THE BOTANY OF CHRISTxMAS ISLAND. 199 



Distribution India, Malay Peninsula and Islands, 

 Australia and Polynesia. 



Saprosma nativitatis, Bak. fil. 



A shrub 3-5 feet tall with dark green oblanceolate 

 leaves obtuse 1-J inches long ± inch wide and small 

 axillary pinkish white flowers, sessile, tubular with 4 

 lobes. This shrub very common in the Plateau has been 

 well described by Baker. It is quite unlike any other 

 species of Saprosma known to me, and does not possess the 

 horrible odour when broken that the other species of 

 the genus emit. It is endemic, and wa first collected by 

 myself in 1890, and is the Psychotria sp. of my list. 



GoODENOVIEiE. 



Scaevola Koenigii, Yahl. A shrub with obovate fleshy leaves 

 and white flowers, fruit baccate white. 



On cliffs above the sea. Common. Smith Point, 

 Flying Fish Cove. 



First collected by Lister. 



Seeds dispersed by sea. Common on sea coasts of 

 India, Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, Australia 

 and Polynesia. 



MyksinejE. 

 Ardisia polchra, n. sp. 



A tall little-branched shrub with a stem about an 

 inch through, leaves elliptic lanceolate glabrous acute 

 narrowed at the base to the petiole, petiole decurrent 

 as two distinct ridges along the zigzag branches which 

 are red scurfy, lamina of leaf 6 inches long 2 inches 

 wide, petiole and midrib red scurfy above dark green 

 paler beneath with scanty red scales; nerves about 

 24 pairs. Panicle terminal on the ends of branches 4 to 

 6 inches long, branches slender widely spreading scurfy, 

 ultimate branches an inch long terminating in umbels 

 of 6 to 12 flowers on slender pedicles \ inch long, length- 

 It A Soc, No. 45, 1905 



