214 
ROBINSON. 
Tristan ia sp. 
A species, believed to be of this genus, has now been collected several times, 
always sterile, from Polillo, 9112, local name dinglas, Camarines, Albay, Leyte, 
and Mindanao. Its wood is of commercial importance. 
Other species: Decaspermiwi paniculatmn ( Lindl. ) Kurz, €985, 10342, 10436, 
local name guyong-guyong : Psidium guajava Linn., 6876, local name bay abas. 
MELASTOMATACEAE. 
Astronia williamsii Merrill sp. nov. 
Arbuscula 2 ad 3 m alta: paniculis quam folia multo brevioribus, 
brunneo-furfuraceis vel lepidotis, multifloris ; floribus 5-meris, 2 ad 2.5 
mm longis: foliis cliartaceis, oblongo-ellipticis, usque ad 20 cm longis, 
apice breviter acuminatis, basi aeutis 5-plinerviis, nervulis transversa- 
libus prominentibus, supra glabris, subtus plus minusve deuse et minute 
pallido-lepidotis, nervis nervulisque plus minusve brunneo-furfuraceis, 
vetustioribus subglabrescentibus. 
Panicles terminal, uniformly dark-brown-furfuraceous or lepidote, 
many-flowered, 3 to 9 cm long, 6 to 10 cm wide, the flowers subum- 
bellately disposed on the ultimate branchlets: flowers yellowish- white, 
their pedicels brown-furfuraceous, 2 mm long; calyx urceolate-campan- 
ulate, 2 to 2.5 mm long and wide, in very, young fruit 3 mm, brown- 
furfuraceous, with 5 broad, short, acute teeth -about 0.8 mm long; 
petals orbicular, about 1.7 mm in diameter, deciduous ; anthers obovoid, 
0.8 mm long; style 2 mm long. 
A shrub 2 to 3 m high, its branches light-gray, glabrous, terete, the 
younger parts rather densely furfuraceous or lepidote with small, dark- 
brown scales: leaves elliptic-oblong, chartaceous, 10 to 20 cm long, 4 
to 9 cm wide, the apex sharply but rather shortly acuminate, base 
acute, the upper surface glabrous, green, somewhat shining, the lower 
surface rather uniformly and densely minutely subcinereous-lepidote, the 
nerves and nervules distinctly brown-furfuraceous, in age becoming sub- 
glabrous ; nerves 5, the outer pair leaving the midrib nearly at the base, 
the inner pair at from 5 to 10 mm above the' base, all reaching the 
apex, a very faint marginal pair, sometimes also present, the transverse 
veinlets prominent, distant, subparallel, numerous ; petioles densely brown- 
furfuraceous or lepidote, 2.5 to 3.5 cm long. 
Luzon, Province of Bataan, Mount Mariveles, Williams 722, March, 1904 
(type) : Province of Rizal, San Isidro, Phil. PI. 451 Ramos, June, 1910: Province 
of Laguna, San Antonio, Bur. Sci. 10927 Ramos. Polillo, Bur. Sci.' 9114 Robin- 
son, August, 1909. Allied to Astronia pulchra Vid. and A. cumingiana Vid., 
but with larger, 5-nerved leaves, differing from A. rolfei Vid. by its leaves being 
lepidote and furfuraceous beneath and having more numerous nerves, from A. 
meyeri Merr. by the leaves not being densely covered with papery brown scales 
and somewhat in its venation. The San Isidro and Polillo plants have somewhat 
sjnaller flowers than the type, but they are also less mature. 
