292 CLiv. DiosoOBBACE^. (J. D. HookeT.) \^Dioseorea. 



India, Heyne. Cetlon, Walker, S(c. 



Branches very slender, terete. Unarmed. Leaves 2-4 by f— 2 in., obtusely acumi- 

 nate, thin, obscurely margined, base cuneate or rounded rarely subcordate. Male 

 spikes 3-8 in., rarely branched ; bracts ovate ; flowers yV ^^- diam., solitary, sessile ; 

 segments erect, coiicxve, elliptic, obtuse ; filameuts rather slender, anthers didy- 

 mous. Gapsvle IJ in. diam., subquadrate, retuse at top and bottom, glabrous, 

 shining. Seeds winged all round. — I follow Thwaites in referring the Ceylon 

 plant to Both'.s very insufficiently described J), spicafa, of which I have seen no 

 specimens. Thwaites' specimens of D. oppositifoUa (0. P. 2302) in Herb. Kew are 

 certainly this ; but as oppositifoUa is a Ceylon plant, the error probably arises from 

 a misplacement of tickets. 



** Male spikes whorled in axillary and terminal panicles. 



t Leaves cuneate or rounded at the base, rarely retuse never deeply 

 cordate. 



§ Leaves more or less pubescent beneath, or glabrous in D. oppositifolia. 



11. D. pyrifolia, Kunth JEnum. v. 384; leaves mostly opposite 

 orbicular or broadly oblong 5-nerved coriaceous more or less finely (not 

 stellately) pubescent beneatb, male spikes l-lj in. spreading, anthers 

 subsessile, pistillode minute. 



Tenasserim, Kelfer {Kew iAstrih. 5538). Singapoke, Wallidi. Maxacca, 

 (not Philippine Islands), Cuming (No. 2314), Griffith (K. d. 5562), Maingay {K. d. 

 1705), Servey. 



Branches terete, glabrous or puberulous. Leaves 2-4 by 1^-3 in., acuminate or 

 cuspidate, base rounded or retuse, reticulate beneath ; petiole ^-1 in. Spiies 

 glabrous; flowers -jSj—^ in. diam., globose ; sepals orbicular-oblong ; petals cuneate- 

 obovate ; anthers very small. Capsule broader than long, cordate at base and top. 

 Seeds J-1 in. diam. — Kunth erred in assuming this to be one of Cuming's Philippine 

 plants. 



12. D. orbiculata^ Hook, in Serb. ; leaves mostly opposite orbicular 

 5-nerved stellately pubescent towards the base beneath, male spikes 

 li-2 in. spreading, flowers very minute, anthers subsessile, pistillode 

 minute. D. sativa, Wall. Cat. 5108 0. 



Pehanq ; Philipp ; on Govt. Hill, Curtis. 



Very near D. pyrifolia, but the leaves are smaller, not coriaceous, and at once 

 distinguished by the stellate hairs beneath, the petals also are elliptic. — Pem. fl. and 

 fruit unknown. 



13. D. oppositifolia, Linn. Sp. PI. 1033; glabrous or sparsely 

 pubescent, or panicles tomentose, leaves mostly opposite from lanceolate 

 to elliptic-oblong ovate or orbicular strongly 3-5-nerved coriaceous with a 

 cartilaginous margin, male spikes short rarely 1 in. spreading, anther 

 large, pistillode minute. Kunth Enum. 390 ; Wall. Cat. 5104 ; Roxb. Fl. 

 Ind. iii. 804 ; Wight Ic. t. 813 ; Dalz. & Oibs. Bomb. Fl. 247. D. glabra. 

 Wall. Oat. 5105 D, E. D. trinervia, Boxb. mss. D. lanceolata, Serb. 

 Seyne. D. coriacea, Serb. Wight. 



Tropical India, from Assam, Siihet and Chittaqong, southwards to Cetlon. 



A large climber, branches terete, unarmed. Leaves 3-5 by 1-3 in., with a well- 

 detined cartilaginous margin ; petiole ^1 in., stout. Male spikes rather stout, 

 usually dense-fld. ; flowers rather large, -Jg in. diam., but variable in size, sessile, 

 globose ; sepals orbicular ; petals obovate ; filameuts rather long. Capsule 

 1^-2^ in. diam., retuse or almost 2-lobed at the top, coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds 

 |-1^ in. diam., wing very broad. 



