Lasianthera.] xxxix. olacine^. (Maxwell T. Masters.) 585 



dilated above, slightly hairy in front beneath the anther, densely so behind. Hypogy- 

 vous disk cup-shaped, more or leas 5-lobed, lobes opposite the petals. Ovary half the 

 length of the stamens, ovoid, rugulose ; style conic, stigma minute. Fruit unknown. 



3. Zi. nZaln^ayl, Mast. ; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate acute or sub- 

 acuminate, base acute, fruit small ovoid obtuse. 



Malacca, Maingay. 



A shrub about 4 ft. (Maingay). .Branches virgate. Leaves 2-3 by |-1 in., coriaceous, 

 glabrous ; petiole \ in. Peduncle axillary, about the length of the petiole, dichotomou', 

 ultimate pedicels drooping, shorter than the flowers. Flowers pendulous, J in. Male fl. : 

 Calyx minute, cup-shaped, 4-5 toothed, teeth shallow acute. Petals 4-5, much exceed- 

 ing the calyx, free, coriaceous, oblong-acuminate, (acumen inflexed,) glabrous on both 

 surfaces or slightly pilose within, midrib prominent on the inner surface* Stamens 4-5, 

 filaments flat, with a tuft of hairs at the back curving over the anther. Pistil rudimen- 

 tary. Female fl. : Fruit ^-^ in., 1-celled, l-seeded. 



4. Zi. t lanceolata, Mast. ; leaves lanceolate pointed at both ends, 

 cymes terminal, petals free villous internally. 



Malacca, Mt. Ophir, Griffith. 



Leaves 4-5 by |-1 in., glabrous ; petiole \ in. Cymes terminal, half the length 

 of the leaf ; peduncle trichotomous ; pedicels divaricate, densely tomentose, shorter 

 than the flower. Flower-bvds clavate. Flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx cup-shaped, 

 Moothed. Pet(ds 4r-5, ultimately free, lanceolate, inflexed at the apex and marked 

 with a prominent nerve. Stamens 4^5, filaments flat, shorter than the petals, pilose 

 in front beneath the anther, densely so behind, hairs curling over the anther. 

 Ova/ry ovoid, conical ; style short, stigma minute. — This may be a fonn of some 

 Qomphandra. 



13. GOnZFSANDRA, Wall. 



Trees. Leaves alternate, petioled, simple, 1-nerved. Cymes axillary, ter- 

 minal or opposite the leaves. Flowers dichlamydeous, hermaphrodite, or 

 polygamo-dioecious. Calyx minute, cup-shaped, 4-5-lobed. Corolla cam- 

 panulate, 4-5-lobed ; lobes acuminate, inflexed, rarely entirely free, midrib 

 prominent within. Stamens 5, hypogynous, alternate with the petals, fila- 

 ments thick, dilated above, hairy at the back, hollowed in front to receive 

 the anthers ; anthers pendulous from the filiform apex of the filament, 

 2-lobed, dehiscing lengthwise ; poUen-grains triangular. Hypogynous disk 

 thick, annular or 0. Ovary effete in the male, oblong in the female flower, 

 1-celled ; style conic, stigma minute or style crowned by a stigmatiferous 

 disk ; ovules 2, collateral, pendulous, funicle dilated into an " obturator. ' 

 i^'raii drupaceous, surmounted by the remains of the disk (stigma?), stone 

 crastaceous. Seed pendulous, surrounded by the raphe, albumen fleshy 

 bipartite ; embryo minute.— Distkib. Species 5-6, natives of tropical Asia. 



Owing to the frequently unisexual flowers and the imperfection of the materials, great 

 confusion exists in books as to the characters and limitations of the genera Gompharir 

 dra and Stemonurus. This arises chiefly from the difficulty of determining and core- 

 lating the variations in the structure of the ovary. In some cases, in the male flowers, 

 there is a rudimentary pistil with a subulate style ; in other cases this is developed into 

 a fertile ovnliferous ovary, the style retaining its conical shape. In a third series (the 

 true female flowers) the ovary is oblong and is apparently surmounted by a fleshy dis- 

 coid stigma. Miers, however, considers this stigma-like body to be in reality an ac- 

 crescent epigynous disk concealing the true style and stigma. The exact relation ot 

 these forms one to the other, and their true nature cannot be surely determined Irom 

 dried specimens. From Lasianthera, the most striking difl'erenoe is the term ot tne 

 hj'pog^nous disk. 



