Far-East Wartime Publications on Malaysian Plants I

Prom Dr Y. TSIANG, now residing at the Bot. Institute, Sun Yatsen Univ., 30 Fat-Ching Road, Canton, China, we received a set of three volumes published during World War II, all prepared by G. Masumune. They are the following: Enumeratio Phanerogamarum Bornearum. 739 pp. (1942) 1) An attempt to give a revised edition of MERRILL’s Enumeration of 1921. The Introduction and notes under the species are in Japanese characters. The number of genera recorded is 1310, the number of species 7201. Pamilies are arranged in a systematic sequence; an index to family and genus names concludes the volume. In some cases, new combinations are made, e.g. by reduction of Rigiolepis to Vaccinium (Eric.), further in Hanguana, Porterandia, & c. The work has been done rather uncritical: e.g. Styrax agrestis and St. serrulatus are both entered, though ithas been shown that the Bornean record of the latter is wrong and must be replaced by the former species. Peliosanthes albida is both mentioned under Liliacease and Haemodoraceae; Aletris foliolosa is mentioned in Aletris, but A. rigida is entered in Meta-aletris though the two are difficult to distinguish. Nomenclature is not up to date (see Chloranthus, Trema, & c.). A large number of important publications on the Flora of Borneo pubished posterior to 1921 are neglected. The author has apparently far underrated the difficulties in composing a cyclopedia. The latin-written text is full of errors.