Beccari and Rock — Prifchardia. 69 



one had three green fruits adhering to an otherwise bare panicle. The largest of 

 these fruits is obovoid, about 28 mm. long and about 20 mm. in diameter; the 

 seed was still soft and easily cut, showing that the fruit was quite immature. 

 Rock No. 17349 in the College of Hawaii Herbarium. 



25. PRITCHARDIA ERIOSTACHYA Becc. in Webbia, IV. (1913) 209, 232; 

 Rock, Indig. Trees Haw. Isls. (1913) 107, PL 33. 



(Plates XVII, B: XXII, /) 



Description. — A small tree, 6 to 7 m. high with a gray smooth trunk of 

 15 to 20 cm. in diameter (Rock). Leaf blade about i m. long from the ligula to 

 the apex, of a thickish, rather coriaceous structure, subtomentose underneath 

 from nearly confluent, hyaline, scale like, ciliate fringed lepidia; the lower costae 

 also tomentose, at least near the base; central segments relatively short, 6 cm. 

 broad at their disjunction places, and parted for the extent of about 10 cm. into 

 two acuminate rigid points. Petioles, 75 cm. to i m. long, robust; ligula rounded, 

 oblong. Spadices over i m. long, composed of a relatively small panicle at the 

 end of a rather thick peduncular part. The spathes are clothed all over with a 

 dense, rufous, nearly salmon-colored wool, are tubular in their lower part, and 

 expand above into a lanceolate-acuminate ass's ear-like, chartaceous blade. The 

 rachis and the panicle are also densely clothed with rufous wool ; the panicle pro- 

 trudes a little beyond the apices of the spathes, is erect during the anthesis, dense, 

 ovate-thyrsoid, 20-25 cm. long, and has a few short 3-4 partite branches in its 

 basal part, and simple floriferous branchlets in the remainder; branchlets fastigiate, 

 6-7 cm. long, appearing thick from the dense wool with which they are covered, 

 6-7 mm. thick at the base, tapering above to acute apices, are slightly sinuous 

 between the flowers which are spirally inserted all around on small projecting 

 tubercles. Floral bracts broad and scarious at the base, with a long setiform, 

 finally obsolete tip. Flozvers (unopened) lo-ii mm. long; calyx cylindraceous, 

 of a hard nearly woody texture, very shortly 3-toothed, 5 mm. long, 4 mm. through 

 at the base, which is solid internally and excavate below, obsoletely veined only 

 towards the teeth; corolla twice as long as the calyx, narrowed above and sub- 

 acute ; the segments very obsoletely marked by 6-7 narrow striae ; staminal ring 

 slightly projecting above the calyx; filaments setiform from a broad base; anthers 

 linear-sagittate, blunt; ovary turbinate, deeply sculptured above, conically nar- 

 rowed into a trigonous sulcate, thickish style; stigmas punctiform. The frnif, 

 when still young, is obovate, rounded above, and apiculate from the rather con- 

 spicuous remains of the sterile carpels and style; it narrows from about the 

 middle to a rather acute base; when thoroughly mature, it is ovoid-elliptical, or 

 slightly obovoid, 3.5-4 cm. long (including the perianth), and 26-28 mm. through; 

 the whole pericarp is 2.5-3 i"*"^"^- thick, thicker at the base; mesocarp grumous, 

 traversed by extremely fine fibers ; endocarp very thinly woody, brittle. Seed very 

 broadly ovoid, rounded at both ends. Fruiting perianth callous, depressedly pedi- 

 celliform, 6 mm. broad, 4 mm. high. 



Habitat. — Discovered in January, 1912, by Professor Rock on Hawaii, on 

 the southern slopes of the active volcano, Mauna Loa, and in the dense rain 



