JOSEPH F. ROCK 
despair of the systematist who wishes to bring some order into this 
group. 
Cyrtandra platyphylla is evidently the outcome of Cyrtandra cordi- 
folia, C. tintinnahula, C. malacophylla, etc. The latter occurs on West 
Maui (the older portion of Maui) and C. tintinnahula on Hawaii proper 
in an older section of the island, while C. cordifolia occurs on Oahu 
and a variety of the same, var. gynoglabra, on East Maui, that part of 
Maui nearest to Hawaii. The glabrous ovary of var. gynoglabra 
brings it close to C. platyphylla, while otherwise it has all the characters 
of C. cordifolia from which it cannot be separated. We find several 
links here between these species; for example, variety stylopuhens of 
C. platyphylla has a glabrous ovary and a hirtulous style, while gyno- 
glabra of C. cordifolia has a glabrous ovary and style which brings it 
closer to C. platyphylla, while the former would appear to be also a 
link between the two species mentioned, namely, C, platyphylla and 
C. cordifolia. C. malacophylla seems to be nothing more than an 
intermediate occurring on Maui, an intermediate island, while C. 
Pickeringii seems to be some sort of an offspring of C. cordifolia, and 
C. Garnottiana. The species with the most villous ovary is Cyrtandra 
kealiae which occurs on Kauai, the oldest island of the group. C. 
cordifolia comes next on Oahu, and finally we reach C. platyphylla with. 
a perfectly glabrous ovary and style. 
Cyrtandra platyphylla, as in the case of other plants belonging to 
rather large families or representatives of such, occurring on Hawaii, 
are prone to variation. There are a great many varieties and forms 
which must be classified in some way. Asa Gray states, "Leaves 
subrotund-cordate at the base,'' while Hillebrand states, " sub orbicular, 
ovate-oblong, rounded or sometimes subcordate but oftener contracting 
at the base.'' Hillebrand in his key bases the distinction between 
C. platyphylla and his C. paritiifolia (C. malacophylla) on the cordate 
leaves in the latter, and rounded or decurrent leaves in the former. 
The typical form collected by Pickering in the forests of Hawaii 
(and not Oahu), which the writer examined in the Gray Herbarium, 
has decidedly cordate and not decurrent leaves. The writer has at 
his disposal a large amount of material apparently referable to C. 
platyphylla according to Hillebrand 's description of the species. It 
seems advisable, however, to separate the decurrent leaved forms 
from the typical one with cordate leaves, which is not uncommon 
around the Volcano of Kilauea where Pickering in all probabihty col- 
lected the material which served as the type for C. platyphylla. 
