MN 581.0959

JAC

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DESCBJPTION8Q{ MALAYAN PL~NTS By William Jack.

No. Ill. "

RAFFLESIA.

Dioecia Gynanclria. ,.1 1

Perianthium monophyllum ventricoso-campanula.

tum, f.11lCe coarctata nectario annulari incumbente coe

1'onata, limbo .5.partito 5ubreflexo, laciniis TOtu ndatis~

Columna fructification is maxima, craS9a, stigmate tr·uii.

~dto c ronata, disco processibus pluribu,g'(:orlliculatis

echimltd. MAS. Anther{/! numerosm, globosre, lIessiJes, sub.

stigmate in orbem dispositre, apice ·poro umbilicatre,

. substantia cellplosa.

. FE M. Semina minuta, nidulantia in .substantia ri~

mosa 'baseos columnre, cui antherre de.ficiunt.

l -Ierba parasitica aphylla,jlore gigan"o •

. RAFFL.ESIA TITAN.

Sumatran name. Peliman Sikuddi or devil's Siri ..

box, '

it!!tl

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Native of the fO~'ests in the i ntel'inr of Sumatra, par­tlclliady tho~e ofPassllmmah lliu Mauna, where il was

first dis~o\'ered by Sir T. S._ RAFl'LES on his jOUrlH:'Y in.

to tl1at connl.l',Yin 1 RIB.

'fhi~ gil,{IHltic ,flower is p!lra!'iti " on thQ lowc>r gtems

and roots of the Ci~!iuS ang nst.itc)I '" . R, .1:b : It appt'drs

at first in the form of a small round knob, wh ich , .

~';fad l l(l ily :;flocreases in siz . Th fl ow ' bud js illvest.

eJ b , Illll erO IS membl'an!lcelJus shel\! hs which Sill'. ,

r 1I1 11 1 it ill IIUCC't~';SI'Ve layers and' ,expand as tile bud

e da r..ce'S. u It-iJ at Je 19t1\ Liley merely form lI.. cup roullll

it~ b.i , c. , Tht.>se g .eaths or bracts" are large, l'oUlid.

~oncav~, of a finn meal)raJlaCeul:l<; ClllISJsteflce and of

a bt;oWIl (.'u l(lU.fw file ·bud befi,n'e ~Xl a nsiOIl is depH·Ss.

eJ, W.lJ qd.. WI! h' fi ve ob, cure a ngle's, nearly < ~'o l in

diameter, a ld of a deep au. ky ,reli Tlir fi\)~\l el' when

f l1 Jy e.xt)(llIcieJ is ill point of size th • w,ouuer of the vee

, tal If' .kiu\,·dom; tht! bl'ell til \'cross fro'll the tip of the lie petal to the tip f the Ot her jf; Ii tI~ short of

tlm'e teet. T/.Ie CLIp rna . be e~tjmated c\lfJahle of con.

ta.ill iog ~weJve ~,in ts, and th weight of ,the whole is

fHlrn I welve to fifteen pounds. The inside of the cup

I i., "f ,~ n in tellse pI rpl ) and more or less densely v'lIons .

wi h !;oCt fl exilde ~pilil's of the l'amc colo\ll' ; towards , I

tbt" mou th it is 'marked wi th numerous depressed spoll

ofthe purest whi te, c,mtl'asti g strongly with the pur • •

pIe of the sUHoundilig SUUi:l tauce which if) considera-. ' N 1"275 5" . } ,04\'1 .. '

~JA c...,

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bTy ele"atpll on tllE-ir ower lIidc. The "fOb l. eft- r. brick fPc1. wit h 0I1tm'r0\1Q pucltuhlr !lpots of; a lighter

('"Iollr. TIl{' W'hol'(~ !'u~t!tnce ' of the flow('r ·is not less '''all ha:f an inch thick, 31 d of M firm fl'eshy , corH~iR ..

t el C'c I 'lOon after expan!'hll, begins to give () li t ~

Im('11 of d ec."~' ing allim' I matter. The jJ ' rianth is cy­Rt! itO!ll, n, rr'llwel1 at I he month, whieh is further

(' u lll wcteJ "'y a l!ectari:d ring wh ich surf iUi'ids it lean'.

ir,g i ll \ ', 1'0. The limu i~ :; parted. foomewhat reftex.

