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The Philippine Journal of Science 
1913 
worthy, July, 1909, with nearly mature buds, Phil. PI. 1106 Ramos, Sep- 
tember, 1912, in flower and fruit; Province of Camarines, Maniba River, 
For. Bur. liSiQbis Aguilar, July, 1909, in flower: Province of Albay, Vidal 
780 in herb. Kew. Leyte, Dagami, Bur. Sci. 1538U Ramos, August, 1912, 
in flower. 
This remarkable monotypic genus is characterized by its elongated calyx- 
teeth and by its very numerous stamens, the latter a character found in 
very few genera in the Melastomataceae. That Astronia calycina Vidal and 
Astrocalyx pleiosandra Merr. are identical is unquestionable, and according- 
ly the earlier speciflc name has here been accepted. It is well to note that, 
manifestly through error, Vidal cites his No. 781 as the type of Astronia 
calycina, while on page 346 of the same work he refers No. 780 to Astronia 
calycina and 781 to Astronia sp. In the Kew herbarium Vidal 780 agrees 
perfectly with the description of Astronia calycina, while Vidal 781 is a true 
Astronia with small flowers and minute calyx-teeth, and does not agree at 
all with the description of Astronia calycina Vid. Vidal does not describe 
the flowers, aside from the calyx, and hence in working out the status of 
my genus Astrocalyx I naturally failed to connect the specimens with Vidal’s 
Astronia calycina, assuming that he was correct in placing his species in 
Astronia. In November, 1911, Dr. C. B. Robinson examined Vidal’s 
specimen in the Kew herbarium, and supplied me with a carbon rubbing of 
a leaf, showing its size and characteristic venation. He comments on the 
specimen as follows: “The calyx-teeth make the specimen the most peculiar 
thing of the kind I know. It is so unusual that for this reason, though no 
other, I might have hesitated to call it Astronia at all.” The leaf impres- 
sion together with Vidal’s description shows conclusively that Astronia 
calycina Vid. is not at all a member of this genus, but is identical with 
Astrocalyx pleiosandra Merr. = A. calycina (Vid.) Merr. 
2. ASTRONIA Blume 
In the latest monograph of the Melastomataceae, that by 
Cogniaux,® the genus Astronia is credited with twenty-four 
species, extending from the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago 
to New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, and the Society Islands, one-half 
of the species being known only from Polynesia. Five species 
are credited to the Philippines, Astronia calycina Vid., A. rolfei 
Vid., A. pulchra Vid., A. cumingiana Vid., and A. candolleana 
Cogn. The list must be reduced by one species, Astronia calycina 
Vid., for additional material shows this characteristic form to 
belong to the veiy distinct monotypic genus Astrocalyx. Most 
of the proposed additional species, since the publication of Cog- 
niaux’s monograph, have been based on Philippine material, but 
with the addition of Astronia borneensis Cogn., from Borneo, 
and A. triplinervia Cogn., from Amboina, both nomina nuda, 
A. stapfiii Koord., from Celebes, and A. stuhlmanii Damm., from 
tropical Africa. Recent botanical exploration of the Philippines 
’DC. Monog. Phan. 7 (1891). 
