Nyetaginaeeae. 



Pisonia umbellifera (Forst.) Seem. 

 Papala kepau. 



PISONIA UMBELLIFERA (Porst.) Seem, in Bonpl. X. (1862) 154;— et Fl. Vit. (1866) 

 195;— Nadeaud, Enum. Tahit. PI. (1873) no. 326;— Hbd. Fh Haw. Isl. (1888) 

 368;— Del Cast. 111. Fl. Ins. Mar. Pac. VII (1892)268, et Fl. Polyn. Franc. (1893) 

 157;— Heller PI. Haw. Isl. (1897) 823.— Ceodes umbellifera Forst. Charaet. Gen. 

 (1776) 141, t. 71.— C. umbellata Forst. Prodr. (1786) no. 569.— Pisonia excelsa 

 Blume, Bijdr. (1825) 735;— Choisy in DC. Prodr. XIII. 2. (1849) 441;— H. Mann 

 Proc. Am. Acad. VII (1867) 198.— P. macrocarpa Presl. Symb. (1833) t. 56.— P. 

 Forsteriana Endl. In Herb. Meyen ex Schauer et Walp. Nov. Act. Nat. Cnr. XIX., 

 Suppl. (1843) 403 t. 51.— P. Sinclair! Hook. f. Fl. New Zeal. I. (1853) 209 t. 50.— 

 P. Mooreana F. Muller Fragm. I. (1858-59) 20. 

 Branches large and stiff with long interno'des; leaves broadly obovate, eimeate at 

 the base, obtuse or shortly acuminate but sometimes broad at the base and suborbieular, 

 12 to 26 cm long, 8 to 13 cm wide, on petioles of about 12 mm, fleshy, the upper ones 

 crowded in a whorl at the internodes of the branches, the lower sub-opposite; inflorescence 

 terminal, subumbellate, one or several peduncles rising from the apex of a branch, divid- 

 ing at or near the apex into loose umbel or contracted panicle; perigone greenish to yel- 

 lowish, smooth, with the limb 5-fid; fruiting pedicels of 6 to 18 mm, obtusely 5-ribbed, 

 viscid, but smooth; utricle 1/2 to 2/3 the length of the perigone. 



A low tree 15 to 30 feet high, common on most of the islands, inhabiting- the 

 forests of the lower regions. On Oahu it is a common feature of the vegetation 

 back of Tantalus and adjoining valleys. Unlike the other species, it is moisture 

 loving, and forms large clumps in the valleys on the windward side, where the 

 rainfall is very large. Logs of this tree, which the writer collected for wood 

 specimens, shriveled to such an extent that it was impossible to recognize them 

 afterward, resembling the stems of shriveled banana plants. Trunks of a foot 

 in diameter can be felled with one stroke of the axe. It is of a very wide geo- 

 graphical distribution, ranging from Polynesia to Australia and the Philippines. 

 On Oahu it is found at an elevation of 200 to 1600 feet, and possibly higher. It 

 is very difficult to find good specimens on account of an insect which feeds on the 

 leaves, and thus most of the trees have a very ungainly appearance. 



Pisonia sandwicensis Hbd. 



Aulu on Kauai. 



(Plate 51.) 



PISONIA SANDWICENSIS Hbd. Fl. Haw. Isl. (1888) 369;— Heimerl in Engl, et Prantl 

 Pflzfam. III. 1. b. (1889) 29;— Heller PL Haw. Isl. (1897) 823.— Pisonia umbelli- 

 fera Del Cast. 111. Fl. Ins. Mar. Pac. VII (1892) 268 (ex parte) et Fl. Polyn. 

 Franc. (1893) 157. 



Leaves thick coriaceous 10 to 30 cm long, 6 to 15 cm wide, on petioles of 3 to 5 cm, 

 ovate oblong, obtuse or rounded or bluntly acute at the apex, often even emarginate, the 

 base rounded, the ribs and veins prominent; peduncles in the axils of the uppermost 

 leaves, 3 to 6 cm long, dividing in few short rays, forming a globose head of about 5 cm 

 in diam., flowers sessile; male perigone 5 to 6 mm, deeply parted into 5 to 6 obtuse lobes; 

 stamens 18 to 20, long exserted, twice the length of the perigone; female perigone tubular, 

 style exserted, fringed along its upper clavate portion; fruiting perigone (mature) 4 cm 

 long, ovoid-cylindrical, crowned with the lobes of the limb and style; not muricate, but 

 faintly many ribbed. 



The Aulu, as the tree is called on Kauai, is a tall tree, reaching a height 

 of 50 to 60 feet, with usually 2 to 3 trunks of 1 to 2 feet in diameter, rising from 



145 

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