244 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. Ill, July, 1949 
or acuminate or long-acuminate apex. Pistillate 
flowers sessile or with filiform pedicels 0.5-2 
mm. long; calyx pilosulose, with few ascending, 
•appressed hairs, and with or without some 
shorter, erect, uncinate hairs; beak usually at- 
tenuate apically, sometimes expanded, four- 
toothed at apex; stigma 2-8 mm. long, receptive 
on all surfaces or stigmatic hairs absent on one 
side. Achene 1.0-3. 5 mm. long, apical portion 
sharply conic to depressed-conic, separated from 
basal portion by slight or incomplete constric- 
tion or without constriction, basal portion flat- 
tened, depressed-convex or convex, 2-3 mm. in 
diameter, plane or involute at outer margin; seed 
ellipsoid or ovoid. Staminate flowers sessile or 
pedicelled, with four navicular, acutely or acu- 
minately tipped lobes, 4-6 mm. long, 1. 5-2.0 
mm. wide, pubescence of lobes mostly straight, 
ascending, appressed or mostly erect or sub-erect 
uncinate hairs; pistil rudiment 0. 3-2.0 mm. long, 
filaments 2. 5-5.0 mm. long, 0.5-1.0 mm. wide, 
connective swollen-fleshy or unswollen; anthers 
reniform, 1. 5-2.0 mm. long, 0.8-1.0 mm. wide. 
The subspecific entities which comprise this 
species are distinct enough to be considered 
varieties but to accord them higher rank is, I 
believe, without justification. I feel that species 
should show constant morphological characters 
with no or few intermediate forms whereas 
varieties very often have such intermediate 
forms. The varieties melastomaefolia, uncinata, 
puhescens, and Gaudichaudii are superficially 
similar but variety parvifolia has a different 
aspect. 
Hillebrand (1888) included all the groups 
which he knew in the one species, N. melasto- 
maefolia, with a variety, parvifolia. This variety 
was, as Hillebrand’s citation shows, a transfer 
of Wawra’s forma parvifolia of N. sericea (as 
applied by Wawra) to N. melastomaefolia. The 
transfer is herein accepted and the name applied 
to one of the varietal groups. 
Certain inaccuracies in Gaudichaud’s plate 
have become apparent on examination of his 
material. The leaves are illustrated as palmate 
with blunt apices, but the leaf tips in his ma- 
terial are sharp and most of the leaves are 
tripli nerved to some degree. The flowers on 
the pistillate branch of his habit sketch are 
strikingly similar to those of Pipturus and I 
believe that material of this genus was used for | 
this part of the plate. Gaudichaud’s artist i 
shows stipules which are interpetiolar with the 
appearance of thorns rather than intrapetiolar, 1 
membranous structures. The bract-like struc- 
ture at the base of his young pistillate flower 
is not uniformly present. The margin of the apex 
of the calyx neck is actually toothed rather than 
entire, and the fleshy calyx surrounding the 
achene is depressed-globose instead of convex. 
The achene is not stalked and is attached to the 
calyx on the ventral surface except at the outer 
margin. The seed is represented in his plate 
as having a constriction and the seed cavity as 
extending to the apex of the achene but neither 
is true. The staminate flowers are really oblong- 
elliptic rather than globose and the tips of the 
calyx lobes are much thicker than illustrated. 
Neraudia melastomaefolia Gaud, variety me- 
lastomaefolia Cowan, var. nov. 
Fig. 1 
Neraudia melastomaefolia Gaud., Freyc. Voy. 
Uranie Bot.: 500, pi. 117, 1830. 
Description of Gaudichaud’s material: Upper 
branchlets with many ascending, appressed hairs. 
Petioles 1.0-4. 5 cm. long with few to many 
ascending, appressed hairs. Leaf blades 8.5-12.0 
cm. long, 2. 5-4. 5 cm. wide, narrow elliptic to 
oval, thick, mostly tripli nerved, glabrous above, 
lower surface with few ascending, appressed 
hairs on principal veins, margin entire, base 
cuneate-decurrent, or only cuneate, apex evenly 
long-acuminate, principal veins very strongly 
raised on lower leaf surface. Pistillate flowers 
on slender pedicels 0. 5-2.0 mm. long; calyx 
with many ascending, appressed hairs and some 
erect, uncinate hairs; beak attenuate apically; 
stigma non-receptive on one side. Staminate 
flowers on pedicels 0.5-1. 5 mm. long; calyx 
with both short, erect, uncinate hairs and longer 
straight, ascending, appressed hairs, lobes thick, 
