ALBERT

Description: Exbucklandia R. W. Brown ( Bucklandia R. Br. non Pr. ex Sternb., Symingtonia Steen.) In an article on \xe2\x80\x9cAlterations in some fossil and living floras\xe2\x80\x9d (J. Wash. Ac. Sc. 36: 348. Oct. 1946) R. W. Brown proposed the new generic name Exbucklandia for the Hamamelidaceous genus Bucklandia R. Br., non Pr. ex Sternb., while describing a new fossil species from the United States. He also transferred B. populnea to the new genus. Unfortunately I had overlooked this publication when proposing Symingtonia to replace Bucklandia R. Br. (Acta Bot. Neerl. 1: 443\xe2\x80\x94444. 1952). Exbucklandia will have to be accepted for it in future. The Indo-Chinese species B. tonkinensis Lecomte should be referred to as Exbucklandia tonkinensis (Lecomte) Steen. comb. nov. I have to thank Dr E. H. Walker for pointing my attention to R. W. Brown\xe2\x80\x99s paper.

Description: This charming and handy book printed on excellent paper, with its numerous clear pictures of well-known Malayan plants, reminds one in many ways of Merrill\xe2\x80\x99s \xe2\x80\x9cPlant Life of the Pacific World\xe2\x80\x9d (MacMillan 1946, New York), which has perhaps served Prof. Holttum as an example. Its size being only slightly smaller than Merrill\xe2\x80\x99s book and the area covered being very considerably smaller, its descriptions of plants are naturally more detailed; the more so as only a choice has been made, in which the special interests of the author \xe2\x80\x94 ferns, orchids, gingers \xe2\x80\x94 are evident though not predominant.\nThe plants described are not regionally arranged. The 17 chapters are rather headed by names of life-forms, striking organs, and special habitats. As is pointed out in the Preface, the book is \xe2\x80\x9cintended primarily for the Malayan resident who wishes to begin a study of Malayan plants\xe2\x80\x9d. In this purpose the book will doubtless prove to be a success: the reader is gradually taught quite a bit of botany of various fields, morphology, anatomy, ecology, hybridisation, etc. These are demonstrated at plants which are within easy reach of the ordinary layman for which it is destined. Short opening and concluding chapters deal with general features of tropical plants and with the Malayan forest. Since the author is a well-known expert and the Malayan flora as here described is a very good example of any flora between, say, Calcutta and Fiji, it may well be useful to residents of many other countries as well.

Description: A study has been made of the Indo-Malaysian species of Cnestis. The mutual length ratio of sepals and petals, \xe2\x80\x94 brevi- and aequipetaly \xe2\x80\x94, is the main differentiating character for the species; there are no transitions. The areas of distribution overlap in the Malay Peninsula (fig. 1); brevipetalous types are known from the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Celebes, aequipetalous types from Burma, Siam, Indo-China and the Andaman Islands, the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. Fruits are of two different shapes: beaked in aequipetalae of the Andamans, Burma, Siam, and Indo-China, pear-shaped in remaining aequipetalae and in brevipetalae. Leaves tend to be longer and jugae more numerous in brevipetalae than in aequipetalae.\nOther characters do not have so clear a separating value, such as texture and indumentum of leaflets, indumentum of inflorescence, texture and indumentum of petals, length of stamens, type and length of pistils, length ratio of stamens and pistils. However, even on the strength of these characters there is some reason to distinguish both groups mentioned above. As to the indumentum of petals there is a remarkable cline in a decreasing sense from the Philippines to continental Asia, the Andamans and the Malay Peninsula and back to the east through the brevipetalae of Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Celebes.\nBrevi- and aequipetalae have been considered to represent two species, viz Cnestis platantha Griff. and Cnestis palala (Lour.) Merrill. The latter one has been divided into two subspecies, viz subsp. palala with beaked fruits and subsp. diffusa (Blanco) Andreas with pear-shaped fruits. For their area of distribution see fig. 1.\nIn many respects some plants of the Andamans, Burma, Siam, Indo-China (and the Malay Peninsula) are different from the remaining aequipetalae, but not in a uniform way as to the various characters. Although there are some arguments for a further taxonomic subdivision, we did not think it advisable to introduce such a division at present. Our classification differs from the division as given by Schellenberg (1938). This was caused by the material on one hand, being more heterogeneous than Schellenberg described it, and, on the other hand, by the fact that some of the diagnostic characters used by him, in our opinion were not fit for use as such. Therefore a revision of Schellenberg\xe2\x80\x99s system of the genus Cnestis seems desirable.

Description: In Madro\xc3\xb1o (1936) Herre has lamented the disappearance of lichen species through the disastrous interference of man. Unavoidably, the advance of civilised modern life is linked with destruction of the vegetation. This applies all the more as the endangered area is more densely populated and it certainly applies most alarmingly to the lichen flora of the Netherlands. Here, every way-side tree felled is an irreparable loss to the epiphytic lichen communities, every acre of heath burnt or turned into arable land is a blow to our stock of terrestrial lichen species, whereas the use of dry fertilisers and the spraying of orchards are very effective in killing any lichen in the neighbourhood that otherwise might have survived. A comparison of the material preserved in the older collections with what can be found nowadays, clearly shows what has gone lost. It is sad to think that an ever increasing number of species are on their way to total extermination.\nHowever, from a thorough investigation of the epiphytic communities of cryptogams latterly started by Mr J. J. Barkman, it becomes apparent that at least to some extent the losses may be compensated by the discovery of species hitherto overlooked or not recognised. It is on such and other finds that I intend to report from time to time.

Description: Gynostemma hederifolia (Decne) Cogn. in D.C., Monogr. Phan. 3: 916, 1881. (\xe2\x80\x9chederaefolia\xe2\x80\x9d). \xe2\x80\x94 Sicyos hederifolius Decaisne in Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 3: 450, 1834.\nKANGEAN Island (N. of Bali): Gua Peteng, 1 M alt.; Backer 26948 (BO), 15-III1919, \xe2\x99\x82, filaments connate up to the top, leaves far more densely puberulous than in the next specimen.