~d bu t ,HI' li nf,l: Jpwa,n]s 3{!.ai" at. the point; the lobes

8l1UrUl.l;l ld, all I II i<: k. 111 the centre of the cup ritles

a tit ('k l 'olUIII, UIH.C:lle a ,d "e:lI'iy Bat on the top.

A t its ba e is a I J'oua illellt ring o{ coni. and anol her a

III d4: abo e. OtJlI.h hOi 11Igt:Ilt:O'IS in sul,stance wuh lhe

column. The summit of the column or stigma is a

fia di .. k. a~ol1l six iuches ill dlCllue ter, from which rise

frum torty to sixty cO{lliculate processes, /leady erect,

~ut diverging a little from t.he c~n re ; the upper e ge is thin and r ises up like the dm of a salver; the low. er edge is inculwbcnt alld somewhat revolute. The

sides of tht' column. are angular.

In the male the tilamilld are arranged in a circle un­

der ~ht:: lower eJg~ ot the sdgma. by which they are

concealE'd, Each stamen is lodg£',! in a proper hollow . . separated from the ne_xt by a process of the r~volute el "e. l";laments none. Alltherii ~l;:isiJe. gl~)b ular. a!

AS

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( * .) bout the ei2!1' of a pea, dark- colofed. attached fo tn. lower surface of the stigma. They have a white de­pressed spot on the summit, in the certre of which is a

pore or foramen' for the emission of the pollen. The whole substance is spongy and cellul,r.

] 0' the -female, the column is p 'ecisely similar, but

wantl the anthers and, their holJows. In the centre i s sub~~ance is full ~f irregular fissures, on -lhe surtiices

of whiah numerous minute seeus are observed. ' '} he

fruit never bursts but the whole plant gradually rots

away and the seeds mix with the putrid mass.

Such are the eha,racters of this very extraordinary

vegetable, which' appears to have little affinity with

any other, and to be as unique in its mode offructifi~

~ation as in size.

It was, as already mentioned, first dicovered by Sir \

STAMFORD RAFFLES in the forests of Passummah Vlu

Manna, and the specimens were fo),warded by him to

England in 1818. In the following year nu~erous addi- '

tional specimens were pr~cured from various partl or

the country and an opportunity afforded of more mi.

nute examination. the particulars of which are con.

tained in the foregoing short account. The greatct part of these specimens have been transmitted to' Eng.

land together with the observations ~ade on the'recent

plants. Some time after' their dispatch a letter was

received from Sir JOSEPH BANKS acknowledging ' the

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receipt of the first specimens .whiclt h~d all proved to be mates, and suggesting the -probabili l y of the plan'

being parasitic, a conjecl ure which had intermediat.e"

Jy been ascertaiued to be con eet by investigation 011

the spot.

nR:YOBALANOPS. Gaertn :

M onadelpllia Polgand1oia.

Cflljj.r m~nophyllus, quinque partitus, laciniis tineari

b .nceoiatis, patentibus. Corolla pentapetala, petalis basi

,junctis, ovato lanceolatis, calyce longioribus. Stamina

pl~rima, hlOnadelpha, hypogyna, longitudine fere ca.

