18 



13. M. corniculata (Rumph, Amboin. V. 130), Lour. Fl. 

 Cochinch. 644 ; native name in Cochin-China, Chuoi boi. Stem 

 cylindrical, .1.0-12 feet high, as thick as the human thigh. Leaves 

 oblong, green, 5-6 feet long ; petiole 1-1^ feet long. Spike droop- 

 ing, only the 2-3, rarely 4 lower bracts and flower whorls 

 developed, the former oblong-lanceolate, a foot long. Calyx deeply 

 five-toothed. Petal ovate-acuminate, nearly as long as the calyx. Fruit 

 cylindrical, a foot or more long, \\-%\ inches diameter, narrowed 

 gradually to the apex and sessile base, golden-yellow when ripe ; skin 

 thick ; pulp reddish -white, firm, dry, sweet, very palatable when cooked. 

 Distribution : — Malay Islands and Cochin China. Kurz compares the 

 fruit to a cucumber as regards shape and size and describes five varieties, 

 but considers it to be probably only an extreme form of M. acuminata. 

 A curious form is the Lubang variety, of which the stem is said to 

 produce only a single fruit large enough for a full meal for three men. 



*14. M. Hillii, F. Mucll. Not stoloniferous. Stem robust, about 

 30 feet high and a diameter of 1^ feet. Leaves similar to M. sapientum. 

 Spike dense, erect. Fruit densely crowded, not edible. Seeds 

 numerous, angled, much depressed J-J inch diameter, with a bony testa. 

 Distribution : — Queensland, banks of the Daintree river, with the two 

 species following. A plant at Kew resembles M. troglodytarum, Linn. 

 No doubt this is M. Jackeyi, Kurz, I.e. This species has lately flowered 

 at Kew. [Dot. Mag. t. 7101.] 



•15. M. Fehi, Bertero ; M. Fei, Nadeaud. Stoloniferous. Trunk 

 cylindrical, 15-20 feet high, greenish, full of violet juice. Leaves 

 larger and firmer in texure than in M. sapientum and paradisiaca, with 

 stouter veins ; midrib green ; base unequally rounded ; petiole 1-1^ feet 

 long. Spike long, erect, slightly curved only at the base. Flowers 

 6-8 in a cluster, sessile. Calyx with 5 unequal lobes, split finally 

 nearly to the base. Petal short. Fruit many in a bunch, oblong, 

 angled 5-6 inches long by above an inch in diameter, nearly straight, 

 yellow when ripe, with a thick skin and moderately firm pulp, not very 

 palatable when raw, but excellent when cooked. Seeds small, d nil black. 

 Distribution; — Common in theforestsof Tahiti,whereit is largely used for 

 food, seedless at the low levels, but occasionally bearing seeds at an alti- 

 tude of 3,000-3,600 feet. Native name Fei. Found also sparingly by 

 Vieillard in New Caledonia, there called Daak. We have young plants at 

 the present time in the Kew collection. Probably the Fijian M. Seemanni, 

 F. Muell, of which a photograph, sent by Sir John Thurston, is reproduced 

 here from Gard. Chron., 1890 [2], 182, fig. 28, is the same species. 

 This is M. uranoscopos, Seem., and M. troglodytarum, Kurz (in part). 

 We have also leaves from the Rev. T. Powell of a plant from Samoa 

 called " Laufoo," which probably belongs here. An interesting account 

 of the seedless and seed-bearing forms of M. Fehi is given by Dr. Sagot 

 in Bull. Soc. Botanique de France, xxxiii., pp. 317-326. 



16. M. Banksii, F. Muell ; M. banksiana, Kurz. Stoloniferous, with 

 trunk like that of M. sapientum. Spike drooping. Fruit quite 

 cylindrical when dry, without any angle, narrowed suddenly to a slender 

 stipe l^--2 inches long. Seeds grey, sub-globose, \ inch diam., angled in 

 the lower half. Distribution: — Queensland, Mount Elliot and Rocking- 

 ham bay. Very like M. sapientum in stem and leaf, but totally different 

 in fruit. It yields a fibre of poor quality. A sample received from Mr. 

 W. R. Guilfoyle, F.L.S., is in the Kew Museum, where the fruit (from 

 Sir F. von Mueller) and seeds (from Mr. L. A. Bernays, C.M.G.) are also 

 shown. 



