L I E> RAR.Y

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF ILLINOIS

v. 24-

pt.7

BIOLOGY

580-5

N/.24*

Y\0- I

4

r

FLORA OF GUATEMALA

PAUL C. STANDLEY

AND

LOUIS 0. WILLIAMS

FIELDIANA: BOTANY

VOLUME 24, PART VII, NUMBER 4

Published by

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

NOVEMBER 18, 1963

FLORA OF GUATEMALA

PART VII

FLORA OF GUATEMALA

PAUL C. STANDLEY

Late Curator Emeritus of the Herbarium

AND

LOUIS 0. WILLIAMS

Curator, Central American Botany

FIELDIANA: BOTANY

VOLUME 24, PART VII, NUMBER 4

Published by

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

NOVEMBER 18, 1963

ASSISTED BY NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 1+8-8076

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS

'£0.5

B

,7

CONTENTS

Families Included in Part VII, Number 4

PAGE PAGE

Melastomaceae 407 Onagraceae 525

Haloragaceae 564

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

TEXT FIGURES

PAGE

56. Aciotis Levyana 411

57. Acisanthera limnobios 413

58. Adelobotrys adscendens 415

59. Arthrostemma ciliatum 417

60. Bellucia costaricensis 419

61. Blakea guatemalensis 422

62. Centradenia salicifolia 426

63. Clidemia capitellata var. dependens 430

64. Clidemia Matudae 435

65. Clidemia setosa 438

66. Conostegia icosandra 443

67. Graffenrieda Galeottii 447

68. Henriettea fascicularis 450

69. Henriettea Seemannii 451

70. Heterocentron subtriplinervium 454

71. Leandra subseriata 459

72. Miconia barbinervis 469

73. Miconia desmantha 473

74. Miconia Lundelliana 484

75. Miconia silvestris 493

76. Monochaetum Deppeanum 498

77. Monochaetum tenellum 500

78. Mouriri exilis and M. parvifolia 503

79. Nepsera aquatica 506

80. Schwackaea cuphioides 511

81. Tibouchina aspera 513

82. Tibouchina longisepala var. spathulata 515

83. Topobea Standleyi 520

84. Triolena stenophylla 523

85. Fuchsia splendens 533

86. Gaura tripetala 536

87. Gongylocarpus rubricaulis 537

88. Hauya heydeana 540

89. Jussiaea peruviana 549

90. Lopezia hirsuta 555

91. Ludwigia palustris var. nana 558

92. Oenothera laciniata var. pubescens 560

93. Oocarpon torulosum 564

94. Proserpinaca palustris var. crebra 567

vii

Flora of Guatemala

MELASTOMACEAE. Melastome Family

References: Alfred Cogniaux, Melastomaceae, in DC. Monog.

Phan. 7: 1-1256. 1891; H. A. Gleason, The Melastomaceae of the

Yucatan Peninsula, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ. 522: 325-373. 1940.

Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, often small or medium-sized trees, rarely

epiphytic or scandent; leaves simple, opposite, decussate, those of a pair sometimes

very unequal and the leaves then appearing alternate, entire or dentate, usually

longitudinally several-nerved, with the nerves all rising at or near the base of the

blade, or often several-plinerved, i.e., the nerves, at least the inner ones, rising

above the base of the leaf blade; inflorescence cymose, the flowers solitary or vari-

ously clustered, sometimes spicate, the inflorescences axillary, lateral, or terminal;

flowers small or large, regular, mostly 4-6-parted; hypanthium (calyx tube) sub-

globose to tubular, bearing the petals, stamens, and sepals at its margin; sepals

small or rarely foliaceous, open or closed in bud, rarely connate to form a calyptra

that is circumscissile and deciduous at anthesis; petals usually white, pink, or

purple, rarely yellow; stamens normally twice as many as the petals, often di-

morphic, rarely as many as the petals or more than twice as many; anthers ovoid

to subulate, inflexed in bud, usually opening by a terminal pore, rarely by 2 pores

or by longitudinal slits; anther connective often enlarged at the base or prolonged

below the anther cells, often bearing one or more lobes, spurs, or appendages;

ovary 1, free or partly or wholly inferior, 2-10-celled, commonly with numerous

ovules on axial placentae, in one tribe with few ovules on basal placentae; style 1,

more or less elongate; stigma 1, punctiform to peltate, simple or rarely radiate-

lobate; fruit enclosed within the persistent hypanthium, capsular and loculicidally

dehiscent, or rupturing irregularly, or baccate; seeds minute, ovoid to linear,

frequently cochleate.

The Melastomaceae contains some 200 genera, not always very

distinct, and perhaps 4,500 species. Approximately two thirds of

these are in the American tropics, where they are especially abundant

in southern Brazil. Additional genera in tropical North America

are Axinaea, Centronia, Chaetolepis, Maieta (Cocos Island), Loreya

and Oreodaphne. Many additional ones occur on Caribbean islands.

The family is one of the largest in tropical North America and

is especially abundant in Guatemala and Costa Rica. The number

of species decreases rapidly as one goes northward into Mexico. They

occur in almost all Central American habitats except the highest.

407

408 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

The most useful study of this complex family is that of Alfred

Cogniaux, cited above, even though it is now long out of date.

Field study during the last 70 years has added much to our knowl-

edge of the neotropical flora and to the abundant Melastomes.

Leaves 1 -nerved, i.e., with only a costa and inconspicuous spreading lateral veins

or secondary nerves Mouriri.

Leaves with 3 or more conspicuous longitudinal nerves extending from the base to

the apex of the leaf blade.

Fruit capsular; ovary usually wholly superior; plants mostly herbs or low shrubs.

Capsule 3-winged or acutely 3-angulate, dilated at the apex.

Connective of the anther prolonged into a single spur; plants glabrous

throughout Monolena.

Connective of the anther bearing 2 or 3 spurs; plant more or less pubescent.

Triolena.

Capsule terete or very obtusely angulate, acute or obtuse at the apex.

Seeds not cochleate, straight.

Calyx calyptriform, circumscissile and deciduous at anthesis.

Graffenrieda.

Calyx not calyptriform, persistent.

Plants woody throughout, sometimes epiphytic or scandent.

Plants scandent and often or usually epiphytic Adelobotrys.

Plants erect shrubs Meriania.

Plants herbaceous throughout or nearly so, sometimes woody at or

near the base.

Anthers rostrate Rhynchanthera.

Anthers not rostrate Centradenia.

Seeds cochleate.

Flowers 5-parted.

Hairs of the upper surface of the leaf adnate to the epidermis for a

portion of their length Tibouchina.

Hairs of the upper leaf surface not partially adnate to the epidermis.

Acisanthera.

Flowers 4-parted.

Stamens strongly unequal, the connective of the larger ones often long-

produced below the anther cells.

Petals lanceolate, acute Nepsera.

Petals mostly broader, not acute.

Connective little or not at all produced below the base of the

anther cells Monochaetum.

Connective conspicuously produced below the anther cells.

Sepals much shorter than the hypanthium; plants succulent.

Arthrostemma.

Sepals equaling the hypanthium or nearly so; plants not suc-

culent Heterocentron.

Stamens equal in length or nearly so, all of about the same size, the

connective very shortly or not at all produced below the base of

the anther cells.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 409

Hypanthium narrowly 4-winged, in fruit conspicuously costate and

setulose-hispidulous on the costae Schwackaea,

Hypanthium not winged, not conspicuously costate in fruit.

Hairs of the upper leaf surface partially adnate to the epidermis.

Pterolepis.

Hairs of the upper leaf surface not partially adnate to the epi-

dermis Aciotis.

Fruit baccate; ovary wholly or partly inferior; plants shrubs or trees, never

herbaceous.

Each flower subtended by 2 pairs of bracts, these often united, closely sub-

tending and more or less enclosing the hypanthium.

Anthers stout, short, oblong, obtuse, laterally compressed Blakea.

Anthers linear or subulate Topobea.

Each flower not subtended by 2 pairs of enclosing bracts.

Inflorescences lateral or axillary, solitary or clustered at the nodes.

Petals obtuse or rounded at the apex.

Anthers broadly oblong or dolabriform, more or less coherent in a ring,

opening by 2 minute pores Belinda.

Anthers linear to oblong or subulate, not coherent in a ring, opening

by a single pore.

Flowers arising from defoliated nodes below the leaves . . Henriettea.

Flowers arising from the axils of green leaves Clidemia.

Petals acute.

Inflorescences arising from defoliated nodes below the leaves.

Exterior teeth of the calyx much longer than the sepals .... Ossaea.

Exterior teeth of the calyx not exceeding the sepals .... Henriettea.

Inflorescences arising from the axils of leaves.

Leaves on very short petioles only 1-4 mm. long Henriettea.

Leaves on slender petioles 15-30 mm. long Ossaea.

Inflorescences terminal.

Petals acute Leandra.

Petals obtuse or retuse.

Calyx calyptriform, circumscissile and deciduous at anthesis.

Conostegia.

Calyx not calyptriform, persistent at anthesis.

Formicaria (inflated green shelters for ants) present at the base or

apex of the petiole Tococa.

Formicaria none.

Exterior teeth of the calyx much surpassing the sepals; branches

stellate-pubescent, glandular, and long-hirsute Clidemia.

Exterior teeth little if at all surpassing the sepals; branches not

with the combination of pubescence described above.

Miconia.

ACIOTIS D. Don

Low, mostly annual, erect, simple or branched, brittle herbs, pubescent or

glabrous; leaves thin, petiolate, ovate or lanceolate; inflorescence paniculate or

410 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

cymose-paniculate; flowers small or minute, sessile or subsessile, white or pinkish,

4-parted; calyx tube globose or ovoid, the teeth very short, broad, deciduous;

petals ovate or lanceolate, acute or setigerous at the apex, rarely obovate; sta-

mens 8, equal or slightly unequal; anthers all alike, orbicular or oblong, dehiscent

by a single pore, the connective shortly or rather long-produced below the cells,

simply articulate with the filament, not appendaged or with 2 small ventral lobes;

ovary free or rarely adherent below the middle, globose or ovoid, glabrous, obtuse,

2-celled; style filiform, sigmoid or straight, the stigma punctiform; capsule thin-

membranaceous, indehiscent or irregularly ruptured; seeds reniform-cochleate,

foveolate, usually costate and tuberculate dorsally.

About 30 species in tropical America, often in lowland rain

forests. One other species in southern Central America.

Stems conspicuously winged; hypanthium and inflorescence sparsely pubescent.

A. Levy ana.

Stems not winged, often angled; hypanthium and inflorescence densely glandular-

pubescent A. rostellata.

Aciotis Levyana Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 3: 460. 1885.

Wet mixed forest, usually in boggy places or swamps, 300 meters

or less; Izabal. British Honduras; Honduras; Nicaragua (type from

Chon tales, Levy 497); Costa Rica; Panama; Colombia.

A rather stout, erect annual, a meter high or usually lower, branched, the

branches quadrangular, the angles with conspicuous green wings sometimes 5 mm.

broad, the stems hirsute with scattered, mostly eglandular, stiff hairs; petioles

stout, hirsute, somewhat marginate, 1-2 cm. long; leaf blades thin, ovate or lance-

ovate, 5-10 cm. long, acuminate, rounded or cordate at the base, 7-nerved, entire

or nearly so, hirsute with scattered brownish hairs 1-2 mm. long; panicles 5-10 cm.

long, sparsely pilose, the hairs gland-tipped or eglandular; hypanthium 2 mm. long,

pilose; petals white, gland-tipped, 2-3 mm. long; connective shortly prolonged

below the anther cells.

This species has often been reported from Central America as

Aciotis paludosa (Mart.) Triana.

Aciotis rostellata (Naud.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 51.

1871. Spennera rostellata Naud. Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 14: 143. 1850.

Wet thickets or mixed forest, usually in swamps or bogs, 600

meters or less; Izabal. Southern Mexico; British Honduras; Hon-

duras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama.

An erect annual, usually 60 cm. high or less, branched, the stems quadrangular,

not winged, densely glandular-pilose; petioles hirsute, 1-2 cm. long; leaf blades

thin, ovate or oblong-ovate, 5-10 cm. long, acute or acuminate, obtuse or rounded

at the base, thinly short-hirsute on both surfaces, mostly 7-nerved; panicles

sometimes 10 cm. long, few-many-flowered, densely glandular-pilose; hypanthium

2 mm. long, densely glandular-pilose; petals pinkish white, 2-3 mm. long, gland-

tipped ; connective shortly prolonged below the base of the anther cells.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

411

FIG. 56. Adotis Levyana. A, Portion of stem and inflorescence; X %. B, De-

tail of flower; X 10.

This is probably the plant reported from Izabal as A. laxa Cogn.;

it has been reported as A. paludosa as well.

ACISANTHERA P. Browne

Reference: J. J. Wurdack, Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 535-541. 1963.

Low, annual or perennial herbs, growing in wet soil, simple or branched, with

small leaves; flowers small, 4-5-parted, usually pink, axillary or terminal, solitary

or in small cymes, sessile or short-pedicellate; hypanthium campanulate or hemi-

spheric, usually 8- or 10-costate; sepals narrowly triangular to ovate, erect or

spreading; stamens dimorphic, the anthers oblong to subulate, truncate, attenu-

ate, or rostrate at the apex; connective of the larger anthers conspicuously pro-

longed and bearing 2 basal anterior lobes, the connective of the smaller anthers

shorter and with smaller lobes; ovary free, 2-4-celled; style slender, often bent,

412 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

attenuate to the punctiform stigma; fruit capsular; seeds small, reniform or

cochleate, minutely pitted.

About 20 species, in tropical America. Two other Central Amer-

ican ones are known from Costa Rica and Panama.

Leaves sessile, entire or inconspicuously serrulate; stems simple or sparsely

branched above.

Large and small anther thecae oblong, tapering to a narrower pore.

Plants glabrous; calyx lobes longer than the hypanthium A. bivalvis.

Plants glandular pubescent, at least in the inflorescence; calyx lobes usually

shorter than the hypanthium A. limnobios.

Large (usually) and small anther thecae broadly oval and truncate, the pore

equaling the anther width A. crassipes.

Leaves petiolate, denticulate or crenulate; stems usually freely branched.

A. quadrata.

Acisanthera bivalvis (Aubl.) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 3:

216. 1885. Melastoma bivalvis Aubl. PI. Guian. Fr. 404. 1775. M.

trivalvis Aubl. I.e. 406. A. trivalvis Cogn. I.e. 217.

Low wet places in open pine forest, at or little above sea level;

British Honduras. Northern South America.

Plants erect, simple or sparsely branched above, the stems rather stout, thick-

ened below, 20-40 cm. high, glabrous, acutely tetragonous; leaves sessile, erect or

ascending, oblong, 5-15 mm. long, acute, obtuse or rounded at the base, entire or

serrulate, 3-nerved, glabrous; flowers mostly terminal, short-pedicellate; hypan-

thium glabrous, 2.5-3 mm. long; sepals triangular, 3.5-4 mm. long, setose at the

apex; petals rose-colored, 6-10 mm. long; episepalous anthers narrowly oblong,

2.5 mm. long, the epipetalous anthers subulate, 1.8 mm. long.

Acisanthera crassipes (Naudin) Wurdack, Fieldiana, Bot. 29:

539. 1963. Onoctonia crassipes Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 12:

277, 1. 12, f. 4- 1849. A. Bartlettii Gleason, Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci. 17:

145, t. 19. 1933 (type Bartlett 11260 from British Honduras).

In wet or swampy savannas or pine forests. British Honduras;

South America.

Stem slender, often simple, 1 to 2 dm. high, sharply 4-winged, sparsely gland-

ular-pubescent above; leaves sessile, rounded or obtuse at the base, obscurely

3-nerved, glandular-ciliate, the lower rotund, deflexed, 2-5 mm. long, somewhat

crowded, the upper widely separated, progressively narrowed to ovate or elliptic,

spreading or erect; flowers short-pedi celled, terminal, hypanthium about 2 mm.

long, glandular-pubescent; sepals 2.5 mm. long, acuminate, glandular-pubescent;

petals white, obovate, 5 mm. long; episepalous anthers broadly truncate, the

thecae about 0.5 mm. long, the connective somewhat longer, bearing a fleshy

cordate appendage 0.7 mm. long; epipetalous anthers sterile, 0.2 mm. long, the

2-tuberculate connective not prolonged.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

413

FIG. 57. Acisanthera limnobios. A, Habit; XI. B, Hypanthium and calyx;

X 6. C, Leaf; X 6. D, Petal; X 5. E and F, An anther of each series; much

enlarged. G, Section of stem; enlarged.

Acisanthera limnobios (DC.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:

33, t. 11. 1871. Microlicia limnobios DC. Prodr. 3: 117. 1828. A.

pellucida Wright in Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 104. 1866.

Boggy meadows in pine forest area; Chiquimula. Honduras;

Panama; Cuba; South America.

Plants probably annual, erect or repent; the stems mostly simple and thick-

ened below at the base, 3-20 cm. tall, obscurely angled or winged above, glandular-

pilose, often sparsely so; leaves sessile, oblong or oblong-ovate to broadly ovate,

2-8 mm. long, the lowest often crowded, rounded or subcordate at the base,

obscurely 3-nerved, somewhat puberulent below and often glandular-ciliate, en-

tire or nearly so; inflorescence a simple few-flowered raceme or single flowers

from the axils of leaves or sometimes subcymose; pedicels of flowers 1-4 mm.

long; hypanthium 2.5-3.5 mm. long at maturity, glandular-pubescent, the lobes

2.5-3 mm. long, narrowly lanceolate; petals white, obovate, 5-8 mm. long; style

about 2.5-3 mm. long; capsule about 2.5 mm. in diameter.

Acisanthera quadra ta Pers. Syn. PI. 1: 477. 1805. Rhexia aci-

santhera L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 998. 1759.

Wet savannas, usually in boggy places, at or near sea level;

Izabal. Southern Mexico; British Honduras; Honduras; Nicaragua;

Costa Rica; Panama; West Indies; South America.

414 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Plants probably annual, usually erect, widely branched from the base or

sometimes only above the middle, erect or ascending, 60 cm. high or less, the

stems acutely quadrangular and narrowly winged on the angles, setose-pilose

at the nodes, elsewhere glandular-pubescent or glabrous; leaves short-petiolate,

ovate to oblong-ovate, 1-2 cm. long, acute or subacute, acute or broadly cuneate

at the base, finely and evenly denticulate, 3-nerved, glabrous or pubescent, often

glandular-pubescent; flowers numerous, solitary in the leaf axils, the pedicels

1-4 mm. long; hypanthium broadly campanulate, 2 mm. long, usually glabrous,

sometimes pubescent or glandular-pubescent, the sepals triangular, 2 mm. long;

petals rose-colored, 5-6 mm. long.

Called "sirinillo" in British Honduras, according to Gentle.

ADELOBOTRYS De Candolle

Woody vines, creeping by aerial roots; leaves short-petiolate, oblong to

ovate or rounded, entire or denticulate; flowers 5-parted, white or pink, rather

conspicuous, in paniculate umbels or head-like clusters; hypanthium campanulate

to obconic or almost tubular, strongly costate in fruit; calyx spreading, the lobes

short or obsolete, exterior teeth sometimes present, obovate; stamens 10, isomorphic

or dimorphic, the filaments complanate, adherent at the base to the petals; anthers

linear or subulate, deflexed, often arcuate, the connective shortly prolonged

below the cells into a short, erect, conic or bidentate basal spur, bearing dorsally

a long antrorse appendage, this cleft at its apex; ovary free, 3-5-celled, the style

elongate, slender, the stigma minute, capitate; fruit capsular, seeds numerous,

linear-cuneate, winged at the apex, winged or caudate at the base, the embryo

almost central.

Species about 20, in tropical America. Only one is recorded

in North America, although a second and undescribed species may

be found in British Honduras.

Adelobotrys adscendens (Swartz) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc.

Bot. 28: 67. 1871. Melastoma adscendens Swartz, Fl. Ind. Occ. 2: 772.

1800.

Creeping on tree trunks in wet mixed forest, often in swamps,

650 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico; British

Honduras, along the Atlantic coast to Panama; Jamaica; northern

South America southward to Bolivia.

A small or large, woody vine, sometimes 8 meters long, creeping along tree

trunks by adventitious roots, the younger parts, inflorescence, and petioles sparsely

brown-strigose, the plants appearing glabrous; leaves on petioles 1-3 cm. long,

firm, slightly fleshy when fresh, broadly ovate or usually rounded-ovate or sub-

cordate, 6-13 cm. long, abruptly acute or short-acuminate, entire or serrulate,

subcordate to rounded at the base, 5 (-7) -nerved, glabrous above, slightly strigose

beneath in the axils of the nerves; inflorescences terminal and lateral in the upper

leaf axils, forming a corymb 15-40 cm. long, the umbels 2-5-flowered, the pedicels

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

415

X

FIG. 58. Adelobotrysadscendens. A, Habit; X^. B, Portion of inflorescence;

±^. C, Flower; X 5. D, Petal; X 2Y2. E, Stamen; X 5. F, Seed; X 15.

2-5 mm. long or in fruit much longer; hypanthium obconic, 5 mm. long; petals

white, obovate, about 1 cm. long; filaments 7 mm. long, the anthers 6-10 mm.

long; fruit 8 mm. long, conspicuously 10-costate, constricted at the torus.

Called "tietie" in British Honduras.

ARTHROSTEMMA Ruiz & Pavon

Erect or rarely subscandent, fragile, succulent, probably annual herbs,

branched; leaves slender-petiolate, mostly ovate, serrulate or almost entire;

flowers rather large, 4-parted, showy, pink or purple, in lax branched terminal

cymes, the petals soon caducous; hypanthium slender-obconic to narrowly cam-

panulate, elongate, glabrous or nearly so, the sepals very short; stamens some-

what dimorphic or isomorphic, if dimorphic the episepalous anthers linear or

oblong, straight or curved, the connective prolonged below the cells and bearing

an anterior appendage, the epipetalous anthers shorter, the connective shorter

or not prolonged, bearing a relatively short appendage; ovary free or nearly so,

416 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

4-celled, the style elongate, somewhat bent, the stigma punctiform; fruit capsular,

enclosed in the accrescent hypanthium; seeds numerous, semi-ovoid, with about

8 rows of tubercles.

About 6 species, in tropical America. All the North American

ones are listed here.

Flowers and capsule sessile.

Hypanthium in fruit about 1 cm. long; stems winged A. alatum.

Hypanthium in fruit 1.5 cm. long or longer; stems not winged . . . .A. parvifolium.

Flowers and capsules on long pedicels.

Stems with narrow but conspicuous, green wings A. alatum.

Stems not winged A. ciliatum.

Arthrostemma alatum Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 35.

1871.

Wet thickets, 900 meters; Santa Rosa (near Cuilapa, Standley

78295). Mexico; El Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama; Venezuela.

An erect or decumbent annual, 70 cm. high or less, usually much branched,

the stems conspicuously 4-winged, glabrous or nearly so; leaves long-petiolate,

ovate, 3.5-7 cm. long, acute or acuminate, rounded and abruptly short-decurrent

at the base, remotely ciliate-serrulate, 7-nerved, very sparsely villous or glabrous,

slightly paler beneath; cymes terminal, several times dichotomous, very sparsely

pilose with long gland-tipped hairs, the flowers sessile or nearly so; hypanthium

subcylindric, at anthesis 4-5 mm. long, in fruit 1 cm. long, the calyx teeth minute;

petals 4 mm. long, white; capsule obovoid, 5 mm. long, rounded at the base.

Arthrostemma ciliatum Ruiz & Pavon, Fl. Peruv. 4: t. 326.

1802; L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 550. 1963. A. fragile Lindl. Journ.

Hort. Soc. 3: 74. 1847. Heteronoma campanula,™ Naud. Ann. Sci.

Nat. ser. 3, 14: 153. 1850. A. campanula* e Triana, Trans. Linn.

Soc. Bot. 28: 35. 1871, non DC. A. macrodesma Gleason ex Williams,

Fl. Trinidad 356, 357. 1934. Nitro; nitro duke; cana de Cristo;

chamajij (Alta Verapaz and elsewhere); tzelectza (Coban, Quecchi).

Moist thickets or mixed forest, often in pine forest, common

in second growth thickets, at 1,500 meters or usually much less;

Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Suchitepe"quez ;

Retalhuleu; Solola; Quezaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango;

Zacapa. Mexico; British Honduras to Panama; Jamaica; South

America south to Bolivia.

A much branched herb with very brittle stems, these erect and less than a

meter high or occasionally scandent and frequently 2-3 meters long or longer,

the branches succulent, quadrangular, pilose or glandular-pilose at least on the

younger parts; leaves on petioles 1-2 cm. long, somewhat succulent, ovate or

lance-ovate, 3-8 cm. long, acuminate or long-acuminate, truncate to subcordate

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 417

FIG. 59. Arthrostemma ciliatum. A, Habit; X 1. B, Bud; X 2. C, Hypan-

thium and calyx; X 2. D, Petal; X 3. E, Stamen; X 5.

at the base, 5-nerved, glabrous or usually sparsely villose-setose above, glabrous

beneath, paler beneath, finely serrulate, opposite leaves often unequal in size;

inflorescence lax and few-flowered, the pedicels 5-10 mm. long; hypanthium

narrowly obconic, about 8 mm. long or in fruit to 1.5 cm. or even more; petals

to 2.5 cm. long, deep rose-pink, bright red outside in bud; episepalous anthers

about 4-5 mm. long, the connective short or long, the stamens isomorphic or

variously dimorphic.

This species has usually gone under one or another of the syn-

onymous names given above. It is plentiful in many places in

Guatemala and is often weedy in character. The large flowers are

rather attractive but the petals fall away when the plant is shaken

and rarely are mature flowers preserved on herbarium specimens

due to their ephemeral nature.

In El Salvador the plant is called "jasmin monies" and in Vera

Cruz "cana agria." In Guatemala it is well known by the name

418 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

"nitro." The foliage has a decidedly acid flavor and for this reason

men working in cultivated fields or along the roads often chew it

and say that they feel much refreshed. This use of the plant is

apparently not known elsewhere.

Arthrostemma parvifolium Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7:

143. 1891. A. apodocarpum Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 37: 210. 1904

(type from Cubilgiiitz, Alta Verapaz, Tuerckheim 8208).

Moist or wet, usually rocky thickets, or on jagged limestone

rocks or cliffs, 1,500 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal

(type from Finca Chocon, S. Watson). Mexico; British Honduras.

Plants stout, erect or decumbent, 60 cm. high or less, usually much branched,

the stems obtusely angulate, very sparsely glandular-pilose; leaves on petioles

1-3.5 cm. long, mostly elliptic-ovate, 2-8 cm. long, short-acuminate to obtuse,

acute or cuneate at the base, 3-5-nerved, glabrous or very sparsely setose-pilose,

paler and often purplish beneath; inflorescence sparsely branched, the flowers

few, sessile; hypanthium at anthesis 8 mm. long, glabrous; petals purplish pink,

1.5 cm. long; filaments glandular-pilose; anthers oblong or oval.

This is a very common plant about Coban and in other parts

of Alta Verapaz. While it often grows in weedy fields, its favorite

habitat seems to be the jagged limestone rocks or cliffs that are

almost free of woody vegetation.

BELLUCIA Rafinesque

Coarse shrubs or trees, glabrous or minutely pubescent, the branches stout,

terete or compressed; leaves large, petiolate, coriaceous, entire, 5-nerved or 3-5-

plinerved, usually blackening when dried; flowers large, 5-8-parted, white or rose,

solitary or in small, few-flowered, lateral or axillary panicles; hypanthium hemi-

spheric, thick- walled; calyx large, at anthesis divided into 2-6 equal or unequal

segments; petals large, coriaceous, obovate or oblong, obscurely unguiculate;

stamens isomorphic, more or less coherent in a ring, the filaments short and stout;

anthers short, broadly oblong or dolabriform, laterally compressed, opening by

2 minute pores, the connective neither produced nor appendaged; ovary wholly

inferior, 5-15-celled, the style stout, terete, the stigma large, capitate; fruit baccate,

many-seeded.

A small genus of perhaps 8 or 10 species in tropical America.

The two species recognized below may prove to be only one. No

others are known from North America. For discussion see Williams,

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 551. 1963.

Inflorescence usually 1-flowered and borne in the axil of existing leaves; calyx

rupturing unequally and often soon deciduous B. grossularioides.

Inflorescence usually more than 1-flowered and these usually borne on old wood;

calyx usually equally 5-lobed and persistent B. costaricensis.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

419

FIG. 60. Belinda costaricensis. A, Leaves; X

wood; X ±3^. C, Anther; much enlarged.

. B, Inflorescence on old

Bellucia costaricensis Cogn. Bull. Soc. Bot. Belg. 30, pt. 1: 264.

1891. Manzana de montana.

Wet mixed forest, sometimes in open pine forest, or in pastures,

300 meters or less; Izabal. Mexico to Panama. Colombia.

A tree of 6-8 meters, the crown rounded, the branchlets tetragonous, brownish-

puberulent or glabrate; leaves coriaceous, on stout petioles 2-3 cm. long, ovate-

elliptic or broadly elliptic, mostly 20-30 cm. long and 12-18 cm. broad, rounded

or obtuse at the apex and abruptly short-acute, broadly cuneate at the base,

5-plinerved or 5-nerved, deep green above, glabrous or brownish-puberulent,

paler beneath, in age glabrate; flowers mostly in fascicles of 2-4, on stout pedicels

1.5 cm. long, 5-6-parted; calyx 2-2.5 cm. broad, the lobes broadly triangular,

acute, slightly shorter than the hypanthium; petals 13-15 mm. long, white or

pinkish white, incurved-erect; anthers dull yellow.

The large juicy fruits of this and other species are edible. Called

"Maya" in British Honduras.

420 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Bellucia grossularioides (L.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot.

28: 141. 1871. Melastoma grossularioides L. Sp. PI. 390. 1753.

Wet mixed forest, 400 meters or less; Izabal; Alta Verapaz.

Mexico; British Honduras; Panama; northern South America to

Ecuador.

A tree of 5-10 meters with a rounded crown, the younger branches tetragonous,

glabrous; leaves on stout petioles 2-4 cm. long, coriaceous, ovate to elliptic or

oblong-obovate, 20-30 cm. long, 10-20 cm. broad, acute or often rounded and

abruptly acute, rounded to cuneate at the base, 5-plinerved or almost 5-nerved,

glabrous or obscurely puberulent; flowers mostly solitary, rarely 2, on stout pedicels

2 cm. long; calyx 1.5-2 cm. broad; calyx lobes 2-5, irregular in shape, acute to

rounded, 5-8 mm. long; petals 1.5-2 cm. long, white.

Called "black moir" and "Maya" in British Honduras. The

flowers are said to be fragrant. Here probably belongs material

that has been reported from Alta Verapaz as B. superba Naudin.

BLAKEA P. Browne

Shrubs or trees, sometimes epiphytic, glabrous or variously pubescent, the

branchlets usually terete; leaves often large, petiolate, coriaceous, ovate or oblong,

entire or nearly so, 3-5-nerved, with very numerous and close, transverse, parallel

veins; flowers often large and showy, 6-parted, white, pink, or purple, axillary,

solitary or fasciculate, pedicellate, involucrate by usually 4, generally free bracts,

these opposite by pairs; hypanthium broadly campanulate or hemispheric, the

calyx truncate or with 6 short lobes; petals conspicuous, usually obovate; stamens

isomorphic, the filaments short, stout; anthers short, stout, laterally compressed,

mostly declinate or horizontal, the connective little or not at all prolonged, bearing

a stout, dorsal, basal, spreading or retrorse, obtuse, or acute spur; ovary inferior,

generally 6-celled, the style punctiform or capitate; fruit baccate.

Species perhaps 50 or more in the mountains of tropical America.

No fewer than 21 have been described from North America, mostly

from Costa Rica and Panama. Often pollinated by hummingbirds.

Leaves triplinerved, acute at the base.

Petals 1.5 cm. long B. cuneata.

Petals 2.5-3 cm. long B. bella.

Leaves 5-nerved, rounded at the base.

Leaves of a pair equal or nearly so; bracts little if at all exceeding the calyx.

B. Purpusii.

Leaves of a pair very unequal, one of them greatly reduced; bracts conspicu-

ously longer than the calyx B. guatemalensis.

Blakea bella Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 22: 94. 1940.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, 1,300 meters or less; Izabal (type from

bank of Rio Dulce, C. L. Wilson 402; collected also at several other

localities). Honduras.

STANDEE Y AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 421

A tree, commonly 6-15 meters high, the branchlets terete, minutely and

sparsely or rather densely stellate-furfuraceous, glabrate in age; leaves thick-

membranaceous, on petioles 1.5-3 cm. long, 3-plinerved, elliptic-oblong or nar-

rowly elliptic, 10-24 cm. long, 4-8 cm. broad, long-acuminate or rather abruptly

cuspidate-acuminate, acute or subobtuse at the base, glabrous above, densely and

minutely pale-punctate, almost concolorous beneath, when young sparsely and

minutely stellate-furfuraceous, in age almost wholly glabrous, the leaves of a pair

equal or nearly so; flowers axillary, solitary, on stout pedicels 6-8 mm. long; outer

bracts connate below, sparsely and minutely stellate-furfuraceous outside or almost

glabrous, 1.5-2 cm. broad, almost 2.5 cm. long, the free portion ovate-rounded,

short-acuminate, the inner bracts wholly united; calyx and hypanthium about

16 mm. long and 22 mm. broad near the apex, the lobes very short, broader than

long, apiculate, minutely stellate-furfuraceous outside; petals rose-colored, 3 cm.

long, very broad, truncate or broadly rounded at the apex; anthers broadly oblong,

5-6 mm. long, the filaments stout, equal in length.

The flowers are very fragrant.

Blakea cuneata Standl. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ. 461: 76.

1935.

Wet mixed forest, 300-800 meters; Pete"n (type from Camp 32,

British Honduras boundary, W. A. Schipp S-604). British Hon-

duras (Rio Viejo) ; Honduras.

An epiphytic shrub or tree 2.5-7 meters long, in part creeping by aerial roots,

the stems 5-10 cm. in diameter, the branchlets subterete, glabrate, when young

furfuraceous-puberulent; leaves on stout petioles 1-2 cm. long, subcoriaceous,

narrowly elliptic-oblong, 8-13 cm. long, 3-5.5 cm. broad, abruptly acuminate,

acute at the base, 3-plinerved, glabrous above, minutely whitish-puncticulate,

sparsely furfuraceous-puberulent beneath along the nerves or almost wholly gla-

brous, the leaves of a pair equal or nearly so; pedicels 1 cm. long; bracts very

unequal, the outer ones foliaceous, 2.5 cm. long, ovate, obtuse-acuminate, con-

nate above the base, glabrous or glabrate, the free portion obliquely spreading;

inner bracts 14 mm. long, broadly ovate, subobtuse; calyx and hypanthium broadly

campanulate, 14 mm. long, sparsely furfuraceous-puberulent outside on the lobes,

the lobes 6, semiorbicular, 4-5 mm. long, apiculate; petals rose-colored, glabrous,

1.5 cm. long, suborbicular; anthers oblong, obtuse, 5-6 mm. long; filaments gla-

brous; style stout, glabrous, 1.5 cm. long.

Blakea guatemalensis Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 14: 25, t. 6. 1889.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, sometimes, at least, on limestone,

frequently on stream banks, 700-2,000 meters; endemic; Alta Vera-

paz (type from Pansamald, Tuerckheim 778) ; Huehuetenango.

An erect shrub or tree as much as 9 meters high, sometimes epiphytic and

scandent or creeping, the young branches densely covered with a brown stellate-

furfuraceous torn en turn; leaves short-petiolate, those of a pair very unequal, one

of the pair much reduced and often only 1-2 cm. long; leaf blades 5-nerved, oval

422

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 61. Blakea gualemalensis. A, Habit; X

flower; X ±H- C, Calyx and hypanthium; X ±H.-

Donnell Smith); enlarged. E, Floral diagram.

. B, Vertical section of

> Stamen (after Faxon in

or ovate, mostly 11-14 cm. long and 5-9 cm. broad, abruptly caudate-acuminate,

broadly rounded at the base, often obscurely cordate or very narrowly subpeltate;

pedicels rather slender, solitary or geminate, densely and coarsely stellate-furfura-

ceous, 3-5 cm. long; outer bracts ovate-lanceolate, obliquely spreading, mostly

1.5-2 cm. long; inner bracts rounded-obovate, half as long as the outer ones;

calyx and hypanthium about 12 mm. long, the calyx shallowly sinuate-lobate;

petals obovate-spatulate, 2.5 cm. long or somewhat shorter, rose-colored; style

16 mm. long; berry costate when dry, 6-celled.

Blakea Purpusii Brandegee, Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 6: 58. 1914.

Moist or wet, mixed, mountain forest, usually in ravines on steep

slopes, 1,300-2,700 meters; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Mexico

(type from Cerro del Boqueron, Chiapas).

A tree of 6-18 meters with a short thick trunk and a dense, widely spreading

or rounded crown, the branchlets stout, densely covered with a coarse brown stel-

late-furfuraceous tomentum; leaves on stout petioles 2-6 cm. long, those of a pair

equal or nearly so, chartaceous, broadly elliptic to broadly obovate or ovate-elliptic,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 423

mostly 10-23 cm. long and 6-13 cm. broad, acute or almost rounded and abruptly

short-acuminate, rounded or very obtuse at the base, entire or nearly so, glabrous

above, coarsely stellate-furfuraceous beneath with brown or ferruginous hairs or

in age glabrous or nearly so, 5-nerved; pedicels solitary or geminate, 1.5-2.5 cm.

long; bracts free or nearly so, subequal, the outer ones obovate, very obtuse,

mostly 12-15 mm. long, densely stellate-furfuraceous; calyx and hypanthium in

fruit scarcely more than 1 cm. long, broadly campanulate, the limb with 6 very

short and broad lobes; petals 6, olive-green, inconspicuous; style 1.5 cm. long.

A common tree in the barrancos of western Guatemala, of rather

handsome appearance on account of the neat foliage; the flowers are

neither showy nor handsome.