Jycis; conniventia; 6Jamenta in Zmnuhim brevem coali.

ta;. anthel'm supra tubum filam.entorum sUbsessiles,

Jongm, lineares, acutm, mucrone, membranaceo, bilocu';

Jares. Ovarir-tm ovatum, stylo acuminatum, superum,

triloculare, lOGulis disporis~ Stylus fiJifonnis. ~tami.

nibus Iong ior. Stigma capitatum. Capsula calyd gran~

defacto in ~iJens et cincta laciniis ejusdem in aio;l.s spa.

tulatas 101iaceas erecto.patentes mutati::lJ unHocularis,

trivaTvis, monosperma. Semen embryone exalbuninoso~ , f-

inverso, cotyledqnibus inequalibu9, chrysalid~contot~ /

tupUcatis.

'DRYOBALANOPS CAMPHORA. Coleb:

Kapui' Barus. Mal4y.

Specimens in Bower were lent by Mr • . Prin~e froUl

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Tapar(loly to !'lir T : S. RAfFLES in 1819, fram "filtic\

t he ,\hove fell H i c detcription is taken. I have'l'IiTlce

11I.ld an o\'p"rtunity of set'i g these noble trees in lhei,r

Jla t i\'t: fi rt'sts, but not at the t.me· (.)f fl~)werillg, all't!' I

flln il .tw llIed that they do not bear above ullce itt· three

OJ' tiJUr years. Mr. CIJt'brooke~ descripti.nn ill the A.

si;rric Rt-se~rc11l'S of' the tree and fruit is so comple'te

tl ,at I c~trlrl ot do hetter than copy it.

" 7 r Ul1 ff al'hor('(')us. Barle browIJisfl. Lea r'e$, !luperiot

" a lt e rna tE' , inft' l inr ones opposite; dllptlc, outusely ac·

" uminate, parallel. veined, entire, ~mo()th ; 8-7 inches.

" IOIl,g; I-Ii? broad. Petiole ': short. Sliplllrs itt pairs

" ubuhue, carlllcott!~. Periar;th one lea\'ed, five parted,

•• I H~ 'l) iste It. Capsule superior, I)vate,. wo,?dy, fib l'OlHI"

" fin : ~' . s reaked wi h longit "dinal fllrrow~, embraced

"allile base by the c::tlycine hem i!\pherical cup alld

" ~urround~d by it~ enlat'~ed leflflpts, which are COil •

•• vertetl iuto large, t(llia,ceolls, !lpatulate, rigid, reflex II WillgR, ulle C ·lIel., three valved. Seed solitary, con­ti furm to the cavity of the capsule. lntep, ument simple,

cc tiJill, lIlembranilcellus, thickened along one SIde ~nd " . thellce pent'trating to the axis, and con,tinned be­

., t W€t!n the interior fold of the cotyledons Perisperm II n()tle. Pmbr.1J" conform to the seed, inverse, milk

•• white. CII(1jledulls two, unequal, almond fl eshy, thiok,

•• chrysaloid cOlltorl llplicale; tht> exterior one larger

I. convolute, and cherishing the int.erior one, sllloo~h

I

t '7 ')

, .~thout, wri kled witllin; the intf ~or one mnrh \111'I"1l11.

" er, wri; kled on both !<ide~, ufli f(mn or round corchte

," as is the E'x teri( r one ifits f"lds he expHnded.) 'PIlle

"mule imrIe, cou i('al, two leaved. Radicle near the

., summit towards the he·ck, ' coJumnar, a litt le curvt!4

U at d ending in a sh~rt c"nical ,tip; a&celldi llg As. , .

-, Res~ XII. p .539.

