APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1914. 



23 



37698 to 37705— Continued. (Quoted notes by Mr. P. J. Wester.) 



or auriculate, glabrous or nearly so ; leaflets 2 or mostly 3 jugate, the 

 lower pair somewhat smaller than those above, oblong ovate, 5 to 8 cm. 

 long, 2.5 to 4 cm. wide, very coriaceous, entirely glabrous or with few 

 scattered hairs on the under surface, especially on the midrib, the apex 

 rounded, the base acute ; nerves numerous, close, faint ; petiolules 4 mm. 

 long, acute, pubescent ; pedicels 2 mm. long, each with two lanceolate 

 acute pubescent bracteoles 4 mm. long. Calyx tube short, the lobes four, 

 thick, 1 cm. long, densely pubescent within with appressed yellowish 

 hairs, outside densely cinereous puberulous and in the upper half with a 

 few straight or curved pubescent spines about 3 mm. long. Petal one. as 

 long as the calyx lobes, densely appressed pubescent on the margins 

 below. Staminal sheath and filaments hairy. Ovary hirsute. Pod 

 broadly ovate, flattened, rounded at the base, the apical beak very small 

 or nearly obsolete. Valves dehiscent, woody, uniformly armed on the 

 outside with strong straight spines 5 mm. long and more or less densely 

 ferruginous pubescent, becoming quite glabrous in age. Seeds usually 

 four, ovate, hard, black, with an arillate funicle. 



"A species related to and previously identified with Sindora ualUchii 

 Benth. (-S^. icalUchiana Benth.). of the Malayan Peninsula, differing 

 from that species in its glabrous leaves and larger pods. Dr. Prain, 

 director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has examined some of the 

 material cited above and informs me that this species is not identical 

 with Bentham's 5^. tcallichiana. I have accordingly described the Philip- 

 pine plant as a distinct species, using for the specific name the Tagalog 

 name supa, by which this important timber tree is universally known in 

 the Philippines. The timber of this tree is hard and of a yellowish or 

 reddish color, being used in naval and general constructions, and is 

 frequently substituted for the more valuable ipil wood (Intsia bijuga 

 O. Ktze). From 1900 to 1904 supa ranked fourteenth in amount received 

 in the local lumber markets, with a total of 177,189 feet board measure, 

 its average price for sawed lumber being $81.50, United States currency, 

 per 1,000 feet b. m. In addition to being a valuable timber tree, supa 

 also yields considerable quantities of a straw-colored or light-yellow, 

 somewhat fragrant oil, which burns with a clear flame. From a report 

 submitted to the Chief of the Forestry Bureau by Mr. Kobbe, forester, 

 the following extracts are taken: 'This oil (supa) is secured from the 

 trunk of the living [tree] and not from the fruit or dead wood. The 

 tree is usually hacked with bolo cuts as high as d man can reach, and 

 the oil runs down the channels so formed into some vessel so placed as 

 to catch the product. The oil seems to be a product of the entire woody 

 portion of the tree and does not flow from any particular portion, such 

 as the sap wood only. If an auger hole be bored into the heart of a 

 living tree, as much as 10 liters of oil is frequently obtained from the 

 one hole. When the trees are slashed for gathering the oil, the first 

 that exudes is set on fire, the heat causing a great increase in the flow 

 of oil.' The oil is not widely used. There is a demand for it for the 

 manufacture of paint, especially for use on ships, varnish for sailboats, 

 etc., and as an illuminating oil. Tagalog, supa, in Baler; also manapo." 

 {E. D. Merrill, Philippine Journal of Science, vol. 1, suppl., p. 19S. 1906.) 

 37704. Obmosia calavexsis Azaola. Fabaceae. Bahai. 



*'A timber tree of more or less value in the Philippines.** 



