90 
WRIGHT : THE GENUS DIOSPYROS 
Gardneri the numerous stamens are arranged in pairs, the 
inner stamen of each pair having a shorter filament united 
throughout to the filament of the outer stamen ; in D. Ebenum 
the stamens are united to form groups of three or four, the 
filament of the individuals of each group being united in the 
basal part, and therefore attached to the corolla as a single 
column ; in D. pruriens the fusion has gone to such an extent 
that a single column formed by the fusion of the filaments 
of twelve or more stamens exists, similar to what occurs in 
the Malvaceæ. The importance of these stages in the fusion 
of the stamens when numerous will be discussed later. 
We will now describe the types of male staminal whorls 
met with in Ceylon species. 
(i a ) The simplest type is that in which the stamens are few 
in number and disposed so as to be in definite orientation to 
the members of other whorls. This is seen in D. hirsuta 
and D. Moonii, where each male flower possesses five epipeta- 
lous stamens alternating with the corolla lobes. 
(b) A slightly more complex type is where the number of 
stamens is in excess of the members of any other whorl and 
their orientation becomes variable. In D. oppositif olia there 
are eight stamens usually arranged as four pairs alternating 
with the four corolla lobes. The members of each pair are 
separate from one another throughout their length, and a 
variation occurs when the members of one or more pairs 
become relatively widely separated. In D. acuta there may 
be only five stamens alternating with the corolla lobes, or 
there may be seven or nine, in which case some of the 
number may be single and the remainder as pairs with fused 
filaments. In D. Gardneri the complexity is increased, since 
there may be from six to eight pairs of stamens definitely 
orientated to the corolla lobes, or a monadelphous ring of 
stamens may occur. 
( c ) The next type is where the number of stamens is very 
large and no orientation to other whorls can be distinguished. 
In D. Embryopteris the male flower may possess from 
