m 



feet tall with alternate leaves oblanceolate acuminate with a short 

 blunt point and very coriaceous, drying brown ; they are 6 inches long 

 and 3 inches wide, quite glabrous with 7 pairs of nerves curved and 

 arched within the margin. The fruit is on short half-inch cymes, and 

 the peduncles as well as the buds, young portions of the stem, fruit and 

 sepals are all covered with short red hair. The fruit is globose but 

 not depressed at the top and larger than in D. toposioides ; the sepals 

 are four short rounded lobes, thinner and smaller than in the latter 

 species and not forming a thick disc. The fruit is said to be poison- 

 ous, and the name Men tuba implies that it is used for the purpose of 

 fish-stupefying. 



Others of our Ebony trees probably have the same properties and 

 several species from other parts of the world are stated by Greshoff 

 in his Vischvergiften to be used in the same way. 



Tuba Ubi. This is the tuberous root of a very remarkable species 

 of Dioscorea of which a living plant was sent a year or two ago to 

 the Singapore Botanic Gardens by Mr. A. D. Machado of the Kamu- 

 ning Estate. The 4 tubers are large and palmate of a dark brown 

 colour outside and about a foot or more long, forming a rather large 

 mass. 



The stem is woody and angled and thickly covered with triangular 

 brown thorns, laterally flattened and from 2 to 6 connate forming 

 short thorny ridges. The thorns are } inch or more long. Leaves 

 deeply cordate acuminate 6 inches long and as wide, the cusp 1^ inch 

 long, nerves eleven radiating from the base and ascending to the cusp, 

 transverse nervules prominent and numerous ; peteole 4-5 inches long 

 thorny along the upper edge. 



The flowers as is so often the case in this genus must he rare, as 

 the Malays did not know of them. 



ScloiuuiKj. This was only represented by roots, but is probably 

 identical with specimens sent many years ago by Vaughan Stevens under 

 this name, as used by the Sakais in the manufacture of their dart 

 poison. The plant proved to be Miquelia cordata King, a rare plant 

 in collections and but little known. It is a rather slender climber, 10 

 to 15 feet long, with alternate thin ovate to oblong leaves, acuminate 

 blunt with about 6 pairs of nerves alternate 6 inches long by 2 wide 

 or less, covered on the back especially on the main nerves and re- 

 ticulations with short apparently glandular hairs. The petioles are 

 an inch long and undulate, apparently stern clasping and also pubes- 

 cent. The inflorescence is axillary on"a long peduncle. The flowers 

 w 7 hite and small. The fruit is very curious ; it is oval and flat, 

 ending in a long beak, shortly stalked, an inch long with a half inch 

 beak, bright red. The seeds are very numerous. 



I have it from Perak ; Chanderiang (Kings Collector 5,680.) Ipoh. 

 (Curtis 3321) and Maxwel's Hill (Kidley 5,229.) It has also been 

 obtained in Kemaman by Vanghan Stevens. 



Kcchuboiig in the w T ell known Datuoa fastuosa (Solanacece) a weed 

 of villages, the poisonous properties of w T hich are well known, and 



