74 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL V, January, 1951 
Perhaps the best distinguishing character 
for ssp. Wilderi is that its flowers have an odor 
so noticeable that the plant is cultivated for 
perfume. In this respect the subspecies re- 
sembles the strongly scented Austral Island 
plants and contrasts with the relatively odor- 
less Hawaiian plants. The basal curvature of 
the style is another link between the Cook 
Island and Austral Island plants; but this 
character is probably dependent on the length 
of the style and is of no great intrinsic signi- 
ficance. 
Specimens examined 
COOK islands: 
Rarotonga, Wilder 781 (BISH, NY); Man- 
gaia, Nov. 1928, Graham (BISH). 
10. Myoporum Stokesii F. Brown, Bishop 
Mus. Bui. 130: 277-278, fig. 41. 1935. 
Pis. I, 12; II, 24, 36; III, 45 
Shrubs or trees, 1-5 m. high. Leaves elliptic- 
lanceolate, entire, glabrous, 3.5-9 cm. long, 
0.5-1. 7 cm. broad, acute, apiculate, or 
attenuate-acuminate, alate-petiolate. Flowers 
1-3 (rarely 4) per axil, sometimes accompan- 
ied by 1 or more small abortive flowers ; pedi- 
cels 0.7-1. 4 cm. long. Calyx 5-lobed, 
glandular- dotted; calyx lobes 2-4 mm. long, 
entire-margined. Corolla pure white or pink- 
spotted in the throat, rather heavily fragrant, 
9-12 mm. long, pubescent within. Stamens 4. 
Ovary 2. 5-3. 5 mm. long; style hirsutulous 
(rarely almost or quite glabrous), curved at 
the base, 4-6 mm. long when mature. Drupe 
translucent pink to red; endocarp turbinate, 
ridged, 4-6 (mostly 5) mm. long, 3-6-celled 
but mostly 4-celled. 
TYPE: Raivavae, Matotea, alt. 78 m., April 
28, 1922, Stokes 90, in the Bishop Museum 
Herbarium. 
This species, known from a single island, 
is closely related to M. rapense. Its differences 
are not very profound but appear to be con- 
stant; for instance, no leaves of M. Stokesii 
have been found to show the serrations of M. 
rapense. M. Stokesii is evidently more distant 
from the probable ancestor, Af. laetum, and it 
seems likely that the ancestral form which 
populated the Austral Islands and Rapa was 
very close to M. rapense var. rapense. 
■ This species is much more variable than M. 
rapense, and some of its forms diverge widely 
from the norm. Fosberg 11757 is remarkable for 
the petalloid appendages which are present on 
the stamens, but as no other specimen from 
the island shows this, the plant had better be 
regarded as a minor variant. 
The inconstancy of style pubescence in M. 
Stokesii raises difficulties in separating it from 
Al. sandwicense; the forms of M. Stokesii with 
glabrous styles can be positively distinguished 
from ssp. Wilderi only by their narrower leaf 
shape. The approach of these forms to ssp. 
Wilderi illustrates the difficulty of defining 
specific lines in the insular myoporums. Even 
though the distinctions between the Hawaiian 
and Austral Island species may thus break 
down, however, the species are in the main 
distinct, and it would be unwise to combine 
them before all the insular myoporums have 
been carefully studied. 
Specimens examined 
RAIVAVAE : 
Form 1. Style copiously hirsutulous. 
Near mountain top, alt. 1,000 ft., Chapin 
871 (NY); Pic Rouge, northwest side, alt. 
120 m., St.John & Fosberg 13947 (BISH) ; same 
locality, alt. 150 m., St. John & Fosberg 13936, 
13964 (BISH); Maunanui, ridge, alt. 900 ft., 
Stokes 11 (BISH) ; Matotea, alt. 78 m., Stokes 90 
(BISH, type — as to sheet from Raivavae); 
"Raivavae,” Whitney expedition 257 (NY). 
Form 2. Style hirsutulous; stamens with 
petalloid appendages. 
Vaiuru, N. E. slope, alt. 30 m., Fosberg 
11757 (BISH). 
Form 3. Style sparsely hirsutulous to gla- 
brous. 
South side of Mt. Turivao, rock ledge, alt. 
240 m., Fosberg 11784 (BISH); south side of 
Mt. Araua, alt. 300 m., St.John 16201 (BISH); 
