VOL. No. 490\I BLUMEA XVIII, 2, 1970 of New Guinea. Inflorescences are visible Plate I. Tree of Gastonia spectabilis, Kassam Pass, Territory below the leaves. The Malesian species of Gastonia (Araliaceae) W.R. Philipson Department of Botany, University of Canterbury, New Zealand but Only two species of Gastonia occur in Malesia, each has a complex taxonomie is history. The species which became known first, G. papuana Miq., evidently an uncom- of coastal and lowland but with wide It has been collected mon plant forest, a very range. islands ofthe only once, or at most a few times, from each ofmany Malayan Archipelago of these and once from the mainland the Peninsula. Most of collections were made in the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. Only in western New Guinea has this species times The this been collected in more recent within our area. distribution of species shows several disjunctions, the most striking being that between West Irian and its only known the east of the Solomon Islands. that this locality in extreme It is interesting gap corresponds with the distributional range of the second species, G. spectabilis (Harms) of the of Philipson, which overlaps that G. papuana only in west New Guinea (fig. 1). The G. in its widely dispersed range of papuana has resulted being described as several distinct from different of first named when three species parts its range. It was in 1863, names appeared in two genera. Miquel (1863) applied the names Tetraplasandra paucidens and Gastonia this and and described it papuana to species, Teysmann Binnendijk (1863) as Tetraplasandra eupteronoides. I am grateful to Professor van Steenis for information on of of these issued the sequence publication names. Miquel’s publication was on 2 July volume of the 1863 (Stafleu, 1967). A report in 27 ‘Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor that first Nederlandsch Indië’ states volume 25 was issued in six instalments, the of which in The five in Professor Steenis has appeared 1862. remaining parts appeared 1863. van examined the and concludes that which the publication page 416, on name T. euptero- noides the final appeared, belongs to instalment, and must therefore have been issued late and event later than this take in 1863, in any July. For reason, Miquel’s names pre- & have chosen cedence over that of Teysmann Binnendijk. Of Miquel’s two names, I to that which he in Gastonia. In this the need for combination is use placed way a new this from avoided. As can be seen from its synonymy species was described other islands by subsequent authors. second and The species is more restricted in its geographical range, since it is most frequent in upland forests ofNew Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Is its discovery was more recent. Nevertheless, it is now represented more frequently in herbaria because it is a striking and not uncommon tree (plate 1). GASTONIA & Pfl. 8 Comm. ex Lamk, Encycl. 2 (1786) 610; Harms in E. P., Nat. Fam. 3, (1898) 43; Hutchinson, Gen. Flow. Pi. 2 (1967) 68. Notizbl. Berl.-Dahl. Peekeliopanax Harms, 9 (1926) 478, fig. Indokingia Hemsl. in Hook., Ic. Pi. (1906) t. 2805. 491 BLUMEA No. 492 VOL. XVIII, 2, 1970 in Known G. indicated black Fig. 1. Distribution of Gastonia Malesia. localities of papuana are by dots. in The range of G. spectabilis is enclosed a broken line. Trees with thick branches, glabrous or tomentose. Leaves large, imparipinnate, exstip- ulate; leaflets entire or crenate. Flowers in umbellules which are arranged racemosely, in inflorescence continuous with the base of the or verticils, on strong branches; pedicels with ovary. Calyx forming a continuous rim an entire or indistinctly denticulate margin. of free Stamens either in number the Corolla 5 —13 petals or calyptrate, fleshy. equal to filaments anthers petals or several times as many; usually rather short and thick; large, often irregularly lobcd, dorsifixed. Ovary inferior, broadly obconic; cells 7 —22; disk with in number the cells from its Fruit fleshy, stylar processes equal to rising centre. a when with indistinct flattened spherical berry (strongly ribbed dry), an calyx rim, a disk, and of a prominent stylopodium bearing a ring radiating stigmatic arms; exocarp fleshy, often enclosing compressed, angled, crustaceous pyrenes. the and About 10 species, occurring in East Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles Masca- and the the renes, Malesia, Solomons, recognized by combination of pinnate exstipulate and fruit leaves, pedicels lacking articulations, a globular with radiating stigmatic arms. The androecium is anisomerous in the two Malesian species and some others, but is isomerous in other species. KEY TO THE SPECIES caducous I. Whole plant glabrous. Main inflorescence branches borne on an elongated axis with bracts; the peduncles of the umbellules mostly aggregated into pseudo-whorls. Corolla with free petals. Ovary cells and style arms usually less than 10 (6—9(—12)). Leaflets usually sparsely crenate or entire G. I. papuana Main 1. Young parts with scurfy tomentum, persisting on the ovary and bracts. inflorescence branches borne sub-umbellately on a short axis with persistent bracts; the peduncles of the umbellules scattered. Corolla calyptrate. Ovary cells and style arms usually more than 10 (12—18(—22)). Leaflets strongly crenate 2. G. spectabilis I. Gastonia papuana Miq., Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd.