Beccari and Rock — Pritchardia. 43 



alterni et in extremitate ramulorum subdislici, parvi, acuminati, calyce campanulato venoso, 

 basi carnoso. Fructus parvus. Perianthium fnictiferum suhdepressum, calyce calloso. 



Description. — One of the smallest, if not actually the smallest species, as 

 far as can be guessed from the fragmentary specimens seen by me. Leaf blade 

 about 65 cm. in length from the ligula to the apex, undivided to about the 

 middle in its central part, and with the periphery cut into about 50 segments, 

 chartaceous, equally green, and closely striated by sharp secondary and tertiary 

 nerves on both surfaces ; the lower surface dotted, rather closely, with orbicular 

 very minute, not fringed, hyaline lepidia ; the central and largest segments 3 cm. 

 broad at their disjunction places, and divided into two gradually acuminate elongate 

 points ; the costae ha\'e been apparently slightly cottony in the newly expanded 

 leaves, but are later glabrous on both surfaces. Petiole glabrous, shorter than the 

 blade, (40 cm. long and 2 cm. broad at apex in one specimen). Spadix slender, 

 50-55 cm. long and with one panicle only (the specimen at hand is entire) ; 

 spathes ass's ear-like, acuminate, chartaceous, fissile, very fugaceously slightly 

 floccose; the flowering panicle is about 15 cm. long, rather densely twice 

 branched in its lower part, and simply above ; florif erous branchlets glabrous, 

 slender 5-7 cm. long, about i mm. through (about 2 mm. at the fruiting time) 

 slightly sinuous between the flowers. Floral bracteoles extremely fine, setiform, 

 soon deciduous. Flozcers spirally alternate in the lower part of the branchlets, 

 nearly bifarious above; before expansion they are lanceolate in general outline 

 and acuminate, 7 mm. long, 3 mm. through ; calyx of a subfleshy-coriaceous 

 structure, campanulate, somewhat thickened at the base, very minutety 3-toothed, 

 distinctlv marked (when dry) by several veins converging to the teeth; corolla 

 twice as long as the calyx; the segments narrowly triangular, acuminate, very 

 sharply striately-veined outside; staminal ring, at the anthesis time, produced 

 considerably above the calyx; filaments extremely fine, deciduous after anthesis; 

 anthers narrowly lanceolate-sagittate, bluntish; ovary turbinate, sculptured above 

 and narrowed into a rather elongate trigonous sulcate style; stigmata punctiform. 

 Fruit apparentlv small, but not seen mature; in the early period of development 

 is ovoid-elliptical and not quite i cm. long. The fruiting perianth has a rather 

 thickened callous calyx and the remains of the corolla tube and annular ring 

 spreading. 



Habitat. — The Hawaiian Islands. Professor Rock sent me recently (July 

 IQ18) the specimen of this small Pritchardia. collected in the Valley of lao in 

 the west part of the Island of Maui, where it was growing on the steep cliffs near 

 the entrance of the broad valley, on the right side, at an elevation of 550 m. or 

 less (Rock n°. 14077)- 



Observations. — It is perhaps the smallest of all known Pritchardias, very 

 characteristic on account of its small and quite glabrous leaves, green, sharply and 

 finely striately secondary and tertiary nerves on both surfaces, having the lower 

 surface dotted with small orbicular hyaline lepidia, visible only by the aid of a 

 lens. The spadix is also glabrous; the panicle rather densely branched; the florif- 

 erous branchlets slender ; the unopened flowers acuminate ; the calyx campanulate 

 sharply veined; the petals also sharply striate. The fruit is certainly small and 



