582 
E. D. MERRILL 
Germen ovatum. Stylus filiformis. Stigma subcapitatum, deflexum. 
Capsula ovata, polysperma. Herba caule procumbente, tereti, crasso, 
carnoso, villoso. Folia opposita, oblonga, serrata. Flores ex alis & 
terminales, caerulei; pedunculi villosi. Habitat ad ripam fluminis." 
Melia parasitica Osbeck, Dagbok Ostind. Resa 278. 1757 = Lansium 
domesticum Jack. 
The introductory statement in Swedish, regarding this species, 
translates as follows: ''A small herb of barely a finger's length growing 
on the tree trunks. It is so rare that, so far as is known, no one ever 
saw it before." Following this is the description in Latin: Perian- 
thium monophyllum, tridentatum, cylindricum, corolla dimidio 
brevius. Corolla monopetala, cylindrica, 5 partita ; petalis oblongis. 
Nectarium campanulatum, margine praemorsum, cujus margini inte- 
riori filamenta 10, brevissima vix conspicua, inserta. Antherae 
subquadratae. Germen cylindricum, pentagonum; stylus subulatus, 
basi lanatus; stigma capitatum. Flores racemosi. Folia nulla." 
The description calls for a plant with a peculiar combination of 
characters, a small, epiphytic or parasitic, leafless herb with meliaceous 
flowers. There is no plant in existence presenting the above char- 
acters, yet Osbeck's description is susceptible of explanation. He 
undoubtedly saw the characteristic cauliflorous inflorescence of 
Lansium domesticum Jack, a tree in common cultivation throughout 
Java, and cauliflory being a phenomenon quite new to him, he explained 
it by assuming the racemose inflorescence, growing directly from the 
trunk of the tree, to be a leafless parasitic plant. However, Osbeck's 
description does not apply entirely to Lansium flowers, as he de- 
scribes the calyx as 3-toothed, the staminal tube as campanulate, and 
the style as subulate. It is possible that he saw a cauliflorous species of 
Dysoxylum, but all the known Javan cauliflorous species of this genus 
are described as having 4-merous, not 5-merous flowers. Osbeck's 
specimens were collected at New Bay, western Java, January 20, 1752. 
Monarda chinensis Osbeck, Dagbok Ostind. Resa 240. 1757 = ? 
This was from Dane's Island, near Whampoa, China, and was ob- 
served by Osbeck October 20, 1751. The original description, in- 
troduced by a statement in Swedish to the effect that the species grew 
on bare hills, is as follows: ''Monarda chinensis. Perianthium duplex; 
superius 5 phyllum foliolis linearibus, inferus diphyllum. Corolla 
