Balania Harlandii (Hook. F.) V.T., of the H.K, Region & Its Relatives.
as Van Tieghem separated it in 1907, a new generic name must be proposed. The two groups of species, represented by Balunia involucrata and by B. Harlandii, respectively, are, however, so closely similar in all essentials of flower structure and arrangement of the staminate bracts on the capitulum, as well as in structure of the androecium, that, especially in consideration of their overlapping distributional areas, it does not seem desirable to segre- gate the two groups. The difference is one of vegetative structure and may
be likened to that between alternate and whorled leaves. In the belief that Van Tieghem was unduly impressed with the importance of this difference, apparently regarding it as fundamental, it seems best to place the Bivolva species under the genus Balania of which they are taxonomically typical. The genus Balania, as thus constituted, restores the original generic concept of Van Tieghem; i.e., of 1896. Besides the normally 3-parted staminate flower with horizontal, triangular arrangement of anthers on its androecium, there may be added to the strict generic concept of Balania, the large bracts of the staminate flowers coalescent below to form hollows, or alveoli, in which the individual staminate flowers are situated, as is well shown in the various figures of B. Harlandi, but especially on plate 8. This character is common to all the Balania (including Bivolva) species proposed by Van Tieghem except his Balania japonica, which will be discussed later on.
It now seems possible to examine further into the details of the morphology and taxonomy of the species ascribed to Balania. As stated previously, Van Tieghem recognized four species, B. Harlandii (Hook. f.), V.T., B. Henryi (Hemsl.), V.T., B. japonica, V.T., and B. ceracea, V.T. Since 1997 there have been 2 species of Balanophora described which un- doubtedly have the androecia of Van Tieghem's Balania:-B. mutinoides (Hayata, 1913) from Formosa and B. tobiracola (Makino, 1909) from southern Nippon. There are also the Balanophora species described by Makino as B. japonica (1902, p. 212) and B. Wrightii (1910, p. 292); the Balanophora Kawakami Valeton (1913), and possibly the B. Esquirolii Léveillé (1996). Decidedly less pertinent, but not to be left entirely unconsidered are Balanophora minor Hemsley (1894) and B. Cavalierii Léveillé (1906), since they are Chinese and bear some resemblance to Balania, but lack the staminate plants which alone are decisive. The various species segregated by Van Tieghem from Balanophora involucrata Hook. f., under Balania and Bivolva likewise claim attention.
Balania Harlandii (Hook. f.), V.T. is described or figured as a low plant (1-3 inches high), with its rhizome small, lobed, and without pustules, with the peduncle squamate only at the very base, with the capitulum globose, and with the pistillate flowers sessile (not pedicellate on bracteoles). Thus far goes the description. Both staminate and pistillate plants are figured, correspondingly well to the description except that the capitulum of the staminate plant is broader than high. The staminate flowers are represented with pedicels about half the diameter of the flower in length. The pollen grains are globular and the pistillate bracts, or "spadicels" are represented as oblong bodies, nearly as thick at the base as at the apex, while the slender bodies accompanying them (pistils?) show no differentiation into ovary and style. The rhizome is decidedly and multiple lobed in the
Supplement No, 1, 1932.
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