CENTRADENIA G. Don

Low, annual or perennial herbs, alternately branched, usually erect, the stems

tetragonous or narrowly 4-winged; leaves short-petiolate, obliquely lanceolate,

those of a pair often very unequal, the smaller one often minute and early decid-

uous; flowers small, 4-parted, pink or white, in corymbiform cymes; hypanthhim

campanulate, subtetragonous, glabrous or pubescent; sepals 4, shorter than the

hypanthium; petals obovate or suborbicular; stamens 8, dimorphic and dissimilar

or nearly isomorphic, the filaments glabrous; anthers oblong or ovoid, obtuse,

erostrate, opening by a single minute pore, the cells undulate; connective pro-

duced below the anther cells, arcuate, terminated by a compressed, clavate, bi-

lobate or bisetose appendage; ovary free above, 4-celled, glabrous and sometimes

dentate at the apex; style filiform, declinate, the stigma punctiform; fruit cap-

sular, equaling the hypanthium, many-seeded, 4-valvate; seeds minute, ovoid, the

hilum apical.

About 5 species, in Mexico, Central America, Panama and north-

ern South America. Among local members of the Melastomaceae,

the species of this genus may be recognized by their narrow, conspic-

uously asymmetric leaves, much paler on the lower surface. The

leaves of a pair are usually very unequal in size, the smaller ones of

the pairs being so reduced, or early deciduous, that at first glance the

leaves seem to be alternate.

Hypanthium 4-10 mm. long.

Calyx lobes about twice broader than long; inflorescence glabrous.

C. grandifolia.

Calyx lobes as long as broad or longer; inflorescence pubescent . . .C. salicifolia.

Hypanthium less than 4 mm. long.

Hypanthium and pedicels with glandular pubescence.

Stamens essentially isomorphic, appendages lacking 2 setose processes.

C. floribunda.

Stamens dimorphic, appendages on 4 stamens with 2 long setose processes.

C. floribunda var. Bernoullii.

Hypanthium and pedicels glabrous to strigose but not glandular-pubescent.

C. inaequilateralis.

424 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Centradenia floribunda Planch. Fl. Serres 5: t. ^53. 1849;

L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 552. 1963 (type grown from Guate-

malan seed). C. floribunda var. grandifolia Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot.

Gaz. 20: 286. 1895. Nitro; nitro amargo; nitro de penasco.

Wet banks, thickets or forests, often along streams, 300-1,500

meters; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; Retalhuleu; Suchitepe"quez; Chimal-

tenango; Sacatepe*quez; Guatemala; Escuintla; Jalapa; Chiquimula;

Santa Rosa. Endemic.

Plants probably perennial, erect or decumbent, the stems sometimes prostrate

and rooting at the base, mostly 20-50 cm. high, subterete or somewhat tetragonous,

slender, laxly and sparsely branched, glandular-puberulent, usually densely so,

at least when young; leaves short-petiolate, lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate,

mostly 4-7 cm. long and 1-1.5 cm. broad, long-attenuate to each end, entire,

sparsely or densely puberulent or setulose-pilosulous on both surfaces, pale be-

neath; cymes few-many-flowered, equaling or shorter than the leaves, glandular-

pubescent; pedicels capillary, recurved in age, 4-7 mm. long; calyx and hypan-

thium campanulate, 2.5-3 mm. long or in fruit about 4 mm., densely glandular-

pubescent; petals obovate, pink, 5 mm. long, rounded at the apex; flowers usually

ebracteate; connective of the larger filaments truncate at the base.

The plant has been introduced into cultivation in Europe and

the United States. Colored illustrations of it indicate that when

grown in pots it is much handsomer than in the wild state, where it

is an inconspicuous and rather weedy plant.

Centradenia floribunda var. Bernoulli! (Cario) L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29. 552. 1963. C. Bernoullii Cario ex Cogn. in DC.

Monog. Phan. 7: 118. 1891.

Moist shaded banks or thickets, 400-1,400 meters. El Salvador;

Honduras.

Similar to the species in all detail except the anthers dimorphic, in two series

of 4 each; appendages of the larger anthers with two long setose processes.

The variety may be expected in Guatemala and has often been

reported there but specimens seen belong rather to the typical vari-

ety.—Called "cush-cush" in El Salvador.

Centradenia grandifolia (Schlecht.) Endl. in Walp. Ann. 2:

119. 1843; L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 553. 1963. Rhexia grandi-

folia Schlecht. Linnaea 13: 429. 1839. C. grandifolia var. brevisepala

Gleason, Phytologia .1 : 340. 1939 (type from Guatemala, Stuart 15).

In moist forest, 1,100-1,500 meters; Alta Verapaz. Mexico.

Perennial, occasionally suffrutescent plants to 2 meters tall. Stems 4-angled

or narrowly winged, sparsely branched, glabrous or sparsely hirsute on the angles;

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 425

leaves with one of each pair minute and soon deciduous, the other large, short

petiolate or nearly sessile, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, oblique, acuminate,

somewhat cuneate to the base, sparsely hirsute pubescent above to glabrous, gla-

brous below, 6-20 cm. long and 2.5-6 cm. broad; inflorescences axillary or ter-

minal few-flowered cymes, usually much shorter than the subtending leaf, gla-

brous or nearly so; hypanthium campanulate, cuneate to the base, glabrous, 4-

7 mm. long; calyx 4-lobed, the lobes very short and broad, rounded, ciliate,

0.5-1 mm. long and 2-4 mm. broad, somewhat accrescent in fruit; petals obovate,

ciliolate, about 8-10 mm. long and 6-7 mm. broad; anthers 8, dimorphic, the

large ones with an appendage below the connective about 2 mm. long, appendage

on smaller anthers much shorter.

Centradenia inaequilateralis (Schlecht. & Cham.) G. Don,

Gen. Hist. Dichl. PI. 2: 765. 1832. Rhexia inaequilateralis Schlecht.

& Cham. Linnaea 5: 567. 1830.

Wet forests and along streams, 600-800 meters; Alta Verapaz;

Baja Verapaz. Mexico; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama.

A slender erect perennial about 30 cm. high, laxly branched, the branches

tetragonous, hirtellous, eglandular; leaves narrowly lanceolate, mostly 2-4 cm.

long and 3-7 mm. broad, attenuate to each end, entire, short-petiolate, thinly

setulose-pilose, more densely so on the upper surface, paler beneath; flowers few

at the ends of the branches, solitary or in few-flowered cymes, much shorter than

the leaves, the pedicels hirtellous with eglandular hairs; calyx and hypanthium

narrowly campanulate, about 3 mm. long, in fruit slightly larger, sparsely hispid-

ulous with eglandular hairs; petals pale pink, obovate, obtuse, 5-6 mm. long;

connective of the larger stamens truncate or subemarginate at the base.

The species, as known at present, has a rather unusual distribu-

tion. It is known from a few scattered localities in Mexico and

northern Central America. It is abundant in Costa Rica and has

been reported from a few localities in Panama.

Centradenia salicifolia Brandegee, Univ. Cal. Publ. Bot. 4:

379. 1913; L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 553. 1963. C. chiapensis

Brandegee, I.e. 6: 501. 1919.

Moist or wet shaded banks and wooded ravines, often on white

sand banks, 1,200-2,500 meters. San Marcos; Quezaltenango; Suchi-

tepe"quez. Southern Mexico; Costa Rica.

A slender erect herb, a meter high or usually half as tall, laxly and sparsely

branched, the stems glabrous or nearly so, subterete, often tinged with red; leaves

short-petiolate, slightly fleshy when fresh, obliquely lanceolate, mostly 8-16 cm.

long and 2.5-4.5 cm. broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, acute at the base, en-

tire, thinly setulose-pilose above, paler beneath, setulose-pilosulous mostly along

the nerves; cymes corymbiform, often large and many-flowered, shorter than the

leaves, sparsely glandular-setulose, the flowers bracteate but the bracts early de-

426

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 62. Centradenia salicifolia. A, Habit; X 1. B, Hypanthium and calyx;

X ±4. C, Petal; X ±4. D and E, Two forms of stamens; much enlarged.

ciduous, conspicuously ciliate; calyx and hypanthium glabrous or practically so,

in anthesis 6 mm. long, in fruit about 8 mm. long, often dark red, conspicuously

reticulate-veined; petals deep rose, 8 mm. long; connective of the larger stamens

produced into a short compressed appendage; ovary dentate at the apex and

stipitate-glandular.

This is a common plant in the mountains of western Guatemala,

especially in the white-sand regions, where it often grows in great

abundance on the steeper banks. In general appearance all the spe-

cies of this genus are much alike. They are rather pretty when in

flower, but the petals fall when the plants are disturbed. The leaves

are inclined to become limp unless there is a constant and abundant

supply of water. — The disjunct range is of interest; the plant is found

nowhere in the highlands of Central America between western Guate-

mala and the highlands of Costa Rica.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 427

CLIDEMIA D. Don

References: Alfred Cogniaux in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 984-1026.

1891. H. A. Gleason, The genus Clidemia in Mexico and Central

America, Brittonia 3: 97-140. 1939.

Shrubs or small trees, usually pubescent, often hirsute or setose; leaves gen-

erally large, petiolate or rarely sessile, mostly ovate or oblong, 3-7-nerved or pli-

nerved, entire or denticulate, those of a pair sometimes unequal; flowers small,

commonly 4-8-parted, variously arranged, white, pink, or red, usually minutely

bracteolate; hypanthium cupular to tubular; calyx tube none or very short, the

sepals erect or spreading, mostly ovate to triangular or oblong, sometimes obso-

lete; outer calyx teeth conic to filiform, often much longer than the sepals and

concealing them; petals ovate to obovate, small, obtuse or retuse; stamens iso-

morphic, the anthers subulate to linear, semiovoid, or rarely obovoid, rarely 3-6

times as many as the petals; connective simple or shortly prolonged below the

anther cells, rarely produced into a short lobe below the filament; ovary partly or

wholly inferior, 4-7-celled, often glandular or setose at the apex; style slender, the

stigma punctiform or capitate; fruit baccate, globose, many-seeded, usually blue

or dark purple; seeds ovoid or semiovoid, smooth or granular.

A large genus, with about 160 species, widely dispersed in trop-

ical America. About 40 species are known from Mexico, Central

America and Panama. There are included here Central American

plants formerly referred to the genus Heterotrichium, a genus ap-

parently restricted to the West Indies.

Plants with conspicuous formicaria (inflated green organs, shelters for ants) at

the base or apex of the petiole.

Formicaria inserted on the branch at the base of the petiole C. tococoidea.

Formicaria inserted at the apex of the petiole C. setose.

Plants without formicaria.

Flowers sessile and densely clustered in the leaf axils C. rubra.

Flowers variously arranged but not sessile in the leaf axils.

Leaves pubescent beneath with stellate or branched hairs, sometimes also

with simple hairs.

Leaves very minutely stellate-puberulent beneath, principally on the nerves,

appearing glabrous or nearly so to the naked eye C. cymifera.

Leaves densely and conspicuously tomentose or often hirsute beneath.

Flowers 4-parted C. glandulifera.

Flowers 5-6-parted.

Leaves mostly 7-nerved and cordate at the base.

Branchlets, inflorescences, pedicels and petioles with spreading stri-

gose hairs 6-8 mm. long C. octona.

Branchlets without long, harsh strigose hairs C, strigillosa.

Leaves 5-nerved, obtuse or rounded at the base.

Leaves stellate-tomentose beneath C. capitellata var. neglecta.

Leaves stellate-pilose and also setose with simple hairs on the lower

surface.

428 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Inflorescence internodes 1 cm. long or less, densely long-hirsute

and inconspicuously glandular . . C. capitellata var. dependens.

Inflorescence slender, the lateral flower clusters separated by inter-

nodes 1-2 cm. long, sparsely hirsute and conspicuously gland-

ular C. capitellata.

Leaves pubescent beneath with simple hairs only, or sometimes glabrous.

Leaves glabrous C. diffusa.

Leaves abundantly pubescent.

Leaves 5-7-plinerved.

Leaves 7-plinerved; inflorescences more than twice as long as the peti-

oles, open and many-flowered C. Tuerckheimii.

Leaves 5-plinerved; inflorescences little longer than the petioles, some-

times shorter.

Branches glandular-hirsute C. involucrata.

Branches hirsute with eglandular hairs C. dentata.

Leaves 3-9-nerved.

Stamens 4-5 times as many as the petals; leaves 7-9-nerved.

C. Matudae.

Stamens fewer than 3 times as many as the petals; leaves 3-7-nerved.

Leaves strongly dimorphic, those of a pair very unequal; plants epi-

phytic, creeping, vine-like C. trichocalyx.

Leaves not conspicuously dimorphic, all equal or nearly so; plants

terrestrial, not vine-like.

Flowers 4-parted C. Donnell-Smithii.

Flowers 5-parted.

Hairs of the branches ascending or appressed C. petiolaris.

Hairs of the branches widely spreading.

Hypanthium pubescent with short hairs, these slightly thick-

ened below and usually finely puberulent or roughened.

C. laxiflora.

Hypanthium hirsute with very long and slender, smooth and

glabrous hairs.

Torus of hypanthium bearing a conspicuous ring of fimbri-

ate scales; leaf blades broadly rounded and usually

somewhat cordate at the base C. hirta.

Torus of hypanthium without evident scales; leaf blades

mostly obtuse at the base, sometimes almost rounded,

not at all cordate.

Bracts of the inflorescence minute; hairs of the stem

mostly 3 mm. long or shorter C. petiolaris.

Bracts of the inflorescence conspicuous, sometimes 1 cm.

long; hairs of the stem as much as 11 mm. long.

C. fulva.

Glidemia capitellata (Bonpl.) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4:

310. 1823. Melastoma capitellata Bonpl. in Humb. & Bonpl. Monog.

M&ast. 5, t. 3. 1816.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 429

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, sometimes in lowland pine

forest or at the margins of savannas, often in second growth, 330

meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Quiche". Southern Mexico;

British Honduras; Panama; Colombia.

A shrub of 1.5-3 meters, the young branches densely hirsute, the hairs yellow-

ish, mostly flexuous, partly gland-tipped, 3 mm. long or less, averaging about 1 mm.

long; leaves on stout petioles 1-2 cm. long, ovate or lance-ovate, as much as 18 cm.

long and 9 cm. broad, narrowly acuminate, rounded at the base, 5-nerved, dentic-

ulate and ciliate, densely short-hirsute, the yellowish hairs 1-1.5 mm. long; inflo-

rescences spike-like, interrupted, often recurved, 10-15 cm. long, the flowers sessile

in dense remote clusters; hypanthium 3.5-4 mm. long, densely long-hirsute and

sparsely stellate-pubescent, the glandular hairs few or none; sepals 2 mm. long,

the exterior calyx teeth subulate or conic, 2.5-3 mm. long; petals obovate-oblong,

4-5 mm. long, white; anthers stout-subulate, 2.5-3 mm. long; ovary setose at the

apex around the style.

This has been reported from Guatemala as C. capitata Benth., a

South American species. It is easily recognized by the long spike-

like inflorescence.

Clidemia capitellata var. dependens ([Pavon] D. Don) Macbr.

Field Mus. Bot. 13 (41): 484. 1941. Clidemia dependens [Pavon]

D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 310. 1823. Melastoma dependens Pavon

ex D. Don, I.e.

Wet mixed forest or thickets, sometimes in savannas, at or little

above sea level; Pete*n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico;

British Honduras to Panama; tropical South America.

A rather stout shrub 1.5-3 meters high, the branches densely hirsute with

yellowish, usually flexuous hairs as much as 6 mm. long, also stellate-pubescent;

leaves on stout petioles 5-15 mm. long, oblong-ovate or broadly ovate, as much

as 20 cm. long and 10 cm. broad, usually not more than half as large, rather thick,

acute or acuminate, rounded or rarely subcordate at the base, 5-nerved, incon-

spicuously denticulate, long-ciliate, densely hirsute above, densely hirsute and

also stellate-pubescent beneath; inflorescences dense, spike-like, mostly 3-5 cm.

long, rarely longer, the branches densely hirsute and sparsely glandular-hirsute;

hypanthium campanulate, 3 mm. long, stellate-tomentose and hirsute with very

long, spreading hairs; sepals depressed-ovate, 1.6-2 mm. long, the outer teeth

3-4 mm. long; petals white, oblong-obovate, 6 mm. long; anthers stout-subulate,

2 mm. long; ovary setose about the base of the style, this 5-7 mm. long.

This variety has been reported from Guatemala as Clidemia capi-

tata Benth. — The variety is difficult to distinguish from the typical

variety and probably cannot be with some specimens.

Clidemia capitellata var. neglecta (D. Don) L. Wms. Fieldi-

ana, Bot. 29: 556. 1963. Clidemia neglecta D. Don, Mem. Wern.

Soc. 4: 307. 1823.

430

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

SD.C.

FIG. 63. Clidemia capitellata var. dependens. A, Habit; X ^. B, Hairs from

leaf surface; much enlarged. C, Hypanthium and calyx; X 4.

Moist or wet forests and thickets, 1,500 meters or less; Alta Vera-

paz; Chiquimula. British Honduras to Panama; Cuba; south to

southern Brazil.

A shrub of 1-2.5 meters, the branches, petioles, and hypanthium densely

glandular-pubescent, stellate-tomentose, and setose-hirsute; leaves on petioles 1.5

cm. long or less, oblong-ovate, 7-15 cm. long, acuminate, rounded at the base,

5-nerved, serrulate, densely pubescent on both surfaces, rugose or bullate above;

inflorescence a dichasium mostly 3-6 cm. long; hypanthium broadly tubular,

5-6 mm. long, densely stellate-pubescent and hirsute; sepals oblong-ovate, 2.5-

3 mm. long, the outer teeth subulate, 1 mm. long; petals oblong-obovate, white or

greenish white, 6-7 mm. long; anthers stout-subulate, 3.5-4 mm. long; ovary with

gland-tipped bristles at the apex; style 7 mm. long.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 431

Clidemia cymifera Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 14: 25. 1889; 18: 203,

t.21. 1893.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, 1,150-2,500 meters; endemic; Alta

Verapaz (type, Pansamala, Tuerckheim 709) ; Huehuetenango.

A shrub of 1-1.5 meters, the branches minutely stellate-puberulent when

young, soon glabrate; leaves on slender petioles 1-3 cm. long, ovate, 5-12 cm.

long, acuminate, rounded or subcordate at the base, 5-nerved, subentire, glabrous

above, sparsely and very minutely stellate-puberulent beneath, chiefly on the

nerves; panicles few-flowered, branched from near the base, the slender branches

almost glabrous, the bracts 1 mm. long or less; pedicels 1 mm. long; hypanthium

3 mm. long, sparsely covered with minute short-stalked brownish stellate hairs;

sepals broadly triangular, 1.5 mm. long, the exterior calyx teeth 2 mm. long, pro-

longed into a conic tip; petals cuneate or narrowly obovate, 8-9 mm. long; anthers

thick-linear, 2.7 mm. long; ovary glabrous at the apex; style 6 mm. long.

Clidemia dentata D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 308. 1823.

C. br achy Stephana var. longidentata Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7:

990. 1891 (type from Livingston, Izabal, S. Watson).

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, often in second growth,

1,400 meters or less, most common at low elevations; Pete"n; Alta

Verapaz; Izabal; Escuintla; Solola; Quezaltenango; Retalhuleu;

Huehuetenango. Southern Mexico; British Honduras to Panama;

tropical South America to southern Brazil and Bolivia.

A rather slender, often densely branched shrub 1-4.5 meters high, the branches

densely hirsute with spreading brown hairs 1-2 mm. long; leaves on petioles 5-

10 mm. long or somewhat longer, oblong-lanceolate to oblong or elliptic, 10-20 cm.

long and about one-third as broad, acuminate, obtuse or rounded at the base, often

oblique, 5-7-plinerved, inconspicuously denticulate, short-setose above, hirsute

beneath with hairs 1-2 mm. long, conspicuously more pubescent along the nerves

on both sides; inflorescence a few-flowered or reduced cyme, 1-3 cm. long, spread-

ing hirsute; hypanthium 3 mm. long, densely hirsute with long spreading hairs;

calyx tube truncate, the outer teeth subulate, erect in fruit, 2-5 mm. long, hirsute;

petals obovate, white or pink, 7 mm. long; anthers stout-subulate, 3-3.5 mm. long;

style 4-5 mm. long; fruit at first red, becoming deep blue or purple at maturity.

To distinguish this species from the very closely allied C. hirta

watch for leaves attenuate to the base with the inner pair of nerves

rising above the base and somewhat alternate. The leaves of C. hirta

are cordate and the nerves rise at one place at the base.

Clidemia diffusa Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 46: 112. 1908.

Dense wet mixed forest, 1,500-1,800 meters; endemic; Alta Vera-

paz (type from Purulha, Tuerckheim 11.1717; collected also between

Tactic and Tamahu).

432 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

A slender shrub 1-2 meters high, the young branches sparsely hirsute with

dark red hairs as much as 4 mm. long, glabrate in age; leaves on slender petioles

5 cm. long or less, thin, oblong-ovate or ovate, about 15 cm. long and 9 cm. broad

or smaller, long-acuminate, rounded and subcordate at the base, 5-nerved, thin,

obscurely denticulate, glabrous, pale beneath; inflorescences as much as 15 cm.

long, hirsute, laxly branched, the flowers short-pedicellate, somewhat crowded;

hypanthium 2 mm. long, glabrous, very minutely red-puncticulate; sepals almost

semicircular, 0.7 mm. long, the exterior teeth equaling the sepals, triangular-

acuminate; petals obovate, 3 mm. long, pale yellow; anthers semiovoid, 1.5 mm.

long; style 4 mm. long.

This species is noteworthy for its pale yellow flowers, and easily

recognizable by the quite glabrous leaves.

Clidemia Donnell-Smithii Cogn. Bot. Gaz. 16: 5. 1891.

Wet mixed forest, 1,150-1,400 meters; endemic; Alta Verapaz

(type from Pansamala, Tuerckheim 1435) .

Branches densely hirsute with slender spreading simple hairs as much as 6 mm.

long, also with a close indument of very slender, appressed hairs 1-2 mm. long;

leaves on stout petioles 2-4 cm. long, firm, ovate-oblong, as much as 15 cm.

long and 7 cm. broad, acuminate, rounded at the base, 5-nerved, minutely denticu-

late, ciliate, sparsely hirsute above, densely villous beneath, the hairs 1-3 mm.

long; inflorescences few-flowered, 2-3 cm. long, divaricately branched; hypanthium

2.7 mm. long, densely hirsute with reddish simple ascending hairs; sepals triangu-

lar, acute, 1.6 mm. long, the outer teeth divergent and curved-ascending, 3 mm.

long; petals thick, oblong, 3.7 mm. long; anthers stout-fusiform, 2.3 mm. long;

ovary glabrous at the apex; style 5.5 mm. long.

Clidemia fulva Gleason, Brittonia 3: 122. 1939.

Dense wet mixed forest or thickets, 1,500 meters or less, mostly

at 300 meters or lower; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Huehuetenango; type

collected in Guatemala, the exact locality unknown, H. Pittier 276.

Honduras.

Plants shrubby and 1.5 meters high, or herbaceous throughout or nearly so

and much lower, the branches setose-hirsute with widely spreading, slender hairs

as much as 11 mm. long; leaves on stout petioles 4 cm. long or shorter, oblong-

ovate or ovate, about 15 cm. long and 7 cm. broad or even larger, acute or acumi-

nate, often abruptly so, rounded or broadly obtuse at the base, 5-nerved, crenate-

serrulate, ciliate, brownish-setose above with hairs 2-2.5 mm. long, setose beneath

with hairs as much as 5 mm. long; inflorescence freely branched, lax, many-flow-

ered, densely hirsute; bracts persistent, lanceolate, 10 mm. long or less, hirsute-

ciliate, the pedicels 2 mm. long; hypanthium tubular-campanulate, 3.5-4 mm. long,

densely hirsute with long slender spreading hairs, some of the hairs gland-tipped;

sepals scarious, erect, 1.5 mm. long, semicircular, erose-ciliate, the outer teeth

triangular-subulate, 5.5 mm. long or even longer, long-setose at the apex; petals

narrowly obovate-oblong, 8 mm. long; anthers stout-linear; ovary glandular at

the apex; style 4-4.5 mm. long.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 433

Clidemia glandulifera Cogn. Bot. Gaz. 20: 289. 1895.

Type from San Miguel Uspantan, Quiche", 1,800 meters, Heyde &

Lux 3329.

Branches densely tomentose with brown stellate hairs, also glandular-pilose;

leaves on stout petioles 1.5-3.5 cm. long, ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, as

much as 22 cm. long and 12 cm. broad, subacuminate, rounded at the base,

5-nerved, obscurely denticulate and ciliate, densely pubescent above, densely to-

mentose beneath with short-stipitate stellate hairs; inflorescences as much as

10 cm. long, pubescent like the branches, the flowers densely aggregate at the

ends of the branchlets; bracts subulate, 1 mm. long, the pedicels 1 mm. long or

less; hypanthium tubular, 3.5 mm. long, thinly tomentose with subsessile stellate

hairs, densely glandular-pubescent; sepals broadly ovate-triangular, 1.3 mm. long,

the outer teeth arising near the ends of the sepals, divergent at a right angle, 0.3-

0.4 mm. long; petals obovate, 3.5 mm. long; anthers linear-subulate, 3 mm. long;

ovary glabrous at the apex; style 5.5 mm. long.

Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 309. 1823.

Melastoma hirta L. Sp. PI. 390. 1753. C. hirta var. elegans Griseb.

Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 247. 1860.

Moist or wet mixed forest or thickets, often in second growth,

1,300 meters or less, mostly at low elevations; Alta Verapaz; Izabal;

Chiquimula. Southern Mexico; British Honduras to Panama; West

Indies; tropical South America; naturalized as a weed in some parts

of the Old World tropics.

A shrub, usually 1-1.5 meters high, hirsute throughout with long spreading

brownish eglandular hairs; leaves of a pair sometimes unequal, on stout petioles

3 cm. long or less, ovate to broadly ovate, 5-15 cm. long, acute or short-acuminate,

usually rounded and subcordate at the base, 5-7-nerved, serrulate or entire; in-

florescences few-many-flowered, laxly branched, 3-5 cm. long, the flowers mostly

6-parted; hypanthium campanulate, 5 mm. long, hirsute; calyx truncate or ob-

scurely lobate, the slender exterior teeth as much as 3 mm. long; petals white,

oblong-obovate, 8-11 mm. long; anthers subarcuate, nearly 5 mm. long; ovary

glabrous, the torus bearing a ring of conspicuous narrow laciniate scales; style

8 mm. long.

A very common and somewhat weedy shrub in many places along

the Atlantic coast of Central America. The long hairs on the fresh

plants are often or usually red.

Clidemia involucrata DC. Prodr. 3: 163. 1828.

Wet mixed forest, 500 meters or less; British Honduras; Trinidad;

Guianas.

A shrub 1-3 meters high, blackening when dried, the branches densely hispid-

ulous and glandular-pilose with long spreading hairs; leaves of a pair often very

434 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

unequal, on petioles 5-20 mm. long, ovate to oblong, 6-13 cm. long, acuminate,

obtuse or rounded at the base, 5-plinerved, denticulate, ciliate, sparsely pilose on

both surfaces; flowers few, in short-pedunculate bracteate capitate clusters, the

peduncles 5-10 mm. long, the bracts 3-5 mm. long, persistent; hypanthium nar-

rowly campanulate, 3.5-4 mm. long, soft-villous; sepals triangular-ovate, 1-1.5

mm. long, the outer teeth stout-subulate, projecting 0.5 mm. beyond the sepals;

petals white, narrowly obovate, 4 mm. long; anthers subulate, 4.5 mm. long; style

3.5 mm. long.

Clidemia laxiflora (Schlecht.) Walp. ex Naud. Ann. Sci. Nat.

ser. 3, 17: 376. 1852. Melastoma laxiflorum Schlecht. Linnaea 13:

426. 1839.

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, 900-1,700 meters; Chiqui-

mula; Santa Rosa; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuete-

nango. Southern Mexico.

A shrub of 1-2.5 meters, the young branches pubescent with mostly gland-

tipped very short hairs, the youngest parts subtomentose with curved, somewhat

plumose, short hairs; leaves on petioles 1.5-5 cm. long, thin, ovate, 15 cm. long

and 8 cm. broad or smaller, acuminate or long-acuminate, rounded to subcordate

at the base, 5-7-nerved, denticulate, ciliate, short-hirsute on both surfaces; in-

florescence trichotomous from near the base, 10 cm. long and broad or smaller,

lax, pubescent like the branchlets, the simple hairs mostly gland-tipped; bracts

lance-subulate, 1 mm. long, the pedicels 3-4 mm. long; hypanthium 2 mm. long,

densely short-hirsute, the hairs stout and subplumose, some of them often gland-

tipped; sepals spreading, semicircular, 0.8 mm. long, the exterior teeth filiform,

3 mm. long; petals narrowly obovate, 4-4.5 mm. long; anthers stout-linear, 1.7 mm.

long; ovary glabrous at the apex; fruit purple-black or bluish black.

This species may be recognized usually by the pubescence of the

inflorescence, which consists principally of rather stout and short,

tapering, puberulent hairs. It is closely related to C. petiolaris and

may prove to be the same.

Clidemia Matudae L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 556. 1963.

Found in forests at about 1,400 meters; Guatemala. Mexico

(type Matuda 15945).

Shrubs or small trees to 5-6 meters, branchlets terete, densely pubescent with

intermixed soft, often stellate or barbellate hairs and glandular hirsute ones, the

longest hairs mostly about 1 mm. long; leaves of a pair distinctly unequal, blade

ovate-cordate, acuminate, obscurely denticulate, 7-9-plinerved, glabrous to spar-

ingly hirsute above, densely puberulent below and hirsute along principal nerves,

large blade (of pair) 13-20 cm. long and 8-14 cm. broad, smaller ones 8-12 cm.

long and 7-8 cm. broad; petioles to 8 cm. long, pubescent as are the branchlets;

inflorescence pseudoterminal, an elongated and rather few-flowered thyrse, to

about 12 cm. long, with intermixed simple puberulence and hispid or glandular-

hispid pubescence; hypanthium campanulate, subhispid-puberulent, about 4 mm.

X

I

s

I

e

435

436 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

long; calyx lobes 7-8, rounded, about 1.5 mm. long; exterior teeth subulate, 2-

2.5 mm. long and much exceeding the calyx lobes; petals about 7, oblong-obovate,

obtuse or retuse, about 5 mm. long and 3.5 mm. broad; stamens about 30-35,

about 4 mm. long, the anther 1.5-2 mm. long, narrowly oblong, the connective

unappendaged or but slightly umbonate at the base; style capitate, about 5 mm.

long.

One of several species with pseudoterminal or terminal inflores-

cences. The known Mexican locality is near Guatemala.

Clidemia octona (Bonpl.) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 558.

1963. Melastoma octona Bonpl. Me'last. 7, t. 4- 1816. Heterotrichum

octonum DC. Prodr. 3: 173. 1828. Cinco negritos (San Marcos).

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, sometimes in pine forest

or second growth, 1,500 meters or less, most frequent at low eleva-

tions; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Suchitepe"quez;

Solola; Retalhuleu; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico;

British Honduras to Panama; Cuba; northwestern South America

south to Peru.

A shrub or small tree 1-5 meters tall, the branches, petioles, inflorescence, and

hypanthium densely covered with 3 kinds of pubescence — short subsessile stellate

hairs, longer spreading gland-tipped hairs, and very long (4-8 mm.) eglandular

bristles; leaves thin, on slender petioles 3-8 cm. long, the blades ovate or broadly

ovate, 12-20 cm. long, 6-13 cm. broad, acuminate, broadly rounded and sub-

cordate at the base, 7-nerved, obscurely denticulate, long-setose above, pale be-

neath, hispid and softly stellate-pubescent; panicles few-many-flowered, 5-10 cm.

long, the flowers 5-8-parted; hypanthium 4-5 mm. long; sepals triangular-ovate,

2 mm. long, the exterior teeth subulate, 3.5-4 mm. long; petals white, 8-10 mm.

long; anthers subulate, 5-6 mm. long, the connective shortly prolonged at the

base; style 7-10 mm. long; fruit juicy, dark blue or purple-black.

A common shrub in rain forest of the Atlantic lowlands of Cen-

tral America. Called "sarcil" in Honduras; "tesuate" (Oaxaca).

Clidemia petiolaris (Schlecht. & Cham.) Schlecht. ex Triana,

Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 135. 1871; L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 559.

1963. Melastoma petiolare Schlecht. & Cham. Linnaea 5: 562. 1830.

M. serrulata Schlecht. Linnaea 13: 425. 1839. Clidemia Deppeana

Steudl. Nomencl. Bot. 384. 1840. C. serrulata Triana, I.e. C. Nau-

diniana Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 990. 1891. C. laxiflora var.

longipetiolata Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16: 5. 1891 (type from

Alta Verapaz, Tuerckheim 707).

Wet thickets or mixed forest, often in second growth, at or little

above sea level; Pete"n; Izabal; Alta Verapaz. Southern Mexico;

British Honduras to Panama.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 437

A slender shrub 1-1.5 meters high, the branches densely hirsute with appressed

or ascending, brownish hairs; leaves on slender petioles 1-5 cm. long, thin, very

variable in size and shape even on the same branch, mostly lance-ovate to oblong-

ovate and 6-10 cm. long, acute or acuminate, acute to almost rounded at the base,

3-nerved, often conspicuously and irregularly dentate, soft-hirsute above, almost

villous beneath, usually densely so; inflorescences 2-5 cm. long, divaricately tri-

chotomous, lax, hirsute with spreading or somewhat ascending, simple hairs;

hypanthium 3 mm. long, densely hirsute with spreading or ascending hairs as

much as 2.5 mm. long, some of them usually gland-tipped; sepals thin, erect,

broadly ovate, almost 1 mm. long, the outer teeth erect, slender-subulate, 1.5-

2.5 mm. long; petals obovate-oblong, 4 mm. long, pink; anthers stout-subulate,

2 mm. long; ovary glabrous or minutely glandular-pubescent at the apex; style

4 mm. long; fruit red, or probably purple or black when mature.

Usually reported as Clidemia Deppeana, a name which was un-

necessary when published.

Clidemia rubra (Aubl.) Martius, Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 152. 1829.

Melastoma rubrum Aubl. PL Guian. 1: 416. 1775.

Moist or wet thickets or savannas or in pine or pine-oak forest,

1,500 meters or less, mostly at low elevations; Pete*n; Alta Verapaz;

Izabal; Zacapa; Chiquimula. Southern Mexico; British Honduras

to Panama; tropical South America.

A shrub about a meter high or frequently lower, often forming dense clumps,

sometimes herbaceous almost throughout, the stems simple or branched, the

branches and leaves densely hirsute or almost villous; leaves almost sessile or on

petioles 1-2 cm. long, thick, oblong-lanceolate to broadly elliptic, usually about

10 cm. long and half as broad but variable in size, obtuse or short-acuminate,

cuneate to rounded at the base, 5-plinerved, inconspicuously denticulate; flowers

few, sessile in dense clusters in the leaf axils; hypanthium cylindric, 3.5-4 mm.

long, the exterior teeth triangular-subulate, divergent, 1-1.5 mm. long, equaling

or slightly exceeding the sepals; petals white or pink, obovate-oblong, 2-3 mm.

long; anthers linear-subulate, 3-4 mm. long; ovary glabrous or glandular-setose at

the apex; style 6-8 mm. long; fruit black or bluish, 4-5 mm. in diameter, juicy.

In Central America this low shrub grows most commonly in sa-

vannas, lowland pine forest, or on dry sterile open hillsides of the

lower mountains. It is to be found in flower most of the year.

Clidemia setosa (Triana) Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 58: 82.

1931. Calophysa setosa Triana, Journ. Bot. 5: 209. 1867. Maieta

setosa Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 4: 462. 1888. Hoja de danto

(Chimaltenango) ; hembra (Quezaltenango) ; cinco negritos (San Mar-

cos); hoja de hembra; hierba pandora; hierba de mico (Huehuete-

nango); ixqui-quen (Verapaz); hierba de la giganta (fide Aguilar).

438

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 65. Clidemia setosa. A, Habit; X 1A- B» Leaf, showing both sides; X Y^

C, Hypanthium and calyx; X 5. D, Petal; X 5. E, Stamen; X 5.

Usually in dense, wet or moist, mixed forest, 1,600 meters or less;

Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Escuintla; Suchitepe'quez; Chimaltenango;

Solola; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango. South-

ern Mexico; British Honduras, along the Atlantic coast to Panama.

A coarse shrub or herb about a meter high, sometimes much lower, simple or

sparsely branched, the branches densely setose-hispid with stout stiff retrorse setae

7-10 mm. long; petioles densely hispid, 2-5 cm. long, bearing at the apex 2 in-

flated sac-like hirsute formicaria 1.5-2 cm. long; leaf blades ovate to oblong-ovate,

20 cm. long and half as broad or mostly somewhat smaller, abruptly acute or short-

acuminate, rounded or subcordate at the base, 5-7-nerved, sparsely long-hirsute

above, somewhat paler beneath, sparsely or rather densely long-hirsute or some-

times almost wholly glabrous; inflorescences on long slender peduncles, trichoto-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 439

mous, 3-8 cm. long, hispid; hypanthium campanulate, 2-2.5 mm. long, 4-angulate,

sparsely setose; exterior calyx teeth subulate, 1.5 mm. long; petals 4, obovate-

oblong, 5 mm. long, pale pink; anthers linear, 2.5 mm. long; ovary 4-celled; style

6 mm. long; berries blue-black.

The leaves often are dark purple or red on the lower surface.

The abundant hairs of the stems are almost spine-like, making the

plant a disagreeable one to handle. This is one of the most cele-

brated plants of Guatemala, well known in the country even in places

where it does not grow, and also known far outside Guatemala.

It is the planta hembra par excellence, the term obviously applied

to it because of the general appearance of the pair of bulb-like f ormi-

caria at the base of the leaf blade. These "formicaria," so far as we

know, are not inhabited by ants, but they look as if they should be,

and similar organs in South American plants of the family are occu-

pied by ants that bite severely. The present species is a fine example

of the doctrine of signatures in practice of domestic medicine, since

a decoction of the leaves, sometimes prepared almost ceremonially,

is a favorite remedy for sterility in women. Dieseldorff remarks

that its effect is doubtful, but in Guatemala perhaps as much faith

is placed in it as in a pilgrimage to Esquipulas.

Clidemia strigillosa (Swartz) DC. Prodr. 3: 159. 1828; L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 560. 1963. Melastoma strigillosa Swartz, Fl. Ind.

Occ. 793. 1800. Clidemia reticulata Gleason, Brittonia 3: 110. 1939.

Moist or wet thickets or forests, little above sea level; Izabal.

British Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; British Guiana

and Venezuela to Peru.

