A flora of Manila - Rainforestation

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A FLORA OF MANILA
1. CINNAMOMUM Blume
Trees with opposite, coriaceous, 3-nerved leaves, and very aromatic bark
and twigs. Flowers small, often unisexual, in axillary or subterminal
panicles or racemes. Perianth-tube short, cup-shaped or campanulate, the
segments 6, either deciduous or persistent and enlarging in fruit. Stamens
9, in 3 rows; anthers 4-celled, of the first two rows introrse, of the
third row extrorse, a fourth row represented by 3 sagittate staminodes.
Fruit small, ovoid, surrounded at the base by the enlarged, persistent
perianth. (From the Arabic name of cinnamon.)
Species about 50, 4 to 5 in the Philippines, a single introduced one in
our area.
* 1. C. ZEYLANICUM (L.) Bl. Canela (Sp.) ; Cinnamon.
A small tree, glabrous except the finely silky-pubescent buds. Leaves
coriaceous, shining, 8 to 15 cm long, oval or oval-lanceolate, base acute,
apex acuminate, strongly 3- or 5-nerved. Panicles usually about as long
as the leaves, mostly clustered in the upper axils. Flowers numerous,
pale-yellow, small, pubescent outside with grayish hairs. Fruit about 1
cm long, oblong-ovoid, dry or slightly fleshy, surrounded by the enlarged
perianth, the perianth-segments persistent.
Occasionally cultivated in Manila, fl. May-Aug., and probably in other
months; introduced from India or Ceylon.
In addition to the above the camphor tree [C camphora (L.) Nees], a
native of China and Formosa, is represented in our area by young specimens
cultivated in §ingalon.
2. LITSEA Lamarck
Trees with penninerved, alternate leaves and rather small, dioecious
flowers crowded in small glomerules or umbels, each umbel subtended by
4 concave imbricate bracts which look like sepals, forming an involucre,
the glomerules or umbels umbellately or racemosely arranged, axillary. Perianth-tube
long or short. Stamens in several rows, the innermost ones more
or less imperfect; anthers all introrse, 4-celled. Fruit globose or ovoid,
often fleshy, seated on the cup-shaped, enlarged perianth-tube. (From the
Chinese name of one species.)
Species more than 100, in the Indo-Malayan region, 25 or more in the
Philippines, two in our area.
Heads or umbels of flowers solitary or umbellate; leaves very densely and
softly pubescent 1. L. glutinosa
Heads or umbels racemosely disposed; leaves glabrous or only slightly
pubescent 2. L. perrottetii
1. LItsea glutinosa (Lour.) C. B. Rob. Puso-puso (Tag.).
A tree 10 m high or less, the young parts usually more or less softly
pubescent. Leaves elliptic to oblong-elliptic, usually softly pubescent, 9
to 20 cm long. Umbels in the upper axils, solitary or umbellate, 1 to 1.5
cm in diameter, their peduncles about 1 cm long, containing many, small
crowded, yellowish flowers. Fruit globbose, 8 mm in diameter or less.
(Fl. Filip. pi. 360, Sebifera glutinosa.)
Occasional, Malate, Pasay, Masambong etc., fl. Mar.-May; widely dis-
tributed in the Philippines at low altitudes and in the Indo-Malayan region
generally.
2. L. perrottetii (Blume) F.-Vill. Bacan (Vis., Tag.); Maguilic, Bati-
culing (Tag.); Cubilan (II.).