292 
cral bracts of F. cuneata ssp. tahaaensis (Fig. 
17) resemble closely the description given for 
typical F. cuneata in the monograph. This re- 
semblance is especially evident in the lack of 
sclerenchyma. Only an occasional lignified cell 
(usually near a vein) can be found. Collenchy- 
matic thickening may occur near outer or inner 
faces of the bract. In the section shown, more 
than a single series of bundles may be seen; 
some of these bundles have distorted orienta- 
tion of xylem and phloem, a condition men- 
tioned in the monograph for F. speciosa. This 
condition is probably occasional among larger 
bracts of several species. The thickness of the 
involucral bract, as well as its lack of scleren- 
chyma, identifies the two subspecies of F. cu- 
neata closely with each other. The receptacular 
bract (Fig. 18) of a head at anthesis certainly 
lacks sclereids, although a greater degree of 
lignification might be apparent in bracts of a 
head in fruit. 
ACHENES: Awn shape and anatomy proved 
useful characteristics in distinguishing species 
of Fitchia. In comparing illustrations of these 
( Carlquist, 1957: plate 8) with these of the 
new taxa (Figs. 8, 10) this also proves to be 
true. In F. cordata (Fig. 8), the awns tend to 
be rounded in transectional shape, like those of 
F. nutans. However, they show a tendency to 
be wider than those of F. nutans. They have a 
single vascular bundle and, unlike at least some 
awns of F. nutans, they lack a secretory canal. 
Awns of F. cuneata ssp. tahaaensis (Fig. 10) are 
like those figured for the typical F. cuneata in 
all respects. Presence of three longitudinal zones 
of trichomes tends to make them triangular as 
seen in transectional view. Where such tri- 
chomes are absent, awns may have a more 
rounded shape. 
COROLLA: In the monograph, considerable 
attention was focused on the importance of 
venation patterns of Fitchia corollas, both for 
their phylogenetic importance within Compos i- 
tae and for their usefulness in distinguishing 
species. Corolla venation patterns are not illus- 
trated here for the new taxa because they con- 
tribute relatively few novel features and can 
be referred to patterns illustrated in the mono- 
graph. Although few flowers of F . cordata could 
be studied in this respect (on account of the 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XVII, July 1963 
ravages of the living plant by insects ) , the vena- 
tion pattern of this species is substantially like 
that figured for F. cuneata or F. tahitensis. There 
is some variation in the levels at which adja- 
cent lateral veins in each lobe join beneath 
sinuses, but differences in these levels are not 
nearly so extreme as the condition figured for 
F. nutans (Carlquist, 1957: 10). In their rela- 
tively short length (ca. 18 mm) the corollas 
of F. cordata approximate those of F. tahitensis 
also. 
Corollas of F. cuneata ssp. tahaaensis have 
similar size and venation features. Typically, 
the patterns are the same as mentioned for F. 
cordata. However, occasionally a pair of adjacent 
laterals do not join beneath a sinus, but con- 
tinue into the tube and achene without joining. 
This condition does occur occasionally in the 
other species, such as F. speciosa. A feature of 
interest in the corolla of F. cuneata ssp. taha- 
aensis is the presence of one or two supernu- 
merary veins in each lobe. In addition to the 
median and lateral veins, these fine supernu- 
merary veins may be present for a short distance 
near the base of the lobe. Such veins were not 
seen in the typical F. cuneata, for which, how- 
ever, mature corollas were not available. Super- 
numerary veins are occasional in corollas of F. 
speciosa, and characteristically abundant in those 
of F. mangarevensis. 
The occurrence of larger numbers of veins 
in corollas of F. mangarevensis is particularly 
interesting, since that species is close to F. 
rapensis. Corollas, now available, of F. rapensis 
confirm this relationship in the similarly elabo- 
rate venation pattern (Fig. 26). This similarity 
is shown in the presence of five veins per lobe, 
rather than three. Such a condition is basic in 
the construction of the F. rapensis corolla, al- 
though additional veins or vein fragments may 
be present. The outermost veins of each lobe 
fuse at the tips of many corolla lobes. The co- 
rolla venation of F. mangarevensis (Carlquist, 
1957:14) is somewhat more complicated than 
this, because although the five-vein condition 
may be observed in some lobes in that species, 
additional veins are more frequent. The pres- 
ence of complex corolla venation in both F. 
rapensis and F. mangarevensis is interesting in 
that it raises the question of how complex 