A shrub of 1-2 meters, the branches densely stellate-tomentose and sparsely

glandular-hirsute; leaves rather thick, on petioles about 1 cm. long, lance-ovate,

8-14 cm. long, 3-6 cm. broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, rounded and shal-

lowly cordate at the base, 7-nerved, finely serrulate, densely setose above, the

hairs rising from large conic bases, finely reticulate-veined beneath and densely

stellate-tomentose, more or less setose on the nerves; inflorescences oblong, con-

gested or spreading, 3-10 cm. long, the flowers 5-parted, sessile along the axis or

on lateral branches; hypanthium hemispheric, 3 mm. long, densely glandular-

hirsute and stellate-tomentose; sepals oblong, 2 mm. long, the exterior teeth sub-

ulate, longer than the sepals; petals narrowly obovate, 4-5 mm. long, white; ovary

with erect gland-tipped setae at the apex; style 3.5-4 mm. long.

Called "Maya" in Nicaragua.

Clidemia tococoidea (DC.) Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 58:

81. 1931. Calophysa tococoidea DC. Prodr. 3: 166. 1828. Maieta

tococoidea Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 4: 465. 1888. M. toco-

440 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

coidea var. Watsonii Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 979. 1891 (type

from Finca Chocon, Izabal, S. Watson).

Wet forest at or near sea level ; Izabal (known in Guatemala only

from the type of the variety). British Honduras; Costa Rica; Pan-

ama; tropical South America.

A shrub a meter high or a small tree, the branches minutely stellate-furfura-

ceous and densely hirsute, the hairs 2-4 mm. long; formicaria at the base of the

petiole as much as 1.5 cm. in diameter, pubescent like the branches; leaves on

slender petioles 1-9 cm. long, those of a pair usually very unequal; leaf blades thin,

broadly ovate, as much as 18 cm. long and 13 cm. broad, shortly cuspidate-

acuminate, subcordate at the base, 5-7-nerved, crenate-denticulate, densely cili-

ate, sparsely setose above, setose beneath on the nerves, glabrous and resin-dotted

elsewhere; inflorescences very small and dense, sessile or nearly so; bracts subulate,

1-2 mm. long; hypanthium narrowly campanulate, 3-3.5 mm. long, minutely

puberulent; sepals triangular, obtuse, 1 mm. long, the outer teeth stout-subulate,

spreading or decurved, 0.7 mm. long; petals obovate-oblong, 2 mm. long, white;

anthers linear, 3.5 mm. long; ovary 4-celled; style 7-8 mm. long; berries black or

bluish purple.

Clidemia trichocalyx (Blake) Gleason, Brittonia 3: 130. 1939.

Prosanerpis trichocalyx Blake, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 24: 15. 1922.

Creeping on tree trunks in wet mixed forest, at or near sea level;

Izabal. Honduras; Costa Rica.

A small slender shrub, climbing on tree trunks by aerial roots, the stems

brownish-tomentose; leaves of a pair very unequal, the larger ones on petioles

5-10 cm. long, thin, broadly ovate, as much as 20 cm. long and 14 cm. broad but

usually smaller, abruptly short-acuminate, rounded or subtruncate at the base,

7-nerved, denticulate, hirtellous above and beneath; smaller leaves only 1-3 cm.

long, ovate-lanceolate, short-petiolate; panicles 1-2 cm. long, divaricately branched,

rising below the leaves and half hidden among the roots and the mosses with which

the plant usually grows, the branches sparsely furfuraceous; flowers 4-parted;

hypanthium urceolate, 2 mm. long, hirsute; sepals semicircular, 0.5 mm. long, the

exterior teeth foliaceous, obovate or rhombic, 2.5 mm. long, with a few setae along

the margin; anthers oblong; ovary 4-celled.

Glidemia Tuerckheimii (Donn.-Sm.) Gleason, Brittonia 3: 123.

1939. Leandra Tuerckheimii Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 47: 254. 1909.

Wet mixed forest, 1,500-1,600 meters; endemic; Alta Verapaz

(type from Coban, Tuerckheim 11.2369; collected also on Cerro Sillab,

Senahu).

A shrub or small tree, the branches and petioles densely strigose; leaves on

stout petioles 2-3 cm. long, thick, oblong to lance-ovate, 10-13 cm. long, 4.5-6 cm.

broad, acuminate, rounded at the base, 7-plinerved, the innermost nerves arising

far above the base of the blade, finely denticulate, ciliate, scabrous-hirsute above,

the hairs arising from broadly conic bases, foveate beneath, strigose on the nerves,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 441

soft-villous on the veins; panicles trichotomous from the base, about 10 cm. long

and broad, many-flowered, strigose; bracts subulate, 1.5-2 mm. long, the pedicels

1-2 mm. long; flowers 5-parted, the hypanthium campanulate, 2.2 mm. long,

densely strigose with pale hairs; sepals depressed-ovate, obtuse, glabrous, 1 mm.

long, the outer teeth triangular-subulate, 4-4.5 mm. long; ovary 5-celled.

CONOSTEGIA D. Don

Shrubs or trees, glabrous or pubescent, often with furfuraceous or stellate

pubescence; leaves often large or very large, petiolate, 3-5-nerved or 3-5-plinerved,

entire or denticulate; flowers small or rather large, usually white, sometimes pink,

in terminal panicles, 5-10-parted; calyx calyp triform, at anthesis circumscissile

near its base; hypanthium cupular, thick- walled; petals usually obovate or ob-

cordate, thickened toward the base, many-nerved; stamens isomorphic, 2-5 times

as many as the petals, the filaments slender, glabrous; anthers linear or oblong,

4-celled, laterally compressed, the connective neither prolonged nor appendaged;

ovary wholly inferior, often concave at the apex or prolonged into a ring about the

base of the style, the cells as many as the petals or more numerous; style columnar,

the stigma truncate, capitate, or broadly peltate; fruit baccate, juicy, many-

seeded; seeds obovoid, angulate.

Species 50 or more; 45 have been described from tropical conti-

nental North America, chiefly in the mountains. The wood is usually

brownish, moderately dense and fine-textured. No use is made of

the wood unless for fuel.

Mature leaves from densely hirsute to stellate or stellate-tomentose beneath over

the whole surface.

Leaves whitish or grayish beneath, densely and finely stellate-tomentose.

C. xalapensis.

Calyptra with longitudinal dorsal appendages; pubescence of flowers plumose

or plumose-stellate C. plumosa.

Calyptra without appendages; pubescence stellate C. xalapensis.

Leaves green beneath, with long-stipitate stellate hairs or brownish with sessile

stellate hairs.

Leaves with stipitate stellate hairs below C. caelestis.

Leaves with sessile stellate hairs below C. volcanalis.

Mature leaves glabrous beneath on the surface or practically so, green, often fur-

furaceous or stellate-puberulent or even hirsute on the nerves.

Buds small, the calyx tube usually 3-4 mm. broad at the line of dehiscence.

Leaves large, mostly 9-15 cm. broad C. superba.

Leaves relatively small, all or chiefly 3-7 cm. broad.

Leaves rounded at the base, ovate C. viridis.

Leaves acute at the base or sometimes obtuse, oblong-lanceolate.

C. hirtella.

Buds large, the calyx tube 5-8 mm. broad at the line of dehiscence.

Leaves conspicuously 5-plinerved, the main lateral pair of veins arising much

above the base, blades mostly 6-8 cm. broad or more C. volcanalis.

442 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Leaves 3- or 5-nerved (always 5-nerved?), the outer lateral pair often incon-

spicuous, the main lateral pair arising near the base, blades mostly 2.5-

5.5 cm. broad C. icosandra.

Conostegia caelestis Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 4: 318. 1929.

C. hondurensis Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 9: 322. 1940.

In forests or scrub up to about 650 meters. British Honduras

(type, Schipp 63) ; Honduras (type of C. hondurensis, Yunker et al.

8818) ; and Nicaragua.

A tree or shrub to 7.5 meters tall, the trunk to 10 cm. in diameter, the inflores-

cence, branches, and petioles densely covered with long-stipitate stellate hairs;

leaves on stout petioles 1-2 cm. long, thin, elliptic-oblong, 10-20 cm. long, 4-8 cm.

broad, caudate-acuminate, acute or subobtuse at the base, minutely denticulate,

3-nerved, with an extra obscure nerve on each side close to the margin, hirsute

above with simple hairs, stellate-hirsute beneath with long-stipitate hairs; pan-

icles 5-10 cm. long, rather dense, many-flowered; buds obovoid, obtusely pointed,

6-7 mm. long; petals 5, obcordate, 6 mm. long, white; stamens 20, the anthers

narrowly oblong, 2.5 mm. long; ovary 10-celled; style 3.5 mm. long, the stigma

capitate, 1 mm. broad.

Conostegia hirtella Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16: 4. 1891.

C. Gleasoniana Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 22: 361. 1940

(type from Alta Verapaz, Standley 70317).

Often common, mostly in dense, moist or wet, mixed forest, some-

times in forested or open swamps, frequently or perhaps normally on

limestone, 1,200-1,650 meters; endemic; Alta Verapaz (type from

Pansamala, Tuerckheim 1233).

A shrub of 1-3 meters or sometimes a small tree, the branches rather slender,

at first densely stellate-pubescent with sessile or stipitate hairs; leaves on slen-

der petioles 1-2.5 cm. long, mostly oblong-lanceolate, generally 7-15 cm. long and

3-5.5 cm. broad, narrowly acuminate, acute or obtuse at the base, rather thin,

entire or nearly so, essentially 3-plinerved but with an inconspicuous extra nerve

on each side close to the margin, almost glabrous on both surfaces but minutely

stellate-pubescent beneath on the nerves; panicles stellate-pubescent or glabrate,

1 cm. long or shorter, often shorter than the leaves, mostly many-flowered, the

flowers 5-parted, pedicellate; buds narrowly obovoid, about 6 mm. long and 3.5

mm. broad, minutely puberulent or glabrate; petals broadly obovate, 5-6 mm.

long, white; anthers oblong-linear, 2.5 mm. long; style stout, 3 mm. long, the

stigma obtuse.

Conostegia icosandra (Sw.) Urban, Fedde Rep. Sp. Nov. 17:

404. 1921. Melastoma icosandrum Swartz ex Wikstr. Svensk. Vet.

Akad. Handl. 1827: 64. 1827. Conostegia subhirsuta DC. Prodr. 3:

174. 1828. C. Bernoulliana Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 698. 1891

(type from Guatemala, Bernoulli & Cario 2884). C. Lundellii Glea-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 443

FIG. 66. Conostegiaicosandra. A, Habit; X K- B» Flower dissected; X ±l;Hj.

C, Stigma; much enlarged. D, Petal; X 2. E, Stamen; X 3.

son, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ. 522: 348. 1940 (type from British

Honduras, Lundell 6587) .

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, often in second growths,

2,500 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Zacapa; Quiche"; Huehue-

tenango. Southern Mexico to Panama; the West Indies, rare in

tropical South America.

Usually a shrub of 2-3 meters but sometimes a tree as much as 12 meters high,

the young branchlets and petioles thinly stellate-puberulent or almost glabrous;

leaves on petioles 1-4 cm. long, rather thick, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, mostly

10-20 cm. long and 5-10 cm. broad, acute or abruptly acuminate, acute to rounded

at the base, 5-plinerved, entire or undulate, glabrous above, usually stellate-

puberulent beneath on the nerves and generally sparsely hirsute with stellate-

tipped hairs; panicles generally small and rather few-flowered, stellate-puberulent

or stellate-hirsute; buds broadly obovoid, 7-9 mm. long, 6-7 mm. broad, usually

broadly rounded and often minutely apiculate at the apex, glabrous or nearly so,

444 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

or densely stellate-furfuraceous; petals mostly 8, white, broadly obcordate, 8-

10 mm. long; stamens 16-28, the anthers oblong, 3.5 mm. long; ovary about

12-celled, the style 5 mm. long; stigma peltate, 3 mm. broad, radiately 12-lobate.

A widely distributed and variable species to which still other

Central American species possibly should be referred.

Conostegia plumosa L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 562. 1963.

Known only from British Honduras, jungle near Middlesex (type

W. A. Schipp232).

A small tree 8 meters tall, the trunk about 10 cm. in diameter, the branches

and petioles at first densely stellate or plumose-stellate pubescent, both becoming

glabroup with age; leaves elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, acute or cuneate to the

base, denticulate, 5-plinerved with the outer pair of nerves arising near the base

of the blade and the inner pair 1 cm. or more above the base, the nerves of each

pair arising at different places on the mid-nerve, the upper surface densely stellate

pubescent but soon becoming glabrous or nearly so, dense and persistent stellate-

pubescence completely covering the under surface, blades 6-18 cm. long and 2.5-

5.5 cm. broad, those of a pair apparently very unequal, petioles 1.5-2.5 cm. long;

inflorescences terminal or pseudolateral, densely pubescent with stellate or plumose

hairs, dichasioid with the lateral branches congested and subcapitate at first, the

branches of the inflorescence elongating (to about 4 cm.) with age and spicate and

somewhat fractiflex, with reflexed linear-lanceolate bracts opposite or perhaps sub-

tending the flowers; flowers to about 8 mm. long, white; hypanthium 2-3 mm. high

and 3-4 mm. broad, subglobose, densely plumose or stellate pubescent; calyx

calyptriform, falling away as a unit, conic, with 6 longitudinal subapical append-

ages about equaling the calyptra, pubescence as on the hypanthium; petals 6,

ovate or subrhombic-ovate, about 5 mm. long and 3 mm. broad; anthers about

2.5-3 mm. long.

The species is unusual because of the curious pubescence and the

appendages on the calyptra.

Conostegia superba D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 317. 1823.

C. Purpusii Brandegee, Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 6: 57. 1914 (type

from Mexico).

Moist or wet, mixed forest, 400-1,250 meters; Solola; San Mar-

cos. Southern Mexico; Costa Rica; Jamaica.

A large shrub or a small tree, sometimes 6 meters high, very minutely puber-

ulent on the young branches, petioles, and nerves of the lower leaf surface, else-

where glabrous or nearly so; leaves large and thin, on petioles 3-12 cm. long, ovate

or broadly elliptic, mostly 15-30 cm. long and 10-19 cm. broad, abruptly and very

shortly cuspidate-acuminate, rounded at the base, 5-plinerved, remotely denticu-

late, lustrous above, somewhat paler beneath; panicles usually long-pedunculate,

mostly 10-15 cm. long, open and many-flowered, the flowers pedicellate, 5-parted;

buds subacute, 6-7 mm. long, 3-4 mm. broad, glabrous or nearly so; petals white,

5-6 mm. long; stamens about 15, the anthers 3 mm. long; style filiform, 4 mm. long,

the stigma capitellate.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 445

Conostegia viridis Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 20: 286. 1895.

?C. viridis var. angustifolia Cogn. ex Donn.-Sm. Enum. PI. Guat. 3:

28. 1893, nomen (Primavera, Shannon 487). Matilizuate; cacho de

venado.

Pacific slopes to 750 meters, endemic. Solola; Escuintla; Retalhu-

leu (type J. D. Smith 2650).

Young branches, petioles, and inflorescence rather densely furfuraceous-puber-

ulent; leaves membranaceous, on petioles 2.5-3.5 cm. long, ovate, 10-13 cm. long,

6-7 cm. broad, short-acuminate, rounded or subemarginate at the base, 5-pli-

nerved, minutely dentate, ciliate, punctate-furfuraceous above and sparsely short-

hirsute, stellate-furfuraceous beneath on the nerves, elsewhere glabrate; flowers

5-parted, subsessile, the panicles corymbiform, many-flowered, almost 10 cm. long;

buds narrowly obovoid, obtusely short-pointed, 6-7 mm. long, 4 mm. broad;

petals obovate, 5 mm. long; anthers oblong, almost 2 mm. long; style stout, 5 mm.

long, the stigma not dilated; fruit blackish, depressed-globose, 5-6 mm. in diameter.

Conostegia volcanalis Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23:

136. 1944.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, sometimes on white sand slopes,

1,300-1,800 meters; Alta Verapaz; Quezaltenango (type from Chiqui-

huite, Standley 68152) ; San Marcos. Mexico; Honduras.

A shrub or a tree of 6-9 meters, with a short thick trunk and a broad rounded

crown, the stout branchlets densely furfuraceous-puberulent with a brownish stel-

late tomentum; leaves firm-membranaceous, undulate-dentate, at least above the

middle, on slender petioles 2.5-4 cm. long, elliptic or broadly elliptic, 12-24 cm.

long, 6-15 cm. broad, shortly cuspidate-acuminate, acute or broadly cuneate at

the base, conspicuously 5-plinerved, with the inner nerves arising 1-2.5 cm. above

the base of the blade, glabrous above, rather densely stellate-tomentulose beneath,

especially on the nerves and veins, or glabrate; panicles on long or short peduncles,

divaricately branched, many-flowered, stellate-puberulent or glabrate, about as

long as the leaves, the flowers on long stout pedicels; buds subglobose, 7-9 mm. long

and broad, rounded and obscurely apiculate at the apex, sparsely and very mi-

nutely puberulent or almost wholly glabrous; anthers narrowly oblong, 3 mm. long;

ovary deeply depressed at the apex, glabrous, about 12-celled.

Conostegia xalapensis (Bonpl.) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4:

317. 1823. Melastoma xalapensis Bonpl. Me"last. 126, t. 54- 1816.

C. lanceolata Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 708. 1891. C. xala-

pensis f. canescens Cogn. ex Donn.-Sm. Enum. PI. Guat. 2: 21. 1891,

nomen. C. xalapensis f. parvifolia Cogn. ex Donn.-Sm. I.e. 3: 28.

1893, nomen. Sirin; sirino; tamborcillo (Guatemala); cachito; cinco

negritos (Quezaltenango); toltejillo; pasita (Pete*n); guabon; chehe

(Quecchi); dojcheje (Coban); zapotillo; tinajito (fide Aguilar).

446 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Moist or wet, open or brushy hillsides, abundant in second growth,

common in pastures, sometimes on rather dry, open hillsides, fre-

quent in open pine forest, 1,800 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz;

Baja Verapaz; El Progreso; Izabal; Chiquimula; Jutiapa; Santa

Rosa; Esquintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe"quez ; Suchitepe"quez ; Solola;

Retalhuleu; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Mexico; British

Honduras to El Salvador and Panama; Cuba; Colombia.

A shrub or small tree, sometimes 6 meters high, usually lower, with a dense,

rounded or spreading crown and a low thick trunk, the branchlets densely

stellate-tomentose; leaves rather thick, on stout petioles 1-4 cm. long, ovate to

lance-oblong, mostly 8-20 cm. long and 2-7 cm. broad, acute or acuminate, acute

to rounded at the base, 5-plinerved, conspicuously dentate or denticulate, green

above, stellate-puberulent or glabrate, whitish or pale brownish beneath, usually

very densely and minutely stellate-tomentulose, rarely glabrate; panicles usually

widely branched and many-flowered, rather dense, 10-20 cm. long, densely stel-

late-tomentulose, the flowers sessile, glomerate; buds pyriform, pointed, 5-7 mm.

long; petals 5, pink, 4-6 mm. long; stamens 10, the anthers 2.5-3 mm. long; ovary

5-celled; style 4-5 mm. long, the stigma small, truncate.

Sometimes called "uva" in British Honduras and Honduras;

"capiroto" (Honduras) ; "sarcil" (Honduras) ; "tesuate," "tesuate Colo-

rado," "sedita" (Oaxaca). This is the most widely distributed and

most abundant of the woody melastomes of Central America, being

found in almost all parts of the region at suitable elevations and

under congenial climatic conditions, in which the species is not very

discriminating. It is most abundant in the lower mountains in cut-

over areas or in pastures, where the seeds probably are scattered by

birds or even by domestic animals that eat the fruit. In many local-

ities of Guatemala the shrub is abundant, particularly in the west,

where it often is the dominant plant. It may be recognized from a

long distance by its whitish foliage and large quantities of pink

flowers, which make it rather handsome in appearance. About Co-

ban almost every pasture contains large numbers of the bushes. On

the Pacific slope the shrub occupies a rather definite altitudinal belt;

for instance, leaving Escuintla it soon appears on the hillsides, then

grows in abundance halfway or more up the slopes to the divide on

the road to Santa Maria Jesus. The wood is sometimes used for

fuel and for fencing. The ripe fruits much resemble northern blue-

berries and have a similar flavor. They are much eaten by children

and agricultural laborers and occasionally appear in the markets.

They are eaten much more commonly in El Salvador than in Guate-

mala, where food is more plentiful and less use is made of the wild

plants. The usual name for this and many other shrubs of the fam-

ily in northern Central America is "sirin" or "cirin."

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 447

FIG. 67. Graffenrieda Galeottii. A, Habit; X J^. B, Flower, partially dis-

sected; X ±4.

GRAFFENRIEDA De Candolle

Shrubs or trees, glabrous or pulverulent on the younger parts, the branches

subterete; leaves coriaceous or chartaceous, long-petiolate, entire, oblong to

rounded, 3-7-nerved; flowers small, 4-9-parted, white, yellow, or pink, in large

terminal panicles (ours), usually subumbellate at the ends of the branchlets; calyx

in bud ovoid, furfuraceous or pulverulent, the hypanthium hemispheric or short-

campanulate, the calyx closed, calyptriform (in ours) or rupturing regularly or

irregularly, acuminate, in anthesis circumscissile and deciduous (in ours); petals

obovate-spatulate, acuminate; stamens twice as many as the petals, equal or

nearly so; anthers linear-oblong, somewhat recurved, opening by a single apical

pore, the connective somewhat produced below the cells, prolonged posteriorly

beyond the insertion of the filament into a very acute, porrect spur; ovary free,

ovoid-oblong, substriate, 4-6-celled, pulverulent; style filiform, the stigma puncti-

448 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

form; fruit capsular, oblong, usually longer than the calyx, 4-6-valvate to the base;

seeds acicular, the embryo central, the testa slender-elongate at the end.

About 30 species ranging from Mexico to Bolivia, one or perhaps

two other species in Costa Rica and Panama.

Graff enrieda Galeottii (Naudin) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29:

563. 1963. CalyptrellaGaleottii Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 18: 115.

1852.

In second growth forest, 330 meters, Quiche" (Skutch 1781). Mex-

ico (Oaxaca); Costa Rica; Panama; Colombia.

A shrub or small tree to 6 meters tall, the young branches somewhat fistulose,

glabrous or nearly so; leaves on petioles 2.5-8 cm. long, rather thin, yellowish

green when dried, oblong-ovate to broadly elliptic, 10-20 cm. long, 10 cm. broad

or narrower, abruptly and shortly obtuse-acuminate, rounded or obtuse at the

base, 5-nerved, glabrous or very minutely and obscurely puberulent beneath on

the nerves; panicles large and broad, many-flowered, open, pedunculate, as much

as 30 cm. long; hypanthium broadly campanulate, minutely puberulent, 2 mm.

long; calyx conical, 3 mm. long; petals pink or white, 4 mm. long; ovary 4-celled.

Apparently a very rare plant in Mexico and Guatemala. The

two or three North American species have been called Calyptrella

Naudin, of which this is type species, but that genus seems scarcely

distinct from Graffenrieda.

HENRIETTEA De Candolle

Reference: Louis 0. Williams, Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 564. 1963.

Shrubs or trees, glabrous or usually variously pubescent; leaves generally peti-

olate, mostly subcoriaceous, entire or inconspicuously serrulate, 3-5-nerved or 3-

5-plinerved; flowers small to rather large, 4-6-parted, sessile or short-pedicellate,

fasciculate at defoliated nodes or rarely in the leaf axils; hypanthium globose or

campanulate, the calyx tube from obsolete to somewhat prolonged; sepals ovate

to triangular, depressed semicircular, or obsolete, the exterior teeth subapical,

minute, conic or short-subulate or none; petals ovate to lanceolate, acuminate to

obtuse, usually thickened or cucullate toward the apex, or appendaged on the

upper side; stamens isomorphic, the filaments slender, glabrous; anthers oblong

to subulate, obtuse or retuse, opening by a terminal pore; connective simple or

rarely somewhat prolonged below the cells, sometimes produced below the fila-

ment into a short dorsal appendage; ovary 4-5-celled; style slender to stout, the

stigma capitellate, truncate, or punctiform; fruit baccate, many-seeded.

Species fifty or sixty, including those described as Henriettella,

most abundant in the West Indies and South America. One other

species is known in Central America. Henriettella Naudin is a generic

synonym.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 449

Leaf blades bearing formicaria at the base; branches hirsute with long spreading

hairs 3-7 mm. long H, cuneata.

Leaf blades without formicaria; branches strigose, furfuraceous-tomentose, or hir-

sute with much shorter hairs.

Hypanthium glabrous, or nearly so H. fascicularis.

Hypanthium densely pubescent to strigose.

Petioles 1-4 mm. long; leaves pulvinate-stellate on the veins below.

H. densiflora.

Petioles 10 mm. or more long; leaves hirsute on the veins below.

Anthers linear; lower surface of leaf not completely covered by the stellate

hairs; leaves more than half as broad as long, obtuse or rounded at the

base H. Seemannii.

Anthers subulate, rostrate; lower surface of leaf completely covered by

stellate hairs; leaves less than half as broad as long, cuneate or acute

at the base H. succosa.

Henriettea cuneata (Standl.) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 565.

1963. Maieta cuneata Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 8: 30. 1930. Henri-

ettella cuneata Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 58: 75. 1931.

Dense wet mixed forest, 150 meters or less; Izabal. British Hon-

duras, the type from Middlesex, W. A. Schipp 320.

A shrub of 3 meters, the branches, petioles, and leaves densely hirsute with

simple, brown, widely spreading, stiff hairs 3-7 mm. long; leaves membranaceous,

on stout petioles 1-1.5 cm. long; formicaria at the base of the leaf blades didymous,

1.5 cm. long; leaf blades elliptic-obovate or cuneate-obovate, 10-22 cm. long and

half as broad, obtuse or rounded at the apex and short-caudate, cuneate at the

base, 5-plinerved; flowers 5-parted, the hypanthium globose, 2-2.5 mm. long,

hirsute with slender hairs 2 mm. long; sepals triangular, 0.5 mm. long; petals

ovate-lanceolate, 2 mm. long, inflexed-cucullate at the apex, with a subapical

exterior tooth, white; anthers oblong, 2 mm. long.

This is the only known species of Henriettea that bears formi-

caria.

Henriettea densiflora (Standl.) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29:

565. 1963. Henriettella densiflora Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 4: 247.

1929. Clidemia densiflora Gleason, Phytologia 3: 346. 1950.

Wet mixed forest or thickets, at or little above sea level; Izabal.

British Honduras; Honduras; Panama.

A slender shrub 1.5 meters high, the branchlets, petioles, and flowers densely

furfuraceous-tomentose with curved subpaleaceous hairs as much as 1 mm. long;

leaves membranaceous or thick-membranaceous, on stout petioles 1-4 mm. long,

narrowly elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 12-20 cm. long, 4-8 cm. broad, long-acumi-

nate, acute or cuneate at the base, 3-nerved with an additional pair of inconspic-

uous nerves close to the margin, entire or nearly so, glabrous and often lustrous

above, densely furfuraceous beneath on the nerves, glabrous on the surface;

450

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 68. Henriettea fascicularis. A, Habit; X Y^ B, Flower; X 5. C, In-

florescences on old wood; XI. D, Petals from same flower; X 5. E, Anther; X 8.

flowers few, sessile in the leaf axils or at defoliated nodes, crowded; hypanthium

cupular, 2-2.5 mm. long; sepals triangular, 1.3 mm. long, acute, furfuraceous

within, the exterior teeth 0.2 mm. long; petals oblong, 2.8 mm. long, subacute,

somewhat cucullate at the apex, white; anthers oblong, 2 mm. long; style 4 mm.

long, the stigma punctiform; fruit orange.

Called "sirin" in Honduras.

Henriettea fascicularis (Sw.) Gomez, Anal. Hist. Nat. Madrid

23: 68. 1894. Melastoma fascicularis Swartz, Prodr. 71. 1788. Ossaea

fascicularis Griseb. Fl. Br. W. Ind. 246. 1860. Henriettella fascicu-

laris Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 143. 1871.

Wet thickets or mixed forest, 650 meters or less; Pete*n; Izabal.

British Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama; Greater Antilles.

A shrub or small tree, sometimes 8 meters high, the young branches densely

hirsute with short broad-based hairs; leaves on stout petioles 1-2 cm. long, firm-

membranaceous, broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 8-16 cm. long, acute or obtuse,

obtuse or acute at the base, 3-plinerved with an additional pair of inconspicuous

marginal nerves, entire, rather sparsely scabrous on the upper surface or glabrate,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

FIG. 69. Henriettea Seemannii. A, Habit; X }/%. B, Inflorescences on old

wood; X 1. C, Flower, petals removed; X 2}/2. D, Petals from same flower; X 5.

E, Stamen; X 10. F, Trichomes; much enlarged.

densely scabrous or short-hirsute beneath with thick hairs; flowers on pedicels

3-6 mm. long or at first subsessile, mostly at naked nodes below the leaves; hy-

panthium campanulate, 3 mm. long or shorter, minutely glandular-pubescent;

sepals depressed-ovate, 0.8 mm. long, the exterior teeth reduced to thickened

ridges; petals ovate, acute, 4 mm. long, white; anthers oblong, 2 mm. long; style

5 mm. long; fruit globose, blackish, 5-6 mm. in diameter.

Henriettea Seemannii (Naudin) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29:

566. 1963. Henriettella Seemannii Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3,

18: 108. 1852. Henriettea strigosa Gleason, Carn. Inst. Wash. Publ.

522: 340. 1940.

Moist or wet, pine or mixed forest, little above sea level; en-

demic; British Honduras (Gentle 1947, type of H. strigosa); Panama;

Colombia.

A small tree, the trunk 5-15 cm. in diameter, the branches densely strigose;

leaves on stout petioles 1-2 cm. long, obovate-elliptic to oval, 9-18 cm. long,

5-11 cm. broad, rounded or obtuse and abruptly apiculate at the apex, obtuse or

rounded at the base, 3-plinerved with an additional pair of obscure nerves close

to the margin, ciliate, pustulate-scabrous above or glabrate, beneath strigose on

UNIVERSITY Of?

'! !JWniQ I IDDAn

452 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

the nerves, thinly stellate-hirsute on the surface; flowers few, fasciculate, on stri-

gose pedicels 1-2 mm. long; hypanthium campanulate, 6 mm. long, densely

strigose; sepals broadly ovate, 3 mm. long, pubescent within, the exterior teeth

minute; petals triangular-ovate, 8-9 mm. long, erose on one side; anthers linear

or almost subulate, 4.5 mm. long; style glabrous, 11-12 mm. long.

Henriettea succosa (Aubl.) DC. Prodr. 3: 178. 1828. Mela-

stoma succosa Aubl. PI. Guian. 418, 1. 162. 1775. Henriettella macro-

calyx Stand!. Field Mus. Bot. 8: 31. 1930 (type from Stann Creek

Railway, British Honduras, M. A. Schipp 388). Henriettea macro-

calyx Gleason, Brittonia 2: 324. 1937.

Wet mixed forest or thickets, sometimes in Manicaria swamps,

at or near sea level; Izabal. Mexico (Chiapas); British Honduras;

Costa Rica; Panama; northeastern South America.

A shrub or small tree, sometimes 7 meters high with a trunk 12 cm. in diam-

eter, the branchlets densely strigose; leaves on stout petioles 5-15 mm. long, nar-

rowly obovate or oblanceolate-oblong, 8-20 cm. long, short-acuminate or obtuse

and apiculate, acute or cuneate at the base, 3-plinerved with an additional pair

of obscure nerves close to the margin, ciliate, when young scabrous above with

bulbous-based hairs, deep green and glabrate in age, paler beneath, densely stri-

gose on the nerves, the surface very densely stellate-hirsute; flowers few, sessile

or nearly so; hypanthium campanulate, densely strigose, 8-9 mm. long; sepals

rounded-ovate, 4-5 mm. long, villous within, the exterior teeth prolonged about

1.5 mm.; petals white or rose; style sparsely villous, 12 mm. long; fruits tinged

with pink.

Called "wild guava" in British Honduras.

HETEROCENTRON Hooker & Arnott

Plants herbaceous or rarely suffrutescent below, erect or prostrate, pubescent

or glabrate; leaves petiolate, small, membranaceous, penninerved, 3-nerved, or

multiplinerved; flowers small or rather large, paniculate or rarely solitary, white,

pink, or purple, 4-parted; hypanthium ovoid, campanulate, or hemispheric; sepals

triangular-acute, about equaling the hypanthium; petals ovate or obovate, obtuse,

subretuse, or apiculate; stamens 8, dimorphic, the filaments glabrous; anthers

dissimilar, incurved, linear-oblong or subulate, opening by a single apical pore,

the cells undulate; connective of the larger anthers long-produced below the cells,

straight or arcuate, the appendage elongate, clavate and bifid at the apex; con-

nective of the smaller anthers very shortly produced, simple or bituberculate at

the base; ovary free almost to the base, 8-costate, 4-celled, glabrous or setose or

4-denticulate at the apex; style slender, the stigma punctiform; fruit capsular,

equaling the calyx tube, 4-valvate; seeds cochleate.

Species about 8, in Mexico and Central America. Only the fol-

lowing are known from Central America. Heeria Schlecht. 1839,

non Meissn. 1837, is a generic synonym.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 453

Flowers in cymose panicles H. subtriplinervium.

Flowers solitary.

Hypanthium with appressed strigose hairs or nearly glabrous in age.

Leaves less than 2 cm. long, 3-nerved; calyx mostly less than 6 mm. long.

H, hirtellum.

Leaves more than 2 cm. long (3-11 cm.), mostly quinqueplinerved; calyx

lobes mostly 8-10 mm. long H. suffruticosum.

Hypanthium with spreading gland-tipped pilose hairs H. elegans.

Heterocentron elegans (Schlecht.) Kimtze, Rev. Gen. PI. 1:

247. 1891. Rhexia elegans Schlecht. Linnaea 13: 432. 1839. H. ses-

silis Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 65: 573. 1938 (type, Alta Vera-

paz, Tuerckheim 11.1554). Monochaetum guatemalense Standl. &

Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23: 136. 1944 (type from Huehuetenango,

Steyermark 48512).

Weak suffruticose subshrubs. Alta Verapaz; Huehuetenango;

San Marcos. Southern Mexico.

Small repent subshrubs with slender, sparsely hispid stems either rounded or

obscurely angulate. Leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, crenate, sparsely strigose to

almost glabrous, 5-25 mm. long and 2-12 mm, broad, acute; petiole slender,

1-4 mm. long, strigose. Inflorescence 1-flowered, terminal on branches, peduncle

up to 30 mm. long, slender, strigose to nearly glabrous; hypanthium 4-6 mm.

long, campanulate, with pilose spreading or reflexed gland-tipped hairs much

thickened at the base; calyx lobes lanceolate to triangular-lanceolate, acute or

acuminate, ciliate, 3-5 mm. long; petals ovate or cuneate obovate, obtuse, about

10 mm. long.

Heterocentron hirtellum (Cogn.) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29:

567. 1963. Arthrostemma hirtellum Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz.

20: 286. 1895 (type, Dept. Quiche", Heyde &Lux 3328).

Known only from the locality cited above.

A decumbent or suberect sarmentose, perennial herb, the stems dark reddish

brown, obscurely tetragonous, thinly strigose especially on the angles; leaves ovate

or oblong-ovate, 1.2-2.5 cm. long and 0.8-1.5 cm. broad, acute to somewhat ob-

tuse, broadly acute to rounded at the base, 3-nerved, obscurely crenate-serrate,

strigose on both surfaces, borne on slender petioles; flowers few, solitary, termi-

nating lateral branchlets, the peduncles 2-3 cm. long, glabrous; hypanthium 4 mm.

long, hirsute with spreading or subreflexed hairs, these thickened at the base;

sepals erect or ascending, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, minutely ciliate, gla-

brous; petals reddish purple, about 1 cm. long; hypanthium setose or glandular-

setose, somewhat tuberculate with age.

This species is closely allied to H. elegans (Schlecht.) Kuntze and

may prove to be that species.

454

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 70. Heterocentronsubtriplinervium. A, Habit; slightly reduced. B, Flower,

partly dissected; X 5. C, Stamens of two types; X 7.

Heterocentron subtriplinervium (Link & Otto) A. Braim &

BouGhe", Ind. Sem. Hort. Berol. app. 1851; Linnaea 25: 300. 1851;

L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 567. 1963. Melastoma subtriplinervium

Link & Otto, Ic. PI. Rar. t. 24. 1821. H. axillare Naudin, Ann. Sci.

Nat. ser. 3, 14: 155. 1850. H. macrostachyum Naudin, I.e. H. mexi-

canum Hook. & Am. Bot. Beech. Voy. 290. 1840; Hook. Bot. Mag.

86: t. 5166. 1860. H. roseum A. Braun & Bouche", I.e. 299. H. glandu-

losum Schrenck in Regel, Gartenfl. 1856: 227, t. 169. 1856. Heeria

rosea Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 34. 1871. Heeria macrostachya

Triana, I.e. 37. Heeria axillaris Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 138.

1891. H. salvadoranum Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 65: 575. 1938.

H. hondurense Gleason, Phytologia 3 : 360. 1950. Nigua; nitro; nitro

dulce; nitro real; nitro Colorado; jazmin de pena.

A widespread and variable species found from Mexico through

Central America to Panama. Naturalized in Hawaii. Mountain

thickets or moist banks or more commonly in oak-pine woodlands,

1,100-2,500 meters; Huehuetenango; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; So-

lola; Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; Chimaltenango; Guatemala; Pro-

greso; Jalapa; Chiquimula; Santa Rosa; Jutiapa; probably in other

highland departments.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 455

Erect or ascending perennial herbs or suffruticose herbs to 2 meters tall, sparsely

branched, the stems tetragonous, brown or reddish strigose; leaves elliptic-oblong

to rhombic-ovate, acute or obtuse, 3-10 cm. long, decurrent at the base into a

petiole, 11-15-triplinerved, thin, entire, setulose-strigose on both surfaces, thinly

to densely so, slightly paler beneath; inflorescence a cymose panicle, the pedicels

sparsely (sometimes nearly glabrous) to densely pilose-hirsute, the short spread-

ing or appressed hairs eglandular or variously glandular; hypanthium 3-5 mm.

long, glabrous to densely pilose-hirsute, the hairs glandular or not, often tubercu-

late in age; sepals 4, lanceolate to triangular-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 3-

5 mm. long, glabrous or ciliate or rarely sparsely hirsute; petals 5-10 mm. long,

obovate, white, pink or purple, rarely ciliolate; ovary usually with 4 scales at the

apex, the scales entire or emarginate, eciliate, ciliate or glandular-ciliate.

