346 
MERRILL. 
Pogostemon patchouly Pellet, in Mem. Soc. Sc. Orleans 5 (1845) 277, 
t. 7. 
Mentha auricularia Blanco 1. c. ed. 2 (1845) 329, non Linn. 
Pogostemon suavis Ten. in Giorn. Bot. Ital. 2 (1847) 56. 
Pogostemon patchouli Hook. Kew Journ. Bot. 1 (1849) 328, t. 11. 
Pogostemon patchouli var. suavis Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4 (1885) 634. 
Pogostemon heyneanus Merr. in Philip. Journ. Sci. 2 (1907) Bot. 426, 
non Benth. 
The above is the nomenclatural history of this interesting plant, which 
is represented by the following Philippine specimens: Luzon, Province of 
Cagayan, For. Bur. 161.70 Bacani, January, 1909: Bontoc Subprovince, 
Bauco, Vanoverbergh 1057, December, 1910, in gardens, Ilocano “cablin’’: 
Province of Pampanga, Mount Arayat, Merrill 5025, on dry, steep, talus 
slopes, altitude about 400 m, February, 1906: Province of Laguna, Vidal 
505 in Herb. Kew.: Province of Rizal, Bosoboso, Bur. Sci. 2060 Ramos, 
February, 1907; Montalban, For. Bur. 2112 Ahern’s collector, January, 1905; 
Antipolo, Bur. Sci. 5199 Ramos, June, 1908, in gardens, Tagalog “cadling” : 
Manila, Bur. Sci. 299 Merrill, February, 1910, in gardens: without definite 
locality, Loher 1211. 
Doctor Prain has recently shown ” that the patchouli of commerce is the 
product of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. (P. patchouli Pellet., non 
P. patchowli Dalz. & Gibs), and that the specific name given to the plant by 
Blanco has priority over the other proposed ones, and is hence the proper one 
for the species. I had previously confused it with Pogostemon heyneanus 
Benth., and recorded it from the Philippines under the latter name.i® 
Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth., is of wide distribution in the 
Philippines, more commonly in cultivation only, but occasionally found 
growing wild (Mount Arayat, Bosoboso, and Montalban). There is no 
evidence that it is a native of the Philippines, but it has unquestionably 
been introduced, although probably in prehistoric times. Whatever its 
origin it has found favorable conditions for growth and reproduction in 
the Philippines, for here it flowers freely and has become spontaneous in 
some regions. In contrast to this, in India and in the Malay Peninsula, 
where it is extensively cultivated, it very rarely produces flowers. In the 
Philippines the plant is not now, and apparently never has been, cultivated 
on a commercial scale, but as a cultivated plant one finds only scatered 
individuals in native gardens. Dr. Leon Guerrero informs me that it is 
claimed that if a few leaves of this plant be enclosed in a book, the small 
beetles whose larvae are frequently so destructive to bindings in tropical 
countries will not attact bindings of volumes so protected. 
POGOSTEMON HEYNEANUS Benth. in Wall. PI. As. Rar. 2 (1831) 16; 
DC. Prodr. 12 (1848) 153; Wight Icon. t. 1110; Prain in Journ. 
As. Soc. Beng. 74’’ (1907) Extra Number 707. 
Pogostemon patchowli Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. FI. Addend. (1861) 66, 
non patchouly Pellet. 
Pogostemon patchouli Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. 4 (1885) 633, non P. 
patchouly Pellet. 
” Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 74’’ (1907) Extra Number 708, Kew Bull. (1908) 
78. 
“This Journal 2 (1907) Bot. 426. 
