Kutarc^ir. 



The ^\■l•it('^ did licit iiicct witli this phiiit in the forests of ^laniia Kea, Imt on 

 the shipes of Alaiuia Loa at about riOOO feet elevation the writer eoHccted speei- 

 iiieiis of a I'i'h'a whieh reseiiiljles ^'ery nmeh the aliove sjieeies. The leaves are 

 ipiaternate instead of ternate. are sulisessile and ver>' sliuhtly aurieulate ; they are, 

 however, deeidedly pnnetate and so are the deeply-parted eapsriles whieh answer 

 well ( lra\' 's deseription. It is an erect shruli or small tree with strai.^'ht aseendin.n' 

 ))ranelies; trunk alioiit 3 inches in diameter; leaves i|naternate snhsessile; tlowers 

 arranged in fascicles as in /' clusiarfolid ; female flowers: sepals acuminate, 

 petals linear olilon^. acute, little loiiucr than the sejials; the 8 stamens short, 

 riidimentar\'. little higher than the i;lalu-ons ovar>' : style filiform. 2 nmi, with 

 thickened clavate i-lolied sti.nma. 



It is still somewhat doulitfnl if this iilaiit is actually I' auricidacfdlid, as there 

 is no description of either fertile or sterile flowers liiven hy Uray, who had only a 

 friiitiiiL;- specimen. As the leaves are very varialile in the Hawaiian Pelea, the 

 [ilant colleeted on the sloix^s of jNIanna Loa by the writer seems to l)e best at 

 present refera1)le to this sjjecies. 



Colleeted flowering and fruiting in the forests above Naalehn, Kau, Hawaii, 

 Jaiinar,\' l:i, V.n2- no. l(l()12. 



On ^lolokai occur several Pelea with cpiaternate leaves, resembling this one in 

 ipiestion. Imt are more affiliated with /'- chisiaefoVta than with P aurivularfolia. 



Pelea microcarpa Heller. 

 Kuhu'uiKia. 



PELEA MICROCARPA Heller I'l. Haw. Isl. jNtinnes. Bot. Stiul. TX. (IsiiT) S39, pi. 49, 

 A MiKill tic'c with stout trunk and grayisli liark; liranehes more or less curved up- 

 ■\vardb; lea\"es in threes or ciiiaternate, near the ends of the lir.-oiehes, on llattened, some- 

 \vh;it hirsute petioles of 'i to •-I.-"i> cm, obovate-obloug, or s]iathulate, rounded at the ajiex 

 and i-etuse, <[uite g'lalirous alioN'e, jmbescent l)elow, es])eeially along the midrib, S to 14 

 cm long', 4 to <i cm wiile, cori.aceous, 0]iacpie, the seconilai'V \eins parallel, at almost right 

 .angles to the midiil), united by an iutranjargiiial nerve which is very close to the edge; 

 Jlowers all .along the naked laaoudies, in the a.xiis of fallen lea\'es; peduncles exceedingly 

 short, a!)Oiit I mm. li to M flowered, jiedicels stontish 2 mm; sepals ovate a.aite, 3 mm, 

 ;i!)Out as bioad as high, pedals t\vice the length of sepals, acute, stamens .S, 4 protruding 

 I'roni the loKdI.a, 4 smaller, half tlie lengtli, or of unei|U.al length, on liroad filaments; 

 style \ery short less tlian 1 mm. \vitli a veiy indistin(dly 4 nofidied stigma, capsule snuill, 

 cuboid. S to HI nun in diameter, merely notched or slightly lobed, glabrous. 



This tree, 10 to 1;') feet high, is called Kukaiiiioti by the natives. It is ipiite 

 common in the f(a-ests of Kalioluamaiio, Kauai, at an elevation of ,'](iOII to 41.100 

 feet and iuhaliits the s\\'anipy forests tog(dher willi I'rU (i Kaualriisls. It was 

 (ii'st diseovered ))y Heller. The writer I'ound the tree (|iiite numei-ous and eol- 

 lected flowei-iug and fruiting specimens at ditferent times (no. 5G21, iSei)teiiiber ti, 

 11)00. and no. 2010 flo\\'ei-iiig at Halemanu. Kauai). 



Were it not for the siiiall eiiboid capsules the i)laiit could be mislakeii for 

 J'iha srijiiiliii fiiliii. of whi(.-li Hillelirand omits the desei'iption of its fruits, while 

 i\hiiiii says the immature capsule is puberulent and dei'ply four-grooved. 



The iiati\a' name of this species. Avlliell means "cliirl-'eu droppings," originated 



220 



