THE BOTANY OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND. 221 



Flying Fish Cove on rocks close to Ross' House. 



This little plant has been widely spread over the 

 east in cultivated ground especially in gardens where 

 it come up every where, but I have never seen it wild. 

 It occurs thus all over the peninsula, also in the Philip- 

 pines and New Guinea (and is the P. ruderalis Schu- 

 mann) and is also met with in Burmah. 



P. JRossi, Rendle. 



This which I did not meet with described as 3-4 

 inches tall with opposite leaves elliptic petioled, obtuse, 

 black dotted with thick dense flowered spikes, round 

 peltate bracts and a sub-globose apiculate punctate fruit. 



No locality is given for it, but it is endemic. 



The minute seeds of the Peperomias, might be 

 wind borne, and most of them are more or less sticky so 

 that they might be dispersed on bird's feathers 



Laurineae. 



Cryptocarya Nativitatis, Rendle. 



A big tree with ferruginous woolly shoots. Leaves 

 elliptic or ovate lanceolate coriaceous shortly petioled 

 4-6 inches by l^-2£ inches wide. Panicles terminal 

 1-2 inches long, many flowered. Flowers greenish white 

 small. Fruit globose shining black. 



Common on the Plateau, and upper part of Phos- 

 phate Hill. Endemic allied to an Australian species. 



The fruit is one of the great food supplies of the 

 pigeon, though it has only a very scanty purple pulp. 



Hernandia peltata Meissa. 



A very big tree with ovate peltate long-stalked 

 leaves, and corymbs of dull greenish flowers. The 

 black globular ribbed fruit is enclosed in the yellowish 

 white calyx enlarged to a bladder shape, but open 

 at the top. It is 2 or 3 inches through. The fruit is 

 doubtless sea-dispersed as the large bladdery calyx 



. k, Soc, No. 45, 1905. 



