THE FLORA OF THE MALAY· PENINSULA

Orchidantha.] CXL. LOWIACE..E. 293
long, 4 in. wide, narrowed to the petiole. Flowers solitary axillary.
Bracts long purple. Calyx tube 3 in. long, lobes 5 in. long, I in.
across, purple. Petals linear acuminate, I in. long, yellowish.
Lip clawed obovate, 4 in. long, 2 in. across, cream-colour or lilac,
claw purple, 3-lobcd at tip; midlobe toothed. Stamens as long
as petals. Style long and slender. Stigmas large linear with
numerous teeth rising from a cup. All purple. Hab. Common
in forests in wet spots, but rarely flowering. Malacca. Selangor,
Vlu Langat; Klang Gates (very large); :'3atu Caves. Perak,
Kinta Valley (Scortechini); Temengoh; Gunong Kerbau (Haniff).
Native name: Lobak hutan.
(2) O. maxillarioides Ridl. Lowia maxillarioides Hook. /il.
Bot. Mag. t. 73sI; Ridl. Mat. ii. 62. Protamomum maxillarioides
Ridl. Trans. Linn. Soc. iii. 383.
Tufted plant, about I to 2 ft. tall. Leaves elliptic-Ianceolate
acuminate, 8 in. long, 3 in. wide; petioles I to 2 ft. long. Panicle
3 in. long. Calyx tube 3 in. long, purple, lobes lanceolate acute,
I'2s in. long, deep purple. Petals very small oblong mucronateviolet.
Lip oblong blunt, claw short, white tinted violet, I'S in.
long, '5 in. wide. Stamens thick short. Style short and thick,
arms short toothed. Capsule I's in. long, fusiform 3-angled acuminate
purple. Seeds flask-shaped, brown hairy. Hab. Rare. Dense
forests. Pahang, forests at Pulau Tawar (Ridley).
ORDER CXLI. MUSACElE.
Gigantic tree-like herbs with broad oblong leaves transversely
nerved, long-petioled. Inflorescence spicate (or panicled) with
large bracts persistent or caducous. Calyx tubular or free. Petals
3 or tubular. Stamens 5; filaments slender. Staminode I or o.
Style slender. Stigma 3- to S-lobed. Fruit baccate (or capsular).
Seeds numerous or few. Species about 60, all tropics.
The Heliconias of S. America and Polynesia and the Rat'enala, Traveller's
Tree of Madagascar. cultivated in our gardens belong to this order.
1. MUSA, Linn.
Gigantic herbs, stem of convolute leaf sheaths. Leaves oblong
very large. Spike deflexed or erect. Bracts ovate coloured
leathery or herbaceous. Flowers sessile in rows in the bracts,
lower ones female, upper ones male. Calyx tubular, 3- to
s-toothed, split on one side. Corolla as long, tubular. Stamens 5
(6th rudimentary or 0), filaments filiform. Anthers linear. Style
filiform. Fruit an oblong berry, fleshy sub-trigonous. Seeds
numerous angled. Species 35. tropics of Old World.
Musa sapientum Linn, the banana or plantain, Pisangof the Malays, is largely
cultivated for fruit. Its orrgin is uncertain, probably India in part. but :;:
think some of the Malay varieties are derived from M. malaccensis.