A characteristic plant of the pine-oak forests of the Guatemalan

highlands.

Heterocentron suffruticosum Brandegee, Univ. Calif. Publ.

Bot. 6: 57. 1914.

Open pine forest, 2,000-2,500 meters; San Marcos. Mexico

(Chiapas), the type from Cerro del Boqueron.

An erect or decumbent, perennial herb, the roots tuberiferous, the stems

tetragonous, often dark red, when young strigose with short stout hairs; leaves

on rather long, slender petioles, 3-11 mm. long, thin, very broadly ovate or almost

orbicular, 1.5-3 cm. long, 1.1-2.8 cm. broad, rounded or very obtuse at the apex,

3-7-plinerved, sparsely strigose on both surfaces, abruptly contracted and decur-

rent at the base; flowers axillary, solitary, long-pedunculate, the peduncles as

much as 3 cm. long; hypanthium narrow, strigose with eglandular hairs, the sepals

linear-lanceolate, attenuate, longer than the tube; petals pink or purple, 14 mm.

long; ovary setose at the apex; anthers about 5 mm. long; hypanthium in fruit

7-8 mm. long, the sepals widely spreading, of about the same length.

LEANDRA Raddi

Shrubs or small trees, almost always pubescent, often hirsute or hispid;

branches usually terete; leaves mostly large and petiolate, those of a pair equal

or nearly so, entire or serrulate, 3-9-nerved or -plinerved; flowers small, 4-8-

parted, generally in terminal panicles, mostly white; hypanthium globose to cam-

panulate or tubular, often constricted at the mouth; sepals small, the exterior

teeth tuberculiform to subulate; petals linear-lanceolate to ovate, acute or acumi-

nate, usually erect in anthesis; stamens isomorphic or nearly so, the filaments

slender, glabrous, the anthers linear or oblong, rarely subulate; connective of the

anther simple or minutely prolonged, often gibbous or tuberculate on the back

near the base; ovary wholly or partly inferior, the cells generally as many as the

petals; style slender, the stigma punctiform or capitellate; fruit small, baccate;

seeds small, numerous.

Species about 200, mostly in South America. A few additional

species are found in southern Central America. There is no satis-

456 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

factory way to distinguish this genus from Miconia, and in fact there

are species of Miconia which are almost impossible to tell from some

of these Leandras. On the other hand it is closely allied to Clidemia.

Leaves acute or abruptly long-decurrent at the base L. multiplinervis.

Leaves subcordate, rounded, or very obtuse at the base.

Branches of the inflorescence elongate, somewhat recurved, the flowers secund.

Pubescence of the branches and hypanthium mostly of gland-tipped hairs.

L. mexicana.

Pubescence of the branches and hypanthium of eglandular hairs.

L. dichotoma.

Branches of the inflorescence short, ascending or spreading, the flowers not

secund.

Leaves sparsely or rather densely hispid beneath with long stiff simple hairs,

also stellate-tomentulose on the nerves L. melanodesma.

Leaves densely stellate-tomentulose beneath, at least on the nerves, often

also somewhat hispid near the bases of the nerves with plumose hairs.

L. subseriata.

Leandra dichotoma (D. Don) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14,

pt. 4: 200. 1886. Clidemia dichotoma D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4:

307. 1823.

Wet mixed forest, 350 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal.

British Honduras, along the Atlantic coast to Panama; tropical

South America.

A slender shrub of 3-4.5 meters, the branches densely hispid or hirsute with

rather stiff, brownish, spreading, eglandular hairs; leaves on petioles 2-6 cm.

long, thin, ovate or elliptic-ovate, mostly 12-20 cm. long and 7-11 cm. broad,

long-acuminate, rounded or broadly rounded at the base, 7-9-nerved, densely

hirsute or villous-hirsute on both surfaces, the hairs longer beneath, paler beneath;

panicles large, pyramidal, mostly 10-25 cm. long, laxly branched, densely brown-

ish-hirsute, the branches elongate, usually curved, the flowers secund, most of them

soon deciduous; hypanthium and calyx densely hirsute, the hairs usually red or

bright red, the hypanthium 2.5 mm. long; outer calyx teeth less than half as long

as the hypanthium, scarcely 1 mm. long; petals pink, lance-acuminate, 2.5-3 mm.

long; ovary 5-celled, very shortly glandular-setulose; style 4 mm. long; fruit glo-

bose, 4-5 mm. in diameter, purple-black.

Leandra melanodesma (Naudin) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14,

pt. 4: 73. 1886. Clidemia melanodesma Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3,

17: 353. 1852.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, sometimes in second growth, 1,800-

2,500 meters; Guatemala; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; Huehuetenango.

Southern Mexico; Costa Rica; Colombia; Ecuador.

A slender shrub or small tree of 1.5-4.5 meters, the young branches, petioles,

and panicles densely furfuraceous-puberulent with stellate hairs and usually

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 457

sparsely short-setose; leaves on slender petioles 1-4 cm. long, ovate or oblong-

ovate, 8-15 cm. long, 4-8 cm. broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, very obtuse

or rounded at the base and often emarginate, obscurely denticulate, green above,

thinly scabrous-setulose or glabrate, the veins often impressed, somewhat paler

beneath, sparsely or densely hirsute or setulose with mostly simple, often undulate

hairs, 5-7-plinerved; panicles mostly small and dense, many-flowered, 10 cm. long

or shorter, the flowers subsessile; hypanthium 2.5-3 mm. long; exterior calyx teeth

scarcely 0.5 mm. long; petals white or pinkish, lanceolate, 2.5-3 mm. long; style

4-5 mm. long; ovary short-setulose at the apex; fruit globose, 3-4 mm. in diam-

eter, dark purple.

Most of the available Guatemalan collections have been made on

the upper slopes of Volcan de Pacaya.

Leandra mexicana (Naudin) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 4:

77. 1886. Clidemiastrum mexicanum Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3,

18: 87. 1852.

Wet thickets or mixed forest, 350 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta

Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico; British Honduras; Honduras;

Costa Rica; Panama; Colombia.

A shrub or small tree 1.5-4.5 meters high, the branches slender, densely pubes-

cent with eglandular hairs and glandular-hirsute; leaves thin and soft, on slender

petioles 2-6 cm. long, ovate, 12-20 cm. long, 4-15 cm. broad, acuminate, shallowly

cordate at the broad base, 7-nerved, usually densely velutinous-pilose on both

surfaces with mostly eglandular hairs; panicles laxly branched, mostly 6-10 cm.

long, glandular-pilose, the branches elongate and recurved; flowers 7-parted, ses-

sile, secund, most of them soon deciduous; hypanthium broadly tubular, 3-3.5 mm.

long, densely short-pilose and glandular-pubescent; sepals round-ovate, 1.3 mm.

long, the exterior teeth triangular, slightly exceeding the sepals; petals ovate,

acute, 3 mm. long, pink; ovary 7-celled, pubescent at the apex; style 5 mm. long;

fruit dark purple.

Leandra multiplinervis (Naudin) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14,

pt. 4: 180. 1886. Clidemia multiplinervis Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat.

ser. 3, 17: 358. 1852.

Dense wet mixed forest or thickets, 1,300-2,300 meters; Alta

Verapaz; El Progreso (Sierra de las Minas). Southern Mexico;

Honduras; reported from Brazil.

A stout shrub of 1-3 meters, the young branches densely hispidulous with

usually red, rather stiff, spreading or reflexed hairs; leaves petiolate, rather thick,

ovate-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, mostly 10-20 cm. long and 4-10 cm. broad,

long-acuminate, acute at the base and rather abruptly contracted and long-decur-

rent upon the petiole, 5-plinerved, the uppermost nerves arising far above the

others, undulate-crenulate, scabrous and very rough above, paler beneath, hirtel-

lous on the nerves and veins; panicles mostly small, few-many-flowered, mostly

3-10 cm. long, the flowers subsessile or on stout pedicels; hypanthium thinly

458 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

setulose with eglandular hairs, often red, 4 mm. long; outer calyx teeth equaling

the hypanthium; ovary setulose at the apex; petals white or pink, triangular-

subulate, 4 mm. long; style 6-8 mm. long.

A very common shrub in the mountains of Alta Verapaz and in

central Honduras.

Leandra subseriata (Naudin) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 4:

73. 1886. Clidemia subseriata Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 17:

354. 1852. Zapotillo (Chimaltenango).

Dense, moist or wet, mixed or oak-pine forest, or in thickets,

1,000-3,000 meters; Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; Jalapa; Santa

Rosa; Sacatepe"quez; Chimaltenango; Solold; Suchitepe"quez; Que-

zaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango. El Salvador; Honduras;

Costa Rica; Panama; southward to Ecuador.

A shrub or small tree 1.5-6 meters high, the young branches very densely

and closely stellate-tomentose and often sparsely hirtellous; leaves on slender

petioles 1.5-4 cm. long, oblong-ovate, mostly 8-17 cm. long, acuminate, rounded

at the base and often emarginate, mostly 7-nerved or somewhat 7-p liner ved,

sparsely short-setulose above and often sparsely and minutely stellate-puberulent,

rather rough to the touch, paler beneath, finely stellate-tomentulose beneath or

in age glabrate except on the nerves; panicles many-flowered, rather narrow,

usually 5-8 cm. long, the branches short, the flowers sessile, not secund; hypan-

thium 2 mm. long, densely stellate-tomentulose; outer calyx teeth very short,

acute; petals white, acute, triangular-lanceolate, 2.5 mm. long; anthers yellow;

style 4 mm. long; fruit globose, dark blue or purple.

A common shrub in mountain forests. Cogniaux apparently did

not understand the differences between this and L. melanodesma and

referred to the latter some collections of L. subseriata. One of these

(J. D. Smith 2210 from San Rafael, Sacatepe"quez) he reported as

L. melanodesma var. sagittata (Naudin) Cogn., a form having small

auriculiform lobes at the base of the leaf blade. In the collection

cited these lobes, if such they are, appear to be the result of in-

sect action.

There has been reported from British Honduras L. costaricensis

Cogn. on the basis of Schipp 471, collected near Middlesex. This

collection is not considered by Gleason in his account of the mela-

stomes of the Maya region. The material is in fruit and not certainly

referable to Leandra, although probably it belongs there. It is closely

related to L. subseriata and, in fact, it is questionable whether L. cos-

taricensis is really distinct.

The difficulties in distinguishing some of the species and genera

of the Miconeae is exemplified here. Specimens of Leandra sub-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 459

FIG. 71. Leandra subseriata. A, Habit; X K- B» Detail of inflorescence;

X 1. C, Hypanthium and calyx; X 11A- D, Petals from same flower; X 5.

E, Emarginate tip of sepal and appendage; much enlarged. F, Stamen; X 5.

seriata have been determined as Miconia guatemalensis by no less

authorities than Donnell-Smith, Standley, and Gleason and have

been looked at by many botanists without comment. The two spe-

cies are, in fact, very similar although placed in different genera

traditionally.

MERIANIA Swartz

Trees or shrubs, glabrous or pubescent; leaves usually long-petiolate, oblong-

lanceolate, 3-5-nerved, mostly entire; flowers 5-parted, usually large and showy,

paniculate or cymose, white, pink, or purple; hypanthium glabrous or pulverulent,

short-campanulate or hemispheric; calyx dilated and simple, truncate, or double,

with the outer teeth short or elongate; petals obovate, rounded or apiculate at the

apex, sometimes retuse; stamens 10, equal or somewhat unequal, the filaments

filiform or linear and complanate; anthers linear-subulate, straight or somewhat

outcurved, rostrate, opening by a single pore, the cells sometimes flexuous; con-

nective of the anther not at all or very shortly produced below the cells, unap-

460 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

pendaged anteriorly, posteriorly usually prolonged into an obtuse or acute horn,

not appendaged above the base or often bearing dorsally a linear ascending append-

age parallel with the anther; ovary subglobose, free or adherent only at the base,

3-5-celled, glabrous, the carpels often bifid at the apex; style filiform, the stigma

punctiform; capsule subglobose, included in the persistent calyx, generally umbili-

cate, loculicidally 3-5-valvate; seeds narrowly oblong-pyramidal.

Species about 40, mainly in tropical South America and the An-

tilles. Only this and one other are known from continental North

America.

Meriania macrophylla (Benth.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot.

28: 66. 1871. Davya macrophylla Benth. PI. Hartweg. 75. 1841.

Known in Guatemala only from the type, Rancho Palo Hueco

(Quezaltenango), Hartweg without number. Panama; Andes of

South America.

A tree of 9-12 meters; leaves on petioles 5-10 cm. long, broadly oval-elliptic,

18-33 cm. long, 12-22 cm. broad, obtuse or retuse and mucronate, shallowly

cordate and short-peltate at the base, 7-nerved, lustrous above, coriaceous, pul-

verulent-floccose beneath; panicles broadly pyramidal, 20 cm. long, many-flowered,

the pedicels fasciculate, 5-10 mm. long, furfuraceous; hypanthium subhemispheric,

ecostate, barely puberulent, 7-8 mm. long; petals purple, obovate-oblong, 1.5 cm.

long; anthers minutely appendaged at the base and prolonged into a very long,

acuminate spur; capsule broadly subglobose, 8 mm. in diameter.

The occurrence of this plant in Guatemala is unusual, to say the

least. Bentham states that a single specimen of it was collected,

and no collector other than Hartweg has ever found any representa-

tive of the genus in Central America. If Cogniaux was correct in

referring to the species material from Venezuela, Colombia, and Bo-

livia, the occurrence and distribution of the plant are still more

remarkable, since the range is not one that would be expected in

this family, at least in the case of a tree that evidently is rare in

Guatemala — if it exists there at all. Until new material of the spe-

cies is collected in Guatemala, its existence there is to be doubted.

It is possible that Hartweg found the specimen in Ecuador, where

he made extensive collections.

MICONIA Ruiz & Pavon

Reference: Alfred Cogniaux in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 725-938.

1891.

Shrubs or trees; leaves usually petiolate, sometimes sessile, entire or denticu-

late, membranaceous to coriaceous, those of a pair sometimes unequal, variously

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 461

pubescent; flowers 4-8-parted, usually 5-parted, mostly small, the inflorescence

terminal or rarely lateral, usually paniculate, the flowers sessile or short-pedicel-

late, generally white; hypanthium tubular to urceolate; cajyx tube usually well

developed but short, the sepals obsolete or present, variable in shape and size,

the exterior teeth commonly minute, rarely exceeding the sepals; petals often

inequilateral, mostly retuse and flabellate-veined; stamens all perfect, isomorphic

or dimorphic, the filaments slender or complanate; anthers subulate, linear, ob-

long, obovate, or obovoid, 2-celled or 4-celled, opening by 1-2 pores or by 1-2

longitudinal slits; connective simple or variously prolonged or appendaged at

base; ovary wholly or partly inferior, 2-several-celled, the ovules usually numer-

ous; style straight or declinate, commonly elongate; stigma punctiform, truncate,

capitate, or peltate; fruit baccate, often or usually edible.

A vast genus with about 900 species, in tropical America; the

largest genus of the family. It is well represented in Guatemala

and other parts of Central America, the plants being found at all

elevations except the highest, but they are most plentiful in the wet

forests at low or middle altitudes. Considering the great number of

recognized species and their great variation in almost every charac-

ter, they usually are well marked and exhibit relatively little varia-

tion. The key here provided for separation of the species, based in

part upon that of Gleason in his account of the melastomes of the

Maya region, is purely artificial. By monographers the species are

arranged in sections, upon the basis of stamen characters. These

characters often are somewhat difficult of determination, often sus-

piciously variable, and it is easy to make mistakes in their descrip-

tion. It is probable that foliage characters provide a much more

trustworthy and certainly a much more practical means of segre-

gating the many species. The wood in this genus is dull brownish,

sometimes with a tinge of red, hard and heavy to moderately so,

of fine or medium texture, mostly straight-grained, easy to work,

not durable in contact with the soil. Because of its small size it is

not used unless for firewood or poles.

Leaves green and glabrous beneath, at least when fully developed, often minutely

stellate-furfuraceous on the nerves and veins, especially when young, rarely

sparsely hirsute with simple hairs on the nerves Group A.

Leaves permanently pubescent, tomentose, or lepidote beneath, the indument

very rarely so minute that the surface may appear glabrous to the naked eye.

Pubescence of straight or curved, unbranched hairs Group B.

Pubescence of loose stellate hairs or small peltate scales, these not sufficiently

dense to conceal the actual surface of the leaf Group C.

Pubescence of densely matted hairs or scales, these forming a close covering

that completely conceals the actual surface of the leaf, the under side of the

leaf therefore white, silvery, grayish, golden, or brown Group D.

462 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

GROUP A

Leaves 3-5-nerved.

Branches acutely tetragonous M. reducens.

Branches terete or obtusely tetragonous.

Flowers conspicuously secund, subtended by minute persistent bracts; peti-

oles usually hirsute; leaves conspicuously ciliate, often hirsute beneath

on the nerves.

Leaves purple or wine-red beneath M. oinochrophylla.

Leaves green beneath.

Calyx conspicuously lobate M. Schippii.

Calyx truncate or nearly so M. ciliata.

Flowers not secund; petioles not hirsute; leaves not at all or very obscurely

ciliate, not hirsute beneath on the nerves.

Hypanthium glabrous or rarely with a very few minute scattered trichomes.

Branches of the inflorescence conspicuously furfuraceous; leaves conspic-

uously reticulate- veined M. purulensis.

Branches of the inflorescence glabrous or practically so; leaves not evi-

dently reticulate- veined.

Outer calyx teeth subulate, conspicuous; inflorescence few-flowered.

M. lateri flora.

Outer calyx teeth minute or none; inflorescence many-flowered.

Leaf blades broadly rounded at the base, usually blackening or at

least darkening when dried M. borealis.

Leaf blades acute or subobtuse at the base, bright green or yellowish

green when dried M. glaberrima.

Hypanthium minutely stellate-pubescent.

Leaves rounded at the base or very obtuse, sometimes emarginate.

Leaves mostly 12-30 cm. broad M . calvescens.

Leaves mostly 3.5-8 cm. broad.

Leaves punctate beneath between the veins; anthers scarcely 2 mm.

long M. hemenostigma.

Leaves not punctate beneath; anthers 3-3.5 mm. long. .M. laevigata.

Leaves acute or subacute at the base.

Inflorescences small, racemiform or with few-flowered racemiform

branches M. ochroleuca.

Inflorescences large, many-flowered, repeatedly branched.

Leaves mostly 2.5-4 cm. broad, narrowly oblong-lanceolate; calyx

and hypanthium 1.5-2 mm. long M. virescens.

Leaves mostly 4-8 cm. broad, broadly oblong-lanceolate; calyx and

hypanthium about 3 mm. long M. hyperprasina.

Leaves 3-5-plinerved.

Branches of the inflorescence conspicuously secund M. trinervia.

Branches of the inflorescence not secund.

Petals 9-12 mm. long or more, either 5 or 6.

Hypanthium and inflorescence furfuraceous; petals usually 6.

Appendages of calyx about 3 mm. long; pubescence scale-like.

M. Lundelliana.

Appendages inconspicuous; pubescence not scale-like M. Schlimii.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 463

Hypanthium and inflorescence glabrous; petals 5 M. Zemurrayana.

Petals 5 mm. long or shorter, usually or always 5.

Leaf blades long-decurrent on the petiole, petiole winged above.

Sepals depressed-semiorbicular.

Leaves 5-plinerved M. prasina.

Leaves 3-plinerved M. Schlechtendalii.

Sepals acutely triangular.

Stigma truncate, no wider than the style M. prasina.

Stigma capitate, conspicuously wider than the style M. obovalis.

Leaf blades abruptly contracted into the petiole, not decurrent, the peti-

oles not at all winged.

Leaves mostly verticillate; panicle branches 4-6 at each of the principal

nodes M. longifolia.

Leaves opposite; panicle branches chiefly opposite, sometimes accom-

panied by a pair of much reduced branches.

Branches of the inflorescence stellate-furfuraceous.

Leaf blades rounded and usually subcordate at the base.

M. Chamissois.

Leaf blades acute or subacute at the base.

Anthers 1-1.5 mm. long; style 2 mm. long M. alpestris.

Anthers 2 mm. long or more; style 4 mm. long or slightly longer.

M. flaviflora.

Branches of the inflorescence glabrous or essentially so.

Leaves conspicuously barbate or stellate-pubescent beneath near

the base in the axils of the primary nerves.

Leaves mostly 10-18 cm. long, the nerves arising little above the

base of the blade M. mexicana.

Leaves mostly 4-7 (10) cm. long, the nerves arising high above the

base of the blade M. humilis.

Leaves not barbate or stellate-pubescent beneath in the axils of the

principal nerves.

Leaves conspicuously 5-plinerved, the outer nerves not very close

to the margin, the blades mostly 6-12 cm. broad.

M. silvestris.

Leaves 3-plinerved, the outer nerves, if any, obscure and very

close to the margin, the blades often much narrower.

Anthers about 5 mm. long M. hondurensis.

Anthers 2 mm. long or shorter.

Hypanthium 3 mm. long M. Donnell-Smithii.

Hypanthium 1.5 mm. long M. glaberrima.

GROUP B

Leaves 3-7-plinerved.

Leaf blades rounded or very obtuse at the base, glabrous above or nearly so.

M. ibaguensis.

Leaf blades contracted and long-attenuate at the base, densely hirsute on the

upper surface M. nervosa.

464 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Leaves 3-5-nerved.

Leaf blades acute at the base M. Matthaei.

Leaf blades rounded or very obtuse at the base.

Branches glabrous except at the nodes M. Schippii.

Branches densely hirsute.

Pubescence of the branches of deflexed paleaceous hairs. . .M. platyphylla.

Pubescence of the branches of very long, slender, spreading hairs.

M. lacera.

GROUP C

Leaves sessile or essentially so, sometimes short-petiolate but the petiole broadly

winged to the base.

Leaves 3-nerved M. impetiolaris.

Leaves 3-plinerved, the inner nerves arising 5-10 cm. above the base of the blade.

Leaf blades broadest above the middle, broadly clasping at the base.

M. amplexans.

Leaf blades broadest below the middle, narrowed to a narrow base.

M. tomentosa.

Leaves conspicuously petiolate.

Leaves 3-5-plinerved.

Petals 6, about 10 mm. long.

Appendages of calyx about 3 mm. long; pubescence scale-like.

M. Lundelliana.

Appendages of calyx inconspicuous; pubescence not scale-like. . M. Schlimii.

Petals 5, about 4 mm. long.

Hypanthium bearing sparse minute sessile stellate hairs M. nutans.

Hypanthium very densely setose-hirsute, the hairs stellately branched to

the apex.

Leaves 3-plinerved, scaberulous on the upper surface M . tixixensis.

Leaves 5-plinerved, setose-hirsute on the upper surface. . .M. echinoidea.

Leaves 3-7-nerved.

Inflorescence of simple or branched spikes.

Inflorescence a simple spike; leaves glabrous on the upper surface.

M. triplinervis.

Inflorescence of panicled spikes.

Branches densely hirsute with long spreading hairs M. aeruginosa.

Branches densely stellate-puberulent, with few if any spreading hairs.

M . desmantha.

Inflorescence paniculate, the flowers mostly cymose, never spicate.

Branches bearing numerous long gland-tipped hairs M. Tuerckheimii.

Branches without gland-tipped hairs.

Branches densely long-hirsute with brownish hairs, these stellate at the

apex M. barbinervis.

Branches finely stellate-pubescent or short-paleaceous.

Hypanthium glabrous M. purulensis.

Hypanthium densely stellate-pubescent M.guatemalensis.

STANDEE Y AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 465

GROUP D

Leaves 5-7-plinerved.

Leaves sessile or on thick petioles less than 1 cm. long M, involucrata.

Leaves on elongate petioles.

Leaf blades elliptic to obovate, 6-14 cm. broad M. holosericea.

Leaf blades lanceolate, 2-6 cm. broad.

Petals 5, about 4-4.5 mm. long; bracts subtending flowers almost as long

as hypanthium M. oligocephala.

Petals 4, about 2 mm. long; bracts none or inconspicuous . .M. fulvostellata.

Leaves 3-5-nerved.

Lower surface of the leaves densely covered with brown or golden, peltate scales.

Leaves narrowly lanceolate, 2-4 cm. broad M. chrysophylla.

Leaves oblong-obovate, 4-8 cm. broad or even wider M. punctata.

Lower surface of the leaves densely and very minutely stellate-pubescent, not

lepidote.

Petals 6-9 mm. long; flowers not secund.

Bracts minute or none M. serrulata.

Bracts well developed, obovate, 5-8 mm. long, deciduous.

Hypanthium and calyx glabrous M. mirabilis.

Hypanthium and calyx canescent-stellate M. dodecandra.

Petals 2-5 mm. long; flowers often conspicuously secund on the branches of

the panicle.

Leaves sessile or nearly so, auriculate at the base.

See M. impetiolaris, M. amplexans and M. tomentosa in Group C.

Leaves petiolate, not auriculate at the base.

Leaf blades acute at the base M. elata.

Leaf blades rounded or very obtuse at the base, sometimes emarginate.

Young branches strongly compressed and 2-edged M. argentea.

Young branches not compressed, terete or tetragonous.

Flowers conspicuously secund on the branches of the panicle.

Young branches terete; petioles 1.5 cm. long or less . . .M. albicans.

Young branches tetragonous; petioles mostly 2-4 cm. long.

M. stenostachya.

Flowers not at all secund.

Leaves conspicuously denticulate, emarginate at the base.

M. serrulata.

Leaves entire or practically so, rounded or obtuse at the base,

not at all emarginate M. caudata.

Miconia aeruginosa Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 135.

1851. Cinco negritos (San Marcos).

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, sometimes in open swamps,

500-1,500 meters; Alta Verapaz; Suchitepe'quez ; Quezaltenango; San

Marcos; Huehuetenango. Southern Mexico; Honduras to Panama;

Colombia and Venezuela.

466 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

A shrub or small tree 1.5-6 meters high, the young branches densely hirsute

with stiff, spreading, brown or yellowish hairs; leaves membranaceous, on stout

hirsute petioles 2-6 cm. long, broadly ovate to narrowly ovate, mostly 15-25 cm.

long, long-acuminate, rounded or subcordate at the base, 5-7-nerved, unevenly

dentate or denticulate, densely hirsute on both surfaces with setiform, usually

yellowish, spreading hairs; panicles broadly pyramidal, mostly 15-20 cm. long, the

branches spiciform, few or numerous, the spikes dense or interrupted, the rachis

densely hirsute, the flowers sessile; calyx and hypanthium together 2-2.5 mm.

long, very minutely stellate-puberulent; calyx obscurely lobate; petals white,

broadly obovate, retuse, 1.5-2 mm. long; style 4 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

This is a frequent shrub in western Guatemala and in the moun-

tains of Alta Verapaz, in the latter region often growing in pasture

thickets.

Miconia albicans (Swartz) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:

116. 1871. Melastoma albicans Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 70. 1788.

Mostly in dry or moist, open, pine forest, 800 meters or less;

Izabal; Santa Rosa. Southern Mexico; British Honduras to El Sal-

vador and Panama; West Indies; widely distributed in South

America.

A stiff, erect shrub usually a meter high or less, sometimes 2 meters high, the

branches stout, subterete, densely whitish-tomentose, with an appressed tomen-

tum; leaves coriaceous, on stout petioles 1.5 cm. long or usually shorter, ovate-

oblong or elliptic-oblong, mostly 7-15 cm. long and 3-6 cm. broad, obtuse or short-

acuminate, rounded and emarginate or subcordate at the base, entire or nearly so,

5-nerved, glabrous above or nearly so except when young, lustrous, white or

whitish beneath and very densely appressed-tomentose; flowers 5-parted, sessile

and secund along the usually scorpioid branches of the small, generally dense

panicle; hypanthium urceolate-campanulate, 2 mm. long, white-tomentose; sepals

triangular, very short; petals white, obovate, 3 mm. long; anthers linear, 3 mm.

long, opening by a rather large pore; style 4 mm. long, the stigma capitate.

Called "cirln," "zarcil," "lengua de vaca," and "negrito" in Hon-

duras. The fruit in this as well as in most other species of Miconia

is edible. At maturity it is usually black or bluish black, somewhat

resembling a blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in both appearance

and flavor, although much inferior in size and taste.

Miconia alpestris Cogn. ex Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 20: 288. 1895.

Known in Guatemala only from the type, San Miguel Uspantan,

Quiche*, 2,250 meters, Heyde & Lux 3334. Mexico (Chiapas).

Branches obtusely tetragonous, the younger ones as well as the petioles,

branches of the inflorescence and hypanthium densely stellate-furfuraceous;

leaves rather thick, on slender petioles 2-5 cm. long, obovate-lanceolate, 12-17

cm. long, 4-7 cm. broad, subabruptly long-acuminate, broadly cuneate at the

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 467

base, 3-plinerved or almost 3-nerved, entire, furfuraceous above at first, soon

glabrate, densely stellate-furfuraceous beneath on the nerves, elsewhere glabrate;

flowers 5-parted, on very short pedicels, the panicles broadly pyramidal, many-

flowered, 5-8 cm. long; hypanthium subhemispheric, 2 mm. long; sepals sub-

obtuse, 0.5 mm. long; petals obovate, emarginate, 2 mm. long; anthers 1-1.5 mm.

long, opening by pores; style 2 mm. long, truncate at the apex.

Miconia amplexans (Crueger) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14,

pt. 4: 256. 1887. Pogonorhynchus amplexans Crueger, Linnaea 20:

107. 1847.

Wet mixed forest, at or little above sea level; Izabal (Entre Rios,

Standley 72699) . British Honduras; Panama. Widely distributed in

tropical South America.

A coarse shrub or tree 2.5-8 meters high, the young branches obtusely tetrag-

onous, closely and densely brown-tomentose with stellate pubescence; leaves ses-

sile, firm-membranaceous, very large, mostly 20-40 cm. long and 10-20 cm. broad,

broadly obovate, rather abruptly acuminate or caudate-acuminate, often with a

very long and narrow tip, narrowed below to a rounded or amplexical base, 3-pli-

nerved, the nerves rising 5-10 cm. above the base, somewhat stellate-puberulent

above when young but in age glabrous, sparsely or densely and finely stellate-

pubescent beneath with mostly brownish hairs; inflorescence narrow, almost

spike-like, 10-20 cm. long, many-flowered, closely stellate-pubescent; hypan-

thium narrowly campanulate, 5.5-6 mm. long, densely stellate-tomentulose;

sepals 2 mm. long, the free portion semicircular; petals oblong-obovate, white,

7 mm. long; anthers slender-subulate, 6-8 mm. long; ovary almost free, glandular-

pubescent; style 10 mm. long, glandular-pubescent below, the stigma truncate.

Schipp reports that the leaves are sometimes as much as 60 cm.

long and almost 30 cm. broad.

Miconia argentea (Swartz) DC. Prodr. 3: 182. 1828. Melastoma

argentea Swartz, Fl. Ind. Occ. 779. 1800 (type from Mosquito Coast

of Nicaragua). Jolte, tolte (Pete"n, fide Lundell) ; sirin cacal (Chiqui-

mula, fide Seler); sirinon (Izabal); sirin; siril (fide Aguilar).

Moist or wet thickets, most often on brushy hillsides or in ravines,

sometimes in pine forest, 1,500 meters or less, mostly at 500 meters

or lower; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Chiquimula; Santa Rosa;

Suchitepe"quez ; Retalhuleu; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; Brit-

ish Honduras to El Salvador and Panama.

A large shrub or small tree, sometimes 12 meters high with a trunk 30 cm. in

diameter, the trunk short, the crown dense, rounded or spreading, the bark light

brown or pinkish, with long, rather thick, smooth scales, the inner bark darker

brown; young branchlets very stout, strongly compressed, whitish and densely

and finely stellate-tomentulose; leaves chartaceous, large, on stout petioles 2-6 cm.

long, broadly elliptic, mostly 12-23 cm. long and 7-13 cm. broad, often even

468 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

larger, abruptly short-acuminate, rounded or very obtuse at the base, entire or

dentate, deep green and glabrous above, with impressed nerves, 5-nerved, white

or whitish beneath and covered with a very dense, close, stellate tomentum: pan-

icles much branched and many-flowered, 10-20 cm. long, open or dense, the

flowers 5-parted, sessile; hypanthium cupular, 1.5 mm. long, stellate-tomentulose,

the sepals minute, triangular; petals white, oblique-obovate, 2 mm. long; anthers

linear, 2-2.3 mm. -long, opening by a large terminal pore; style 4-4.5 mm. long;

stigma capitate; fruits small, bluish black.

Called "maya," "white maya," "black maya," and "white moir"

(British Honduras) ; "cenizo" (Honduras) ; "sirln macho" (El Salva-

dor); "sabano" (Tabasco); "manzano," "tesuate bianco" (Oaxaca).

The wood is sometimes used in southern Mexico for railroad ties,

but its principal use is for fuel. In some parts of Central America,

but especially about the Canal Zone, this is a very common shrub or

tree, particularly in second growth. Its distribution in Guatemala

is local and it is seldom abundant. The larger trees are conspicuous

and rather handsome. When the foliage is disturbed by wind, the

white under surfaces of the leaves are exposed and the trees appear

from a short distance to be covered with masses of white blossoms.

Miconia barbinervis (Benth.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:

113. 1871. Clidemia barbinervis Benth. Bot. Voy. Sulph. 93. 1844.

Dense wet mixed forest, 150-350 meters; Huehuetenango; Alta

Verapaz. Type from Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama. Widely dis-

tributed in tropical South America.

A stout shrub of 2-3 meters, the terete branches and the petioles densely

hirsute with long spreading hairs, these stellate at the apex; leaves membrana-

ceous, on stout petioles about 1 cm. long, narrowly elliptic-oblong, mostly 12-

20 cm. long and 6-8 cm. broad, acuminate, cuneate at the base, 3-5-nerved,

repand-dentate, often conspicuously so, densely hirsute on both surfaces, all or

most of the hairs with stellately branched tips; panicles sparsely branched, usually

10 cm. long or less, the branches densely stellate-hirsute, the flowers sessile, glom-

erate at the ends of the branches; hypanthium 3-4 mm. long, densely stellate-

hirsute; petals retuse, 3 mm. long, white; style 4-6 mm. long, strongly dilated at

the apex; fruit 4 mm. in diameter.

This has been reported from Guatemala as M. cuneata Triana.

Miconia borealis Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 55: 118. 1928.

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, 700 meters or less; Alta

Verapaz; reported from Izabal; Escuintla. Southern Mexico; Brit-

ish Honduras, along the Atlantic coast to Panama; western Cuba.

A slender shrub or tree 1.5-11 meters high, glabrous throughout or practically

so, the branches terete; leaves thick-membranaceous, often darkening when dried,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

469

FIG. 72. Miconia barbinervis. A, Habit; X Yz- B» Flower; X 4. C, Petal,

X 11A- D, Stamen; X

E, Pubescence of under side of leaf; much enlarged.

on slender petioles about 1 cm. long, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, mostly 8-

10 cm. long and 2-2.5 cm. broad, narrowly long-acuminate, rounded at the base,

3-nerved and usually with obscure additional nerves at the margin, often lustrous;

panicles open, many-flowered, much branched, broadly pyramidal, 5-10 cm. long,

the branches 4-angulate, the flowers almost sessile, 5-parted; hypanthium broadly

campanulate, 1.5 mm. long; sepals depressed-semicircular; anthers 2 mm. long;

style clavate, truncate; petals very short, white; berries dark blue.

470 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

This is presumably the plant recorded from Guatemala by Hems-

ley as M. minutiflora DC.

Miconia calvescens DC. Prodr. 3: 185. 1828. Jortada (Alta

Verapaz) ; sirin morado.

Moist or wet thickets or dense mixed forest, 1,800 meters or less;

Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Escuintla; Suchitepe"quez; Retalhuleu; Que-

zaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango. British Honduras; Hon-

duras; Costa Rica; Panama. Widely distributed in South America.

A large coarse shrub or a tree, often 6-12 meters high, with a trunk as much

as 25 cm. in diameter, the young branches somewhat compressed, sparsely and

minutely stellate-furfuraceous; leaves thick-membranaceous, on stout petioles

3-6 cm. long or more, broadly elliptic or oval to oblong-obovate, on fertile branches

15-35 cm. long and half as broad or broader, abruptly short-acuminate, rounded

or very obtuse at the base, often shallowly cordate, 3-nerved or the lateral nerves

often rising slightly above the base of the blade, entire or undulate, glabrous above

or nearly so, obscurely stellate-furfuraceous beneath on the nerves or almost

wholly glabrous, often bright purple or wine-red beneath; flowers densely aggre-

gate, forming rather large, widely branched panicles; hypanthium campanulate,

2 mm. long, sparsely stellate-puberulent; calyx tube shortly prolonged, the sepals

broadly triangular, 0.8 mm. long; petals white, obovate, 2.5-3 mm. long; anthers

linear, 2-3.5 mm. long; ovary two-thirds inferior, 3-celled, glabrous; style 5-7 mm.

long, glabrous, the stigma capitate.

This plant is remarkable for its very large and handsome leaves

which often are deep purple or wine-red beneath, especially when

young. They frequently attain a great size on sterile branches or

on vigorous young plants, being sometimes as much as 70 cm. long

and proportionately broad. The plant is a striking and decorative

one, and very rarely it is seen in cultivation in Guatemala, in parks

or about fincas. The leaves are among the largest produced by any

dicotyledonous plant of Guatemala.

Miconia caudata (Bonpl.) DC. Prodr. 3: 187. 1828. Melastoma

caudata Bonpl. in Humb. & Bonpl. M^last. 13, t. 7. 1816. Lochajd

(Coban, Quecchi).

Moist or wet, mixed forest or pine forest, 1,200-1,450 meters;

Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz. Mexico (Chiapas); Honduras; Costa

Rica and Panama; Colombia.

A shrub or a small tree, the slender rigid branches subterete or obtusely

tetragonous, covered with a minute close dense stellate ferruginous tomentum;

leaves chartaceous, on slender petioles 3-5 cm. long, ovate or elliptic-ovate, mostly

15-25 cm. long and 7-15 cm. broad, gradually or abruptly caudate-acuminate,

often terminated by a slender linear tip 2 cm. long or more, rounded or very

obtuse at the base, 5-nerved, entire or practically so, very minutely stellate-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 471

puberulent on the upper surface or practically glabrous, brownish beneath,

sparsely to densely and minutely stellate-puberulent; panicles small or large,

sometimes 15 cm. long but usually shorter, sparsely or much branched, stellate-

tomentulose, many-flowered, the flowers mostly short-pedicellate; hypanthium

2.5 mm. long, stellate-tomentulose; sepals evident but very short; petals white,

sparsely and minutely stellate-puberulent outside, 3 mm. long; style 7 mm. long,

the stigma truncate; fruit bluish black, 4 mm. in diameter.

