Flacourtiaceae-Thymelaeaeeae. 



ciliate, disc 4-lobed; female flowers: sepals 4, oeeasionally 5, stigma 2-lobed, on a short 

 style; placentas (2, rarely 3), each with 3 pendulous ovules; fruit subglobose to obovoid, 

 beaked with the permanent style.. 



This tree, which is also called Maua by the natives, is to be found on all the 

 islands of the group, with the exception of Oahu and Kauai. It differs mainly 

 from its cogener in its leaves, which are not entire, but crenate. It is a much 

 smaller tree in certain localities, only reaching a height of 10 to 15 feet, pre- 

 fering the very dry lands on the leeward sides of Lanai, Molokai, Hawaii, and 

 Maui. On the latter island on the southern slopes of Haleakala, and on Hawaii 

 in the rain forest of Kau, it reaches its best development: there have been ob- 

 served trees 40 feet in height with a trunk of over one foot in diameter. This 

 Maua presents a very poor appearance on the west end of Molokai, where in- 

 dividual trees are still to be found on the slopes of Mahana valley. Windswept 

 and stunted, it stands as a relic of by-gone days, the remnant of what was once 

 a beautiful forest. Its associates. Gardenia Brighami (Nau), Reynoldsia sand- 

 wiceiisis (Ohe), Kokia drynarioides (Kokio), and others, of which only a 

 few are left, have experienced a similar fate, and in time not far hence will be 

 things of the past. On Hawaii, it grows on the aa (rough) lava fields of Puu- 

 waawaa and Huehue, North Kona, and Kawaihaeiuka (2000 feet), and at an 

 elevation of 4000 feet on the slopes of Mauna Loa on the land of Keauhou near 

 Kilauea volcano. Here the tree is larger and of similar size to the Maua of 

 Kauai and Oahu. On Lanai it ma^y be found on the dry ridges as well as on the 

 flat land of Kaa, where a peculiar forest of an area of perhaps 30 acres has with- 

 stood the ravages of cattle and sheep, but, as on Molokai, is rapidly succumbing. 

 On Maui it grows above Makawao and on the southern slopes of the crater of 

 Haleakala on the lava field of Auahi. district of Kahikinui, at a height of 2600 

 feet above sea level. Both Mauas blossom usually in midsummer, but no par- 

 ticular month can be stated, as the flowering period varies greatly according to 

 locality and environment. 



This species is closely related to the Tahitian Xylosma suaveolens Forst., 

 while the other Maua approaches very closely Xylosma orbicidatum from 

 the Viti, Marquesas, and Tongan islands. 



This species is quite variable. Specimens from the west of Molokai are quite 

 distinct from those of East Maui, above Makawao; from the latter place the 

 racemes are the longest in any specimen of this species, being 25 to 30 mm long 

 on the naked branch below the leaves, while in those from Molokai the racemes 

 are very short and axillary only. In regard to the leaves, the crenation differs 

 very much also, some having almost entire leaves. 



THYMELAEACEAE. 



The family Thymelaeaceae is a rather small one, consisting of 37 genera with 

 about 455 species. With the exception of the Polar zones, the family is dis- 

 tributed over the whole globe, and ranges from Terra del Fuego to Canada, 



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