254 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. Ill, July, 1949 
grows here very plentifully and is likewise used 
in making the cloth.” Then in a footnote he 
described his new species as follows: "N. foliis 
late ovatis acuminatis crenatis utrique glabris!” 
Later, in 1843, in Walpers Enumeration of the 
family he transferred his own species to Boeh- 
meria with a slightly different description: 
"Foliis (oppositis an alternis ?) late ovatis acu- 
minatis crenatis utrinque glaberrimis penni- 
nerviis.” It seems from the data above that 
Meyen had a specimen of another genus rather 
similar in aspect to Neraudia, perhaps Piptums. 
The Hawaiian name "mamake” is recorded by 
most workers for Piptums and is basically the 
"mamaku” of Meyen. The crenate margin of the 
leaves is a definite characteristic of the species 
of Piptums and the penninerved condition of 
the leaves which Meyen describes does not fit 
Neraudia at all. Also this group, variety parvi- 
folia, occurs only in the Waianae Range. It 
seems obvious that Meyen’s name is based upon 
something other than Neraudia and it is ex- 
cluded although his material is now impossible 
to obtain for verification. The director of the 
herbarium at Vienna has notified us that the 
section of the herbarium containing the Ur- 
ticaceae was destroyed by fire during the recent 
war. This same catastrophe also destroyed 
Wawra’s material. 
This group has been the most commonly col- 
lected of the genus but it is quite local in its 
occurrence. It is separated from variety melas- 
tomaefolia and variety uncinata by the almost 
completely glabrous condition of the lower leaf 
surface, by the usually sharply conic achene, by 
the predominance of short, erect, uncinate hairs 
on the staminate flower calices, by the typically 
obtuse or sub-obtuse leaf bases, and by the thin 
to sub-membranous leaves. It has, in common 
with variety melastomae folia, pedicelled flowers, 
but it may be separated (even in the sterile 
condition) by the thinner leaves, the often 
obtuse or sub-obtuse base, and by the only 
slightly raised venation. The greatest difficulty 
in this group is that of getting actively flowering 
material and the result is that unless the material 
is in good flowering or fruiting condition it is 
difficult to identify with the keys. This is true 
because the pedicels which characterize the 
group are present only in a fertile or recently 
fertile state; Key II should assist in the iden- 
tification of such collections as are in the vege- 
tative state, without flowers, or only weakly 
flowering. (See Fig. 5 for distribution.) 
Neraudia melastomaefolia Gaud, variety Gau- 
dichaudii Cowan, var. nov. 
Diagnosis typi: A var. melastomaefolia differt 
in foliis subtus adpressi-pilosulis, lobis caly- j 
cum masculorum sine pilis uncinatis. 
Description of all material examined: Shrub; 
upper branchlets curving, pendent, sparsely ap- 
pressed pilosulose. Petioles 1-4 cm. long, 
sparsely pilosulose. Leaf blades 6.5-14.0 cm. 
long, 3. 5-6.0 cm. wide, averaging 9 cm. long, 
4 cm. wide, elliptic, thin to thickish, usually 
triplinerved; above glabrous or with very few 
appressed hairs, below pilosulose with many 
long, straight, appressed or sub-erect hairs ( 0.8- 
1.0 mm. long) scattered over entire surface; 
principal veins raised, primary branches 
less salient; base cuneate and usually markedly 
decurrent, apex abruptly acuminate with 
usually a blunt tip. Pistillate flowers sessile, 
calyx pilosulose with many appressed, as- 
cending hairs, beak attenuate apically with 
four acuminate teeth at apex; stigma 2-5 mm. 
long, one side lacking receptive stigmatic hairs. 
Achene 175-2.0 mm. long, apical portion de- 
pressed conic, separated from basal portion by 
only slight constriction, basal portion thickened, 
flattened, 2. 0-2. 5 mm. in diameter, outer mar- 
gin plane. Staminate flowers on short pedicels 
0.5-1.0 mm. long, calyx pilosulose with many 
straight, appressed, ascending hairs, lobes navi- 
cular, 3-4 mm. long, 1.0-1. 5 mm. wide; fila- 
ments 3. 5-4.0 mm. long, 0.4-0. 5 mm. wid«" 
anther sacs L 5-2.0 mm. long, 075-1.0 m»* 
wide. 
Type: Selling 3697 , Oahu: Koolau Mts., Pun- Ji 
luu. September 27, 1938. (Type deposited L 
Bishop Museum [Ho].) 
