Beccari and Rock — Pritchardia. 41 



slightly woolly; but for them the lower surface is quite glabrous, slightly paler 

 than the upper, and not powdery-waxy; ligula triangular, acute; spathes nearly 

 glabrous. Flozvers a little smaller than in type, 7 mm. long, 3 mm. through; 

 staminal ring not protruding above the calyx. Floriferous branchlets 5-7 cm. 

 long. The not thoroughly mature fruits are obovate, distinctly narrowed to the 

 base, 20-22 mm. long, 16-17 mm. through. 



Habitat. — Professor Rock's field note to this palm rvms thus : "This rather 

 small palm comes from the driest district of the Island of Hawaii. It grows 

 among lava rocks by the sea in North Kona at Kiholo, it has small leaves and a 

 short trunk, the palms being about 10-12 feet in height. The plants are exceed- 

 ingly old, as was testified by some of the natives. Kiholo is considered one of 

 the driest regions of Hawaii, with a rainfall of only a few inches a year." 

 (Rock No. 12797 in Herb. Becc.) 



Obscrz'atious. — The immature fruits are exactly like those of ecjual degree 

 of maturity of var. rlwpalocarpa and really it may be considered as a subvariety 

 of the latter. Its smaller stature may be set down to the less favorable conditions 

 of its environment, in comparison with those plants, which are living in less 

 exposed situations and in richer soil in the cooler and more humid forests of the 

 mountain slopes. The lack of lepidia may be considered also as a consequence of 

 the climate. 



8. PRITCHARDIA LANAIENSIS Becc. et Rock, sp. n. 



(Plates V,^; XXIV, F) 



Subhumilis. Folia aiiipla, utrinqiie virentia, sitbtns Icpidiis minutis pitnctiformibits vel 

 angustissiine liiiearibns ferrngincis crcbiusciilc conspersa. Rainuli tiorifcri gracilcs. Flores 

 fere regidariter bifarie alterni, cum inaperti angusti, calyce coriaceo-suhcarnoso campanulato 

 venoso, basi nonnihil attcnuato, ibique vix calloso, petalis striato-costiilatis. Fructus exacte 

 sphaericus, 2 cm. diam. ■Perianthium frnctifermn non pedicelliforme fere explanatum. 



Description. — Apparently very similar in general aspect to Pr. Hillcbrandi 

 but perhaps of smaller stature. Leaf blade thinly coriaceous or thickly charta- 

 ceous, up to 1.20 m. long from the ligula to apex, entire to about the middle in its 

 central part, almost equally green on both surfaces, but closely spotted underneath 

 with small, unequal, punctiform, or very narrowly-linear, rusty lepidia ; central 

 segments 4 cm. broad at their disjtmction, parted into two very gradually acumi- 

 nate rather stiff points; the lateral segments narrower, more deeply parted, and 

 with slender, longer, and apparently drooping points. Petiole about 3.5 cm. 

 broad at apex, covered, on the lower surface with a felted light-colored and pink- 

 ish wool, which also extends profusely on the dorsum of the lower costae, and in 

 a minor degree to the upper ones. Entire spadix not seen by me (composed of 

 only one or more inflorescences?); the inflorescences at hand have a peduncular 

 part as thick as a man's little finger when sheathed by the bases of the spathes; 

 the latter (3-5) are imbricate, tubular in their lower part and suddenly expand 

 into deeply concave ass's ear-like, rigid, chartaceous, very soon glabrous, shortly 