Miconia Chamissois Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 179.

1851.

Moist or wet thickets or mixed lowland forest, at or near sea level

up to 800 meters; Izabal. Mexico; British Honduras; Honduras;

Costa Rica; widely distributed in South America.

A shrub of 1-3 meters, the young branches slender, obtusely tetragonous,

glabrous or nearly so; leaves on stout petioles 1 cm. long or shorter, membrana-

ceous or thick-membranaceous, broadly oblong-ovate, 10-18 cm. long, 5-10 cm.

broad, acuminate, broadly rounded at the base and often subauriculate, 3-pli-

nerved, entire or nearly so, deep green and glabrous above, slightly paler beneath,

when young sparsely and very minutely stellate-puberulent, in age glabrous or

nearly so; panicles pyramidal, 10-20 cm. long, sparsely and very minutely stellate-

puberulent, the branches numerous, opposite or rarely with 1-2 short additional

ones at the node, the flowers 5-parted; hypanthium campanulate, 2 mm. long,

sparsely and minutely stellate-puberulent; sepals broadly depressed- triangular,

0.5 mm. long; petals obovate, white, 3.5 mm. long; anthers linear, 2.7-3.5 mm.

long; ovary half inferior, 3-celled; style 6.5 mm. long, the stigma truncate; ber-

ries black.

The flowers in this species are often cleistogamous, especially in

the second flowering of the year.

Miconia chrysophylla (L. Rich.) Urban, Symb. Antill. 4: 459.

1910. Melastoma chrysophylla L. Rich. Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris

1792: 109. 1792. Melastoma fulva L. Rich, ex Humb. & Bonpl.

MeUast. 23, t. 11. 1816. Miconia fulva DC. Prodr. 3: 180. 1828.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, about 350 meters; reported from

Cubilgiiitz, Alta Verapaz. Southern Mexico; British Honduras;

Costa Rica and Panama; West Indies; South America.

A shrub or tree, sometimes 10 meters high with a trunk 30 cm. in diameter,

the trunk round, the bark dark grayish brown, the inner bark very dark, grayish

brown; young branchlets sharply tetragonous, densely brown-lepidote, soon gla-

brate; leaves on petioles 5-15 mm. long, opposite or verticillate, chartaceous, nar-

rowly oblong to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 10-20 cm. long, 2-4 cm. broad,

narrowly long-acuminate, attenuate to the base, entire or nearly so, 3-nerved,

glabrous and deep green above, the nerves impressed, reddish brown beneath,

very densely covered with tightly appressed scales; panicles 10-20 cm. long,

much branched, densely lepidote, the flowers sessile, 5-parted; hypanthium

472 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

broadly campanulate, 1.5 mm. long, densely lepidote; sepals reduced to minute

projecting teeth on the short calyx tube; petals obovate, white, retuse, 2 mm. long;

anthers oblong, 1.5 mm. long, opening by elongate slits; style stout, 3 mm. long, the

stigma truncate.

Called "maya" or "red maya" in British Honduras; "tesuate"

(Oaxaca). The wood is yellowish when first cut but soon darkens

upon exposure to the air.

Miconia cilia ta (L. Rich.) DC. Prodr. 3: 179. 1828. Melastoma

ciliata L. Rich. Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris 1792: 109. 1792.

Savannas or open lowland pine forest, at or little above sea level;

reported from Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico; Brit-

ish Honduras; Panama; West Indies. Widely distributed in South

America.

A shrub 1.5-2.5 meters high, the young branches terete or obtusely tetrago-

nous, glabrous, the nodes usually sparsely hirsute near the apex or throughout;

leaf blades oblong or lance-oblong, 7-17 cm. long, 3-7 cm. broad, acute or acumi-

nate, obtuse or rounded at the base, 3-nerved with an additional obscure pair of

marginal nerves, serrulate, ciliate, glabrous or often with a few scattered setiform

hairs beneath on the costa; inflorescence thyrsiform-paniculate, 5-15 cm. long,

the short branches spreading; flowers 5-parted, sessile, secund; hypanthium urceo-

late, glabrous, 2-2.5 mm. long; calyx tube erect, 1-1.5 mm. long, truncate; petals

obovate-oblong, 3 mm. long, pink; anthers oblong, 1.5 mm. long; ovary inferior,

the style 2 mm. long; fruit blue or bluish black.

Called "maya" in British Honduras.

Miconia desmantha Benth. PI. Hartw. 181. 1845; L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 570. 1963. M. Bourgaeana Cogn. in DC. Monog.

Phan. 7: 772. 1891. M. Carioana Cogn. I.e. 773 (type from Guate-

mala, Bernoulli & Carlo 2668).

Moist or wet thickets and pastures or in ravines, 700-1,500 me-

ters. Alta Verapaz; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Mexico

through Central America and Panama; Colombia.

A shrub of 1-3 meters, the branches rather slender, obtusely tetragonous,

densely furfuraceous-hirtellous with short ferruginous hairs and usually with a

few longer spreading hairs; leaves thick-membranaceous, ovate, on stout petioles

1-2.5 cm. long, 15-25 cm. long, 10-15 cm. broad, or often smaller, rather narrowly

acuminate, rounded and usually shallowly and narrowly cordate at the base,

7-nerved, denticulate, deep green above, thinly setose-hirsute, usually finely

bullate, paler beneath, finely stellate-puberulent on the nerves and veins and

sparsely setulose-hirsute, the veins elevated and very conspicuous; panicles equal-

ing or shorter than the leaves, the branches rather few, spreading or ascending,

spike-like, the flowers sessile, glomerate; hypanthium 2 mm. long, densely stellate-

furfuraceous, the calyx subtruncate; petals white, broadly obovate, 2.5 mm. long;

style 5-6 mm. long, truncate at the apex.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA

473

FIG. 73. Miconia desmantha. A, Habit; X

X 5. C, Petal; X 7J^. D, Stamen; X 7^.

B, Flower, partially dissected;

Closely related to Miconia aeruginosa Naud. and some forms of

the two are difficult to distinguish. The group needs critical study.

Miconia dodecandra (Desr.) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 4:

243. 1887. Melastoma dodecandra Desr. in Lam. Encycl. 4: 46. 1796.

Moist or wet, mixed forest or frequently in pine or oak forest,

1,500 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Zacapa; Huehuetenango. South-

ern Mexico; British Honduras to Panama. West Indies ; widely dis-

tributed in South America.

A large shrub or a tree, rarely 10 meters high with a trunk 20 cm. or more in

diameter, the younger branches subterete, densely covered with a fine close fer-

474 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

ruginous stellate tomentum; leaves subcoriaceous, on stout petioles 2-4 cm. long,

elliptic to oblong-ovate, 10-20 cm. long, 4-10 cm. broad, acuminate, rounded or

very obtuse at the base, entire or nearly so, deep green and glabrous above, brown-

ish beneath, covered with a very dense, fine, stellate tomentum; panicles rather

narrow, many-flowered, 10-20 cm. long, stellate-tomentose, with 2 superposed

branches at each node; bracts obovate, canescent-tomentulose outside, 5-8 mm.

long, soon deciduous; flowers chiefly 6-parted, on long stout pedicels; hypanthium

campanulate, 5 mm. long in anthesis, densely canescent-stellate; calyx tube 1 mm.

long, the sepals triangular, short, irregular; petals narrowly obovate, 7-9 mm. long,

white tinged with pink; anthers linear-subulate, 6-10 mm. long; ovary 4-5-celled,

mostly superior; style 10-12 mm. long; fruit large, black.

Called "maya" in British Honduras.

Miconia Donnell-Smithii Cogn. ex Donn.-Sm. Enum. PI.

Guat. 3: 28. 1893, nomen; Bot. Gaz. 20: 287. 1895.

Dense, moist or wet, mixed forest, 1,500-1,800 meters; endemic;

Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; Huehuetenango; Quiche" (type from

San Miguel Uspantan, Heyde & Lux 3333).

A slender shrub or a small tree 4.5 meters high or less, glabrous throughout,

the branches subterete; leaves on slender petioles 1 cm. long, firm-membranaceous,

lanceolate, mostly 5-10 cm. long and 1.5-2.5 cm. broad, caudate-attenuate, atten-

uate at the base, 3-plinerved, the outer nerves rising far above the base of the

blade, entire; panicles pyramidal, pedunculate, lax, many-flowered, 6-10 cm.

long, the slender pedicels 4-7 mm. long; hypanthium globose-urceolate, 3 mm.

long; sepals triangular, acute, erect, scarcely 1 mm. long, white furfuraceous along

the margins; petals broad, 1.5 mm. long; anthers 1.5 mm. long; style 4-5 mm.

long, truncate at the apex.

Miconia echinoidea Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23:

180. 1944.

Quiche" ; Huehuetenango (type from vicinity of Maxbal, Steyer-

mark 48831). Mexico (Chiapas).

A shrub of 1.5 meters, the slender branches terete, very densely hirsute-

tomentose, the hairs spreading, setiform, pale yellow, stellately branched at the

apex, the petioles and inflorescence covered with the same kind of pubescence,

the older branches brown; leaves on rather stout petioles 1-4 cm. long, narrowly

ovate or lance-ovate, 11-17 cm. long, 4-7.5 cm. broad, narrowly long-acuminate,

rounded or obtuse at the base, 5-plinerved, the inner nerves arising well above the

base of the blade, minutely serrulate or almost entire, very densely setose-hirsute

with short, yellowish, somewhat spreading hairs, yellowish green beneath, stellate-

tomentose with rather soft, dense, short-stipitate hairs; panicles small, erect, pe-

dunculate, scarcely more than 4 cm. long, the branches short, stout, opposite,

divaricate, the flowers 5-parted, densely aggregate at the ends of the branchlets;

hypanthium campanulate, 2.5 mm. long, obtuse at the base, very densely covered

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 475

with short bristles, these pale yellowish, thickened below, stellately branched at

the apex; calyx tube very shortly produced, the sepals ovate-rounded, setulose,

the exterior lobes subulate or subulate-triangular, 1.6 mm. long, much longer than

the sepals; petals white, glabrous, oval-obovate, 3.5-4 mm. long, reflexed, rounded

or very obtuse at the apex; anthers unequal, subulate, the longer ones 3 mm. long;

style rather stout, 7 mm. long, sparsely pilosulous near the base, the stigma

punctiform.

Miconia elata (Swartz) DC. Prodr. 3: 182. 1828. Melastoma

data, Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 70. 1788.

Wet forest, near sea level; British Honduras (Mullins River road,

W. A. Schipp 150). Mexico; Costa Rica; Cuba and Jamaica.

A tree of 9 meters, the trunk 12 cm. in diameter, the young branches thick,

acutely 4-angulate, finely and rather sparsely brown-tomentulose; leaves on very

stout petioles 3-5 cm. long, coriaceous, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, 10-30 cm. long,

5-15 cm. broad, abruptly acute or acuminate, cuneate at the base, entire or repand,

glabrous above, the nerves and veins impressed, brownish beneath, densely cov-

ered with a minute close stellate tomentum, the nerves and veins strongly elevated;

panicles sparsely branched, 10-15 cm. long, the branches stout, tetragonous,

densely brown-tomentulose, the flowers sessile, 6-parted; hypanthium campanu-

late, 2 mm. long, minutely stellate-tomentulose; calyx tube erect, shortly pro-

longed, subtruncate, the sepals almost obsolete; petals rounded, 1.5 mm. long,

white; anthers linear; style 2 mm. long; fruit 10-costate, 4-5 mm. thick.

This has been reported from British Honduras and Mexico as

Miconia astroplocama Donn.-Sm.

Miconia flaviflora Gleason, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 63: 534. 1936.

M. flaviflora var. emigrans Gleason, Brittonia 2: 320. 1937.

Wet mixed forest, 250-350 meters; Alta Verapaz (Cubilgiiitz;

Candelaria). Costa Rica; Peru.

A large shrub or a tree as much as 8 meters high, the young branches obtusely

tetragonous, rather densely and finely stellate-furfuraceous, brownish; leaves thick-

membranaceous, on stout petioles 1.5-2.5 cm. long, oblong to obovate-oblong,

mostly 16-24 cm. long and 4-9 cm. broad, shortly caudate-acuminate, cuneate at

the base, 3-plinerved, entire or repand-denticulate, glabrous above, green beneath,

very finely and rather sparsely stellate-lepidote, especially on the nerves; panicles

10-15 cm. long, much branched, rather open, many-flowered, the branches brown

and minutely stellate-furfuraceous, the flowers 5-parted, sessile, cymulose; hypan-

thium campanulate, 2 mm. long, stellate-lepidote; calyx teeth triangular, 0.5 mm.

long; petals narrowly oblong-obovate, white, 3.5 mm. long, very minutely puber-

ulent outside; anthers thick, linear, the larger ones 2.8 mm. long; ovary inferior,

5-celled; style glabrous, the stigma subcapitate.

The Central American material is referable to var. emigrans.

476 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Miconia fulvostellata L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 571. 1963.

Known from the type (Huehuetenango, Steyermark 49143a) and

also from British Honduras.

Trees to 15 cm. in diameter, the branchlets densely fulvous stellate with stel-

late or barbellate trichomes. Leaves of a pair somewhat unequal in size, lanceolate

or elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, long petiolate, 3- (5) -plinerved, obscurely den-

ticulate above, glabrous above or nearly so, densely fulvous stellate-tomentose

below, blade 6-14 cm. long and 2-5.5 cm. broad; petiole slender, angled, 1-3 cm.

long, densely stellate pubescent; inflorescence a terminal panicle shorter than the

subtending leaves, the lateral branches short and the flowers racemose and ses-

sile, pubescence as on the branchlets; flowers small, white; hypanthium about

1.5-2 mm. long and as broad or broader, broadly campanulate, densely fulvous

stellate, the calyx very short, almost unlobed but with 4 short dorsal appendages

about 0.5-1 mm. long and these acute or obtuse, fulvous stellate; petals 4, oblong

or oblong quadrate, about 2 mm. long and 1.5 mm. broad, the apex obscurely

bilobed and somewhat apiculate at one angle; stamens 8, the anthers about 1.5 mm.

long and the filament 1 mm. long; style somewhat thickened above, about 3-

3.5 mm. long; fruit not seen.

Called "mountain sirin" in British Honduras.

Miconia glaberrima (Schlecht.) Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3,

16 : 243. 1851. Melastoma glaberrima Schlecht. Linnaea 13 : 421. 1839.

Uva (Huehuetenango).

Moist or wet, mixed forest or sometimes in pine forest, 900-2,500

meters; Alta Verapaz; Zacapa; El Progreso; Quiche"; Huehuetenango;

Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; El Salvador; Costa

Rica; Panama.

A shrub or a small tree, sometimes 8 meters high, usually lower, glabrous

throughout or nearly so, the branches slender, obtusely tetragonous; leaves mem-

branaceous or often thick and firm, drying green or yellowish green, on petioles

1-3.5 cm. long, elliptic-oblong or lance-oblong, mostly 8-14 cm. long and 2.5-

5 cm. broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, often abruptly so, mostly acute at

the base, 3-nerved or with weak additional nerves close to the margin, the inner

nerves sometimes arising slightly above the base of the blade but usually basal or

nearly so, entire or essentially so; panicles pyramidal, mostly 5-7 cm. long, short-

pedunculate, freely branched, many-flowered, the flowers mostly pedicellate; hy-

panthium hemispheric, glabrous, 1.5 mm. long, the sepals minute; petals white or

rarely tinged with pink, 1 mm. long; style 1-3 mm. long; berries small, white

or sometimes tinged with pink or purple.

Closely related to this and probably in no way distinct is M. pine-

torum Naudin. In Guatemalan material referred here there are two

easily separable forms, one with chiefly 3-nerved leaves, the other

with 3-plinerved leaves. Ordinarily these are considered good spe-

cific differences, but there seems to be much variation in this respect,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 477

and some of the forms are rather ambiguous. Both have been called

M. glaberrima by Gleason.

Miconia guatemalensis Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16: 5.

1891. Acinodendrum guatemalense Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 951. 1891.

Alumbre (Huehuetenango) .

Moist to wet, mixed forest or more often in moist or rather dry,

pine and oak forest, sometimes on brushy, often rocky hillsides, or

in pastures, 1,300-2,600 meters; Alta Verapaz (type from Tamahu,

Tuerckheim 924); Baja Verapaz; Guatemala; Chiquimula; Jutiapa;

Huehuetenango. Mexico (Chiapas); Honduras; El Salvador.

A slender shrub 1-2.5 meters high, usually about a meter high, rarely low and

only 30 cm. high, the branches subterete or obtusely tetragonous, densely stellate-

tomentose with mostly brownish hairs; leaves on slender petioles 1-6 cm. long,

membranaceous, often rugose, ovate or broadly ovate, mostly 7-15 cm. long and

3.7-11 cm. broad, short-acuminate, broadly rounded or often subcordate at the

base, 5-nerved, entire or denticulate, thinly or densely setulose-hirsute on the

upper surface with simple hairs, closely and densely or sometimes rather sparsely

stellate-puberulent or tomentulose beneath; panicles lax or dense, rather small,

4-8 cm. long, many-flowered, the flowers aggregate, the pedicels 1 mm. long or

less; hypanthium suburceolate, 2 mm. long, stellate-pubescent, the sepals very

short, broadly rounded; petals 3 mm. long, white or tinged outside with pink;

style 4 mm. long; fruit juicy, purple-black or bluish-black.

Called "sarcil" and "sirina" in Honduras. In Huehuetenango

the fruits are said to be used for dyeing leather. This plant has

been reported from Guatemala as M. globulifera Naudin. Speci-

mens of the superficially similar Leandra subseriata have often been

referred here.

Miconia hemenostigma Naud. Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 230.

1851. Cinco negritos (Huehuetenango).

Moist or wet, mixed forest, 2,200-3,200 meters; El Progreso;

Huehuetenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico.

A shrub or tree of 3-9 meters, the branches rather stout, like the petioles and

panicles covered with a rather dense, brown, stellate-furfuraceous indument;

leaves on slender petioles 2-5 cm. long, membranaceous to chartaceous, oblong,

ovate-oblong, or narrowly elliptic-oblong, mostly 9-16 cm. long and 3.5-6 cm.

broad, acuminate or caudate-acuminate, rounded or obtuse at the base, 3-plinerved

or with an additional pair of inconspicuous nerves along the margin, minutely

denticulate or entire, glabrous above, usually yellowish green when dried, often

much paler and somewhat silvery beneath, stellate-furfuraceous on the nerves

and veins and minutely and sparsely punctate or furfuraceous-lepidote between

them but appearing glabrous; panicles pyramidal, mostly 8-12 cm. long, rather

open, much-branched, many-flowered, the. flowers sessile or pedicellate; hypan-

478 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

thium urceolate, 2 mm. long, minutely stellate-furfuraceous or almost glabrous, the

sepals minute; petals white, 1.5 mm. long; anthers oblong, 2 mm. long; fruit

pale blue.

Miconia holosericea (L.) DC. Prodr. 3: 181. 1828; L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 571. 1963. Melastoma holosericea L. Sp. PI. 390.

1753. Melastoma mucronata Desr. in Lam. Encycl. 4: 46. 1796.

Miconia mucronata Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 120. 1851.

Pine forest, at or little above sea level; Mexico; British Hon-

duras; Costa Rica; Panama. Southward to Brazil and Bolivia.

A shrub or small tree to 3-5 meters, the young branches somewhat com-

pressed, closely and finely tomentulose; leaves on stout petioles 1.5-2.5 cm. long,

elliptic to ovate or obovate, 13-40 cm. long, 6-14 cm. broad, abruptly acuminate,

cuneate to rounded at the base, 3-5-nerved or often 3-5-plinerved, glabrous above,

densely and finely stellate-tomentulose beneath; panicles 5-15 cm. long, peduncu-

late, stellate-tomentulose, the branches fasciculate; flowers mostly 6-parted, ses-

sile, subtended by lanceolate or ovate, early deciduous bracts 3-4 mm. long;

hypanthium tubular, 6 mm. long, finely stellate-tomentulose; sepals ovate to

lanceolate, 2.5-3.5 mm. long, deciduous at anthesis; petals obovate-oblong, 9 mm.

long; anthers subulate, 6-8 mm. long; ovary almost free, commonly 4-celled;

style 18 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

Miconia hondurensis Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 40: 3. 1905. Cipit

(Pete"n, Maya, fide Lundell).

Wet thickets or mixed forest, 150 meters or less; Pet£n; Izabal.

British Honduras; Honduras (type from Tela); Nicaragua; Costa

Rica.

A shrub or small tree, sometimes 9 meters high with a trunk 10 cm. in diam-

eter, glabrous throughout or nearly so; leaves on stout petioles 1-3 cm. long,

subcoriaceous, elliptic to oblong, mostly 10-18 cm. long and 4-9 cm. broad, acute

or abruptly and very shortly caudate-acuminate, acute or obtuse at the base,

3-plinerved, somewhat paler beneath and when dry usually yellowish green; pan-

icles pedunculate, pyramidal, 10-20 cm. long, many-flowered, rather open, the

branches mostly opposite, the flowers 5-parted, sessile or nearly so, glomerate;

hypanthium tubular-campanulate, 3.5-4 mm. long, sparsely and very minutely

stellate-puberulent or practically glabrous; sepals almost obsolete; petals elliptic,

3.5-4 mm. long, white, sparsely furfuraceous outside; anthers subulate, 4-4.5 mm.

long; ovary half inferior, with few ovules; style 9-10 mm. long, glabrous, the

stigma truncate.

Miconia humilis Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 764. 1891;

L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 572. 1963. Acinodendron humile

Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PL 951. 1891. Tamonea humilis Krasser in

Engler & Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 3, Abt. 7: 188. 1893. Huevito de

paloma.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 479

Mostly in pine-oak forest, 1,300-2,400 meters (type from Altos

de Santa Caterina, Guatemala, Scherzer). Zacapa; Baja Verapaz;

Quezaltenango. Southern Mexico; El Salvador; Honduras; Nica-

ragua; Costa Rica.

A slender shrub 1.5-3 meters high, glabrous throughout or nearly so, the

branches terete, rather densely leafy; leaves firm-membranaceous, on slender peti-

oles 1-2 cm. long, ovate-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, mostly 4-7 (10) cm. long

and 2-3 cm. broad, acute or acuminate, rounded to cuneate at the base, 3-pli-

nerved, the nerves usually rising well above the base of the blade, densely stellate-

pubescent beneath at the base of the nerves, elsewhere glabrous, green or yellow-

ish green when dried, slightly paler beneath; panicles 7 cm. long or shorter, rather

few-flowered, with spreading branches, the pedicels 1-2 mm. long; hypanthium

2.5 mm. long, glabrous or with a few minute and inconspicuous scattered hairs;

sepals short, obtuse; petals white, 5-6 mm. long; anthers linear, 4 mm. long;

style 10-11 mm. long.

Specimens of this species have most often been determined as

M. lauriformis Naudin, a Mexican species closely related to this and

more so to M . mexicana (Humb. & Bonpl.) Naudin.

Miconia hyperprasina Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 186.

1851. Cafecillo (Jalapa).

Moist or wet, dense, mixed forest or thickets, sometimes in Mani-

caria swamps, 2,100 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Zacapa;

Chiquimula; Jalapa; Santa Rosa. Southern Mexico; British Hon-

duras; Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama.

A shrub or small tree, sometimes 8 meters high with a trunk 10 cm. in diam-

eter, the young branchlets, petioles, inflorescence, and hypanthium thinly and

closely stella te-puberulent with minute brown hairs; leaves on slender petioles

1-2 cm. long, usually membranaceous, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 12-20 cm.

long, 3-6 cm. broad, narrowly long-acuminate, acute or sometimes obtuse at the

base, entire or undulate, green or yellowish green when dried, 3-nerved and often

with a pair of additional obscure marginal nerves, glabrous above, somewhat

paler beneath, glabrous; panicles much branched, many-flowered, open or dense,

short-pedunculate, 10 cm. long or less, the flowers sessile, aggregate; hypanthium

cupular, 1.8 mm. long; calyx tube slightly spreading, the sepals thin, semicircular,

0.8 mm. long, the exterior teeth conic, divergent; petals obovate, white, 2-2.5 mm.

long; anthers linear, 2.5-3 mm. long, with a single terminal pore; ovary half in-

ferior, 3-celled; style 5 mm. long, the stigma subcapitate.

Called "manzana" and "tesuate" in Oaxaca. The bark is light

brown, rather smooth, and thin, the inner bark pale yellow or

light brown. The wood is yellow throughout when freshly cut but

changes to reddish brown upon exposure to the air. In Oaxaca this

is reported to attain a height of 13 meters and it is reported that the

wood is used there for railroad ties.

480 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Miconia ibaguensis (Bonpl.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:

110. 1871. Melastoma ibaguensis Bonpl. in Humb. & Bonpl. Me"last.

105, L 1>5. 1816.

Moist or wet, sometimes rocky thickets or hilly pine forest, 1,200

meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico; Brit-

ish Honduras to El Salvador and Panama; West Indies; widely dis-

tributed in South America.

A shrub 2-3 meters high, or sometimes a tree 6 meters with a trunk 10 cm. in

diameter, the young branches stellate-tomentose and densely hispid-hirsute with

stiff spreading yellowish hairs; leaves on stout pedicels 8 mm. long or less, firm-

coriaceous, often rugose, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 8-15 cm. long, 3-6 cm.

broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, obtuse or rounded at the base, 5-plinerved,

entire or serrulate, stellate-pubescent above when young but in age glabrous or

nearly so, the veins impressed, paler beneath, thinly setose-hirsute with simple

hairs; inflorescence densely hirsute, rather narrow, with divaricate opposite

branches, 10-20 cm. long, the flowers 5-parted, sessile or nearly so, crowded at

the ends of the branches; hypanthium campanulate, 2.5-3 mm. long, stellate-

pubescent and hirsute; calyx tube prolonged, the sepals triangular, very short,

the exterior teeth triangular, equaling the sepals; petals obovate, 4 mm. long,

white; anthers linear, 3.3-4 mm. long; ovary half inferior, often setose at the apex;

style 7 mm. long, the stigma capitate.

Called "uva" and "sirin" in Honduras.

Miconia impetiolaris (Swartz) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4:

316. 1823. Melastoma impetiolaris Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 70.

1788. Sirin; oreja de danta (Suchitepe"quez) ; hoja de queso (Pete"n).

Moist or wet, mixed forest or thickets, often in second growth,

1,300 meters or less, chiefly at low elevations; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz;

Izabal; Escuintla; Suchitepe"quez; Retalhuleu; San Marcos. South-

ern Mexico; British Honduras to Panama; West Indies; South

America.

A shrub or small tree 3-8 meters high, usually with rather few, stout branches,

the branchlets densely stellate-tomentose with brownish hairs, obtusely quadran-

gular or subterete; leaves sessile, membranaceous, oblong-obovate or broadly obo-

vate, 20-40 cm. long and 10-20 cm. broad or even larger, acuminate, cuneately

narrowed to a narrow cordate base, 3-nerved, with an additional pair of slender

marginal nerves, entire or remotely denticulate, deep green and glabrous above,

grayish or brownish beneath and thinly to densely and finely stellate-pubescent;

panicles usually large, freely branched, 10-20 cm. long, stellate-tomentose, the

flowers 5-parted, sessile, glomerate; hypanthium cupular, almost 2 mm. long,

densely stellate-tomentose; sepals semicircular, 0.6 mm. long, the exterior teeth

triangular, wholly adnate, equaling the sepals; petals oblong-obovate, white,

2.5 mm. long; anthers linear, 2-2.5 mm. long; ovary half inferior, 3-celled; style

4 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 481

Called "uva" and "ojancha" in Honduras; "maya" (British Hon-

duras); "tesuate," "tejuate" (Veracruz). This is a common, charac-

teristic, and often very conspicuous large shrub or small tree in the

Atlantic lowlands of Central America.

Miconia involucrata Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 37: 209. 1904.

Cachito.

Dense wet mixed forest, 350 meters or less; Alta Verapaz (type

from Cubilgiiitz, Tuerckheim 8204). British Honduras.

A tree of 7-12 meters, the branches stout, subterete or obtusely tetragonous,

very thinly tomentulose or glabrate; leaves large, chartaceous, usually darkening

when dried, sessile or on petioles 1 cm. long or shorter, oblong-elliptic, 25-35 cm.

long, 10-17 cm. broad, shortly caudate-acuminate, rounded to cuneate at the base,

7-9-plinerved, the inner nerves arising 3-10 cm. above the base of the blade, entire

or undulate, glabrous above, grayish beneath and covered with a very fine and

close, stellate tomentum; panicles pyramidal, long-pedunculate, 10-20 cm. long,

sparsely branched, the flowers 6-parted, sessile and densely glomerate, when

young almost hidden by the broadly ovate bracts, these about 1 cm. long; hypan-

thium narrowly campanulate, thick-walled, in anthesis 6 mm. long, covered with

a gray stellate tomentum, in fruit as much as 8 mm. broad and glabrate; calyx-

tube prolonged 1 mm., the sepals oblong, apiculate, 2 mm. long, the exterior teeth

wholly adnate, narrowly triangular, acuminate, 4-4.5 mm. long; petals white,

oblong, 7 mm. long; anthers subulate, 10 mm. long; ovary 4-celled, the style

17 mm. long; fruit large, blue-black, lustrous.

Miconia lacera (Bonpl.) Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 152.

1851. Melastoma lacera Bonpl. in Humb. & Bonpl. Melast. 9, t. 5.

1816. Sirin.

Moist or wet thickets, sometimes at the edges of savannas or in

second growth, 350 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal.

Southern Mexico; British Honduras, along the Atlantic coast to

Panama; West Indies; South America.

A shrub of 1.5-3 meters, the branches slender, subterete or obtusely tetrago-

nous, densely hirsute with dark red, stiff, spreading hairs as much as 1 cm. long,

hairs of the same type present also on the petioles and inflorescence; leaves firm-

membranaceous, on slender petioles 1-3 cm. long, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate,

7-15 cm. long, 3-6 cm. broad, long-acuminate, rounded or very obtuse at the base,

3-nerved with an additional pair of obscure nerves close to the margin, long-ciliate,

thinly setose above, paler and more densely setose beneath; panicles usually com-

pact and dense, rather narrow, 5-10 cm. long, the flowers numerous, 5-parted,

sessile along the branches; hypanthium cupular, 2 mm. long, glabrous or thinly

setose; calyx- tube prolonged almost 1 mm., the sepals depressed-semicircular,

1.5 mm. long, long-ciliate, the exterior teeth triangular, almost wholly adnate,

the free tip somewhat spreading; petals pink, oblong-obovate, 4 mm. long, deeply

retuse; anthers oblong, 1.5 mm. long; style slender, uncinate at the apex, 3 mm.

long.

482 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Miconia laevigata (L.) DC. Prodr. 3: 188. 1828; L. Wms. Fieldi-

ana, Bot. 29: 572. 1963. Melastoma laevigata L. Sp. PI. 559. 1753.

Tinajito.

Moist or wet forest or thickets, sometimes in rather dry ravines,

1,450 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Santa Rosa; Guatemala;

Suchitepe"quez. Southern Mexico; British Honduras to Panama;

West Indies. Northern South America.

A slender shrub or small tree 2-4.5 meters high, the young branches sparsely

stellate-furfuraceous with brown appressed scales, soon glabrate; leaves on slender

petioles 1.5-4 cm. long, thin, green when dried, ovate-lanceolate to oblong, 10-

20 cm. long, 3-8 cm. broad, long-acuminate, obtuse or rounded at the base, entire

or obscurely repand-denticulate, 3-5-nerved, when young sparsely and minutely

stellate-furfuraceous on both surfaces, soon glabrate; panicles long-pedunculate,

many-flowered, 8-15 cm. long, minutely stellate-furfuraceous; hypanthium cam-

panulate, 1.5-2 mm. long, stellate-puberulent; calyx tube somewhat spreading,

the sepals depressed-ovate or semicircular, 1 mm. long, the exterior teeth adnate

to the middle of the calyx; petals obovate, white, thin, 3-4 mm. long; anthers

linear, 2.7-3.5 mm. long; ovary 3-celled, half inferior, glabrous at the apex; style

slender, 6-7 mm. long, the stigma truncate or subcapitate.

Called "sirln" in El Salvador.

Miconia lateriflora Cogn. Bol. Mus. Goeldi 5: 255. 1909. Os-

saea ciliata Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 1067. 1891. 0. disparalis

Standl. Contr. Arnold Arb. 5: 120, t. 17. 1933. Miconia disparalis

R. 0. Williams, PI. Trinidad 1: 388. 1934.

Moist or wet, mixed lowland forest or thickets, 500 meters or

less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. British Honduras; Honduras; Nica-

ragua; Panama. Northern South America.

A shrub of 1.5-3 meters, glabrous throughout or nearly so, the branches slen-

der; leaves membranaceous, lustrous, on slender petioles 5-25 mm. long, broadly

elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 10-20 cm. long, 5-8 cm. broad, caudately long-acuminate,

cuneate to almost rounded at the base, 3-nerved, usually blackening when dried,

minutely crenate; inflorescence small, few-branched, open or dense, rather few-

flowered, generally 5 cm. long or less, pedunculate, minutely furfuraceous at the

nodes, the flowers 4-parted, sessile in terminal clusters; hypanthium tubular,

3.5 mm. long; sepals almost obsolete, the exterior teeth narrowly triangular, acu-

minate, 1.5 mm. long; petals obovate, 1.5 mm. long, white; anthers subulate,

3-3.5 mm. long; stigma truncate; fruit 8-costate, glandular-pilose.

Miconia longifolia (Aubl.) DC. Prodr. 3: 184. 1828. Melastoma

longifolia Aubl. PL Guian. 1: 432, 1. 170. 1775.

Moist or wet, mixed forest or thickets, 500-900 meters, or even

at sea level; Pete"n; Escuintla; San Marcos. Mexico; British Hon-

duras to Panama. Widely distributed in South America.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 483

A shrub of 2-3 meters, or sometimes a tree of 9 meters with a trunk 10 cm. in

diameter, the young branches acutely tetragonous, minutely furfuraceous, soon

glabrate; leaves usually in whorls of 3, generally blackish when dried, thick-

membranaceous, on petioles 5-15 mm. long, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly obo-

vate, 8-18 cm. long, 2.5-6 cm. broad, rather abruptly short-acuminate, cuneate

at the base, 3-plinerved, entire, glabrous or nearly so; panicles 5-15 cm. long,

widely branched, minutely furfuraceous, the principal branches usually 4-6 at

each node, the flowers 5-parted, sessile or nearly so; hypanthium broadly campan-

ulate, glabrous or essentially so, 2-2.5 mm. long; sepals minute, truncate or de-

pressed-triangular; petals broadly obovate, 1.2 mm. long, white; anthers 1-2 mm.

long, the stigma truncate or punctiform.

Miconia Lundelliana L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29 : 573, 1. 1 7. 1963.

In pine forests, endemic in British Honduras (type Gentle 8516) .

Small trees, branches slender, terete or slightly flattened when very young,

obscurely pubescent with small, glandular, peltate scales, becoming glabrous;

leaves of a pair equal or nearly so, narrowly ovate to ovate, acute, the base rounded

or slightly cordate, short petiolate, 5-plinerved, the lateral pair often obscure,

glossy green above, lighter below, glabrous above, furfuraceous below with sub-

glandular peltate scales, densely so on the veins, sparsely so on the surface of the

blades; blades 3-7 cm. long and 1.5-4 cm. broad; inflorescence terminal, either a

simple or a compound dichasium, few-flowered if compound, usually not exceed-

ing the leaves, each lateral flower subtended by two small linear bracts, the bracts

either at the apex of the pedicel or one at the base (abaxial) and one at the sum-

mit (adaxial), the terminal flower of a simple dichasium usually bractless, the

inflorescence, hypanthium and calyx covered with furfuraceous, subglandular

scale-like pubescence; hypanthium campanulate in flower, becoming subglobose

in fruit, mostly 4-5 mm. long and in fruit nearly as broad; calyx with six sub-

apical dorsal appendages, in flower 5-6 mm. long, thick and coriaceous, the dorsal

appendages thick and laterally flattened, about 3 mm. long; petals broadly oblan-

ceolate, sometimes fimbriate or irregular near the base, acute, rather fleshy, with

about 5 principal nerves, about 10 mm. long and 6 mm. broad; stamens similar,

12, the anthers linear oblong, opening by a single terminal pore, about 3.5 mm.

long, filaments about 3 mm. long, connective not appendaged.

An unusual species allied to West Indian plants most often re-

ferred to the genus Pachyanthus.

Miconia Matthaei Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 176. 1851.

Moist or wet forest or thickets, 200 meters or less; Alta Verapaz.

Southern Mexico; British Honduras; Honduras; Costa Rica; South

America.

A small tree of 6-12 meters, the trunk as much as 25 cm. in diameter, the

young branches very densely setose-hirsute with brownish, curved, ascending hairs;

leaves on stout hirsute petioles 1-2 cm. long, subchartaceous, often lustrous, lan-

ceolate to narrowly oblong-elliptic, 15-25 cm. long, 3-7 cm. broad, long-acuminate,

narrowed to an acute base, 3-nerved, entire or nearly so, glabrous above, paler

484

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 74. Miconia Lundelliana. A, Habit; X 1. B, Flower, partly dissected;

X 3. C, Stamens; X 5. D, Petal; X 3.

beneath and short-hirsute with brown hairs; inflorescence pyramidal, many-flow-

ered, widely branched, densely brown-hirsute, the bracts subulate, almost 1 cm.

long, the flowers sessile, 5-parted, densely surrounded by long stiff hairs; hypan-

thium narrowly campanulate, 2.5 mm. long, thinly stellate-furfuraceous and

sparsely hirsute; sepals triangular, obtuse, 1.2 mm. long, the exterior teeth wholly

adnate, bearing at the apex a tuft of long bristles; petals obovate-oblong, 3.5 mm.

long, white; anthers 3.4-4.3 mm. long; style 9 mm. long, the stigma capitate.

Miconia mexicana (Humb. & Bonpl.) Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat.

ser. 3, 16: 244. 1851. Melastoma mexicana Humb. & Bonpl. Me"last.

128, t. 55. 1816. M. conostegioides Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 485

16: 127. 1851. M. mexicana var. conostegioides Cogn. in DC. Monog.

Phan. 7:763. 1891.

