Revision of Genus Alstonia — MONACHINO 
32. Alstonia montana Turrill, in Jour. Linn. 
Soc., London, Bot., 43: 32. 1915. 
A . Smithii Markgraf, in Bui. Bernice P. 
Bishop Mus., Honolulu, 141: 125, fig. 65a. 
1936. 
Branchlets generally slender; petioles 1-3.5 
cm. long; leaf blades 5-15 cm. long, 2.5—6 cm. 
broad, mostly obtuse or rounded at apex, some- 
times bluntly short-acuminate, glabrous, the 
lateral nerves 11-22 pairs, 4-7 mm. apart. In- 
florescence usually few-flowered; calyx 1.4— 2.6 
mm. diam. below lobes; corolla tube 3-6 mm. 
long; corolla lobes oblong-lanceolate, 3-7 mm. 
long, pilose toward base within; anthers 0.9-1.6 
mm. long. Seeds 7-10 mm. long, the tails short, 
2-4 mm. long, often obscurely lobed, their forks 
close to body of seed. 
Type. — "Nandarivatu, by 'Governor’s Seat’ 
in flower and fruit, Jan. 31, 1906, im Thurn, 
58.” Fiji, Viti Levu. 
Illustration. — Type of A. Smithii (leafy 
br. and infl., leaf). 
Distribution. — Throughout Fiji and appar- 
ently also in Samoa; reported from rain forest, 
dense brush or thickets, open forest; altitude 
500-1,200 m. 
Fiji . — Wilkes. Viti Levu: Degener 13596, 
14396 (A), 14424, 14673 (A), 14800; Deg- 
ener and Ordonez 13589\ Gillespie 3286, 3375 
(Bish), 3586, 3801 (UC ), 3899, 3901 (Bish, 
UC), 4131 (UC); Greenwood 361 (Bri), 
362 (Bri, K); E. im Thurn 58 (type coll.; 
BM, K) ; Parks 20505 (UC) ; Tothill 388 ( K) . 
Vanua Levu: A. C. Smith 697 (type coll. A. 
Smithii ; fl.; GH, NY, UC, US), 711, 1722, 
1758. Ovalau: Gillespie 4428 (UC). 
Samoa. — Tutuila: Christophersen 1061. 
Vernacular names. — Ndrengandrenga, 
Rerese, Soroua. 
Type of A. Smithii. — "Vanua Levu: Thaka- 
undrove, summit of Mount Mbatini, in dense 
thickets, alt. 1,030 m., Nov. 29, 1933, 
Smith 697 (Type), 711.” A. C. Smith (in 
herb.) queries whether A. Smithii is distinct 
from A. montana. The form of authority-cita- 
tion accepted here for the former is debatable 
in different interpretations of Art. 48 of the 
173 
International Rules. In my understanding, 
however, the responsibility for the publication 
of A. Smithii rests almost entirely on Mark- 
graf who named and described the plant and 
who treated the Apocynaceae in Smith’s article 
entitled Fijian Plant Studies. 
32a. Alstonia montana var. filiformis Mona- 
chino, var. nov. 
A forma typica speciei floribus minoribus, 
calicibus 1-1.3 mm. latis, et ramulis inflor- 
escentiae filiformibus recedit. 
Leaf blades becoming more coriaceous than 
in the typical form, the lateral nerves more 
numerous and closer, mostly 16-22 pairs, 4-6 
mm. apart. Inflorescence with filiform spread- 
ing branches and pedicels; calyx 1-1.3 mm. in 
diameter below lobes; corolla tube 2.5-4 mm. 
long; corolla lobes 2-5 mm. long, pilose at base 
or sparsely so on the entire face within. 
Type. — J. Horne 1043, Fiji Islands, June 
1878. "Small tree 15-20 feet in height. Flow- 
ers yellow, small. Common in the woods at 
Nabesi, Suva, Viti Levu.” (Kew.) 
Distribution. — Throughout Fiji. Reported 
from margins of woods or woods, mountains 
up to 300 m. altitude; said to be "common on 
the poorest as well as on the richest soils, in 
sheltered as well as in exposed places.” 
Fiji. — Horne 587 (fl.; GH), 607 (fl. and 
fr.; K); Storck 3 (fl. and fr.; GH, K, NY), 20 
(fl. and fr.; GH, K). Viti Levu: Horne 861 
(fl. and fr.; GH, K), 1043 (type coll.; fl.; GH, 
K), 1057 (fr.; GH); MacDaniels 1150 (Suva; 
A, det.?; fl. larger, approaching typical form); 
Tothill 396 and 427 and F475 (Bish; det.?). 
Vanua Levu: Milne 213 and 215 and 261 (K), 
A. C. Smith 1540 (det.?). Naviti Levu: Milne 
101 (fr.; K). Ovalu: Gillespie 4549 (fl.; 
Bish, UC). 
This variety approaches very closely A. Lenor- 
mandi of New Caledonia. 
J. Horne (1881) refers to 861 as a new 
species. He presents an interesting discussion 
on forms of Alstonia found in Fiji. There is a 
large-leaved form growing in rich soil at the 
bottom of valleys and ravines; this attains a 
