THE FLORA OF MOUNT HALCON. 
293 
Dl PLYCOSI A Blume. 
Diplycosia merrittii Merrill, n. sp. 
Frutex pseudoepiphyticus scandens, inflorescentiis excepti, glabra ; 
foliis coriaceis oblongo vel elliptico-ovatis, rariter oblongo-lanceolatis, 
breviter acuminatis, 6 ad 10 cm. longis, basi acutis nervis utrinque 2 
vel 3, subtus prominentibus ; flores axillares, fasciculati; corolla ovoiolea, 
6 ad 7 mm. longa. 
A scandent pseudoepiphytic shrub often 6 m. high, glabrous except the 
inflorescence. Branches gray or brown, terete, the younger ones angular. 
Leaves coriaceous, oblong-ovate to elliptical-ovate, rarely oblong-lanceo- 
late, 6 to 10 cm. long, 2 to 5 cm. wide, the base acute, the apex slightly 
acuminate, the margins obscurely denticulate, recurved, paler and glandu- 
lar punctate beneath ; nerves 2 to 3 on each side of the midrib, ascending, 
impressed above, rather prominent, the reticulations nearly obsolete; 
petioles stout, 4 to 8 mm. long, rugose. Flowers pink, fascicled, 2 to 8 
in each axil, the pedicels slender, slightly pubescent, 1 to 1.5 cm. long, 
the apical bracts two, orbicular-ovate, 1.3 mm. long. Calyx very slightly 
pubescent, 3.5 mm. long, the lobes ovate or narrowly ovate, acute, 2 mm . 
long. Corolla ovoid, narrowed below, 6 to 7 mm. long, the lobes 5, 
ovate, broadly acuminate, 2 mm. long, reflexed. Stamens 10, glabrous; 
filaments 3 mm. long; anthers oblong, 1.5 mm. long. Ovary glabrous, 
style 2 mm. long. Fruit ovoid or subglobose, soft, fleshy, 1 cm. in 
diameter, black when mature. 
In ridge forests at 1,400 m. alt. (No. 5670) (type), very abundant, the fruit 
edible but nearly tasteless; also collected by Merritt in June, 1906, at an altitude 
of from 1,600 to 1,700 m. (Nos. 4413, 4415, 4437). The same form has been 
collected in Palawan, Victoria Peak (666 Foxworthy ) March, 1906. 
Of the Philippine species of this genus, apparently most closely related to 
Diplycosia ltjzonica (A. Gray) (Gaultheria luzonica A. Gray), from Mount 
Banajao and Mount Santo Tomas, Luzon. I have before me a single leaf from 
the type of Gray’s species, kindly supplied by Dr. •/. V. Rose of the U. S. National 
Museum. No. 5932 Elmer from Mount Santo Tomas seems to match it exactly. 
The species proposed above differs from this in its larger, differently shaped leaves, 
much longer pedicels and more prominently nerved leaves, the venation in the 
two species being quite different. I have seen no flowers of Gaultheria luzonica. 
VACCINIUM Linn. 
Vaccinium mindorense Rendle in Journ. Bot. 34 (1896) 355. 
Epiphytic, mossy ridge forests 1,950 to 2,200 m., and terrestrial above 2,200 
m. alt. (No. 5676) ; also collected by Merritt at 1,600 m. in June, 1906 (No. 
4414). 
The, type of the species was from Mount Dulangan, a spur of Hal con. It 
is also apparently represented by specimens from Mount Madiaas, Panay (A. E. 
Yoder), April, 1905, and from Mount Apo, Mindanao (Copeland) , October, 1904. 
Vaccinium banksii Merr. in Govt. Lab. Publ. 35 (1905) 54. 
In an open heath at 2,400 m. alt. (No. 5506). 
Previously known only from Canlaon Volcano, Negros. 
