^ii IXTEODUGTIOX.
It h the only one of Ms genera the chai-aetevs of „l.ioh pretty nearly agree with those
of any of my sections.
The few species which form the section are climbers with remarkably lar-^e
and handsome reoeptades. The eharacteristic nenter flowers in all respects resemble the
male flowers, except that they ha™ no anther. In one species the nentor
flowers are absent. The affinities of that speoies are, however, so clearly with the others
in the section Sy,mcA, that I inclnde it without hesitation, believing it to form a connecting
hnk ,nth the more mar-kedly diojcions sections. The name S ^ « is adopted from
Hiquel, and the characters of his sub-genns of that name are nearly these of my section
The section S!,cMu,„ comprehends a number of spceies with comparatively small receptacles
and rather harsh or seabrid leaves. It forms on the whole « pretty natural section
At the end of it I have put, as a matter of convenience, a few speoies which belong to
different types from the main body. The species brought together in my are
for the most part the same as those which Jliqnel (who made it a section of his fcy«)
mcluded in his Smiliim. Ocellia is a natural section, including two tyiies-one with a
tendency to axillary, the other with a tendency to hypogcal inflorese¡^ce. The name
Coven,« was originally given by Gasparrini as a generic one to a speeies of the former
type. Etuie, is the most artificial of the sections, and the one with which I am least satisiied.
The name was originally given to charaeterise a sub-genus wliich lliquel founded
on ratlier vague characters. There are several types under the section ,vhioh, by further
study, may be satisfactorily separated ofl^ into distinct sections. Neomrfh. is a small and
natural section, consisting of species with large receptacles borne on the stem or W e r
branches. It inclndes plants which would have gone into Gaspamni's genera S,jcoZ„
and O!,slo„„e. In it there is included one species {P. glomerut.) which, although its
affinities are clearly with the other species inclnded in this scetion, has mon^cious
receptacles, as in Urostigma.
To complete this brief account of the morphology of the genus it is necessary to
refer to the remaining organs. The leaves of ft« are for the most part alternate; but
m a few species they are opposite. Thoy have a characteristic/«», of wliieh it is not
easy to give an accomit in words, althongh it afl'ords ready help both in the field and
in the herbarium when one has become familiar with it. Stipules are universally present
althongh in some cases thoy are very fugacious. There are three distinct iinds of
so-called "stipules" in the genus. The most truly stipular of these appendages ai-e those
which occur in pairs at the origin of the leaves from the axis (one on each side)
Examples of this kind are found in many of the scandent species, as for example in
F. k,Acarfa, and in many of the receptaele-bearing branches in CoveUia. The second
kind of stipnle (the so-called " intrapetiolar") is really a kind of leaf-scale (occm-rinoonly
m species with alternate leaves) which, completely embracing the leaf-bearing axis at
its base, covers the yonng leaf and falls ofl: as the latter becomes developed. This kind
IKTEODUCTION. xiii
of Stipule attains its highest development in the familiar F. daHic«, and in that species it
persists for an nnnsnally long period. Stipnles of the third kind are rarely seen in
herbarimn specimens. They aro really leaf-scales, which are present in considerable
nnmbcrs as coverings to the leaf-buds in the truly deciduous species (e.g. F wfcctcm
and F. tjakdd), as well as in those which, although not deciduous, make then growth
only dui-ing clearly defined periods (e.g F. h-admla).
The whole of the Indo-Malayan speeies of which I have seen living specimens
contain milky juice except F. hwaniaUvm, and in that speeies the juice is of a pale buff
colour.
In the following attempt to arrange the Indo-llalayan speeies of Ficu, I have
described a few novelties, chiefly from the superb Jlalayau cellections of Signer Beccari,
who most generously put his material at my disposal. Herr H. H. Kunstler's fine eollcetiens
from Perak have also yielded some new forms. By far the most laborious
part of my work has consisted in disentangling and reducing the rather formidable
synonymy with which the literature of the genus is loaded. For the pm-pose of doing
this thoroughly, I went very carefully over the whole of the figs in the splendid
Malayan collections at Leiden and Utrecht, and at Buitenzorg in Java. The materials
in M. de' Candelle's herbarium and in the collections at Florenee and at the British
Museum were also most cai-eiully examined. The herbaria at Kew and Calcutta ar-e very
rich in Indian species, and the foi-mer contains many of the types of MiquePs Indian
species. The tj'pes of Miqiiel's Malayan species ai-e mostly at Utrecht, and those of Blume
and Hemwardt at Leiden. By taking a large suite of specimens of my own along with
me, and by comparing these witb t i e types m the colloetions just mentioned, I have been
able, as I hope successfully, to reduce a good deal of the synonymy. The excessive
multiplication of names in this genus is largely due to the fact that trivial vaiiations
from the typical form of a speeies have been considered suflicient waiTant for the formation
of new species. Some of the synonymy is due to dowm-ight carelessness, speoies
already well-described having in not a few eases been described a second, and even a
third and a fom-th time under new names. A good deal of it is also due to authors
having worked with very hnperiect material. Botanists like Blume and Roxburgh, who
described from living specimens, have made few slips compared with those who, like
Miquel, worked on herbaiuum material only.
I have to aoknowiedge the valuable help given to me during the progress of my
work by Mr. W. Botting Hemsley, Special Assistant for Indian Botany in the Kew
Herbarium.