170 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL XIII, April, 1959 
establish it as distinct from the Hawaiian E. 
sandwicensis Degener (see St. John, 1955: 
293-299). 
Degener gives under his new name, E. 
sandwicensis, a list of synonyms and usages, 
but the earliest and the basic one is E. mono- 
sperma Gaud., the first name given to the 
Hawaiian "wiliwili” tree. This is confirmed 
by the fact that Degener gives a type locality: 
"In insulis Sandwicensibus (Alt. 350-400 
hex.)." This is a quotation from the single 
locality given by Gaudichaud for his new E. 
monosperma. Hence, Degener’s concept rests 
primarily on that of Gaudichaud. Gaudichaud 
obtained a specimen and this was illustrated 
in his atlas in detail, showing stem, leaves, 
buds, flowers, fruit, seeds, and details. He 
mentions the plant in his phytogeographic 
discussion (1827: 93) where he describes the 
second region, where, after leaving the low- 
land cultivated areas, and entered as one be- 
gins to ascend and to encounter the first in- 
digenous plants, but he gives no further 
details here, other than the vernacular name, 
"ouiliwiri.” His brief description (1830: 486) 
is here quoted: 
"1. Erythrina monosperma. PL 114. 
E. arborea; inermis; foliolis late ovato- 
reniformibus, obtusis, subtus calycibusque 
molliter fuscenti-tomentosis; fructibus mono- 
spermis. 
In insulis Sandwicensibus (Alt. 350-400 
hex.)." 
There are trees or branches of trees of the 
"wiliwili" that are unarmed, but usually there 
are numerous branches beset with short 
spines, so the unarmed branches are not di- 
agnostic. The smaller pods may be 1-seeded, 
but much more characteristically the pods 
are several-seeded. Gaudichaud’s description 
omits mention of the color of flower or fruit, 
but in the Explanation of Plates in his Atlas 
(1826-30: 21) for plate 114, fig. 9, he states, 
"Graine rouge fonce. ..." Thus we know 
that his specimen was red-seeded, but the 
color of flower was not recorded. The flowers 
are fleshy, and are borne in heavy, dense 
racemes, so that even today, with the best 
drying methods using artificial heat, it is ex- 
pected to have the flowers fade to dull brown. 
Degener (1932: family I69c) describes his 
E. sandwicensis, as with, "Standard . . . orange- 
red to rarely yellow or even white . . .; wings 
greenish yellow...; keel greenish yellow. 
..." This seems a composite description of 
the plant population that he included in the 
species, but it is clear that he included the 
common form of the species which has the 
corollas orange or shading from yellow to 
scarlet. In some, the bases of the corollas are 
greenish, but the predominant colors are as 
stated above. This color form is also the 
biological type of the species, and the writer 
here chooses it as the nomenclatural type. In 
the Bishop Museum the specimens of this 
forma sandwicensis for which there is record of 
the color, have it given as follows: orange, 
orange, orange, red, green and pink. Various 
other botanists in Hawaii have published ac- 
counts of the tree now called E. sandwicensis, 
and below are quoted their descriptions of 
the flower colors. Mann wrote (1867: 185) 
flowers "red, much the color of red coral, 
with some yellow, showy." Mrs. Sinclair said 
(1885: pi. 18 with text), "The flowers vary in 
colour from pale yellow to orange scarlet. 
There is no perceptible difference in the trees, 
but the natives say the wood of those with 
scarlet flowers is slightly harder and more 
durable than the other. . . ." Her colored 
plate shows the corolla orange blending 
to scarlet, the seeds bright red. Hillebrand 
(1888: 99) stated, flowers "pale red or orange, 
rarely yellow." Rock recorded (1913: 191) 
the "flowers pale yellow or brick red. ..." 
Then later (1919: 49), flowers "brick red, 
orange or pale yellow." He later repeats this 
same description (1920: 183). Degener’s 
flower description has already been quoted. 
Nearly all of these writers agree that the tree 
has flowers that are orange or yellow shading 
to scarlet. This is the kind here selected as the 
type form. The other ones with different 
flower colors are here described as color 
