ALBERT

Description: As almost half of the Malesian species of Meliaceae are found in the genus Aglaia, we are glad to receive a sound monograph published for this ecologically so important genus. The format can be characterized as ‘classical’, with chapters on taxonomic history, morphology, floral biology and pollination, fruit and seed-dispersal, germination, cytology, variation and distribution, besides the pure taxonomic revision. The first part would have been a little more attractive for the reader if certain characters had been drawn, especially some of the very intricate or minute features as scales and stellate hairs which have been used intensively in the key and for which, unfortunately, every botanist seems to have his own definition. The 105 species are described in great detail, including lengthy citations of representative specimens. An identification list at the end of the volume seems much more helpful for the users, especially curators of herbaria, and would have reduced the number of pages drastically without loss of important information. But what is really a little bit annoying is the key to the species. First of all the key is very difficult to read and especially to find the corresponding leads due to the chosen lay-out. Of course, it is obvious that it is an immense work to construct a key to 105 species that is userfriendly, but there are solutions which serve the reader much better, i.e., to give separate keys to the species of at least some of the phytogeographical entities. The bigger islands or island groups and the Asian mainland certainly deserve their own keys to facilitate the identification process.

Description: Ab ceteris speciebus generis Goniothalami rhipidiis usque ad 1.5 m basi caulis gerentis differt. — Typus: Coode 6060 (K holo; L iso), Central Sulawesi, c. 1° 09' S, 122° 31' E, Luwuk area, inland from Batui and Seseba on Batui Road, 50 m alt. Treelet up to 7.5 m high, c. 12 cm in diam. Young branches light brown, striate. Leaves membraneous, oblong, 12-30 cm long, 4-10 cm wide, shortly and bluntly acute to acuminate, base cuneate, margin somewhat undulate, glabrous, midrib channelled above, strongly prominent below, secondary veins 12-16 pairs, enclosing with the midrib an angle of c. 50°, interarching c. 4 mm from the margin, reticulation faint and lax, petiole 8-15 mm long, glabrous. Flowers borne on leafless twigs more or less at ground-level or just above, in few-flowered, up to 1.5 m long rhipidia. Pedicels up to 1.5 cm long, with two bracts at the base. Sepals connate at the lower part, ovate, acute, membraneous, glabrous on both sides, c. 3 mm long, outer petals membraneous, ovate-lanceolate, up to 3.5 cm long, up to 1.5 cm wide, very shortly clawed, pubescent outside and inside except the very base, keeled, inner petals much shorter than outer ones, triangular, up to 8 mm long, 6 mm wide, with scattered long hairs on the inner side. Stamens numerous, apex of connective convex, pubescent, ovaries glabrous; style bilobed, glabrous. Fruitlets knobby, achene-like in shape.

Description: This long-awaited volume is the last of the new Flora of New Zealand and treats 121 genera in 21 tribes with 460 species, of which 226 are introduced and 46 ‘transient’, i.e. introduced but not persisting, against 188 native ones of which not less than 157 are endemics. Most of the latter belong to the Poeae (49 + 41 others), Agrostideae (45 + 58) and Danthonieae (43 + 15) showing the present temperate nature of the grass flora. This structure of the grass flora is briefly discussed, but its origin is considered ‘unsuited to a flora’. It is a pity that no reference is given to a place where this is done, instead. Of general interest to the New Zealand Flora is the extensive literature list (‘annals’) completing the ones given in previous volumes with indices on families and additional scientific subjects. Curiously, they run up to 1996, while elsewhere (p. xxix) references as late as 1999 are indexed. M.I. Dawson contributed a survey of the chromosome numbers of indigenous species. It may be noted that for Lachnagrostis filiformis 2n = 28 and 56 have been reported, although Edgar & Connor say no chromosome numbers are known for the genus (p. xxiv).