NEW AXD RAKE SPECIES OF MALAYAN PLANTS. 195 



The common Laportea in the Malay Peninsula is L. 

 stimulant. This plant is peculiar in its achenes which possess 

 a strong smooth ridge miming round them, the rest of the flat 

 achene being covered with conspicuous papillae. 



Ficus polysyce, Eidl. n. sp. 



A medium-sized or rather big tree about 60-80 feet 

 tall and over a foot through with smooth grey bark. Leaves 

 elliptic or lanceolate membranous, dark green glabrous except 

 for a few sparse hairs on the midrib on the back, short acu- 

 minate or cuspidate, the nerves elevate beneath, 6 in. long, 

 1.75-2.5 in. wide or larger, petiole 1.25 in. long. Figs in 

 clusters on tubercles on the stem and larger branches often 

 entirely covering the surface, obovoid with a flat top green 

 occasionally turning dull red .75 in. long and as thick, with a 

 large umbo of very many bracts within the mouth, peduncles 

 .2 in. long. Male flowers near the ostiole shortly pedicelled, 

 the perianth lobes 3. oblong rounded at tip. Stanien 1, anther 

 oblong, filament very short, male flowers stalked without 

 perianth obliquely pyriform with rather long style. Females 

 pedi celled, no perianth, achene globose. 



Very common in secondary growth and lowland forests. 

 Singapore Garden jungle : Bukit Timah. etc., very abundant. 

 Johor, Gunong Pulai; Batu Pahat (Eidlev 11035); Pahang, 

 Pekan (Eidlev 1175) : Negri Sembilan, Tamp in Hill (Good- 

 enough), Bukit Klana and Bukit Sulu (Cantley) ; Selangor. 

 Bukit Kutu (Eidlev 7627) : Bindings, Lumut (Eidlev 7207) ; 

 Perak, Ulu Bubong (Kunstler 10196), Taiping Waterfall 



(Wrav 2668); Penang Gardens (Curtis 1889)"; Lankawi 



(Curtis). 



Distrib. Bangtaphan (Keith). St. Barbe Isle, south of 

 Singapore ( Langlasse ) . 



Xative names, Ara Batu, Kelumpong, Kedumpang. 



This very common and conspicuous tree belongs to the 

 section Covellia and has been confused by King with F. 

 Miquelii, as he has named specimens of it with that name, but 

 Miquelii is a much smaller tree with the figs smaller and in 

 long racemes from the lower part of the trunk. In this species 

 the figs are borne in tubercles on the branches and on the stem 

 and when at times completely covering and concealing the bark 

 it forms a most striking specimen of a caulifiorous tig. The 

 figs are largely eaten by fruit bats, chiefly Cy no [items, which 

 disperse the seeds so that the plant which is never epiphytic 

 comes up commonly in hedges, culverts, etc. It appears to be 

 absent from Sumatra and Java. 



R. A. Soc, No. 82. 1920. 



