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WILLIAM ALBERT SETCHELI..
pistillate plant and in each sex there is a single peduncle and capitulum. The plants are clearly Balania in type and strictly unisexual. Since Hooker's time, nothing essential has been added to the description and figure of Hooker. Bentham (1861, p. 140) described the androecium and Van Tieghem (1896, p. 297) separated Balanophora involucrata Hook, f. from the rest of the genus under the name Balania (later Bivolva, V.T.), involucrata and, by inference (?), referred the Balanophora Harlandii to the same genus. The second species definitely referred by Van Tieghem (1907, p. 201) to Balania is his B. japonica, V.T., figured and described by Tokutaro Ito (1887 as Balanophora dioica Wall. ?, but evidently not Wallich's species. Ito figures his plants (of 2 types) with pustulate rhizomes and these, of them- selves, distinguish the Japanese plant from B. Harlandii (Hook. f.), V.T. There are other superficial differences between the plant figured by Ito and that figured by Hooker, but which are not so striking when compared with such excellent series as those brought together from the Hong Kong region by Dr. Herklots. The staminate plant of Ito is, however, not approached by any of the Hong Kong series. Ito's plant was collected on Mount Amagi, Proc. Idzu, Japan, in July, 1883.
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Makino (1902, p. 212) had already given the name Balanophora japonica Mak. to a portion of Ito's description and plate, viz., to the pistillate plant (the figure of which he indicates as non bona"), excluding the staminate plant, to which he later gives a new name, Balanophora Wrightii Makino (1910, p. 292), and says that it was also collected in the Riukiu Islands by C. Wright. Makino says that it resembles
his very closely' Balanophora tobiracola (Makino, 1910, p. 290, fig. XVIII). He says that his B. japonica is parasitic on roots of different species of Symplocos.
Van Tieghem, in 1907, mentions Makino (p. 201) as having collected his Balania japonica, in Province Tosa on the Island of Shikoku, but did not mention it as having been previously named Balanophora japonica by Makino (1902, p. 212). The rhizome being pustular, separates Makino's plant from Balania Harlandii and its more immediate allies, but since Makino had no staminate flowers, this plant may not belong to the genus Balania. Van Tieghem evidently considered the staminate plant of his Balania japonica While the staminate to be represented by Ito's figures (1888, pl. 5) 7 and 8.
flower seems to be of the Balania-type, Ito's plant with staminate flowers is to be suspected of being bisexual and similar to Makino's Balanophora tobiracola (1910, p. 290), with staminate and pistillate flowers intermingled and without the alveolar bract relation of typical Balania. Since this part
of Ito's representation has been named Balanophora Wrightii by Makino (1910, p. 292) and said to be near to his B. tobiracola, it will be discussed more fully later on.
The third species of Balania listed by Van Tieghem (1907, p. 202) is the B. Henryi (Hemsl.), V.T. The original was described by Hemsley (1894, p. 410) as Balanophora Henryi Hemsl. It was collected by A. Henry at Ichang, Prov. Hupch, central China. While Hemsley's description in- dicates a slender plant with an oblong or ovoid capitulum, it may be match- ed both for slenderness and shape among the specimens of the Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Naturalist.
No. 1.
The Hong Kong Naturalist Supplement.
PAINTED BY SC Past.
Plate 4.
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