To this aCClII'ate and !lmple dt"sc~iption T can only

add the paJ'ticulars which the examination C)ffl )wering

.pecimeris hall ell: bled me to supp ly. T 'Ie fl ow~rs are

terminal and axillary forming a killd ofp!-.I uicle at the

eXI ,.~mity of the br<\f1ches. T ' le c fHolla is 6v~ petaled,

longer than the calyx, the petals ovate Janceo1ate, anJ

in sOJne ' de~ree ad late or cUlIi lected tog-ether at the

base Tht! stamina are nllmerou~ and have thei r ' fi a.

menta Ullited into a ring. ill whie) particu lar it d i tfe r~

.f.'om the genera most'nearly related to it , 'J he aTlt.her~

are neady sessile on the tube of the fi lameu ls, COli.

nive into a CU lieal head fClU I d the slyle, and termitlato

ill acute membranaceous p,)ints. , The o~a .. y is three.

cellt!d, containing two ovula in each cell. ' °l'lle s yte

is longer than the stamiua and crowned,by a CtlpJtale

.tigma.

In Sumatra the Camphor trees are confilled . to. the '

country of the Battas, which extends about a d~gree

and II ' If immediately to the North of the Equator ..

They arc at, 0 iOll 'ld in Domeo iu nearly th~ same par.

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al1el of l .. titu~e, ~d I have reason to believe tbat '-. ·there ,are ,some tn the neighbour}1ogd of Singapore and JohOie 1:his yaluable tree is not known. to ex.

jst in any ol~r part of the world, and on this acco\1Ht .8 well lIfJ .the clliJi(!ult-Y.. of ~btainiJ1g its produce •. this lind of .ea .. plJd~ b~r~ an e,or~ita.nt price~ Jt j~ .aU

earried to China where it aells for abput twelve, t.iIPH'

ft~ much _s that of J apan.

This camphor is found in a concrete. state o~~upy. ang cavities \ and n sures in the heart of the tree ' ~D

order to obtain it, the tree is felled and 8pUt in!9

lengths, to allow of the extraction of the crystalli!le~

~ass' s. T he ,same treeil yiehl both the concrete Bub. stance and an oil which is supposed to be,the firs~8tag.

, ,of the formation of the camphor. The Sumatran cam. , -phor j , liltle .knO''\Vn in Europe, and -it would perhapl

deserv.e examinaJ.i~n _to ascertain. how far itl propet'.

ties d~'ffer {rORl thou of t"~ 'common kind. It 'a.ppears -to be less voJatHe, Mtd -4t-s odour is not '80 ·diffusive. -A

quantity ()f' it hal been recently forwarded to 'SIR E.

HOME for the f,urp?Se .of experim.ent.

For the natural a"ffini-ties and -a more detailed account

of the meth~d of procuring the camphor, I may i-Qfei t o the able paper already quo~ed. It belongs to the

. lime natural family with Diptel'oCarpui. Skarea &e ..

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/ SAGUS LlEVIS.

He.xamlria },fonogynia.

Frondibus illermihus pinnatis, epadicibus alteme ~ Ino~i~. fJ'uribus sillgul~ squamE binis, hermaphtoditis, {fl iCl ihus subglobosis.

Sagu~ hEvis. No.' 4. llumpk: .Jm6 : j. p. 76. ibmbiya. 1f,~~lY.

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. '.I'his vahlable tree ~'ises to the height of about twen-ty teet, and is generally slIrrounded by' numerous small. er al ,d YUlIIIger phlnts wllkh spring up around it after the fll'IllI'ler IIf the, plantain. {usaM sapientum}. The stem which , i~ "uout as thjck as that qfthecocoanut

~ . J

tree ,is alllluialed by the vestiges of the, fallen leaves and the U'! per I'l).rt is coinmonly invested with their . , wi l hered sheaths. The leaves resemble those of the cocoa, b ~ll ~row more erect, and a~e Much more per­

eis t~n t, ' so that the foliage has 110t the same tufted ape pe<\ran('e,ut,lt hasJPoreofthe graceful asc~odin~ curve

of t.~at of the Saguerus Rumphii. They , are pinnate,

unarmed, the leafieLslillear, acute. carinate and smooth. J •

The tree is from fifteen to twenty years ill coming to maturity, the fiuctification then appears, and it soon after decays and dies. The inflorescence is terminal;

several spadices dse from the summit of the s~em, en~ B