]\I:ilvaeeae. 



of moths wliieli feed on the leaves and also mature capsules. Mv. (jferrit Wilder, 

 however, sneeeeded in i^rowint;' a few plants from healthy seeds collected by the 

 writer. 



THESPESIA Cnrr. 



rm'oliicral bracts 3 to •". small. (.'alyx not puuctate, usually oup-sliaped and trun- 

 pate. Staniinal column aiitlioriferous below the tootlied apex. Ovary .5-celled, with few 

 asi-enilini; ovules in each cell; style club-shaped, ."i-grooved. Oajisule woody or coriaceous, 

 almost b.accate, dehiscent or almost indehiscent. Seeds woolly; cotyledons black-punc- 

 tate. — Trees with entire leines. Flowers large, single in the axils of the leaves. 



This .uenus possesses only a few speei(.'s in tropical Asia and Polynesia. T. 

 p(>liiilii(a ( L. ) C'orr., the Hawaiian Milo. is a cosmopolitan lieach-tree, occurring' 

 in trojiical Africa, Asia and Polynesia; in Hawaii it is not as common now as 

 in till' early days. 



Thespesia populnea (Lj. Corr. 

 Milo. 



THESPESIA POPULNEA (L.) t'orr. in Ann. Mus. Par. IX. (1S07) 290, t. 8. fig. 2;— 

 DC Prodr. I. (1S24) 4.17 ; — H. et A. I-!ot. Beech. (1832) 60;— Endl. Fl. Suds 

 (1836) 182. no. 1 .".06;— Gray Bot. U. S. K. E. (1854) 179;— Seem. PI. Vit, (186"i) 

 18;— Mann in I'roc. Ess. Inst. \'. (1S67) 140;— Mrs. Sincl. Indig. Plow. Haw. Isl. 

 (188.3) pi. 10;- Hbd. Fl. Haw. Isl. (IsSS) 40;- Del Cast. 111. Fl. Ins. Mar. Pa.'. 

 YT. (18911) 119;— Brigham Ka liana Kapa, Mem. B. P. B. Mus.. 111. (1911) 13.5.— 

 Hibiscus populneus I^inn. Spec. pi. ed. I. (17.13) 694. — H. bacciferus Forst. Prodr. 

 (1786) no. 260. 



Leaves roundish, conlate, acuminate entii'e, 10 to 12. ."J cm in diameter, glabrous; 

 pedunides as long as the petioles; invoUicral bracts lanceolate ecjualling the calyx, soon 

 deciduous; calyx truncate 12 mm; petals obovate-oblong .1 cm, yellow; capsule globose, 24 

 to 311 mm in diameter, almost woody, very tardily dehiscent; seed 8 mm, villous at the 

 ba^e and angles. 



The Milo, like the Ilaii. is a tree not uncommonly found along the saud.v 

 heaches on all the islands. Its lialiit of growth is, however, different, as it 

 develoi)s a straight trunk of often 2 feet or more in diameter, with a thick cor- 

 rugated Lark. 



It is a favorite shade tree, reaching a height of over 40 feet, and is often 

 phintcd. The name Milo occurs also in Tonga, Samoa, and Tahiti for the same 

 trrc, while it is called Mini in Rarotonga and Mulo in Viti. 



Ilillclirand in his Flora p. ')0 remarks that the tree was i-egarded sacred in 

 TaliHi and ustxl to Ik^ planted in i\Iorais or temples and its leaves were employed 

 ill religious ceremonies. That the tree w'as held in high esteem hy the Ilawaiians 

 is shown ))\- the fact tliat several of them surrounded the house of King Kame- 

 hameiia I. at Waikiki. 



The \vood of the Milo is very Ijeautiful, lieing of a rich brown color and 

 ca]ialile of taking ;l tine [jolisli. It is made into poi calahashes by the natives, 

 and is liiuhly prized, though not so much as those of the less common Kou, 

 (Cordia subcordafa) . 



302 