Moist or wet, mixed or pine forest, or in thickets or pastures,

sometimes in open brushy swamps, 1,200-2,600 meters; Alta Vera-

paz; Baja Verapaz; Zacapa; Chiquimula; Jalapa; Quiche"; Quezalte-

nango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; Honduras.

A rather slender shrub 1-3 meters high, the branches often dark purple, sub-

terete, when young somewhat furfuraceous but in age glabrous or nearly so; leaves

on slender petioles 1-4 cm. long, oblong-lanceolate or oblong-ovate, mostly 10-

18 cm. long and 4-7 cm. broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, rounded or cuneate

at the base, 3-plinerved, with a pair of inconspicuous additional nerves close to

the margin, entire or nearly so, not darkening when dried, glabrous above, paler

beneath, stellate-tomentose at the base of the nerves, elsewhere glabrous or nearly

so; panicles 15 cm. long or shorter, widely branched, many-flowered, stellate-

furfuraceous with brownish hairs or usually almost wholly glabrous, the flowers

on pedicels 1-5 mm. long; hypanthium 3-4 mm. long, glabrous or nearly so, the

sepals short; petals white or tinged with pink, 5 mm. long; style 8-10 mm. long,

the stigma punctiform.

The species is a somewhat variable one and it is quite possible

that some of the extreme forms now referred here may prove to be

distinct species when better and ampler material is available for

critical study. Most extreme of the forms is one collected in Chi-

quimula and southern Mexico, in which the leaves are rather densely

stellate-pubescent beneath over almost the whole surface. The leaves

frequently are wine-red or purple beneath, especially when young.

In this as well as in some other species the inflorescences often are

attacked by insects, and deformed into large galls.

Miconia mirabilis (Aubl.) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 574.

1963. Fothergilla mirabilis Aubl. PI. Guian. 1: 441, /. 175. 1775.

Tamonea guianensis Aubl. I.e. in some copies. Miconia guianensis

Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 4: 245. 1887.

Known in North America by but few collections. Mexico; Brit-

ish Honduras; Costa Rica; West Indies; the Guianas. South to the

state of Guanabara in Brazil.

Small trees to 10 meters high with a trunk 15 cm. in diameter; branches

densely ferruginous stellate-pubescent, terete or slightly angled; leaves lanceolate

to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 3-5-nerved, glabrous above, densely ferruginous

stellate-tomentose below, long petiolate, the blade 8-15 cm. long and 2.5-5 cm.

broad, petiole to 5.5 cm. long and ferruginous; inflorescence a rather simple thryse,

shorter than the subtending leaves; bracts subtending the flowers, about 7 mm.

long, oblong-obovate, furfuraceous, soon deciduous; hypanthium and calyx at

anthesis 4-5 mm. long, completely glabrous outside, the calyx obscurely lobate

and flared; petals obovate or oblong-obovate, 5 mm. long.

486 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

The description drawn from a specimen in Lundell Herbarium,

Gentle 3149 from British Honduras.

Miconia nervosa (Smith) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:

111. 1871. Melastoma nervosa Smith in Rees, Cycl. 23. 1819.

Wet thickets or mixed forest, often in second growth, 250 meters

or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico; British Honduras;

Costa Rica; Panama. Southward to the Amazon valley.

A shrub or small tree 1.5-6 meters high, the branches subterete, densely stri-

gose; leaves on stout petioles 1-2 cm. long, those of a pair often unequal, rather

thin and soft, elliptic to ovate-elliptic, acute or acuminate, cuneate and decurrent

at the base, 5-7-plinerved, the inner nerves arising far above the base of the blade,

entire or nearly so, densely hirsute above with appressed or somewhat spreading

hairs, densely and softly pilose and sericeous beneath; inflorescence densely stri-

gose, short-pedunculate or sessile, shorter than the leaves, narrow and almost

spike-like, the branches very short, remote, the flowers 5-parted, sessile in dense

clusters; hypanthium tubular-campanulate, 3.5-4 mm. long, densely strigose;

sepals depressed-triangular, very short; petals oblong-obovate, 3-3.5 mm. long,

white or pinkish; anthers linear, 3.5-4 mm. long; ovary less than half inferior,

finely pubescent; style 6 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

Miconia nutans Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 42: 296. 1906. Cinco

negritos (San Marcos).

Moist or wet forest, 350-1,500 meters; Alta Verapaz; San Marcos.

Costa Rica.

A stout shrub of 1.5-3 meters, the young branches obtusely tetragonous, cov-

ered with a dense but minute and appressed, brownish, furfuraceous tomentum;

leaves on stout petioles 2-3 cm. long, chartaceous, obovate-oblong, 15-25 cm. long,

7-10 cm. broad, caudate-acuminate, somewhat narrowed to the cuneate base,

5-plinerved, the inner nerves arising well above the base of the blade, glabrous

above, green beneath, when young rather densely lepidote-furfuraceous with very

small, brown trichomes, in age glabrate and very sparsely lepidote, entire or re-

pand-denticulate; panicles pedunculate, equaling or shorter than the leaves, much

branched, finely and minutely lepidote, the branches opposite, the flowers very

numerous, sessile or short-pedicellate; hypanthium 3.5 mm. long, furfuraceous-

lepidote, subglobose; sepals ovate; petals narrow, 4 mm. long; anthers 3 mm. long;

ovary almost wholly adnate, the style 7-8 mm. long; fruit depressed-globose,

3-4.5 mm. in diameter, 10-costate.

Miconia obovalis Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 183. 1851.

Wet forest or thickets, 350 meters. British Honduras; West In-

dies; South America.

A large shrub or a small tree as much as 8 meters high with a trunk 10 cm. in

diameter, the young branches somewhat flattened or subterete, densely and

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 487

coarsely brown-furfuraceous; leaves on stout petioles 1 cm. long, thick-membra-

naceous, oblong-obovate, 15-30 cm. long, 6-12 cm. broad, abruptly acuminate,

acute at the base and long-decurrent on the petiole, 3-plinerved, often with an

additional pair of inconspicuous submarginal nerves, entire or nearly so, glabrous

and lustrous above, minutely furfuraceous beneath on the nerves and veins; pan-

icles pyramidal, 10-20 cm. long, brown-tomentulose, the branches rather few,

compressed, widely spreading, the flowers sessile, glomerate; hypanthium campan-

ulate, 2.5 mm. long, thinly stellate-puberulent; calyx tube suberect, the sepals

acutely triangular, almost 1 mm. long, the outer teeth completely adnate, slightly

shorter than the sepals; petals narrowly obovate, retuse, 3-3.5 mm. long, creamy

white; anthers linear, the longer ones 3-3.5 mm. long, opening by a terminal pore;

ovary half inferior; style slender, 5.5-6 mm. long, the stigma capitate.

Closely related to Miconia prasina (Sw.) DC.

Miconia ochroleuca Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 11: 138. 1932.

Wet mixed forest, at or little above sea level; endemic; British

Honduras (type from Middlesex, Stann Creek District, W. A. Schipp

467; collected also at Forest Home).

A shrub or small tree 2-8 meters high, almost glabrous throughout; leaves on

slender petioles 1 cm. long or shorter, membranaceous, drying green, elliptic or

oblong, 9-19 cm. long, 3.5-7.5 cm. broad, acuminate with an obtuse tip, acute or

subobtuse at the base, 3-plinerved, entire or repand; panicles rather few-flowered,

3-5 cm. long, short-pedunculate, the few branches opposite, racemiform, the

flowers sessile or short-pedicellate; hypanthium cupular, 10-costate, very minutely

and sparsely furfuraceous; calyx tube short, erect, the sepals triangular, acute,

0.5 mm. long; exterior teeth none; petals oblong, white or cream-colored, 2 mm.

long, retuse; anthers linear, 2.4-2.7 mm. long; ovary half inferior, 2-celled, gla-

brous at the apex; style slender, 5.5 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

Miconia oinochrophylla Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 40: 4. 1905.

Wet thickets or mixed forest, at or near sea level; Izabal (type

from Livingston, Tuerckheim 8684). Mexico; British Honduras;

Honduras; Panama; Colombia.

A shrub of 1.5-3 meters, glabrous throughout; leaves on slender petioles 1-

7 cm. long, bright green above, wine-red or purple beneath, firm-membranaceous,

lanceolate to narrowly oblong, 12-22 cm. long, 3-7 cm. broad, acuminate, acute

or obtuse at the base, 3-nerved with an additional pair of inconspicuous submar-

ginal nerves, entire or nearly so; panicles small or elongate, narrow, rarely 20 cm.

long, many-flowered, the branches short, the flowers secund, sessile, 5-parted, the

bracts persistent, broadly triangular, small; hypanthium subglobose, 2-2.5 mm.

long, the calyx tube short, erect, the sepals obsolete or nearly so; exterior teeth

none; petals oblong-obovate, 2.5-3 mm. long, white tinged with pink; anthers

thick, linear, 1.7 mm. long, opening by a minute pore; ovary almost wholly inferior,

5-celled, minutely glandular at the apex; style stout, 2.5 mm. long, bent at a right

angle at the apex, the stigma punctiform.

488 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Called "purple maya" in British Honduras. The shrub is a

handsome and conspicuous one because of the brilliant wine-colored

lower surfaces of the large leaves.

Miconia oligocephala Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 46: 111. 1909.

Known only from the type, Coban, Alta Verapaz, 1,550 meters,

Tuerckheim 11.1781.

A shrub or small tree as much as 8 meters high with a trunk 10 cm. in diam-

eter, the young branches compressed, rather thinly and closely stellate-tomentu-

lose, becoming terete and glabrate; leaves rather thick, on petioles 1-2 cm. long,

lanceolate or narrowly lance-elliptic, 10-20 cm. long, 2.5-5 cm. broad, acuminate,

acute at the base, 5-plinerved, denticulate, glabrous and deep green above,

the nerves impressed, grayish or white beneath, covered with a very dense, fine,

stellate tomentum; panicles densely pale-tomentulose, 5-8 cm. long, pedunculate,

many-flowered, dense or open, the flowers 5-parted, sessile, densely glomerate;

hypanthium cupular, 2.2 mm. long, stellate-tomentose; calyx tube prolonged

1 mm., the sepals oblong, obtuse, 2.3 mm. long, exterior teeth adnate almost to

the apex; petals obovate, 4-4.5 mm. long, white; anthers oblong, 3 mm. long;

style 6 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

In general appearance the shrub much resembles Conostegia xala-

pensis.

Miconia platyphylla (Benth.) L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 575.

1963. Tococa platyphylla Benth. PI. Hartw. 181. 1845. Miconia

paleacea Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 757. 1891. Tococa grandifolia

Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 4: 319. 1929 (type from Honduras).

Wet mixed forest or thickets, at or near sea level; Izabal. British

Honduras; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica.

A stout shrub 1-3.5 meters high, the branches thick, densely covered with

long, stout, deflexed or recurved setae, these somewhat compressed at the base;

leaves on stout petioles 3-7 cm. long, these setose like the branches; leaf blades

broadly elliptic or oval, somewhat succulent, 30-50 cm. long, 20-30 cm. broad,

rounded and abruptly short-acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, 5-nerved,

entire or denticulate, dark green and glabrous above, sometimes purplish beneath,

thinly or densely setose on the nerves and veins, glabrous on the surface; pan-

icles dense, many-flowered, dull red or pinkish, 5-15 cm. long, densely setose,

the flowers sessile, glomerate, the bracts subulate, 5 mm. long; hypanthium nar-

rowly campanulate, 3.5 mm. long, tomentose; calyx tube short, truncate or undu-

late, densely pubescent, the sepals obsolete; petals pink or almost white, obovate,

4 mm. long; anthers subulate, 4 mm. long; ovary 4-celled, mostly superior; style

9-10 mm. long, bent near the apex.

Miconia prasina (Swartz) DC. Prodr. 3: 188. 1828. Melastoma

prasina Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 69. 1788.

STANDEE Y AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 489

Moist or wet, mixed forest, 350-900 meters; Alta Verapaz; Que-

zaltenango. Southern Mexico; British Honduras to Panama; West

Indies. Widely distributed in South America.

A shrub or small tree, sometimes 9 meters high with a trunk 20 cm. in diam-

eter, the young branches obtusely tetragonous, minutely stellate-furfuraceous;

leaves membranaceous or thicker, on marginate petioles 5-20 mm. long, lanceo-

late to oblong, 10-22 cm. long, 3-8 cm. broad, acuminate, acute or acuminate at

the base, (3-) 5-plinerved, entire or denticulate, sometimes minutely puberulent

when young but in age glabrous or practically so, somewhat paler beneath; pan-

icles large and freely branched, 5-20 cm. long, the branches elongate, spreading,

opposite, minutely stellate-furfuraceous or almost glabrous, the flowers numerous,

5-parted, sessile or nearly so, crowded near the ends of the branches; hypanthium

campanulate, 2-2.5 mm. long, sparsely stellate-puberulent; calyx tube shortly

prolonged, the sepals subtriangular to rounded, 0.2-0.7 mm. long, acute or obtuse;

petals obovate, white, 2.5-3 mm. long, furfuraceous; anthers somewhat curved,

2.5-3.5 mm. long; ovary half inferior, 3-celled; style 5-6 mm. long, slightly dilated

upward, the stigma truncate; fruit black.

Material of this species has been determined often as Miconia

pteropoda Benth., a British Guiana species which may be a synonym.

Miconia punctata (Desr.) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 316.

1823. Melastoma punctata Desr. in Lam. Encycl. 4: 50. 1797. Mi-

conia habrolepis Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 4: 319. 1929 (type from

Cubilgiiitz, Tuerckheim 4118).

Wet mixed forest, 600 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Mex-

ico (Chiapas); British Honduras; Honduras; Costa Rica; Greater

Antilles; South America.

A large shrub or a tree, sometimes 12 meters high with a trunk 12 cm. or more

in diameter, the young branches stout, sharply tetragonous, densely brown-lepi-

dote; leaves on stout petioles 1-3 cm. long, subcoriaceous, obovate-oblong or

elliptic-oblong, 12-28 cm. long, 4-10 cm. broad, narrowly acuminate or cuspidate-

acuminate, acute or obtuse at the base, entire, 3-nerved, with an additional pair

of inconspicuous marginal nerves, deep green and glabrous above, very densely

brown-lepidote beneath; panicles pyramidal, divaricately branched, densely lepi-

dote, 15-30 cm. long, the flowers 5-parted, somewhat secund, sessile; hypanthium

cupular, 1.5 mm. long, densely lepidote, the calyx tube short, erect; sepals trian-

gular, acute, 0.2 mm. long; petals obovate, 2.5 mm. long, white; anthers linear,

1.2 mm. long, opening by a large terminal pore; style 4-4.5 mm. long, the stigma

truncate.

Called "red maya," "caperote" and "sirin" in British Honduras.

Miconia purulensis Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 46: 111. 1908.

Dense, moist or wet, mixed, mountain forest, 1,400-1,800 meters;

endemic; Alta Verapaz (type from Purulha, Tuerckheim 11.1718;

collected at various other localities, principally about Tactic).

490 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

A shrub of 2-3 meters, the branches obtusely tetragonous, densely hispidulous-

furfuraceous with spreading, stout, somewhat plumose hairs, the petioles and inflo-

rescence similarly pubescent; leaves membranaceous, somewhat rugose or bullate,

on slender petioles 2-7 cm. long, oblong-elliptic, mostly 11-20 cm. long and 5-

9 cm. broad, acuminate, rounded to subacute at the base, 5-nerved, entire or den-

ticulate, glabrous above or nearly so, deep green, the nerves and veins impressed,

slightly paler beneath, thinly plumose-paleaceous on the nerves and veins, gla-

brous on the surface; panicles broadly pyramidal, pedunculate or sessile, mostly

10-14 cm. long, the branches usually verticillate, spreading, the flowers hemi-

spheric, 1.5 mm. long, glabrous; calyx teeth deltoid, very obtuse; petals orbicular,

white, 1.5 mm. long; anthers straight, 1 mm. long, oblong-cuneate, opening by

2 large terminal pores.

Miconia reducens Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 361. 1871.

Moist or wet forest, 900 meters or lower; Pete"n (Camp 36, British

Honduras boundary, W. A. Schipp 1244). British Honduras; Costa

Rica; Colombia and Ecuador.

A small tree 9 meters high, the trunk 12 cm. in diameter, glabrous throughout;

young branches acutely tetragonous; leaves on stout petioles 1.5-3.5 cm. long,

firm-membranaceous, oblong or elliptic-oblong, somewhat lustrous, 12-20 cm.

long, 4-7 cm. broad, short-acuminate or obtuse and apiculate, acute or obtuse at

the base, entire, 5-plinerved; panicles rather narrow, pedunculate, commonly 15-

20 cm. long, most of the branches opposite, the flowers 5-parted, sessile, secund;

hypanthium cylindric, 4 mm. long, the calyx tube slightly prolonged, somewhat

spreading; sepals depressed-semicircular, 1.4 mm. long, the exterior teeth consist-

ing of minute protuberances; petals rose-colored, oblong-obovate, 8 mm. long,

retuse; anthers oblong, arcuate, 3 mm. long; ovary inferior, 3-celled; style thick-

ened below, 6 mm. long, bent near the apex, the stigma capitate.

This has been reported from British Honduras as M. subnodosa

Triana.

Miconia Schippii Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 8: 29. 1930.

In Manicaria swamps, at sea level; Izabal (Puerto Barrios, Stand-

ley 73158). British Honduras, the type from Big Creek, Stann Creek

District, W. A. Schipp 220; Nicaragua.

A shrub 2 meters high, the slender branches obtusely tetragonous, glabrous

or with a few scattered long spreading setae, especially at the nodes; leaves on

slender petioles 1-3 cm. long, these long-pilose; leaf blades firm-membranaceous,

elliptic-oblong or lance-oblong, 11-22 cm. long, 4-9 cm. broad, acuminate, rounded

at the base, 5-nerved, serrulate, ciliate, sparsely short-setose above, glabrous be-

neath on the surface, sparsely setose-hirsute on the nerves; inflorescence thyrsi-

form-paniculate, pedunculate, 10-15 cm. long, the flowers numerous, sessile, se-

cund, 5-parted; hypanthium 2-2.2 mm. long, subglobose, glabrous, the calyx tube

shortly prolonged; sepals semicircular, 1 mm. long, the exterior teeth spreading

at a right angle, conic at the base, terminated by a slender seta; petals oblong-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 491

obovate, about 4 mm. long, pink or white; anthers oblong, 1.5 mm. long; style

slender, bent at the apex.

Very closely related to M. lacera.

Miconia Schlechtendalii Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 804.

1891.

Moist or wet, mixed forest or thickets, sometimes in pine forest

or on open rocky slopes, 600-1,500 meters, or sometimes descending

nearly or quite to sea level; Pete'n; Chiquimula; Santa Rosa; Huehue-

tenango. Southern Mexico; British Honduras; Honduras.

A shrub 1-3 meters high, or sometimes a tree of 8 meters with a trunk 10 cm. in

diameter, the branches terete, almost glabrous; leaves firm-membranaceous, on

petioles 1-1.5 cm. long, often lustrous, lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 8-14 cm.

long, 2-4 cm. broad, acute or acuminate, cuneate at the base and decurrent, often

almost to the base of the petiole, 3-plinerved, entire or nearly so, glabrous above,

somewhat paler beneath, brownish-furfuraceous on the nerves, elsewhere glabrous

or nearly so; panicles narrow or pyramidal, usually 10-15 cm. long, the branches

opposite, glabrous or sparsely and minutely stellate-furfuraceous, the flowers in

dense terminal glomerules, sessile; hypanthium campanulate, 2.5-3 mm. long,

stellate-puberulent; sepals depressed-semicircular, 0.7-0.9 mm. long, the exterior

teeth obsolete; petals obovate-oblong, 3-3.5 mm. long, not retuse, white; anthers

linear, almost straight, 3-3.5 mm. long; ovary half inferior, 3-celled, glabrous at

the apex; style 6-8 mm. long, the stigma truncate.

Closely related to M. prasina (Sw.) DC.

Miconia Schlimii Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 102. 1871.

Siril de shara (fide Morales).

Moist or wet thickets, sometimes along stream banks, 250-400

meters; Izabal; Pete'n; Escuintla; Suchitepe"quez; Alta Verapaz.

British Honduras to Panama; Colombia.

A shrub 2 meters high, or sometimes a tree of 9 meters with a trunk 10 cm. in

diameter, the young branches subterete, coarsely stellate-tomentose with brown

hairs; leaves on slender petioles about 1 cm. long, firm-membranaceous, lanceolate,

as much as 17 cm. long and 7 cm. broad but usually much smaller, acuminate,

acute at the base, 5-plinerved, remotely denticulate and ciliate, the inner nerves

arising far above the base of the blade, deep green and glabrous above, sparsely

stellate-pubescent beneath, densely so on the nerves; inflorescence terminal or

sometimes lateral, panicles 3-7 cm. long, divaricately branched, rather few-flow-

ered, the flowers 6-parted, sessile but appearing long-pedicellate; hypanthium

broadly campanulate, 3.5 mm. long, stellate-pubescent, the calyx tube somewhat

spreading, 2 mm. long, truncate or barely undulate, the sepals obsolete; exterior

teeth minute, conic, divergent; petals 10 mm. long, white, broadly obovate; an-

thers oblong, 4.5-5 mm. long, 4-celled, opening by a minute terminal pore; ovary

wholly inferior, 5-celled; style stout, glabrous, 14 mm. long, the stigma capitate.

492 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Called "quina blanca" in El Salvador; "sirin," "sirin bianco"

(Honduras).

Miconia serrulata (DC.) Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16:

118. 1851. Diplochita serrulata DC. Prodr. 3: 177. 1828. Chitonia

macrophylla D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 319. 1823. Miconia macro-

phylla Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 103. 1871, non Steud. 1844.

Miconia belizensis Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 8: 30. 1930 (type, British

Honduras, Schipp 395).

Moist or wet mixed forests to 500 meters; Alta Verapaz; Huehue-

tenango. Mexico through Central America and Panama; West

Indies. South America to Brazil and Peru.

A large shrub or a small tree, commonly 2.5-9 meters high, the young branches

compressed, becoming terete, very densely and finely stellate-furfuraceous with a

brown or ferruginous tomentum; leaves thick-membranaceous, on petioles 3-6 cm.

long, ovate to ovate-oblong or elliptic, mostly 15-25 cm. long, acute or acuminate,

rounded or obtuse at the base and often emarginate, 5-7-nerved, denticulate or

almost entire, somewhat puberulent above when young but in age glabrous or

nearly so, brownish beneath, very closely and finely stellate-tomentulose; panicles

10-30 cm. long, pedunculate, densely stellate-tomentulose with ferruginous or

brown tomentum, the branches stout, opposite, the flowers 6-parted, sessile, glom-

erate; hypanthium 6-7 mm. long, densely and minutely stellate-tomentulose;

calyx truncate, the sepals obsolete or nearly so; petals white or pinkish, 6-8 mm.

long; style pilose below, 11-13 mm. long; fruit subglobose, 6 mm. in diameter.

Called "tesuate" in Oaxaca.

Miconia silvestris Gleason, Brittonia 2: 321. 1937.

Wet mixed forest, 500 meters or less; Izabal. British Honduras;

Costa Rica.

A shrub 3 meters tall, appearing glabrous throughout or nearly so, the young

branchlets sometimes minutely pilosulous with simple hairs; leaves membrana-

ceous, on slender petioles 1-3.5 cm. long, usually darkening when dried, elliptic-

oblong to elliptic, as much as 20 cm. long and 7.5 cm. broad, acuminate, acute or

broadly cuneate at the base, 5-plinerved, entire or nearly so, sometimes minutely

pilosulous when young but in age glabrous; inflorescence pyramidal-paniculate,

4-13 cm. long, short-pedunculate, opposite or verticillate, sparsely and minutely

pilosulous or glabrate, the flowers 4-parted, sessile; hypanthium subglobose, 1.6

mm. long, obscurely 8-costate; calyx 0.8 mm. long, thin-membranaceous, at an-

thesis irregularly ruptured, the outer teeth minute, tuberculiform, acute; petals

ovate, 1.8 mm. long and slightly broader, subacute; anthers thick, linear, 2 mm.

long, opening by a minute dorso-terminal pore; ovary semi-inferior, 2-celled, gla-

brous at rounded apex; style straight, glabrous, 3.3 mm. long, stigma truncate.

Miconia stenostachya DC. Prodr. 3: 181. 1828.

Chiefly in hilly pine forest or in savannas, 350 meters or less;

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 493

FIG. 75. Miconia silvestris. A, Habit; X M- B, Flower; X 5. C, Bud show-

ing entire calyptriform calyx before rupture; X 10. D, Petal; X 10. E, Anther;

Pete"n; reported from Alta Verapaz; Izabal. Southern Mexico;

British Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama; South America.

Usually a shrub about a meter high, the young branches obtusely tetragonous,

whitish-tomentulose; leaves rather thick, on stout petioles 1-3 cm. long, oblong

or ovate-oblong, mostly 8-15 cm. long, and 3-6 cm. broad, obtuse or short-

acuminate, rounded at the base, 3-5-nerved, deep green, lustrous, and glabrous

above, densely covered beneath with a very dense, appressed, stellate, white to-

mentum, entire; panicles dense, 5-15 cm. long, narrow, whitish-tomentulose, the

branches short, the flowers 5-parted, sessile, secund; hypanthium campanulate,

3 mm. long, whitish-tomentulose; calyx tube very short, the sepals broadly tri-

angular, subacute; petals broadly ovate, 3-5 mm. long, minutely glandular-ciliate,

white; anthers stout-linear, 3.5-4.5 mm. long; ovary half inferior; style 7 mm.

long, the stigma conic or punctiform.

494 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

It is presumably this species that has been reported from Guate-

mala as M. argyrophylla DC. Called "pine ridge sin'n" in British

Honduras. Closely related to M. punctata.

Miconia tixixensis Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23: 181.

1944.

Known only from the type, Chiquimula, Cerro Tixixi, 3-5 miles

north of Jocotan, in cloud forest, 1,500 meters, Steyermark 31585.

A shrub 1.5-2.5 meters tall, the branches slender, very densely stellate-tomen-

tose, the hairs partly small and sessile, partly elongate, spreading, thickened

below, stellately branched at the apex, the tomentum brownish, the petioles and

inflorescence covered with similar pubescence; leaves membranaceous, on slender

petioles 1-2 cm. long, lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 8-12.5 cm. long, 2-3 cm.

broad, narrowly attenuate-acuminate, gradually narrowed to the acute base, 3-

5-plinerved, the outer nerves in 5-plinerved leaves close to the margin and obscure,

the inner nerves arising far above the base of the blade, green above, densely and

minutely scaberulous, glaucescent beneath, densely and minutely stellate-puberu-

lent with sessile hairs; inflorescence small, short-pedunculate, few-flowered, 2.5

cm. long, the few branches stout, spreading, the flowers 5-parted, sessile, glomerate

at the ends of the branches; fruiting hypanthium subglobose, 5 mm. long, very

densely echinulate-setose, the hairs ample, rigid, thickened below, shortly stellate-

branched at the apex; exterior calyx lobes subulate, erect, 2.5 mm. long, densely

stellate-setulose.

Miconia tomentosa (L. Rich.) D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4:

316. 1823. Melastoma tomentosa L. Rich. Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris

1792: 109. 1792.

Forested swamps, at or near sea level; British Honduras; Cuba;

South America.

A large shrub or a small tree as much as 9 meters high, the young branches

stout, densely covered with a rough brown stellate tomentum; leaves firm-membra-

naceous, sessile or nearly so, elliptic-oblong to rhombic-ovate, 20-40 cm. long,

10-20 cm. broad, broadest below the middle, acuminate or long-acuminate, cune-

ate at the base, 3-plinerved, the lateral nerves rising far above the base of the

blade, entire or nearly so, stellate-tomentose above when young but in age gla-

brous or nearly so, brown and laxly stellate-tomentose beneath; inflorescence

narrow, long-pedunculate, 10-20 cm. long, densely stellate-tomentose, the stout

branches angulate, the flowers 5-parted, sessile; hypanthium campanulate, 5 mm.

long or in age much longer, densely stellate-tomentose; calyx tube slightly spread-

ing, 1.5-2 mm. long, the sepals triangular-ovate, 1-1.5 mm. long; petals oblong-

obovate, 7 mm. long, white, retuse; anthers unequal, subulate, 5.2-7.5 mm. long;

style 13-15 mm. long, sparsely glandular-puberulent.

Miconia trinervia (Sw.) D. Don ex Loud. Hort. Brit. 174. 1830.

Melastoma trinervia Swartz, Prodr. 69. 1788. Melastoma scorpioides

Schlecht. & Cham. Linnaea 5: 564. 1830. Miconia scorpioides Nau-

din, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 16: 243. 1851.

STANDEE Y AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 495

Wet forests or thickets, at or little above sea level; Izabal.

Southern Mexico; Nicaragua; Costa Rica. South America.

A large shrub or small tree, sometimes 6-8 meters high, the young branches

strongly compressed and 2-edged, densely and very minutely paleaceous; leaves

thick-membranaceous, usually blackening when dried, on stout petioles 1-1.5 cm.

long, oblong or obovate-oblong, mostly 15-25 cm. long and 5-9 cm. broad, short-

acuminate, acute at the base or contracted and long-decurrent on the petiole,

often lustrous above, very minutely and sparsely lepidote-punctate or almost gla-

brous, sparsely and minutely lepidote beneath, appearing glabrous; panicles 15-

25 cm. long, narrow, the branches short, opposite, often furcate, the flowers ses-

sile, somewhat secund; hypanthium 2 mm. long, campanulate-hemispheric, very

minutely stellate-lepidote, the sepals almost obsolete; petals rounded at the apex,

2.5 mm. long, white; style 6 mm. long; fruit broadly subglobose, slightly 10-

costate, 5 mm. broad.

This widespread species has been quite universally referred to

Miconia scorpioides, although Fawcett and Rendle (Journ. Bot. 64:

104. 1926) pointed out the correct name many years ago.

Miconia triplinervis Ruiz & Pavon, Syst. 1 : 105. 1798. M. an-

gustispica Blake, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 24: 15, t. 5. 1922 (type

from Quebradas, Izabal, S.F.Blake 8596).

Open forest, little above sea level; known in Guatemala only

from the locality cited; Izabal. Mexico (Tabasco); British Hon-

duras; Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama; Jamaica. Southward in

South America to Peru.

A sparsely branched, slender shrub 2-3 meters tall, the branches obtusely

tetragonous when young, covered with a close dense brown furfuraceous tomen-

tum; leaves firm-membranaceous, on stout petioles 2 cm. long or shorter, broadly

lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, mostly 15-25 cm. long and 5-12 cm. broad, abruptly

long-acuminate, acute at the base and decurrent upon the petiole, entire, glabrous

above, below thinly and minutely stellate-pubescent, densely pubescent on the

nerves; inflorescence terminal and sometimes pseudolateral, spiciform, peduncu-

late, densely ferruginous-furfuraceous, 10-15 cm. long or even longer, remotely

many-flowered, the flowers glomerate, sessile; hypanthium minutely brown-

tomentulose, 2.5-3 mm. long; petals white, obovate, retuse, 2 mm. long; style

very short; fruit turning red and finally black.

Called "sirin" in Honduras.

Miconia Tuerckheimii Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16: 5.

1891. Acinodendrum Tuerckheimii Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 953. 1891.

Moist or wet forest, about 1,600 meters; endemic; Alta Verapaz

(type from Pansamala, Tuerckheim 581; collected also in the region

of Coban).

496 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

A shrub, the branches obtusely tetragonous, densely stellate-tomentose and

sparsely glandular-hirsute, the panicles similarly pubescent; leaves thick and soft,

narrowly ovate, on slender petioles 3-8 cm. long, the blades as much as 25 cm. long

and 14 cm. broad, acuminate, rounded and shallowly emarginate at the base,

7-nerved, minutely denticulate, densely short-hispid on the upper surface and very

rough to the touch, green beneath, densely and softly stellate-tomentose; panicles

large and broad, as much as 25 cm. long, the branches spreading, opposite, the

flowers pedicellate, the pedicels 1-3 mm. long; hypanthium 3 mm. long, stellate-

tomentose and glandular-pilose; sepals very short; petals 3 mm. long; anthers

yellow, 3 mm. long; ovary 4-celled, the style 4 mm. long; fruit subglobose, 5 mm.

in diameter.

Apparently a rare species in Alta Verapaz, for we have not col-

lected it, but we have not visited the type locality of Pansamala.

MICONIA UMBILICATA (Bertol.) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:

131. 1871. Melastomarostrata Bertol. Fl. Guat. 416. 1840. Type from

Escuintla, Velasquez. Although referred by Triana to Miconia, this

plant, so far as one may judge by description, is probably Conostegia

xalapensis (Bonpl.) D. Don, which is so abundant all along the Pa-

cific lowlands that it would be hard to believe that Velasquez did

not collect it.

Miconia virescens (Vahl) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 107.

1871. Melastoma virescens Vahl, Eclog. Amer. 3: 18. 1807.

Wet mixed forest, 1,500 meters; Alta Verapaz (near Tactic, Stand-

ley 70482). British Honduras; Panama. Northern South America.

A slender shrub or small tree as much as 7 meters high, reported to attain in

Panama a height of 15 meters and a trunk diameter of 30 cm., the young branches

and inflorescence covered with a minute, rather sparse, stellate-furfuraceous to-

mentum; leaves membranaceous, on slender petioles 1-2 cm. long, narrowly oblong-

lanceolate, mostly 6-16 cm. long and 2-4.5 cm. broad, narrowly attenuate-

acuminate, acute at the base, 3-nerved, denticulate or entire, sparsely stellate-

puberulent on both surfaces with extremely minute hairs scarcely visible to the

naked eye; panicles lax and many-flowered, divaricately branched, 3-6 cm. long,

the flowers sessile or nearly so; hypanthium subglobose, 1.5 mm. long, sparsely

and very minutely stellate-puberulent; petals white, rounded at the apex, 1.5-

2 mm. long; style 3 mm. long, truncate at the apex; fruit globose, 2.5 mm. in

diameter.

Miconia Zemurrayana Standl. & L. Wms. Ceiba 1: 42. 1950.

Tococa parvifolia Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 27: 335. 1899, non Miconia

parvifolia Cogn. (type from Santa Rosa, Heyde &Lux 6137).

Open pine forests or thickets, 600-1,500 meters; Zacapa; Chiqui-

mula; Santa Rosa. El Salvador and Honduras.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 497

Slender and attractive shrubs 0.5-2.5 meters tall, the branches purplish, gla-

brous except under surface of leaves; leaves linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, acumi-

nate, rounded to the base, entire or serrulate, glabrous in age except for tufts of

stellate pubescence in the axils of the nerves, blades 2-12 cm. long and 0.5-2.5 cm.

broad, petioles slender, 0.3-2.5 cm. long; inflorescences terminal, short, few-

flowered paniculate cymes to about 7 cm. long; flowers 5-merous, subtended by

2 filiform, early deciduous bracts; hypanthium narrowly campanulate, 4-6 mm.

long, becoming globose in fruit; calyx lobes short, rounded, dorsal appendages

filiform and 3-5 mm. long; petals obovate, obtuse, 6-12 mm. long, white; fruit

juicy, blue-black at maturity, to 1 cm. long.

One of the more attractive shrubs of the open pine forest, per-

haps worthy of cultivation. Called "caldereta" in Honduras.

MONOCHAETUM (A. P. De Candolle) Naudin

References: Alfred Cogniaux in DC., Monog. Phan. 7: 391-405.

1891; H. A. Gleason, The genus Monochaetum in North America,

Am. Jour. Bot. 16: 586-594. 1929; L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 576-

577. 1963.

Low herbs or shrubs, usually much branched, mostly pubescent; leaves short-

petiolate, ovate or lanceolate, small, generally entire, 3-7-nerved; flowers 4-parted,

medium-sized, mostly terminal, cymose or rarely solitary, usually few, pink, pur-

ple, or violaceous; hypanthium setose-pilose or villous, oblong-campanulate or

tubular; sepals ovate or lanceolate, acute, equaling or shorter than the hypan-

thium, persistent or deciduous; petals obovate; stamens 8, biseriate, alternately

unequal, the filaments glabrous; anthers dissimilar, elongate-linear or subulate,

strongly inflexed, opening by a single terminal pore; anthers opposite the petals

largest, subulate, arcuate, the connective not produced below the anther cells but

prolonged posteriorly into a curved, short or elongate, often inflated, caudiform

appendage; anthers alternate with the petals shorter, straighter, paler, often

sterile, the connective more slender and longer; ovary adherent only at the base,

subtetragonous, 4-celled, setose or villous at the apex; style filiform, the stigma

punctiform; fruit capsular, equaling the calyx tube, 4-valvate; seeds numerous,

arcuate or cochlea te.

The separation of the species given below for Guatemala is not

satisfactory. Even though we have reduced drastically the number

of species credited to Central America there are perhaps still too

many recognized. — Species probably fewer than 25, most numerous

in South America, a few others in Mexico and southern Central

America and Panama.

Pubescence of the stem sparse, ascending or appressed; hairs of the hypanthium

and upper branches appressed, eglandular but obscurely barbellate.

M. Deppeanum.

Pubescence of the stem spreading; hairs of hypanthium chiefly gland-tipped,

barbellate or not.

498

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 76. Monochaetum Deppeanum. A, Habit; X

lower surf aces; X 4. C, Hypanthium and calyx; X 2%

X 5. E, Petal; X 5. F, Stamen; X 5.

1. B, Leaves, upper and

. D» Sepal, inner surface;

Leaves mostly 5-plinerved, petioles to 1.5 cm.; hairs of hypanthium not bar-

bellate ................................................. M . tenellum.

Leaves mostly 3-plinerved, petioles usually less than 8 mm. long; hairs of hypan-

thium obscurely barbellate or not ..................... M. floribundum.

Monochaetum Deppeanum (Schlecht. & Cham.) Naudin, Ann.

Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 4: 165. 1850. Rhexia Deppeana Schlecht. & Cham.

Linnaea 5: 566. 1830.

Moist or wet banks, thickets and meadows, sometimes cinder or

lava slopes; 900-3,000 meters; Guatemala; Chimaltenango; Toto-

nicapan; Quiche"; Quezaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango.

Southern Mexico; El Salvador; Nicaragua.

