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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XXI, April 1967 
cence terminal; peduncle 35-65 cm long, 7-8 
mm in diameter, sharply trigonous, with a few 
leafy bracts, the uppermost one 39 cm long, 
2 cm wide; syncarp subtended by 6-7 pure 
white, subpetaloid bracts, the middle and upper 
ones 7-10 cm long, 3 cm wide, lanceolate, 
finely acicular ciliate; syncarp 6-11 cm long, 
5.5- 7 cm in diameter, broadly obovoid, single, 
terminal, erect, bearing numerous, crowded 
drupes, these 20-28 mm long, 4 mm in diam- 
eter, 3 mm thick, red to orange; pileus 5-6- 
angled, upper l/ 2 -% of drupe free, pileus 
6.5- 12 mm long, the surface smooth, the body 
ellipsoid but with sharp ridges and deep 
rounded valleys; style 3. 5-4. 5 mm long, subu- 
late, slightly curved, usually away from apex of 
syncarp; stigma 3-4 mm long, distal, linear, 
brown, papillose; endocarp in lower %, and 
7-11 mm long, cartilaginous, yellowish, the 
walls 0.2 mm thick, and at its summit enclosing 
all but the top of a fat discoid cavity; seed 
5-6 mm long, 3-5 mm in diameter, broad 
ellipsoid except for the concave apex; apical 
mesocarp with strong central fibers and soft 
pith forming the side tissues; basal mesocarp 
sparse and this fibrous and fleshy. 
Staminate plants 10 m tall, 20 mm in diam- 
eter; prop roots none; leaves 2.4 m long, 
5 cm wide near the base but at the middle 5.2 
cm wide, the base amplexicaul, entire, begin- 
ning 5-6 cm up the margins with spines 2-3 
mm long, 1-6 mm apart, stout serrae with 
subulate tips, single or a few doubled or 
trebled, yellowish; the midrib below beginning 
at 12.5 cm up with stout retrorse serrae, 1-1.5 
mm long, 2-8 mm apart; at the midsection the 
margins with teeth 1—1.5 mm long, 3-6 mm 
apart, subulate, appressed ascending; the mid- 
rib below sharp, raised, with similar teeth, 
but heavier based; near the apex the margins 
and the midrib below and the two secondary 
pleats above with serrae 0.8-1 mm long, 1-2 
mm apart ; the blade gradually narrowed to 
the subulate trigonous apex, the very tip lost, 
but about 10 cm down the tip 10 mm wide; 
staminate inflorescence 65 cm long, sparsely 
leafy bracted, the middle bract of the peduncle 
110 cm long, 6 cm wide, foliaceous, the midrib 
below and the margins spiny to serrate, the 
apex subulate, the peduncle 40 cm long, the 
main raceme with 8—10 lateral racemes, each 
subtended by a white, semipetaloid bract, the 
lower ones 40 cm long, 3 cm wide, the apical 
half green and foliaceous ; lateral racemes 
6-10 cm long, including the 5-7 -mm stipe, 
15 mm in diameter, densely flowered; stamens 
distinct; free filament 0.7-1. 6 mm long; 
anthers 6-7 mm long, linear, yellow, bearing 
an apical prolongation of the connective 1-2 
mm long, subulate. 
holotypus: Australia, North Queensland, 
Kuranda, Black Mt. Road, rain forest with 
Acacia, Calamus, and Gahnia, 1,000 ft alt, 
Feb. 4, 1958, H. St. John 26,233 (bish). 
specimens examined: Australia, North 
Queensland, 11 miles N. of Mossman, rain 
forest with Calamus, Myristica, and Hibiscus 
tiliaceus, 20 ft alt, Feb. 6, 1958, St. John 
26,264 (bish); 5 miles N. of Gadgarra Forest 
Station, 5 miles E. of Yungabarra, rain forest, 
2,130 ft alt, Feb. 11, 1958, St. John 26,277 
(drupes sterile) (bish) ; Bloomfield R., 1883, 
Barnard (mel) ; Russell R., 1886, F. von 
Mueller (mel) ; near Mulgrave R., [ F . von 
Mueller ] 144 (mel) ; Daintree R., 1882, 
Pentzke (mel) ; 11 miles N. of Mossman, rain 
forest with Calamus, Myristica, Hibiscus tilia- 
ceus, 20 ft alt, Feb. 5, 1958, St. John 26,263 
(bish). 
discussion: P. pluvisilvaticus is a member 
of the section Acrostigma, as is its closest rela- 
tive P. monticola F. Muell., a species with the 
endocarp 4-6 mm long, and with the seed 
forming °f the drupe; pileus 1 3—14 
mm long ; stigma 5-6 mm long ; anthers 
oblong-linear; free filament tips 0. 1-0.2 mm 
long; and the leaves 32-43 mm wide. P. plu- 
visilvaticus has the endocarp 7-11 mm long, 
and with the seed forming %-!/ 2 of the drupe ; 
pileus 6.5-12 mm long; stigma 3-4 mm long; 
anthers tapering upward ; free filament tips 
0.7-1. 3 mm long; and the leaves 36-58 mm 
wide. 
P. pluvisilvaticus is actually a common 
species, but it has been confused with the 
rather poorly described P. monticola F. Muell., 
which occurs in eastern Queensland in the rain 
forests at from 18° to 21° South. It has been 
reported by von Mueller from the Russell 
River at 17° 30' South, but he also had a col- 
