394 G. King — New Si^ecies of Ficus/rom New Guinea. [No. 4, 



XX. — On some New Species of Ficus from New Guinea. — By George 

 King, M. B., LL. D., F. L. S., Superi^itendent, Boyal Botanic Qardeny 

 Calcutta, 



[Received 31st December, 1886 ; — Read 5th January, 1887.] 



Having been for some time engaged in the study of the Indo- 

 Malayan species of Ficus, I have, in another place, suggested a new 

 arrangement of the subordinate groups of v^hich the genus is composed. 

 Before proceeding to describe the new species from New Guinea which 

 have recently come into my hands, it will be necessary to give a short 

 outline of this new arrangement and of its morphological basis. 



The flowers of the genus Ficus are collected in a hollow fleshy axis 

 which forms a kind of flask, on the inner surface of which a numbei* 

 of flowers are arranged. The flowers at the bottom of the flask come 

 to maturity first, those near its mouth being younger in point of deve- 

 lopment. These flower-bearing axes are called ' Figs ' or * Receptacles.' 

 They vary in colour, form, size, and in the situation which they occupy 

 on the plant. The hollow receptacle has walls of more or less fleshy 

 texture, and its mouth is occupied by rows of bracts which, in the 

 majority of cases, so interlock as practically to close it. The lower of 

 these bracts often bend downwards into the cavity of the receptacle, 

 curving round the upper flowers ; the middle bracts are more or less 

 horizontal in direction ; while those towards the upper or outer part of 

 the mouth project therefrom, so as to be visible externally and to form 

 a more or less prominent apical umbilicus. In a few. species, the mouth 

 is surrounded externally by a more or less clearly defined annulus 

 formed of coalesced bracts. So much for the receptacle. I may be 

 permitted to quote the following description of the flowers contained 

 in it from my forthcoming monograph on the Indo-Malayan and Chinese 

 species of the genus, and from a paper sent to the Linngean Society of 

 London. 



" The flowers, which are mostly unisexual, are situated on the inner 

 walls of the receptacle. They may be either sessile or pedicillate. In 

 some species they are separated from each other by scales or bracteoles, 

 and in others by hairs, both of which appendages appear to be analogous 

 to the paletB that are found on the receptacles of many Composite. In 

 other species the flowers lie close together, unseparated by any inter- 

 vening appendages. Five kinds of flowers are found in the genus, viz., 

 male, pseudo-hermaphrodite, neuter, fertile female, and gall flowers. 

 The structure of each of these is very simple. The male flowers consist 

 of a perianth of from three to five pieces, which, although sometimes 