Shrubs or sometimes herbaceous, 1 meter or less tall, the branches strigose

or pilose to glabrate, the hairs somewhat spreading to appressed; leaves linear-

lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, acute, entire, from acute to rounded at the base,

short petiolate, strigose on both surfaces, triplinerved or with an additional and

obscure outer pair, mostly about 15 mm. long and 4 mm. broad but from 5-35 mm.

long and 1-6 mm. broad, usually paler beneath; inflorescence usually 1-flowered

or sometimes several and cymose, borne in the axils of leaves; hypanthium cam-

panulate to urceolate, mostly 5-6 mm. long, strigose; sepals linear-lanceolate to

lanceolate, about as long as the hypanthium, somewhat strigose or ciliate to gla-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 499

brous; larger anthers 5-6 mm. long, the appendages 3-4 mm. long and dilated

distally; petals rose or purple.

An attractive plant when in prime condition but the petals soon

fall and the plant becomes unattractive.

Monochaetum floribundum (Schlecht.) Naudin, Ann. Sci.

Nat. ser. 3, 14: 165. 1850. Rhexia floribunda Schlecht. Linnaea 13:

431. 1839. M. rivulare Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 4: 50. 1845.

M. diffusum Cogn. in Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16: 4. 1891 (type from

Guatemala, Donnell Smith 2217). M. diffusum var. eglandulosum

Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 395. 1891. M. compressum Gleason,

Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 65: 577. 1938 (type from Volcan de Atitlan,

Skutch 1516). Hierba de lloradero; nitro bianco.

Moist or wet thickets or forest or on open banks or along trails,

1,000-2,200 meters; Chiquimula; Zacapa; El Progreso; Baja Vera-

paz; Alta Verapaz; Guatemala; Zacatepe"quez; Escuintla; Solola;

Quiche" ; probably in all the mountain departments. Southern Mex-

ico to Panama, except British Honduras.

Shrubs, sometimes herbs, to 1 meter tall, densely or laxly branched, the

branches covered with usually spreading yellowish hairs, or the hairs sometimes

ascending and somewhat sparse; leaves linear-oblong or elliptic to ovate, acute or

subacute, obtuse or cuneate to the base, 3-5-plinerved, strigose on both surfaces,

often densely so, paler beneath, petioles to 8 mm. long but usually much less and

the leaves nearly sessile, 0.8-6 cm. long and 0.2-1.4 cm. broad; inflorescence a

simple few-flowered cyme or often many-flowered compound cymes, often with

bract-like leaves, pilose or pilose-glandular, the hairs usually minutely barbellate;

hypanthium narrowly campanulate, in fruit suburceolate, 4-8 mm. long, strigose

or glandular-strigose; sepals 4, triangular-lanceolate or narrower, ciliate, acute or

acuminate, often nearly glabrous on the back, 3-5 mm. long; petals obovate, pale

pink to lavender, 7-12 mm. long; anther dimorphic, the antisepalous series largest,

the smaller ones perhaps sometimes sterile.

A widespread species which has been much segmented. There is

much variation in the leaves and in the pubescence of the leaves and

stems, and there is some in the flowers but it seems impossible to

recognize the several species maintained by Gleason.

Monochaetum ten el him Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 14:

159. 1850. Jazmin de montana (fide Aguilar).

Moist or wet, mountain thickets or in pine, oak, or Cupressus

forest, often on shaded banks, 1,800-2,800 meters; probably en-

demic; reported from Baja Verapaz; Chimaltenango (type from

Patzicia, Savage); Solola; Quiche"; Huehuetenango; Totonicapan;

Quezaltenango; San Marcos.

500

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 77. Monochaetum tenellum. A, Habit; XI. B, Flower dissected, petals

removed; X 3. C, Petal; X 2>£. D,Antisepalous and antipetalous stamens; X 3.

A perennial herb, usually 30-50 cm. high, erect or decumbent, laxly branched,

the branches slender, very sparsely hirtellous with spreading eglandular hairs, in

age often glabrate; leaves on slender petioles 1-1.5 cm. long or usually shorter,

oblong to ovate, 2-5 cm. long, acute or obtuse, rounded or obtuse at the base,

5-plinerved, entire, thinly strigose on both surfaces, slightly paler beneath; flowers

long-pedicellate, mostly solitary or in 3-flowered cymes, the pedicels glandular-

hirsute; hypanthium narrowly campanulate, 5-6 mm. long, glandular-hirsute;

sepals 4-5 mm. long, lance-oblong, acuminate, glandular-ciliate; petals broadly

obovate, 12-14 mm. long, rose-purple; larger anthers 7 mm. long, the smaller ones

4 mm. long.

This has been reported from Solola as M. calcaratum (DC.) Tri-

ana, a Mexican species. It has been introduced into cultivation in

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 501

Europe, like some other species mentioned here. In December in

the high mountains of the west of Guatemala it is often abundant

on wet, shaded banks and is one of the most attractive plants to be

found there.

MONOLENA Triana

Rather succulent, low, perennial herbs, acaulescent or nearly so, glabrous,

with thick rhizomes; leaves of a pair very unequal, the smaller ones caducous, the

larger ones long-petiolate, mostly ovate, entire or nearly so; flowers 5-parted, in

scorpioid cymes terminating a long naked erect peduncle, large, pink, short-

pedicellate; calyx and hypanthium glabrous, the hypanthium turbinate, trigo-

nous; calyx lobes membranaceous, ovate, obtuse; petals obovate-spatulate, ob-

tuse; stamens 10, alternately slightly unequal, the filaments glabrous; anthers

linear-oblong, obtuse, minutely 1-pored at the apex; connective geniculate below

the anther cells and long-produced, produced anteriorly into an ascending spatu-

late obtuse appendage, tuberculate posteriorly above the insertion of the filament;

ovary more or less adnate, triquetrous, excavate at the apex; style stout, the

stigma subcapitate; capsule broadly depressed-trigonous, 3-valvate; seeds obo void-

pyramidal, the hilum basal.

Five or six species, distributed from Guatemala to Colombia.

One other species has been collected in Panama.

Monolena guatemalensis Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 42: 294. 1906.

Terrestrial or on mossy stumps in wet mixed forest, 1,350 meters

or less; Alta Verapaz (type from Sepacuite", 0. F. Cook & R. F. Griggs

106); Quiche".

Plants arising from long fleshy rhizomes 8-17 mm. thick, appearing glabrous

but obscurely furfuraceous-puberulent on the scapes and lower leaf surface; leaves

very thin when dried, on slender petioles 6-19 cm. long, cordate-ovate, 10-16 cm.

long, 6-10 cm. broad, acuminate, rather deeply cordate at the base, 7-9-plinerved,

slightly paler and often purplish beneath; scapes few, 14-20 cm. long, reddish or

purple, the cymes 4-8-flowered, the very thick pedicels 2-3 mm. long; hypan-

thium in anthesis fleshy, 3 mm. long; calyx lobes membranaceous, ovate, 1.5 mm.

long; fruiting calyx 5 mm. long, cartilaginous, reticulate-nerved; petals 23 mm.

long, pink; capsule valves 3 mm. long; seeds scarcely 1 mm. long.

The flowers are large and rather showy.

MOURIRI Aublet

Trees or shrubs, usually glabrous throughout; leaves sessile or short-petiolate,

1-nerved, the secondary nerves and veins obscure or undulate, entire; flowers

small; yellow, 4-5-parted, on bracteate pedicels arranged in small axillary cymes;

hypanthium thick-walled, obconic to pyriform or funnelform; sepals usually co-

herent in bud, at anthesis separating almost or quite to the torus; petals ovate to

502 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

lanceolate, acute or acuminate; stamens isomorphic, the filaments glabrous, some-

what complanate; anthers stout, obtuse, the cells usually much shorter than the

connective, opening by a lateral longitudinal slit; connective thickened toward the

base, glandular dorsally, often prolonged into a short, dorsal or basal spur; ovary

wholly inferior, 2-5-celled or 1-celled by disappearance of the septa; ovules few

in each cell, collateral and ascending from near the base; style slender, elongate,

the stigma punctiform; fruit baccate.

About 65 species in the genus, mostly in Amazonia. Three addi-

tional species are described from continental North America, two

from Panama and one from Mexico. The genus is in need of revision

and it is likely that the number of North American species will be

reduced when this is done. Members of the genus are often mis-

taken for Myrtaceae. The genus does not resemble other American

melastomes, either superficially or in wood structure. In the Melas-

tomaceae the genus is easily recognized by the 1-nerved leaves, the

reduced numbers of seeds in the fruit, and the completely inferior

ovary.

Leaves sessile.

Leaves mostly 5-7.5 cm. broad, conspicuously amplexicaul . . .M. Steyermarkii.

Leaves 2-3 cm. broad, not amplexicaul M . parvifolia.

Leaves short-petiolate.

Leaf blades acute or subacute at the base, sometimes obtuse but not rounded.

M . exilis.

Leaf blades rounded at the base, sometimes emarginate.

Leaves 3-3.5 cm. broad, the lateral nerves obsolete or nearly so; peduncles

in fruit 2-4 mm. long, the pedicels mostly 5-8 mm. long . . M. Gleasoniana.

Leaves 4.5-6.5 cm. broad, the lateral nerves conspicuous; peduncles in fruit

about 20 mm. long, the pedicels about 6 mm. long M. cyphocarpa.

Mouriri cyphocarpa Standl. Trop. Woods 7: 7. 1926.

Known in Guatemala with certainty only from the type, Los

Andes region, lower Motagua Valley, Izabal, little above sea level,

S. J. Record 12.

A medium-sized tree, glabrous almost throughout; branchlets brown, terete;

leaves on stout petioles 3 mm. long, lance-oblong or narrowly elliptic-oblong, 10-

17 cm. long, 4.5-6.5 cm. broad, abruptly short-acuminate, rounded and usually

emarginate at the base, dark green above, much paler beneath, with about 15

pairs of straight lateral nerves, these anastomosing close to the margin; fruiting

peduncles 2 cm. long, glabrous, bearing 2 or more flowers, the fruiting pedicels

6 mm. long, finely brown-tomentulose; fruit subglobose, asymmetric, 1.5 cm. in

diameter, covered (like the broad persistent calyx lobes) with a fine dense ferrugi-

FiG.78. Mouriri exilis. A, Habit; X ^. B, Flower; X 2J^. Mouriri par vi-

folia. C, Habit; X 1. D, Flower; X 7^.

503

504 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

nous tomentum; ovary apparently 4-celled but 2 of the cells abortive, the fertile

ones 1-seeded; seeds irregularly semiglobose, 8-11 mm. in greatest diameter, dark

brown, lustrous.

Mouriri exilis Gleason, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ. 522: 370.

1940.

Wet, mixed, lowland forest, 300 meters or less; Alta Verapaz;

Izabal. British Honduras.

A tree, sometimes 10 meters high with a trunk 25 cm. in diameter, the branches

stout, grayish; leaves on stout petioles 2-4 mm. long, coriaceous, narrowly oblong

or elliptic, 8-17 cm. long, 3-7 cm. broad, acute or short-acuminate, usually acute

or subacute at the base, slightly paler beneath, the lateral nerves obvious, uneven,

inconspicuous; flowers in clusters of 3-6, the peduncles 2 mm. long, the pedicels

3 mm. long; hypanthium obconic, 4.5-5 mm. long; sepals broadly quadrate-ovate,

2.5 mm. long; petals ovate, acute, 5 mm. long, white, tipped or tinged with pink;

anthers 3.5 mm. long; style as much as 16 mm. long; fruit depressed-globose, 1.5

cm. in diameter or probably even larger.

Known in British Honduras by the names "jug" and "cacho de

venado hembra."

Mouriri Gleasoniana Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 22: 361. 1940.

Wet forest along bluffs at sea level; Izabal (Rio Dulce west of

Livingston, Steyermark 39525). Mexico (Tabasco; Oaxaca). British

Honduras.

A shrub or a tree 5-12 meters tall, glabrous except perhaps on the flowers, the

branchlets slender but stiff, cinnamon-brown, subterete; leaves coriaceous, on

stout petioles 3 mm. long, oblong or lance-oblong, 7.5-10 cm. long, 3-3.5 cm. broad,

rather abruptly acute or short-acuminate, rounded at the base, the lateral nerves

numerous, very slender, obscure; peduncles axillary, mostly solitary, in fruit 2-

4 mm. long, the pedicels 5-8 mm. long, minutely puberulent or glabrate, slender;

calyx 5-6 mm. broad, sparsely puberulent or almost glabrous, the hypanthium

rounded at the base; fruit depressed-globose and often didymous, glabrous, 13-

14 mm. broad; seeds 1-3.

Called "frutillo" in Oaxaca. The crown is spreading, the trunk

straight and round, as much as 25 cm. in diameter; fruit yellow

before maturity, reddish when ripe. The wood is said to be used in

Oaxaca for railroad ties. — Doubtfully distinct from M. exilis.

Mouriri parvifolia Benth. Bot. Voy. Sulph. 97, t. 36. 1845.

Cacho de venado, cuerno de venado, chicharillo (Pete"n).

Moist or wet forest, on plains or hillsides, at or little above sea

level; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz. Southern Mexico; British Honduras to

El Salvador and Panama. Southward to Bolivia.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 505

A large shrub or a small tree, glabrous throughout, the branches slender;

leaves thick-membranaceous, sessile, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, mostly 3-7

cm. long, acute or acuminate, rounded or emarginate at the base, 1-nerved, the

lateral nerves very obscure or obsolete, concolorous; flowers few in the leaf axils,

the pedicels 2-4 mm. long; hypanthium campanulate, 2.5-3 mm. long; sepals tri-

angular, apiculate, equaling the hypanthium; petals ovate, acuminate, 5-6 mm.

long, white; anthers 2-2.5 mm. long; ovules about 8; style 11-12 mm. long; fruit

globose, 6-7 mm. in diameter.

Known in British Honduras as "jug," "half-crown," "turtle

bone," "blossomberry jug;" "isna" (Honduras); "camardn," "cap-

ulin verde" (El Salvador); "viushi" (Oaxaca). The wood is brown

or reddish brown, very hard, heavy, tough, often with irregular

grain, difficult to work, durable in contact with the ground. No

use is made of it in Central America, so far as we know.

Mouriri Steyermarkii Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 22: 257. 1940.

Known only from the type, Izabal, Rio Dulce, on the north side

above Livingston, at sea level, Steyermark 39446.

A tree, glabrous except for the flowers, the branches slender but stiff, terete;

leaves closely sessile, coriaceous, oblong-ovate, 10-17 cm. long, 5-7.5 cm. broad,

acuminate, rounded and shallowly cordate at the broad base, somewhat paler

beneath, the lateral nerves obscure beneath but evident above; flowers cymose,

terminal, the cymes sessile, few-flowered, 2 cm. long, the peduncles and pedicels

minutely puberulent, the pedicels 5 mm. long or less; hypanthium campanulate,

7 mm. long, subacute at the base, minutely puberulent; sepals short, broadly

rounded; petals in bud 6 mm. long, whitish, obtuse or rounded at the apex.

NEPSERA Naudin

Erect herbs, probably annual, abundantly and widely branched, pubescent or

glabrate; leaves short-petiolate, basi-nerved; flowers small, 4-parted, very numer-

ous, long-pedicellate, in large broad panicles; hypanthium campanulate or sub-

globose; sepals triangular, about equaling the hypanthium, acuminate, persistent;

petals ovate or ovate-lanceolate, white or pink, acute; stamens isomorphic, slightly

unequal in size; anthers linear or subulate, the connective barely prolonged below

the cells, these bearing 2 slender, erect, anterior appendages; ovary free, 3-celled,

glabrous; style straight, slender, the stigma punctiform; fruit capsular, 3-valvate;

seeds semiovoid, cochleate, tuberculate.

The genus consists of a single species.

Nepsera aquatica (Aubl.) Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 13: 28.

1849. Melastoma aquatica Aubl. PI. Guian. 430. 1775.

Wet mixed forest or thickets, at or near sea level; Izabal. British

Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama; West Indies; tropical

South America.

506

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 79. Nepsera aquatica. A, Habit; X 1. B, Flower with some petals re-

moved; X 5. C,Hypanthium and calyx; X 5. D, Petal; X 5. E, Stamen; X 5.

Plants slender, erect, a meter high or less, the stems dark brown, somewhat

quadrangular, glabrous or hirtellous; leaves on slender petioles 5-10 mm. long,

thin, ovate or lance-ovate, 2-6 cm. long, acute or acuminate, rounded or sub-

cordate at the base, minutely serrulate, 5-7-nerved, glabrous or somewhat hirtel-

lous beneath; panicles 10-40 cm. long, the pedicels mostly 1.5-2.5 cm. long, very

slender; hypanthium in fruit 3 mm. long, the narrow sepals somewhat shorter;

petals 5-7 mm. long.

An infrequent plant in Central America and in Panama. Of it

Gleason remarks "perhaps introduced into North America," but

from experience with it this seems highly improbable and there is,

in fact, not the slightest reason for such an assumption.

OSSAEA De Candolle

Shrubs or small trees, pubescent or glabrous, the branches subterete, mostly

slender; leaves petiolate, usually thin, 3-7-nerved or -plinerved, entire or denticu-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 507

late; flowers mostly 5-parted, small or very small, in general axillary, often

fasciculate cymes or panicles, mostly white or pink; hypanthium urceolate, sub-

globose, or campanulate; calyx tube more or less prolonged, the sepals depressed

or obsolete; exterior teeth tuberculiform, conic, or subulate, often conspicuous;

petals ovate or lanceolate, acute or acuminate, usually with a distinct exterior

tooth, often cucullate or inflexed at the apex; stamens isomorphic, the filaments

slender, glabrous; anthers linear or oblong, sometimes 2-pored, the connective

simple or short-prolonged below the insertion of the filament into a dorsal append-

age; ovary inferior, 3-5-celled; style filiform, the stigma punctiform or capitellate;

fruit baccate; seeds angular, pyramidal, or obovoid.

About 100 species, in tropical America. A few others are found

in southern Central America. The genus is highly developed in the

West Indies.

Exterior calyx teeth minute or obsolete; flowers in small, divaricately branched

panicles O. micrantha.

Exterior calyx teeth subulate, 1.3 mm. long, conspicuous; inflorescences small,

dense, congested O. trichocalyx.

Ossaea micrantha (Swartz) Macfadyen, Fl. Jam. 2: 49. 1850.

Melastoma micrantha Swartz, Prodr. Fl. Ind. Occ. 71. 1788. Cinco

negritos (San Marcos).

Mostly in dense wet mixed forest, sometimes in thickets or sec-

ond growth, 2,100 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Escuintla;

Suchitepe"quez; Solola; Quezaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango.

Mexico (Chiapas); British Honduras along the Atlantic coast to

Panama; Jamaica; northwestern and western South America.

A slender shrub or tree 1.5-6 meters high, the young branchlets sparsely and

minutely furfuraceous or practically glabrous; leaves on slender petioles 1.5-3 cm.

long, thin, narrowly oblong-elliptic, mostly 10-16 cm. long, long-acuminate or

cuspidate-acuminate, cuneate at the base, 3-plinerved and often with a pair of

additional obscure nerves close to the margin, entire or nearly so, practically gla-

brous; panicles axillary, lax, divaricately branched, 2-4 cm. long, the flowers

numerous, 4-parted, apparently on pedicels 2-5 mm. long but really sessile and

minutely bracteate; hypanthium globose, 2 mm. long; calyx tube very short, the

sepals obsolete, the exterior teeth minute and tuberculiform or obsolete; petals

lanceolate, 3-4 mm. long, white; anthers 2 mm. long; style 4 mm. long; fruiting

hypanthium conspicuously 8-costate when dry; fruit white, juicy.

The pure white, very juicy, fresh fruits have a flavor much like

that of black pepper.

Ossaea trichocalyx Pittier, Jour. Wash. Acad. Sci. 13: 391. 1923.

Moist or wet, mixed, lowland forest, 350 meters or less; Alta

Verapaz; Izabal. British Honduras, along the Atlantic coast to

Panama. Southward to Ecuador.

508 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

A shrub of 1-2.5 meters, sparsely branched, the branches slender or stout,

densely and minutely brown-furfuraceous; leaves thin, on slender petioles 1-4 cm.

long, ovate-lanceolate to narrowly oblong or ovate-elliptic, 10-23 cm. long, 4-11

cm. broad, rather abruptly long-acuminate, contracted and decurrent at the base,

5-7-plinerved, entire or nearly so, glabrous above, minutely and sparsely furfura-

ceous beneath; flowers 4-parted, short-pedicellate, crowded in dense clusters 1-

1.5 cm. broad at mostly leafless nodes; hypanthium urceolate, 2.5 mm. long,

minutely furfuraceous; outer calyx teeth subulate, spreading, 1.3 mm. long, tipped

with a few glandular hairs; petals ovate-oblong, white, 1.5 mm. long, cucullate

and incurved; anthers linear, 1.2 mm. long; berries small, bright blue or lavender.

The shrub is often weak and with decumbent or even reclining

stems, and with usually only a few branches.

PTEROLEPIS (A. P. De Candolle) Miquel

Erect, branched or subsimple, annual or perennial herbs, usually hispid or

hirsute; leaves small, ovate to linear; flowers small, 4-parted, cymose or glomer-

ate, sessile or subsessile, pink or white; hypanthium campanulate, often 4-costate,

pubescent with simple, branched, or gland-tipped hairs; sepals erect, triangular,

ciliate, persistent and coriaceous in fruit; petals small, obovate; stamens dimorphic,

the anthers subulate to ovoid or obovoid, the connective more or less prolonged

below the cells, terminating in 2 small anterior lobes or appendages; ovary free,

4-celled, crowned with a circle of stiff erect setae surrounding the base of the

slender style; stigma small, capitate; fruit capsular, 4-valvate; seeds minutely

tuberculate.

Species about 30, mostly in South America. One or perhaps two

other species are known from Central America.

Anthers broadest below the middle, the connective distinctly prolonged below the

cells; leaves lanceolate to oval or ovate P. pumila.

Anthers broadest above the middle, the connective barely prolonged below the

cells; leaves narrowly linear-lanceolate P. stenophylla.

Pterolepis pumila (Bonpl.) Cogn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 3:

263. 1885. Rhexia pumila Bonpl. Rhex. t. 35. 1823. P. exigua

Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28: 39. 1871. Hierba del duende (fide

Aguilar).

Moist or wet savannas or on grassy plains or hillsides, sometimes

in open pine forest, 1,000 meters or less; Pete"n; Zacapa; Jalapa; Juti-

apa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Suchitepe"quez ; Retalhuleu(?). South-

ern Mexico; Central America; Panama. Northern South America.

Plants annual or perhaps also perennial, 10-50 cm. high, simple or branched,

sparsely leafy, the stems strigose, especially on the angles; leaves membranaceous,

on petioles 1-5 mm. long, lanceolate to ovate, 2-5 cm. long, 5-20 mm. broad,

acute or acuminate, rounded or obtuse at the base, 3-5-nerved, rather densely

strigose-hirsute; flowers few or numerous at the ends of the stem and its branches,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 509

often appearing lateral by proliferation; hypanthium 3-3.5 mm. long, pilose to

pilose-glandular, some of the hairs stipitate-stellate; petals pink, 4-5 mm. long,

glandular-ciliate; larger anthers 1-2 mm. long; fruiting hypanthium 5 mm. long.

Pterolepis pumila has been reported from Pete*n as P. trichotoma

(Rottb.) Cogn. and, in fact, the two species are impossible to tell

apart when anthers are lacking. The episepalous anthers of our

species are mostly less than 2 mm. long and oblong while those of

P. trichotoma are mostly more than 3 mm. long and subulate or

linear-subulate — not very impressive differences.

Pterolepis stenophylla Gleason, Papers Mich. Acad. Sci. 17:

146, t. 20. 1933.

Moist or wet savannas or grassy pine forest, at or little above

sea level; British Honduras (type from British Honduras, Bartlett

11378). Mexico (Veracruz).

Plants erect, 15-50 cm. high, simple or branched, annual or perennial, stems

very narrowly 4-winged, strigose; leaves on petioles 1-2 mm. long, narrowly lan-

ceolate or lance-linear, 30 mm. long and 5 mm. broad or smaller, acute, cuneate

at the base, 3-nerved, rather densely strigose; flowers numerous, crowded, sessile

or on pedicels 1-2 mm. long; hypanthium campanulate, stellate-hirsute; sepals

triangular, equaling the hypanthium; petals 5 mm. long, deep rose or whitish;

episepalous anthers oblong, obtuse, 1.5 mm. long.

This has been reported from British Honduras as P. pumila and

as P. trichotoma (Rottb.) Cogn., and it is in fact not very distinct

from P. pumila.

RHYNCHANTHERA De Candolle

Reference: Louis 0. Williams, Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 577-579. 1963.

Shrubs or annual or perennial herbs, variously pubescent; leaves petiolate,

ovate or oblong; flowers mostly large and showy, 5-parted, pink or purple; hypan-

thium setose, hispid, or glandular-pilose, ovoid to oblong or campanulate; sepals

subulate to lanceolate or setaceous, usually equaling the hypanthium, persistent;

petals obovate; stamens 10, very unequal, the 5 larger ones fertile and alternate

with the petals, the 5 smaller ones abortive, opposite the petals; larger anthers

equal or one much larger than the others, usually terminated by a slender elongate

1-pored beak, the connective long-produced below the anther cells, anteriorly at

the insertion of the filament tuberculate and bidenticulate or rarely not append-

aged; smaller stamens usually reduced to a filament, rarely antheriferous; ovary

free, usually 3-celled, glabrous or rarely hirsute at the apex; style filiform, decli-

nate, the stigma punctiform; fruit capsular, subglobose, commonly loculicidally

3-valvate at the apex; seeds ovoid or oblong, straight or curved, sometimes sub-

rostrate, foveolate, the hilum basal.

510 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

About 40 species in tropical America, mostly in South America.

One other species is found in Mexico and still another is known from

Costa Rica and Panama.

Petioles and upper surface of the leaves glabrous R. medialis.

Petioles and upper surface of the leaves pubescent R, grandiflora.

Rhynchanthera grandiflora (Aubl.) A. DC. Prodr. 3: 107.

1828. Melastoma grandiflora Aubl. PL Guian. 1 : 414, 1. 160. 1775.

Wet lowland savannas or open swamps. To be expected in Pe-

te"n and Izabal. Mexico; Costa Rica; Panama. Northern South

America.

Small herbaceous or suffruticose plants to 4 dm. or perhaps more, and stems

somewhat quadrate, sparsely short spreading glandular-pubescent; leaves elliptic

to broadly elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, acute to broadly cuneate at the base,

5-plinerved or sometimes with an additional but obscure pair, pilose-pubescent on

both surfaces, that above appressed, that below somewhat spreading, sometimes

glandular, blade 2.5-8 cm. long and 0.7-4 cm. broad, reduced upward, petiole

glandular-pubescent and 1-4 cm. long; inflorescence consisting of single flowers or

few-flowered cymes borne in the axils of the upper reduced leaves; hypanthium

urceolate, spreading glandular-pubescent, about 5-8 mm. long and 3-5 mm. broad;

sepals linear or linear-lanceolate, aristate, glandular-pubescent and ciliate, to 10

mm. long and 1.5 mm. broad in flower; petals narrowly obovate, obtuse or rounded

at the apex, eciliate, 2-3 cm. long and 1-1.5 cm. broad; stamens 10, 5 sterile and

filamentose, 5 normal of which 4 are similar and one with a much longer, thicker

reflexed connective; 4 normal stamens about 25 mm. long and in anthesis more or

less straight, the filament about 10 mm. long, the connective about 5 mm. long

with two small auricles at the base on the ventral side; anther about 10 mm. long

the theca being about 7 mm. long and the narrow and tubular rostrate apex about

3 mm. long, the pore terminal, inclined toward the ventral side and the opening

somewhat enlarged and hooded; large stamen strongly deflexed at the junction

of the filament and the connective, about 40 mm. long, filament somewhat broader

than on other stamens, about the same length, the connective curved, broader

and thicker upward, the basal auricles much reduced, the anther similar to those

of other stamens but slightly larger.

Rhynchanthera medialis Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot.

23: 137. 1944.

Known only from the type, San Marcos, along Quebrada Suchate*,

between Canjuld and La Union Juarez, near the Mexican boundary,

2,000-3,000 meters, Steyermark 36386.

A shrub or a suffrutescent herb, branched, the branches rather slender, terete,

glabrous; leaves membranaceous, on slender petioles 1-2 cm. long, often bearing

in their axils very small, short-petiolate leaves 1 cm. long; leaf blades oblong-

ovate, 6-7.5 cm. long, 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, acuminate or long-acuminate, narrowly

rounded and shallowly cordate at the base, 5-plinerved, subentire, glabrous above,

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 511

FIG, 80. Schwackaeacuphioides. A, Habit; X J^. B, Flower, partly dissected

(after Miss Drake); X 5. C, Hypanthium and calyx; X 5. D, Stamens; X ±10.

glabrous beneath except along the nerves near the base, there sparsely whitish-

barbate; inflorescences borne in the forks of the branches, to 9 cm. broad, many-

flowered; capsules glabrous, borne on stout pedicels 1 cm. long or shorter; hypan-

thium in fruit campanulate, glabrous, 7-8 mm. long; sepals in fruit recurved,

linear, acute, 3 mm. long; seeds cuneiform, 1.2 mm. long.

Known only from unsatisfactory fruiting material. It is question-

able that the species belongs in Rhynchanthera. The type of inflo-

rescence occurs in no other species of this genus.

SCHWACKAEA Cogniaux

Erect annual herbs, trichotomously branched, the branchlets tetragonous;

leaves membranaceous, ovate-lanceolate, entire, 3-nerved; flowers small, 4-parted,

terminal and in the forks of the branches, arranged in leafy cymes or rarely soli-

tary, subsessile; hypanthium glabrous, narrowly oblong, with 8 thick vertical

wings or costae, these echinate-tuberculate dorsally; sepals linear-subulate, pec-

tinate-ciliate, elongate, persistent; petals obovate, eciliate, setulose-apiculate;

stamens 8, alternately unequal, the filaments glabrous; anthers all similar, minute,

ovoid, straight, dehiscent by a single pore; connective of the larger anthers long-

produced below the cells, arcuate, porrect beyond the insertion of the filament

and deeply bilobate; connective of the smaller anthers very shortly produced, en-

tire at the base; ovary adherent almost to the apex, oblong, 4-celled, bearing a

512 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

few rigid setae at the apex; style clavate, the stigma broadly truncate; capsule

4-valvate; seeds numerous, cochleate, minute, minutely roughened.

The genus consists of a single species.

Schwackaea cuphioides (Benth.) Cogn. in Durand, Ind. Gen.

Phan. 132. 1888. Heeria cupheoides Benth. Bot. Voy. Sulph. 93,

t. 33. 1844. Acisanthera simplex Brandegee, Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot.

6: 57. 1914 [type from Mexico (Chiapas)]. Hierba del claw (fide

Aguilar) .

Wet or moist, shaded banks or open fields, sometimes in thickets,

500-1,400 meters; Chiquimula; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Sacatepe"-

quez. Southern Mexico; El Salvador to Panama; Colombia.

Plants erect, mostly 15-40 cm. high, sparsely branched, the stems usually red,

setulose at the nodes and sometimes along the angles, elsewhere glabrous or nearly

so; leaves short-petiolate, thin, ovate to elliptic or oblong, 1-6 cm. long, acute,

setulose or pilose, especially above, somewhat paler beneath and often glabrate;

hypanthium 5-7 mm. long, sparsely pilose or glandular-pilose or glabrous; sepals

erect, rigid, 3 mm. long, conspicuously pectinate-ciliate; petals rose-pink, 6-7 mm.

long; capsule 6-7 mm. long.

An inconspicuous weedy plant, frequent in many parts of Cen-

tral America, chiefly on the Pacific slope, sometimes growing in wet

savannas. The names "sulfato" and "sulfatillo" are given to it in

El Salvador.

TIBOUCHINA Aublet

Herbs, shrubs, or sometimes trees; leaves small or large, petiolate, ovate or

oblong, 3-7-nerved; flowers usually 5-parted (4-8), small or large, generally in

trichotomous panicles, purple, pink, violaceous, or white; hypanthium variously

pubescent, oblong or cylindric to urceolate or campanulate; sepals subulate to

lanceolate or oblong, usually equaling or longer than the hypanthium, persistent

or deciduous; petals obovate, entire or retuse, usually ciliate; stamens twice as

many as the petals, subequal or usually alternately unequal, the filaments glabrous

or pubescent; anthers all uniform or nearly so, linear-subulate or rarely oblong and

truncate, dehiscent by a single pore, arcuate or sigmoid; connective variously pro-

duced below the anther cells, anteriorly bituberculate or bilobate, usually not

appendaged; ovary free or adherent, hispid or setose at the apex, generally 5-

celled; style filiform, arcuate or sigmoid, glabrous or pilose, the stigma punctiform;

fruit capsular, usually 5-valvate, surrounded by the persistent calyx tube and

hypanthium; seeds numerous, cochleate, densely and minutely tuberculate.

Some 200 species described, mostly South American. Two or

three additional species are known in southern Central America and

perhaps a half dozen more are to be found in Mexico. Some of the

South American species are noteworthy for their large showy and

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 513

FIG. 81. Tibouchina aspera. A, Habit; X 1. B, Flower, partly dissected;

X 3. C, Bracts, hypanthium and calyx; X 5. D, Scales from bracts and hypan-

thium; X 10. E, Petal; X 3^. F, Stamen; X 4.

handsome flowers. One of these species, perhaps T. semidecandra

(Schlecht. & Mart.) Cogn., is cultivated in Guatemala.

Hypanthium covered with flattened, lanceolate scales T. aspera.

Hypanthium with essentially round strigose or pilose hairs.

Sepals narrowly spathulate.

Pubescence of the stem spreading T. longisepala var. spathulata.

Pubescence of the stem appressed T. longisepala.

Sepals linear or lance-linear T. longifolia.

Tibouchina aspera Aubl. PL Guian. 1: 446, 1. 177. 1775. T. beli-

zensis Lundell, Am. Midi. Nat. 29: 483. 1943 (type from British

Honduras, Gentle 4155). Small leaf sir in.

514 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Open woods. British Honduras. The Guianas and Venezuela

south to Peru and Brazil.

A low shrub with erect branches, the branchlets white at first, becoming

brown, covered with small appressed lacerate-lanceolate scales; leaves on peti-

oles 2-4 mm. long, coriaceous, yellowish, ovate or oblong-ovate, 2-4.5 cm. long,

1-3 cm. broad, acute, rounded or subcordate at the base, 3-5-nerved, setulose on

both surfaces, the nerves and margin squamose-furfuraceous beneath; flowers

solitary or glomerate, 5-parted, usually in open terminal leafy panicles; calyx sub-

tended by an involucre of 2 pairs of united bracts; hypanthium 7 mm. long, cov-

ered outside with white, imbricate, narrowly lanceolate scales as much as 4 mm.

long, the scales lacerate, cuspidate; sepals ovate, attenuate, 7 mm. long, filiform-

cuspidate; petals pink, obovate, 15 mm. long; stamens subequal, glabrous, the

filaments 1 cm. long; ovary appressed-scaly at the apex; style 15 mm. long.

Tibouchina longifolia (Vahl) Baill. Adansonia 12: 74. 1877;

L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 580. 1963. Rhexia longifolia Vahl,

Eclog. Amer. 1: 39. 1796. T. Bourgaeana Cogn. in DC. Monog.

Phan. 7: 264. 1891. T. aliena Brandegee, Univ. Cal. Publ. Bot. 6:

58. 1914.

Wet to dry thickets or open forest, often in pine-oak forest, some-

times in open or old fields, often in second growth, sometimes on

brushy, rocky hillsides, 150-2,000 meters; Alta Verapaz; Baja Vera-

paz; El Progreso; Izabal; Zacapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guate-

mala; Suchitepe'quez; Retalhuleu; Quezaltenango; San Marcos.

Southern Mexico and British Honduras through Central America

and Panama. Southward to Bolivia.

Erect or ascending herbs or shrubs mostly less than 1.5 meters tall, usually

much branched, usually herbaceous but sometimes suffrutescent; branches stri-

gose, often densely so, with appressed or spreading hairs; leaves narrowly lanceo-

late to lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, acute or obtuse at the

base, 4-10 cm. long, 3 cm. or usually less broad, 5-plinerved, densely appressed-

pilose on both surfaces (rarely the hairs somewhat spreading below), obscurely

serrulate, petioles slender, usually less than 20 mm. long; inflorescence usually

few-flowered cymes borne in the axils of the upper leaves, sometimes rather dif-

fuse many-flowered cymose panicles; hypanthium hirsute, the hairs appressed or

sometimes spreading, 2.5-5 mm. (to 8 mm. in fruit) long; calyx lobes linear to

lance-linear, rarely somewhat broader, 3-15 mm. long, hirsute outside, glabrous

within; petals 5-15 mm. long, white or pink, ciliate or serrulate-ciliate; style

mostly 5-10 mm. long.

Called "talchinol" in El Salvador, a word of Nahuatl origin.—

There are included here the Central American specimens which have

been determined as T. Schiedeana (Cham. & Schlecht.) Cogn. (in

DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 261. 1891) and T. Naudiniana (Dene.) Cogn.

s

3

£

S3

OS

O.

w

o

X

5

o

X

-

rt

w

I

X

-rO •*'

II

if

3"

Id

. x

515

516 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

(I.e. 264) without passing on the validity of those specific names,

which were based on Mexican material.

Tibouchina longisepala Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 259.

1891.

Moist to wet or dry, brushy, often rocky hillsides, sometimes on

cliffs or in wet forest, 1,200-2,500 meters; endemic; Suchitepe"quez

(type from Las Nubes, Bernoulli & Cario 2872); Quezaltenango;

Huehuetenango. To be expected in Mexico (Chiapas).

A shrub 50-100 cm. high, usually woody almost throughout, much branched,

the branches suberect, densely appressed-setulose, brown; leaves on slender peti-

oles 5-20 mm. long, thin or rather thick, oblong to narrowly oblong-lanceolate,

the larger ones 4-8 cm. long, acute or acuminate, acute or obtuse at the base,

5-nerved, densely appressed-pilose on both surfaces, obscurely serrulate; flowers

solitary or clustered, few or numerous; hypanthium densely appressed-hirsute,

5 mm. long or in fruit 8 mm. long; sepals lance-linear or spathulate-linear, 10-

13 mm. long or in fruit even longer, at anthesis much longer than the hypanthium;

petals 15 mm. long, rose-purple; style 11-12 mm. long.

Tibouchina longisepala var. spathulata (Brandegee) L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 581. 1963. T. spathulata Brandegee, Univ. Cal.

Publ. Bot. 6: 58. 1914.

Probably in open forest, 1,200-2,500 meters; Quezaltenango;

San Marcos. Mexico (Chiapas, the type from Cerro del Boqueron).

