ELAEOCARPACEAE 



351 



nerves about 13 on each side of the midrib, slender but prominent, 

 curved, anastomosing, the reticulations distinct ; petioles slender, 

 about 1 cm long, the younger ones slightly pubescent. Racemes 

 numerous, solitary, spreading, from the branches below the leaves 

 in the axils of fallen leaves, 10 to 12 cm long, slender, the rachis 

 and pedicels more or less pubescent with short, appressed, pale- 

 gray hairs. Flowers 20 to 25 or more in each raceme, the buds 

 lanceolate, acuminate, whitish when fresh, brown when dry, the 

 opened flowers greenish, the pedicels slender, about 1.5 cm long. 

 Sepal 5, narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, externally slightly pub- 

 escent, about 11 mm long, 2 to 2.5 mm wide. Petals as long as 

 the sepals, oblong-lanceolate, the upper two-fifths cut into from 

 15 to 20 slender fimbriae, these united into 5 or 6 primary divi- 

 sions, quite glabrous except the densely pubescent or puberulent 

 margins in the lower part. Stamens about 50, the filaments 

 slender, scabrid, 1 to 1.5 mm long; anthers linear, 5 to 6 mm long 

 including the slender, solitary, bristle-like, 1 mm long awn that 

 tips one of the cells. Ovary ovoid, densely pubescent, somewhat 

 sulcate, 5-celled; style 5 to 6 mm long, pubescent below. 



This species is very closely allied to the Philippine Elaeocarpus 

 dolichopetalus Merr., from which it is distinguished by its blunt, 

 not acuminate leaves, its longer racemes, longer pedicels, and 

 smaller flowers. 



It is by no means certain that it is the same as Ganitrus of 

 Rumphius. The figure of Ganitrus presents relatively shorter, 

 fewer-nerved, rather differently shaped leaves, and relatively 

 shorter, fewer-flowered racemes. It was apparently drawn from 

 Amboina specimens, although Rumphius includes in the descrip- 

 tion specimens from other parts of the Malay Archipelago. 



Historically, Ganitrus was first reduced by Linnaeus to his 

 Elaeocarpus serratus, in Stickman Herb. Amb. (1754) 13, Amoen. 

 Acad. 4 (1759) 124, Syst. ed. 10 (1759) 1075, Sp. PI. ed. 2 (1762) 

 734, in which he was followed by Burman f ., Loureiro, Willdenow, 

 and Lamarck. However, Elaeocarpus serratus Linn., Sp. PL 

 (1753) 515, was based on Indian and Ceylon plants, and has 

 nothing to do with the plant described by Rumphius. Gaertner, 

 Fruct. 2 (1791) 271, t. 139, f. 6, takes his generic name Ganitrus 

 from Rumphius, and refers to Ganitrus sphaerica Gaertn. the 

 figure and description of Rumphius mentioned above. Gaertner's 

 description was from an actual specimen, and his species must be 

 interpreted from the material described. Gaertner's species is 

 probably the same as the one later described by Roxburgh as 

 Elaeocarpus ganitrus Roxb., Fl. Ind. ed. 2, 2 (1832) 592, who 

 refers to his species the Rumphian plant and takes his specific 



