ACANTHACEAE 



473 



LEP I DAGATH IS Willdenow 



LEPI DAGATH IS RUMPHII sp. nov. 



Bungum mas Rumph. Herb. Amb. 6: 52, t. 22, f. 2. 

 Amboina, Way tommo and near the town of Amboina, Robinson PL 

 Rumph. Amb. 97 (type), July and August, 1913, along river banks and in 

 thickets, altitude 5 to 50 meters. 



Erecta vel suberecta, circiter 50 cm alta, ramosa, inflorescentiis 

 exceptis glabra vel subglabra, ramis ramulisque quadrangulatis ; 

 foliis longe petiolatis, chartaceis, oblongis ad oblongo-lanceolatis, 

 aequilateralibus, usque ad 7 cm longis, utrinque subaequaliter an- 

 gustatis acuminatisque, nervis utrinque circiter 5, tenuibus; 

 inflorescentiis terminalibus, spicis numerosis, anguste oblongis, 

 1.5 ad 2.5 cm longis, aggregatis, bracteis bracteolisque subaequi- 

 magnis, oblongo-ovatis, 4 mm longis, breviter mucronato-acumi- 

 natis, extus pubescentibus, eglandulosis ; calycis 5-partitis, 5 mm 

 longis, pubescentibus. 



An erect or suberect, branched, nearly glabrous herb about 50 

 cm high, the branches and branchlets prominently 4-angled. 

 Leaves opposite, those of each pair subequal in size, oblong to 

 oblong-lanceolate, chartaceous, olivaceous, dull, paler beneath, 4 

 to 7 cm long, 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide, the upper ones smaller, sub- 

 equally narrowed to the acuminate base and apex, equilateral, 

 entire, the cystoliths small, numerous on both surfaces ; petioles 

 slender, 1.2 to 2.5 cm long. Spikes terminal, numerous, mostly 

 in threes on each ultimate branchlet, cylindric, continuous, 1.5 

 to 2.5 cm long, about 6 mm in diameter, pale when dry, pubescent, 

 many-flowered, secund. Bracts and bracteoles similar in size 

 and shape, oblong-ovate, apiculate-acuminate, about 4 mm long, 

 uniformly pubescent with rather long pale hairs, the indumentum 

 on the calyx quite similar. Calyx about 5 mm long, the upper 

 segment 2 mm wide, the two lateral ones nearly free, less than 

 one-half as wide as the upper one, the lower segment cleft about 

 one-third. Corolla 5 mm long. Capsule narrowly oblong, nar- 

 rowed upward, obtuse, about 5 mm long. 



This species is manifestly in the group with Lepidagathis 

 mucronata Nees, L. parviflora Blume, and L. javanica Blume, 

 but is apparently distinct from all of these and from the other 

 allied species. It is well characterized by its oblong to oblong- 

 lanceolate, relatively long-petioled leaves; its equal bracts and 

 bracteoles; its short, dense, somewhat crowded spikes; and its 

 small flowers. 



The species manifestly represents Bungum mas as figured and 

 described by Rumphius, a form that previously has not been 



