-convex. Species 1 in tropical Africa, 7 

 in India and the Malay Archip. 



1. I. appendiculata, Blume ; Kurz F. Fl. i. 479 ; King in Journ. As. Soe. Beng. vol. 66, 

 ii. 1898. 343.— Syn. I. Coryzadenia, Meissn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 460. Assam. Khasi hills. 

 Lo^er Burma. Andamans. Malay Archipelago. A powerful climber, young branches 

 tawny-pubescent soon becoming glabrous, petioles and peduncles often twisted round 

 supports. L. alternate, trifoliolate, leaflets elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, pubescent 

 beneath along nerves, blade 3-5, common petiole 3-4 in. long, sec. n. 3-4 pair. Fl. 

 white, sepals \ in. long. Fr. 2-winged, including the wings up to 3 in. broad. /. 

 Kurzii, C. B. Clarke, Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 460 (species) is a variety with glabrous more 

 coriaceous 1. 2. I. Khasiana, C. B. Clarke, Khasi hills, 1. glabrous, with tufts of 

 yellowish hairs in the nerve axils beneath, sepals J in. long, the outer dull lurid 

 purple, the inner whitish, staminodes deeply emarginate. 3. I. villosa, Clarke in 

 Journ. Linn. Soc. xxv. 22, tab. ix. Kohima, 5,000 ft. Branchlets fulvous-villous, 

 fr. 2-4-winged. 



Hernandia peltata, Meissn. ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 300. — Syn. H. Sonora, Linn. : Wight 

 Ic. t. 1855. Beach forests on the coast of the Andamans. Coast of Ceylon, the Malay 

 Penins. and Archip., the Pacific Islands, North Australia, Madagascar and East Africa. 

 A large evergreen tree, wood light, soft, grey. L. glabrous, ovate, peltate, blade 4-8, 

 pet. as long as blade, 5-7 basal nerves. Ff. white, in involucrate heads of 3 fl., at the 

 ends of the ramifications of large axillary finely tomentose panicles; the central fl. ? 

 supported at the base by a cupular involucel, which becomes greatly enlarged and 

 thickened in fr., perianth-segments 8; the 2 lateral fl. 3, perianth-segments 6, 

 stamens 3, biglandular, opposite to the segments of the outer circle. Fr. ovoid, 

 nearly 1 in. long, cotyledons fleshy, much lobed. 



2. GYROCARPUS, Jacq. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 461. 



G. americanus, Jacq. (the only species); King in Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 

 66. 344.— Syn. G. Jacquini, Roxb. Cor. PI. t, 1 ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 196. 

 Vera. Zaitun, Hind. ; Poliki r ThanaJcu, Tel. ; PinU-thitkauk, Burm. 



A deciduous tree, bark whitish, wood light, soft, greyish-white, young 

 shoots and often the underside of 1. pubescent. L. crowded at the ends of 

 thick branchlets marked with the scars of fallen 1. L. of adult trees entire, 

 broadly ovate, acuminate, blade 4-5, pet. 1-4 in. long, those of young plants 

 larger, pubescent and often deeply lobed. Fl. small, cream coloured or yellow, 

 in large terminal dense compound hairy cymes without bracts, a few bisexual, 

 scattered among a mass of male fl. <$ Perianth of 4-7 sepals, stamens 



