Rutaeeae. 



sldpcs of ^launa Loa at an elevation of 4000 feet, in the Kipnka Puaulu, near 

 the Volcano Kilanea on Hawaii. Onl)- two trees were observed; both were of 

 the same size, ationt 40 feet in height, with stout, inigainly looking, ascending 

 branches. Collected flowering and fruiting July 20, 1911. Type is no. 10208 in 

 the College of Hawaii Herbarium. 



Xanthoxylum dipetalum jMann. var. y libd. 

 Kairau on Kauai. 



XANTHOXYLUM DIPETALUM Maiiii. v;ir, -y tllid. Fl. Uaw. Isl. 1. c. p.;— Wawia in 

 Flora (1S73) ]3;i. — Connarus ? Kauaiensis ilann Froc Am. Acail. A'lT. (FS(i7) l(i2. 



Leaves on sliort [■etioles of 1 em, 3 to 1 foliolate, with tlie supplementary pair of 

 ttipellif jrm leaflets liesiiles, obovate-oblong, tliiek coriaeeoiis and quite opaque, with prqnii- 

 I'ent veins and a ilistim-t intramargiual nerve; ijanicdcs as in the speeies, few flowered; 

 female flo^^ers: sep.-ils 4, 1 mm long, rounded, jjuberulous, as are the I laneeolate petals; 

 stamens wantini,'. ovary ylalirons, styles aiijiareutly two, but not distinct as in var. 

 (/(■iiiiiiii-iiriiiiiii, ajijiearing only to be grooved, united at the apex )iy a broad, flat, orbicu- 

 lar, grooved stigma; male flowers: petals 2, ovoid, smaller, only two-thirds the lengtli of 

 the female flower, anthers 4, less than half the length of the petals, -.'y mm, including 

 the II. ,1 mm long filament, ovary rudimentary; follicle single, 3 em long, including the (i 

 mm long acumen at the ajiex, slightly pitted, woody; seed ovoid, 2 em, the hard woody 

 testa coN'ereil with a black, shining, thin and brittle epiilermis, the raphe extending its 

 entire lengtli; cotyledons thick fleshy, ]ilauo-convex, the radicde very short and enclosed. 



This exceedingly interesting tree reaches a height of more than 30 feet with a 

 trunk of often i)ver a foot in diameter. It favors the outskirts of the forests 

 on the lee«'ard side of Kauai, especially at Kahohfamano and Ilalemanu above 

 Waimea at an elevation of 3600 to 4000 feet. It is found in company with 

 J'lUd ajiisala. Bobca 2!an)ui. I'dca Kauaiensis, Elarocurpns hifidus. Cyaiica Icpto- 

 sfcfjiii, Tiiraplasandra Waiineae, tiidcroxyloti sandwicciisr. Alphitonia excelsa, 

 Ft(r(if)-(ipia liauaioisis, and others which make up this very interesting mixed 

 forest. 



On Kauai, to which island this tree is peculiar, its trunk was in great demand 

 for lapa or 1,'apa logs or anvils on ^\'hich the strips of the ivaulic bark were beaten. 

 The yellowish -wood of this tree was especially in favor with the natives on ac- 

 count of the resonant tones it produced when struck with a tapa beater made of 

 soiue of the hard woods, such as UliiuJii, Kauila, and others. The sound of the 

 tapa beating \\'ould be heard from valley to valle>-, and constituted a regular 

 SA'stem of comimuiication by means of a code. 



This Kawau tree, or as it is also termed Kaicaii kita lulu l.rjpa, is the subject of 

 a iiiclr or old Hawaiian song, which begins thus: "MeJic Kawau lala ale i la 

 )H(iaiia. etc." As the Kawau so is the sound of the ocean. The old natives evi- 

 tleutly had reference to the sounds produced by the pounding surf, which can 

 lie heard for a long distance, and compared it with the resonant sound produced 

 when beating tapa on the Kawau log. According to Mr. Francis Gay of Kauai, 

 the natives of that island preferred this tree to any other for the above deseribeil 

 j)uri)ose. 



210 



