THE BOTANY OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND. 197 



inches in an umbel, pedicels \ inch long slender. Buds 

 oblong obtuse, ovary short turbinate. Petals oblong 

 linear, obtuse 5, stamens 5 alternate. 



Fruit not seen. 



Very abundant on rocks and trees, all over the island, 

 flowering in the end of October. 



This plant is certainly not I think the common //. 

 ellipticum Seem. A native of the Malay Peninsula. 



Rubiace.e. 



Randia 'densiflora var laxior, Bak. fil. 



A large straggling shrub, stems under an inch through, 

 10 to 12 feet or more tall. Leaves dark green sub- 

 coriaceous lanceolate acuminate acute glabrous 4-5 inches 

 long 2 inches wide nerves 8 pairs, petiole \ inch long. 

 Panicles axillary 3 inches long and often as wide, peduncle 

 \ inch long. Bracts small lanceolate acute ^ inch long. 

 Pedicels very short calyx \ inch long dilated upwards 

 from a narrow base with very short ovate teeth. 

 Corolla tube ^ longer thick, lobes linear lanceolate \ 

 inch long, white turning yellow, hairs in the mouth of 

 the tube few and short. Anthers linear mucronate. 



Berry elliptic red \ inch long crowned with the 

 persistent calyx lobes. 



Extremely abundant all over the island especially 

 on the lower terraces, but also on the plateau up to 900 

 feet all and perhaps the most abundant plant on the 

 island, commonly known as wild coffee from its white 

 sweet scented flowers. The stems form excellent walk- 

 ing sticks. 



Collected first by Lister and by all subsequent visitors. 



This plant is very different from the common forms 

 of R. densiflora in many points, but perhaps hardly 

 sufficiently so to be distinguished specifically. The 

 typical plant is a tree 50 to 60 feet tall, with thicker 

 leaves and fewer nerves, a denser corymb of slightly 



E. A. Soc, No. 45, 1905. 