-Bat. I (1863) 5. — Tetraplasandra — G. & paucidens Miq., I.e. 4. 1 eupteronoides Teysm. Binn., Nat. Tijd. Ned. Ind. 23 (1863) — — koor- 416. Polyscias papuana (Miq.) Seem., Journ. Bot. 3 (1865) 181. Tetraplasandra dersii Harms, Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg 19 (1904) 12. — Tetraplasandra philippinensis Sc. — G. in Merr., Philip. Journ. 1 (1906) Suppl. 219. winkleri Harms Fedde, Rep. 15 W. R. Philipson: The Malesian species of Gastonia (Araliaceae) 493 (1917) 20. — Tetraplasandra solomonensis Philipson, Bull. Brit. Mus. (Bot.) i (1951) 11. with clear bole Shrub or small tree, sometimes epiphytic, up to 20 m high, to 15 m, crown sparsely branched with leaves crowded at the ends of the branches, glabrous, Leaves rachis unarmed. up to 80 by 20 cm; petiole c. 13 cm, terete, with clasping base; articulated, leaflets in c. 10 pairs, petiolules up to 1 cm, blade oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, leaflets entire middle 8—14(—18) by 2.5—5-5(—8) cm, chartaceous, and sub-revolute, several base or with few obscure, more rarely prominent crenations, broadly cuneate, apex rounded and bluntly apiculate or tapering and acute, midrib prominent. Inflores- cence terminal, glabrous with a stout primary axis 15—25 cm long, bearing scattered or clustered branches along its length and ending in an umbel of about 10 branches; bracts caducous, secondary branches 30—40 cm, bearing numerous subverticillate peduncles and somewhat along their length ending in an umbel; peduncles c. 3 cm long, longer umbellules flowers. in fruit; pedicels 10—23 mm, forming of c. 10 Flower buds (when dry) rim Petals c. 7 by 3 mm. Calyx entire, undulate. 5 —9, slightly fleshy, fully separated. Stamens variable in number((7—)i4—55), filaments short, anthers broad and irregularly lobed, variable in size. Ovary glabrous, smoothly rounded below, slightly constricted with below the calyx, cells 6— 12, usually c. 9, disk a prominent rim and, at anthesis, a central boss formed by closely appressed subulate style arms equal in number to the Fruit the flattened ovary cells. c. 9 by 7 mm (without stylopodium), stylopodium ending black in a ring or double row of radiating subulate stigmatic arms, when ripe, the fleshy exocarp enclosing compressed crustaceous pyrenes. Henderson MALAY PENINSULA. Johore, sea level, 1939, 36272 (LAE, SING). ~ of Sunda Straits. Dwars in den Weg (Sangian I.), Forsten (L, type Tetraplasandrapaucidens Miq.), Teys- of Gastonia mann (L, type eupteronoides Teysm. & Binn.). Without & Hasselt West Java. locality, Kuhl van (L). Lesser Sunda Islands. Iboet north Sumba, Kanangar, 1925, 537 (L); Timor, Teysmann 8743« (L); Wctar, of Ilwaki, 775 m, 1939, b.b. 27220 (A, L, SING). BORNEO. Karimata km E. of Is, Teysmann (L). Sg. Tajan (c. 100 Pontianak), Teysmann 11324 (L). Kwam, 1908, Hubert Winkler 3078 (type of Gastonia winkleri Harms, not seen). PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Palawan, 1906, Curran 3809 (K), 3844 (K, L). CELEBES. Without locality, Teysmann (B); south east Peninsula, Lepo-Lepo,Beccari (K). — Minahassa, i895. Koorders 16102, 16103 (type of Tetraplasandra koordersii Harms, not seen). Moluccas. Talaud Is, Karakelong, slopes of Mt Piapi, 400 m, 1926, Lam 3262 (L). New Guinea. & Hatusima Vogelkop, 60 miles south of Manokwari, sea level, 1940, Kanehira '3047(A); _ _ Klasoen hill, south east of Sorong, 50 m, 1954, van Royen 4ogo (CANB, LAE); Ajamaru, 240 m, 1962, W. BW side of Vink 15261 (CANB, LAE); Tanah Merah, north Lake Ajamaru, 220 m, 1962, W. Vink Irian. Docters van Leeuwen BW 15398 (CANB, L, LAE). — North West Rouffaer River, 250 m, 1926,, 10288 — of without (L). South West Irian. Lobo, Zippelius 1178 (K, L, type Gastonia papuana Miq.); locality, — & BW — Zippelius 191 (L). Biak Island, 90 m, 1959, Versteegh Vink 8282 (L, LAE). WaigeuI., 1955, van Royen 5505 (L, LAE). in Also the Solomon Islands (San Cristoval, as Tetraplasandra solomonensis Philipson). Vernacular Ara-orach names. Langatora (Talaud Is); Mantsenongor (Biak); Raauwrach, or (Vogelkop, Maibrat). Notes. The outer bark is described as light brown, strongly peeling with small, oblong, brittle scales. Inner bark, leaves, and inflorescences with copious sticky juice. Wood soft, white. The white. petals are variously described as purple, light green, and This has and be found local sub- species a wide geographical range may to comprise insufficient has within species, but material been collected to establish these. The variation Guinea is the remainder of its The entire or serrate nature of New as great as over range. the leaf number of and the number of margins, the ovary cells, especially stamens are variable characters but show no discernable geographical segregation.