An erect branched shrub or herb 1.5 meters high or less, the branches densely

hirsute with widely spreading, brown hairs; leaves thin, on petioles about 1 cm.

long, lance-ovate, mostly 4-6 cm. long and 2-2.5 cm. broad, acute or acuminate,

obtuse or rounded at the base, serrulate, appressed-setulose on the upper surface,

slightly paler beneath and hirsute with subappressed hairs, 5-nerved; flowers 5-

parted, rather few, short-pedicellate at the ends of the branches; hypanthium

densely hirsute with spreading hairs, in fruit 7-8 mm. long; sepals much longer

than the tube, linear-spathulate; petals red-purple, 11 mm. long, ciliate; stamens

conspicuously unequal; filaments glabrous; capsule setulose at the apex.

TOCOCA Aublet

Shrubs or small trees, glabrous or hispid; leaves often unequal in each pair,

usually bearing formicaria at the base of the blade or apex of the petiole, entire

or denticulate, generally 5-nerved; flowers mostly 5-parted, white or pink, medium-

sized, in terminal panicles, racemes, or heads; hypanthium turbinate to campan-

ulate; calyx tube more or less prolonged, erect or flaring, the sepals usually short

or obsolete, the exterior teeth always developed, often conspicuous; petals obo-

vate to oblong, inequilateral, usually retuse; stamens isomorphic or nearly so, the

filaments stout; anthers linear or subulate, somewhat incurved at the apex; con-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 517

nective elevated into a low ridge, often with a rounded basal protuberance; ovary

half inferior, 3-5-celled, often setulose or annulate at the apex; style stout, gla-

brous or pubescent, the stigma capitate or subpeltate; fruit baccate.

About 60 species, all in tropical America and mostly in the Ama-

zonian region. One other Central American species occurs in Costa

Rica.

Tococa guianensis Aubl. PL Guian. 1: 438, 1. 17^. 1775. T. cori-

acea S. Moore, Jour. Bot. 18: 3. 1880 (type from Belize, British

Honduras, Barlee). T. Peckiana Robinson, Proc. Am. Acad. 45:

395. 1910 (type from Manatee Lagoon, British Honduras, M. E.

Peck 68). Maieta glandulifera Standl. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 37: 52.

1924 (type from Puerto Barrios, Izabal, Standley 25002).

Wooded swamps, at sea level; Izabal. British Honduras; Nica-

ragua; Panama. Tropical South America.

A tall coarse shrub or a small tree, sometimes 7 meters high, the young branch-

lets stout, complanate, glabrous or sparsely setose, usually setose at the nodes;

leaves on stout petioles 1-6 cm. long, the longer petioles usually bearing a didy-

mous, glabrous or setose, large formicarium near the apex; leaf blades chartaceous,

ovate-lanceolate to oblong or broadly elliptic, 12-25 cm. long, 6-15 cm. broad,

abruptly acuminate or usually caudate-acuminate, rounded and abruptly short-

decurrent at the base, entire or dentate, 5-nerved, sparsely setose above, thinly

pubescent beneath, especially on the nerves; panicles 10-18 cm. long, the flowers

sessile; hypanthium campanulate or turbinate, 5 mm. long, glabrous, punctate,

or sparsely setose; calyx scarcely lobate, the exterior teeth broadly triangular,

somewhat spreading, glandular-setose; petals obovate, pink, reddish, or bright

rose, 8 mm. long.

Reported by Mr. Schipp to be "host plant for a species of for-

mica" (=ant) in British Honduras.

TOPOBEA Aublet

Shrubs or small trees, glabrous or pubescent, erect or sometimes subscandent

and epiphytic; leaves usually petiolate, thick, 5-7-nerved, entire, the transverse

veins parallel and very numerous, close together; flowers 6-parted, medium-sized,

axillary or lateral below the leaves, solitary or fasciculate, on long or short pe-

duncles, rose or white; bracts at the base of the calyx usually shorter than the

calyx and closely imbricate in 2 opposite pairs; hypanthium thick- walled, campan-

ulate or urceolate; calyx erect or somewhat spreading, truncate or shallowly lobate,

the exterior teeth minute or none; petals oblong to obovate, generally obtuse;

stamens isomorphic, the filaments slender; anthers linear or subulate, often curved,

the connective not prolonged, simple or with a single dorsal lobe; ovary superior

or subinferior, 4-6-celled, the style slender, the stigma punctiform; fruit baccate;

seeds obovoid, punctulate, the large raphe lateral.

518 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

About 25 species in tropical North America, many more in South

America. Several others are found in southern Central America.

For an account of the species in Mexico and northern Central Amer-

ica see Williams, Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 581-585. 1963.

Calyx truncate, with or without external dentiform appendages near the margin;

bracts one-third to one-half the length of the hypanthium and calyx.

Bracts about one-third as long as the hypanthium and calyx; axils of the main

leaf veins without coarse weak hairs T. laevigata.

Bracts about half as long as the hypanthium and calyx; axils of the main leaf

veins below with a few coarse weak hairs T. calycularis.

Calyx prominently 6-dentate; the bracts about half as long as the hypanthium

and calyx.

Three principal veins separating well above the base of the leaf; bracts of the

outer pair divided about half way to the base T. calycularis.

Three principal veins separating at or very near the base of the leaf; bracts of

the outer pair free almost to the base.

Outer bracts longer than the inner pair; inflorescence, bracts and hypanthium

furfuraceous pubescent T. Watsonii.

Outer bracts equaling the inner ones, obscurely furfuraceous . . . . T. Standleyi.

Topobea calycularis Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 18: 149.

1852. Canchij (Coban, Quecchi).

Often common in wet forests, 1,500 meters or less; Alta Verapaz;

Quich^ ; Huehuetenango. Mexico.

Small trees or shrubs to about 6 meters tall, the branches slender tetragonous

or with four narrow wings or angles, glabrous to thinly brownish furfuraceous;

leaves elliptic to oblong-oblanceolate, abruptly rostrate-acuminate, cuneate to the

base, 5-nerved with the outer pair marginal and small, the three principal nerves

separating above the base of the blade, leaves of each pair usually unequal, the

smaller leaf often only about half as large as the other, blades of the larger leaves

about 13-17 cm. long and 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, blades of the smaller leaves 6-10 cm.

long and 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, provided with a few large but weak (often barbellate

or furfuraceous) hairs in the axils of the main nerves on the under surface; petioles

slender, 1.5-3.5 cm. long; inflorescence a single flower or a fascicle of 2-4 flowers

in the leaf axils, the inner flower of the fascicles maturing first; pedicels about

7 mm. long or less; bracts subtending the flowers of two subequal pairs, closely

appressed, the outer pair connate to near the middle, acute, the inner pair free to

the base, truncate or somewhat retuse, transversely reniform, usually ciliolate;

hypanthium and calyx 7-8 mm. long, glabrous or furfuraceous, the hypanthium

urceolate, the calyx somewhat expanded, the margins entire but with six external

dentiform appendages just below the margin; petals 6, ovate-rhombic, acute,

somewhat asymmetric, fleshy, about 10 mm. long and 7 mm. broad; stamens 12,

similar, free, anther about 7 mm. long and the filament about as long, the con-

nective minutely appendaged dorsally or not.

Very closely related to T. laevigata and perhaps not distinct.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 519

Topobea laevigata (D. Don) Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 3, 18:

150. 1852. Blakea laevigata D. Don, Mem. Wern. Soc. 4: 327. 1823.

In forests, at low elevations; Alta Verapaz. Mexico (Vera Cruz)

and British Honduras (Toledo district, Gentle 4928).

Small to fairly large trees with grayish-white bark, the branches obscurely

tetragonous, completely glabrous; leaves petiolate, elliptic-oblanceolate to nar-

rowly obovate, cuneate to the base, the apex rostrate-acuminate, 3-5-nerved, the

marginal pair obscure or perhaps lacking, secondary nerves prominent with an

inner angle of about 60° to the mid-nerve, the blade 5-10 cm. long including

rostrate apex, 2.3-4 cm. broad, petiole 1-2.5 cm. long, the pairs of leaves equal or

slightly unequal; inflorescences of 1-2 pedicellate flowers in the axils of leaves,

glabrous, the pedicels 0.8-2.5 cm. long; bracts subtending flowers in two subequal

opposed pairs, the outer pair acute, joined to about the middle, about 3-4 mm.

long, the inner pair free, truncate or nearly so, subequal to the outer pair; hypan-

thium and calyx 0.8-1.2 cm. long, the hypanthium urceolate, the calyx truncate

with obscure external processes at the apex; petals obovate, acute, somewhat

lobate toward the base, about 10 mm. long and 6 mm. broad; anthers about 6 mm.

long, the filaments about 5 mm. long, flat, connective unappendaged; style 8-9

mm. long, recessed in the 6-lobulate apex of the ovary.

The description is drawn from Gentle 4928.

Topobea Standleyi L. Wms. Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 583, 1. 18. 1963

(type from Guatemala, Standley 69709).

In oak-pine forests, 1,500 meters; Baja Verapaz. Endemic.

Small trees or shrubs to 8 meters tall, the branches stout, obtusely tetragonous

or subterete, glabrous or nearly so; leaves elliptic to oval, glabrous or the petiole

obscurely puberulent at first, long petiolate, abruptly acuminate, the blade 4.5-

15 cm. long, 1.5-10 cm. broad (mostly about 9X4 cm.), cuneate or acute to the

base, 5-nerved, the lateral pair very obscure, secondary nerves diverging at about

80°, the petiole 1.5-4 cm. long, slender; inflorescence 1-2 short pedicellate flowers

in the axils of upper leaves; flower with short fleshy pedicels 1 cm. long or less,

the subtending bracts minutely furfuraceous, two opposed pairs, the outer pair

ovate, as long as or slightly longer than the inner pair, about 5 mm. long, divided

to the base, the inner pair free and truncate or rounded; hypanthium and calyx

coriaceous, obscurely furfuraceous, about 7-8 mm. long, the hypanthium urceo-

late, the calyx regularly 6-dentate, somewhat flaring; petals subrhombic, or ovate-

subrhombic, acute, fleshy, obscurely retrorse-ciliolate, to 7 mm. long and 5 mm.

broad; stamens apparently free, the anther about 5 mm. long, the filament a little

shorter, the connective lacking dorsal appendage.

Topobea Watsonii Cogn. in DC. Monog. Phan. 7: 1089. 1891.

T. rosea Gleason, Cam. Inst. Wash. Publ. 522: 336. 1940.

Lowland forests, perhaps mostly under 200 meters; Izabal (type

Watson). British Honduras; Nicaragua.

520

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 83. Topobea Standleyi. A, Habit; X K- B, Bracts, hypanthium and

calyx; X 2^. C, Petal; X 2^. D, Stamen; X 4.

Shrubs or small trees to 8 meters, the branches slender, furfuraceous-pubes-

cent, becoming glabrous; leaves elliptic to oval, rostrate-acuminate, the pairs

somewhat unequal, somewhat furfuraceous to glabrous, 5-nerved (sometimes with

a marginal pair of very obscure nerves), the blade 5-17 cm. long and 2.5-7 cm.

broad, the petioles 1-3 cm. long; inflorescence 1-3-flowered fascicles in leaf axils;

pedicels to about 1 cm. long, often quite furfuraceous; outer bracts free nearly to

the base, acute or often acuminate, longer than the inner pair, 1 cm. long or less,

the inner pair shorter, acute; hypanthium and calyx coriaceous, usually densely

furfuraceous, prominently 6-dentate, about 8-11 mm. long; petals rhombic-ovate,

to about 1 cm. long.

TRIOLENA Naudin

Reference: Louis 0. Williams, Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 585-586. 1963.

Plants herbaceous or suffrutescent, the stems simple or sparingly branched,

erect or decumbent, glabrous, pilose or paleaceous; leaves petiolate, the pairs

dimorphic or isomorphic, membranaceous, entire or denticulate, 5-nerved, 5-7-

plinerved or rarely penninerved; inflorescence usually a terminal scorpioid spike

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 521

or raceme; hypanthium campanulate, usually 3-winged in age; sepals usually

shorter than the hypanthium, often unequal; petals obovate, sometimes retuse or

truncate; stamens 10, the anthers equal or somewhat dissimilar, opening by 1-2

apical pores; connective produced below the cells on the ventral side into 2-3

slender, erect spurs; ovary superior or rarely semi-inferior, triquetrous, 3-celled;

style filiform, the stigma subcapitate or sub truncate; capsule 3-valvate.

Diolena Naudin is a generic synonym which, in the past, usually

has been separated from Triolena principally by the artificial char-

acters of the appendages of the stamens. — There are some 20 species

of the genus; one other occurs in Mexico and another in Panama.

Connective of the anther (or at least of the larger ones) bearing 3 spur-like ap-

pendages.

Leaves sparsely or densely hirsute beneath with stiff spreading hairs, also stri-

gose on the nerves T. izabalensis.

Leaves strigose beneath, chiefly on the nerves, without stiff spreading hairs.

T. paleolata.

Connective of the anthers bearing 2 spur-like appendages.

Leaves narrowly lanceolate, oblanceolate, or linear-oblanceolate, 7-15 mm.

broad, attenuated to the base or acute, sparsely hirsute beneath with stiff

spreading hairs T. stenophylla.

Leaves oblong or obovate-oblong or narrowly elliptic, mostly 2-7.5 cm. broad,

usually obtuse or narrowly rounded at the base, the pubescence of the

lower surface of appressed hairs.

Leaves thinly setose-hirsute on the upper surface; petals rose or rose-purple.

T. roseiflora.

Leaves glabrous on the upper surface; petals white T. calciphila.

Triolena calciphila (Standl. & Steyerm.) Standl. & L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 585. 1963. Diolena calciphila Standl. & Steyerm.

Field Mus. Bot. 23: 133. 1944.

Usually in wet, mixed forests on steep banks or rocks, 750-1,350

meters; endemic; Alta Verapaz; Quiche" (type from "Zona Reyna,"

Skutch 1811).

Plants herbaceous or suffrutescent, erect or decumbent at the base, simple,

20 cm. high or less, the stem nodose, paleaceous-strigose, with short internodes;

leaves thick-membranaceous, subequal or those of a pair very unequal, on slender

unequal petioles 2 cm. long or less, elliptic to ovate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate,

4-7.5 cm. long, 1.5-4.5 cm. broad, acute or narrowly acuminate, rounded to acute

at the base, 3-5-plinerved, green and glabrous above, paler beneath, strigose on

the nerves and veins, subentire or serrulate; inflorescence terminal, with the pe-

duncles as much as 7 cm. long, few-flowered, the rachis glabrous or glabrate, the

thick pedicels 3 mm. long or less, sparsely furfuraceous or glabrate; hypanthium

2-2.5 mm. long, turbinate, usually sparsely paleaceous-strigose; calyx lobes very

short, depressed, membranaceous, the exterior teeth green, subulate, somewhat

spreading, 1.5-2 mm. long; petals white, 8 mm. long; anthers oblong, 1.2 mm.

long; spurs of the anther connective 2, very slender, erect, equaling the anther;

capsule 7 mm. broad.

522 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Triolena izabalensis Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23:

138. 1944.

Wet thickets, in banana plantations, or on wet wooded bluffs, at

or little above sea level; endemic; Izabal (type collected near head-

waters of Rio Lampara, C. L. Wilson 175; collected also along Rio

Dulce above Livingston.

Plants herbaceous or suffrutescent, erect or decumbent, about 30 cm. high,

simple, the stem nodose, densely yellowish-hirsute with long spreading hairs;

leaves membranaceous, the slender petioles very unequal, 0.5-4 cm. long, densely

hirsute; leaf blades obovate-oblong or narrowly elliptic-oblong, 9-20 cm. long,

4.5-7 cm. broad, acute or short-acuminate, slightly narrowed toward the base,

the base itself narrowly rounded and emarginate or shallowly cordate, usually

unequal, 5-7-plinerved, serrate-denticulate, the inner nerves inserted as much as

3 cm. above the base of the blade, thinly setose-hirsute above, slightly paler be-

neath, sparsely or densely setose-hirsute with long spreading yellowish hairs,

densely appressed-setose on the nerves; inflorescences, including the short or elon-

gate peduncle, 3-13 cm. long, secund, many-flowered, the rachis densely spread-

ing-hirsute, the thick pedicels as much as 3 mm. long; hypanthium densely covered

with very long, slender, spreading hairs; petals white, glabrous, 8 mm. long; fruit-

ing hypanthium 7 mm. broad.

Triolena paleolata Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 13: 28. 1888.

Usually on wet shaded limestone cliffs, 1,500 meters or less; Alta

Verapaz (type from Pansamala, Tuerckheim 726); Baja Verapaz;

Izabal; Huehuetenango. Probably in southern Mexico.

Plants usually suffrutescent, simple or with a few branches, erect or decum-

bent, 30 cm. high or less, the stems densely covered with appressed or subappressed,

stout and subpaleaceous hairs, similar hairs present also on the petioles, nerves of

the lower leaf surface, and pedicels; leaves and petioles often very unequal, the

longer petioles as much as 2.5 cm. long, the shorter ones often 5 mm. long or less;

leaf blades ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, mostly 10-15 cm. long and half

as broad or narrower, acute or acuminate, obtuse to narrowly rounded and emar-

ginate at the base, 5-plinerved, often very oblique at the base, very sparsely hir-

sute above, paleaceous-hirsute beneath on the nerves with closely appressed hairs;

inflorescences pedunculate, much shorter than the leaves, few-many-flowered, the

stout rachis more or less hirsute, the thick pedicels 2 mm. long or less; calyx lobes

triangular-subulate, about equaling the hypanthium, this densely hirsute with

spreading hairs; petals 1 cm. long, white or usually pink; capsule 6-7 mm. broad;

seeds obconic, muriculate, pale, with a red aril.

Probably synonymous is T. radicans Brandegee, described from

Veracruz.

Triolena roseiflora (Standl. & Steyerm.) Standl. & L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29: 586. 1963. Diolena roseiflora Standl. & Steyerm.

Field Mus. Bot. 23: 134. 1944.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 523

FIG. 84. Triolena stenophylla. A, Habit; X 1. B, Flower, partly dissected;

X 5. C, Bud; X 5. D, Petal; X_ 5. E, Stamens, one from each series; X 10.

Wet mixed forest at or little above sea level; endemic; Izabal

(type Steyermark 41819).

Plants herbaceous or suffrutescent, erect or decumbent at the base, simple,

30 cm. high or less, the stems stout, subterete, densely paleaceous-strigose; leaves

of a pair subequal or very unequal, membranaceous, the petioles of a pair often

very unequal, 1-6.5 cm. long, densely furfuraceous-strigose; leaf blades elliptic-

oblong or ovate-oblong, 6-20 cm. long, 2.5-8.5 cm. broad, acuminate or long-

524 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

acuminate, somewhat cuneately narrowed to the base, the base narrowly rounded

or obtuse, 5-pIinerved, sparsely setose-hirsute above, paler beneath, densely stri-

gose on the nerves and veins, entire or subentire; racemes terminal, with the

elongate peduncle 6-13 cm. long, the rachis paleaceous-strigose or almost glabrous,

the thick pedicels 3 mm. long or less; hypanthium with the sepals 2-2.5 mm. long,

campanulate, densely and minutely furfuraceous-strigillose; sepals very short or

almost none, the outer teeth 0.5-1 mm. long, subulate; petals 6-7 mm. long, rose-

purple or deep rose, glabrous; appendages of the anther connective 2, very slender,

equaling the anther; anthers oblong, 1.2 mm. long; capsule 8 mm. broad.

Triolena stenophylla (Standl. & Steyerm.) Standl. & L. Wms.

Fieldiana, Bot. 29 : 586. 1963. Diolena stenophylla Standl. & Steyerm.

Field Mus. Bot. 23: 135. 1944.

In wet mixed forest, 200-1,500 meters; endemic; Alta Verapaz;

Huehuetenango (type Steyermark 48728).

Plants suffrutescent, erect, stiff, 15-30 cm. high, simple or sparsely branched

above, the stems slender, densely leafy above, densely furfuraceous-strigose with

short brownish hairs; leaves membranaceous, those of a pair subequal or very

unequal, on slender petioles 1 cm. long or usually shorter, linear-lanceolate to

narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, 4-7 cm. long, 7-15 mm. broad,

long-attenuate to an acute apex, gradually attenuate to the base, the base itself

attenuate to subobtuse, 3-plinerved and above the base regularly and conspicu-

ously penninerved, remotely serrulate, deep green above, sparsely setose-hirsute,

paler beneath, sparsely setose-hispid, strigose on the nerves; racemes terminal or

from the upper leaf axils, equaling or shorter than the leaves, the rachis sparsely

furfuraceous-strigillose or almost glabrous, the thick pedicels 3 mm. long or less;

hypanthium campanulate, 2-2.5 mm. long, densely furfuraceous-strigillose; sepals

very short and depressed, the outer teeth triangular-subulate, 1.5 mm. long, sub-

erect; petals white or tinged with pink, glabrous, 7-8 mm. long; anthers 1.2 mm.

long; appendages of the connective 2, filiform, erect, about equaling the anther;

capsule 7 mm. broad.

The following Melastomaceae are described or reported from

Guatemala by Bertoloni on the basis of collections made by Velas-

quez. Three new species are fully described, but because of the

complexity of the family it does not seem advisable to attempt to

identify the names without examination of the types, which may

or may not become accessible.

RHEXIA GLANDULOSA Bertol. Fl. Guat. 415. 1840. Type from An-

tigua, Vel&squez. A shrub with hirsute branches, the inflorescence

glandular-pilose.

RHEXIA FRAGILIS Bertol. I.e. 416. Type from Antigua, Vetisquez.

A shrub (?) with white flowers.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 525

MELASTOMA ROSTRATA Bertol. I.e. 417. Type from Antigua, Velas-

quez. Apparently herbaceous; petals lanceolate, acuminate. Per-

haps Leandra.

MELASTOMA GRANULOSA Humb. Escuintla, Velasquez. A mis-

identification but possibly a species of Miconia. Miconia granulosa

(Humb.) Naudin is a species from northern South America.

Rhynchanthera mediates Standl. & Steyerm. See also under

Rhynchanthera. This plant should be watched for among appar-

ently new things. It is known only from unsatisfactory fruiting

material and probably does not belong in Rhynchanthera, but could

be a genus previously unreported from continental North America.

ONAGRACEAE. Evening Primrose Family

Annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs or trees, with watery sap, pubescent

or glabrous, sometimes aquatic; leaves opposite, alternate, or verticillate, entire

to dentate or pinnatifid; stipules none; flowers usually perfect and regular, some-

times irregular, mostly axillary and solitary, sometimes spicate, racemose, or

paniculate, small or large and showy; hypanthium (calyx tube) often long-produced

above the ovary into a slender tube; sepals 2-6, often colored, valvate, frequently

appendaged at the apex; petals generally 2-5, rarely none, often inserted at the

base of a disk, fugacious, contorted; stamens 1-8, inserted with the petals, 1-2-

seriate, part of them sometimes without anthers; filaments usually filiform, some-

times declinate; anthers oblong or linear, rarely didymous or globose, attached

dorsally to the filament, 2-celled, interiorly dehiscent; disk usually lobate, undu-

late, or glandular; ovary inferior, 1-6-celled, commonly 4-celled, the style filiform,

simple, the stigma capitate, entire, 4-lobate, or 4-parted; ovules solitary or numer-

ous, 1-2-seriate or rarely multiseriate, ascending or pendulous, generally ana-

tropous; fruit capsular, nut-like, or baccate, often elongate and septicidally or

loculicidally 4-valvate, the valves then separating from the seed-bearing axis;

seeds usually numerous, sometimes few or only 1, generally small, the testa mem-

branaceous or coriaceous, smooth or papillose; endosperm none or scant; cotyle-

dons compressed, usually plano-convex, the radicle short, straight.

Genera about 20, the species widely distributed in both hemi-

spheres, most numerous in temperate or warm-temperate regions.

Only the following genera are represented in Central America.

One other member of this family occurs in Guatemala (Seler &

Seler 2655, in Gray Herbarium) but the specimen is inadequate for

determination. It has been determined as Semeiandra grandiflora

Hook. & Arn. by Donnell Smith and by Standley and "near Lopezia

grandiflora Zucc." by Munz. It is obviously neither of these species.

A specimen, also without flowers, Gentry 6450, from Sinaloa, Mexico,

seems to be identical with the Seler collection.

526 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Shrubs or trees, with hard woody branches.

Fruit baccate; petals not normally white Fuchsia.

Fruit capsular ; petals white Hauya.

Herbs with soft branches, or unbranched.

Seeds bearing a tuft of hairs at one end; plants with narrow leaves and very

small, white or pinkish flowers Epilobium.

Seeds without a tuft of hairs.

Fertile stamens only one Lopezia.

Fertile stamens 3-4 or usually more.

Cells of the ovary 1-ovulate; fruit indehiscent.

Ovary adnate to the subtending branch (gall-like) ; plants annual.

Gongylocarpus.

Ovary not adnate to the subtending branch; plants perennial Gaura.

Cells of the ovary with few or numerous ovules; fruits usually dehiscent.

Hypanthium conspicuously produced beyond the apex of the ovary,

usually much elongated Oenothera.

Hypanthium not produced beyond the apex of the ovary.

Leaves opposite; stamens 4 Ludwigia.

Leaves alternate; stamens 5-12.

Stamens 5 ; capsule conspicuously torulose Oocarpon,

Stamens 8-12; capsule not or scarcely torulose Jussiaea.

EPILOBIUM L.

Reference: Philip A. Munz, North American species of Epilobium

south of the United States, Aliso 4: 485-490. 1960.

Erect to decumbent or repent, annual or perennial herbs, usually pubescent;

leaves alternate or opposite, entire or dentate, usually narrow; flowers small,

axillary, solitary or subracemose, white, pink, or purple; calyx tube little or not

at all produced above the apex of the ovary, linear, 4-angulate or subterete; sepals

4, deciduous; petals 4, obovate or obcordate, erect or spreading; stamens 8, alter-

nately slightly unequal, the anthers linear or oblong, not revolute; ovary 4-celled,

the style filiform; stigma obliquely clavate or 4-lobate, the lobes erect or recurved;

ovules numerous, biseriate along the interior angle of the cell, ascending; capsule

elongate, 4-angulate, 4-celled, loculicidally 4-valvate, the valves separating from

the 4-angulate seminiferous column; seeds numerous, ascending, bearing long hairs

at the apex, the testa crustaceous or membranaceous, thin.

Species about 150, in temperate and cold regions of both hemi-

spheres; in the tropics confined to the mountains. Only one other

species is found in Central America.

Epilobium mexicanum DC. Prodr. 3: 41. 1828.

Moist or wet, grassy meadows, or more commonly along brooks

or in bogs, chiefly in alpine regions, 2,100-3,500 meters; Huehuete-

nango (Sierra de los Cuchumatanes) ; Totonicapan; Quezaltenango;

San Marcos; Chimaltenango. Central and southern Mexico.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 527

Plants perennial from a short creeping rhizome, producing short, very leafy

stolons, the stems purplish or reddish, mostly 25-50 cm. high, inconspicuously

pubescent in lines, simple or sparsely branched; leaves rather thick, glabrous, the

lowest ones opposite, subentire, obtuse, oblong or lanceolate, the lateral nerves

conspicuous, the middle leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, rounded at the base, ses-

sile, 2-2.5 cm. long, obtusely denticulate, the uppermost leaves alternate; flowers

small, erect, in the axils of the upper leaves, about 6 mm. long, pale pink or white;

sepals lanceolate, acute, glabrate; capsules slender, glabrate, often dark red or

purplish, about 5 cm. long, the slender pedicels about equaling the subtending

leaves; seeds fusiform, attenuate at each end, slightly more than 1 mm. long,

papillose, bearing at one end a tuft of white hairs.

Because of the copious soft hairs borne at one end of the seeds,

these are well adapted to transportation by wind. In spite of this,

the plant is not widely distributed in Guatemala and it seldom is

plentiful in any one locality.

FUCHSIA L. Fuchsia

Reference: Philip A. Munz, A revision of the genus Fuchsia, Proc.

Calif. Acad. Sci. IV. 25: 1-138, tt. 1-16. 1943.

Shrubs or small trees, pubescent or glabrate; leaves opposite, alternate, or

verticillate, entire or usually dentate, usually with small deciduous stipules;

flowers axillary and solitary or clustered, rarely racemose or paniculate, pink, red,

purple, or violet, small or often large and showy, long-pedunculate, nutant or

pendulous, sometimes polygamous; calyx tube globose or ovoid at the base, pro-

duced above the ovary into a 4-lobate, deciduous, campanulate or funnelform

limb; petals 4 or rarely none, convolute, spreading, or reflexed; stamens 8, the

filaments filiform, the anthers linear or oblong; ovary 4-celled; style elongate,

the stigma capitate or clavate, entire or 4-lobate; ovules numerous, multiseriate

along the interior angle of the cell; fruit baccate, 4-celled, few-many-seeded; seeds

angulate or reniform, the testa membranaceous.

About 100 species, chiefly in cool mountain regions from Mexico

to Patagonia, a few species in New Zealand and Tahiti. A few addi-

tional species occur in southern Central America. The Guatemalan

fuchsias vary greatly in habit and general appearance. A few have

handsome and showy flowers, but in most the flowers are small and

not at all conspicuous, and such plants have little resemblance to

the common cultivated fuchsias of the United States. The fruits

in all species are sweet, very juicy, and edible.

The treatment of the small-flowered fuchsias given here is not at

all satisfactory. It follows rather closely that of Munz cited above,

and that is doubtless the best arrangement of the species that has

been provided thus far. The characters used for separating the spe-

cies are for the most part rather trivial, and variable. It is question-

528 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

able whether there are in Guatemala as many species of Fuchsia as

are recognized here.

Flowers in large terminal panicles F. arbor escens.

Flowers solitary or clustered in the leaf axils or in terminal simple racemes.

Stamens exceeding the petals; flowers large, mostly 3-7.5 cm. long.

Flowers in terminal racemes; leaf blades lanceolate, oblanceolate, or narrowly

lance-oblong, acute or obtuse at the base F. boliviano,.

Flowers axillary; leaf blades mostly ovate, cordate or broadly rounded at the

base.

Tube of the calyx shorter than the sepals; cultivated plants F. hybrida.

Tube of the calyx slightly or much longer than the sepals; native plants.

Flowers (from base of ovary to apex of sepals) mostly 8-9 cm. long, the

calyx tube 2-3 times as long as the sepals; branches usually glabrous.

F. cordifolia.

Flowers about 5 cm. long, the calyx tube scarcely twice as long as the

sepals; branches sparsely or densely villous-pilose F. splendens.

Stamens exceeded by the petals; flowers small, less than 2 cm. long.

Calyx tube obconic; sepals more than half as long as the tube, usually reflexed

at anthesis.

Hypanthium longer than broad; stamens included; young growth glabrate

to pubescent F. tacanensis.

Hypanthium not longer than broad when pressed; stamens evident; young

growth finely strigillose F. Skutchiana.

Calyx tube subcylindric; sepals usually not more than half the length of the

tube, ascending to somewhat spreading at anthesis.

Calyx glabrous F. microphylla.

Calyx sparsely or densely pubescent.

Leaves glabrous beneath F. striolata.

Leaves copiously pubescent beneath.

Petals 1-2 mm. long: leaves mostly 1-2.5 cm. long. .F. michoacanensis.

Petals about 3 mm. long; leaves mostly 3-7 cm. long. . .F. tetradactyla.

Fuchsia arborescens Sims, Bot. Mag. 53: t. 2620. 1825. F. ar-

borescens var. megalantha Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 18: 2. 1893 (type

from Volcan de Acatenango, Sacatepe"quez, J. D. Smith 2469). Flor

de verano; amor de verano; cinco negritos (Quezaltenango) ; amor fino;

cerezo (Quezaltenango) ; nance de montana (Quezaltenango) .

Moist or wet, mixed forest or more often at the edge of the forest

or in open meadows, often in thickets, 1,300-2,900 meters; Alta Vera-

paz; Baja Verapaz; Zacapa; Chiquimula; Guatemala; Sacatepe"quez;

Chimaltenango; Quiche"; Solola; Suchitepe"quez; Retalhuleu; Quezal-

tenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; Honduras; Costa Rica;

Panama.

A shrub or tree 1.5-8 meters high, glabrous throughout or nearly so, the trunk

short and thick, the crown dense and rounded ; leaves opposite or ternate, slender-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 529

petiolate, oblanceolate or oblanceolate-oblong, 7-20 cm. long, acute or acuminate,

attenuate to the base, entire or serrulate, paler beneath; flowers rose-red or red-

purple, about 12 mm. long, forming large and usually dense, terminal panicles;

lobes of the calyx about equaling the tube, linear-oblong, obtuse, reflexed in flower;

flower buds rounded or very obtuse at the apex; petals shorter than the sepals;

stamens usually conspicuously exserted; fruit subglobose, as much as 1 cm. in

diameter when fresh, dark purple or purple-black, with a bloom.

This is a handsome shrub or tree, abundant at many places in

the higher mountains, apparently in flower for most of the year.

On the Volcan de Acatenango it grows in Chiranthodendron forest

but it is found elsewhere in various forest types, and the trees are

at their best when growing in the open. They are often cultivated

for ornament, especially in the central region and about Cobdn.

Large bunches of the flowers often are exposed for sale in the markets.

Munz recognizes three forms of Fuchsia arborescens which seem

to us to have little or no practical value and perhaps grade one into

the other. Forma arborescens is according to Munz the most com-

mon form; forma tennis Munz, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 25: 86. 1943, is

reported from several Guatemalan departments; forma parva Munz,

I.e., is recorded from several departments and the type is Standley

68287, from Finca Pirineos, Quezaltenango, and like the last form

is about as wide-ranging as the species.

FUCHSIA BACILLARIS Lindl. Bot. Reg. 28: 1. 1480. 1832.

Reported from Guatemala by Dr. Munz, based on Skutch 1247

from the department of Huehuetenango. This plant fits neither

Dr. Munz' description nor his key and is identical with other plants

collected by Skutch which he has determined as F. microphylla HBK.

Fuchsia boliviana Carr. Rev. Hort. 48: 150, illus. 1876.

A species of Bolivia and Peru, represented in Guatemala in culti-

vation by the following variety.

Fuchsia boliviana var. luxurians I. M. Johnston, Contr. Gray

Herb. 75: 38. 1925. Fusia; melocotoncillo; aritdn.

Native of Colombia and Venezuela; planted commonly for orna-

ment in the mountains of Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica;

often growing in hedges where it receives little or no attention.

Usually a shrub of 1.5-2.5 meters, the branches slender, densely short-pilose;

leaves opposite or ternate, slender-petiolate, narrowly oblong, oblanceolate-oblong,

or lance-oblong, 7-14 cm. long, acute, usually narrowed to the acute or obtuse

base, entire or nearly so, green on the upper surface, short-pilose, grayish beneath,

530 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

very densely velutinous-pilose; inflorescence racemose, pendent, elongate and

many-flowered, usually dense, the peduncles subtended by greatly reduced leaves;

flowers bright coral-red, mostly 5.5-7.5 cm. long, thinly pilose or the ovary usually

very densely pilose, the calyx tube long and slender, 4-5 mm. broad at the apex,

the sepals triangular-lanceolate, attenuate, about 1.5 cm. long; petals about 1 cm.

long; stamens equaling or usually exceeding the petals; berries narrowly oblong,

2 cm. long and 6 mm. broad in the dry state, probably much larger when fresh

and mature.

In the typical form of the species the calyx tube is only 3-4 cm.

long. This shrub is an exceptionally handsome one and it is very

popular in Indian gardens of Guatemalan villages. It grows luxuri-

antly with but little water and little or no attention and may be

found in blossom even during the height of the dry season.

Fuchsia cordifolia Benth. PI. Hartweg. 74. 1841. Melocotdn;

platanillo (Volcan de Tajumulco).

Moist or wet forest, often in loose sand, sometimes in high pine

forest, often growing on cliffs and very frequently epiphytic on trees,

2,400-3,300 meters; endemic; Solola; Huehuetenango; Quezalte-

nango (type from Volcan Xetuch, i.e. Santa Maria, at 3,000 meters,

Hartweg 528) ; San Marcos. To be expected in Chiapas.

A shrub or tree, sometimes 6 meters high, usually much lower, terrestrial or

very often on mossy tree branches, then generally pendent, the branches usually

glabrous, sometimes sparsely villous-pilose, the older ones stout and thick, covered

with ferruginous exfoliating bark; leaves on very long, slender petioles, membrana-

ceous, deciduous, opposite or ternate, ovate or broadly ovate, 5-10 cm. long, acute

or acuminate, shallowly or deeply and narrowly cordate at the base, denticulate,

sparsely or rather densely puberulent on both surfaces; peduncles axillary, solitary,

longer or shorter than the petioles, the flowers pendent, 6-9 cm. long, sparsely

or rather densely short-pilose; calyx tube terete, 7-8 mm. broad at the apex, the

tube dull or bright red; sepals triangular-lanceolate, about 1.5 cm. long, pale green,

long-acuminate; petals pale green, scarcely more than half as long as the sepals;

stamens long-exserted; berries oval, 2.5-3.5 cm. long.

This is a fine and handsome plant, common on the upper wooded

slope of Volcan de Santa Maria, well known there by the name melo-

cotdn. It often forms large masses upon mossy tree trunks and is

very conspicuous because of the numerous, large, highly and attrac-

tively colored flowers. On the upper slopes of Santa Maria, as is

usual on Central American volcanoes, water is scarce or absent.

These slopes are much visited by hunters and frequented by sheep

herders from the village of Palojunoj, who find it unnecessary to

carry drinking water on their wanderings, because the very large

and juicy, somewhat acidulous fruits of the melocoton furnish an

altogether satisfactory substitute for that liquid. The senior author

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 531

had described to him before his ascent of the volcano the melocotdn,

which was so important to people frequenting the slopes, and was

quite unable to guess what it might be, the common name being espe-

cially misleading. Persons familiar only with fuchsias as grown in

pots would not be likely to suspect that these plants might provide

an excellent substitute for water.

Fuchsia hybrida Hort. Fusia; chorros; aretes de la cocinera; Ade-

laida; usually called fusia.

This is the common cultivated fuchsia, of mixed South American

ancestry, grown for ornament in most civilized regions of the earth.

There are several distinct forms cultivated in Guatemala, in pots in

the colder regions such as Quezaltenango, but more often out of doors

at lower elevations. Fuchsias seem to thrive at all elevations in

Guatemala and grow luxuriantly in moderately good soil, where pro-

tected from wind. Some of the bushes about Coban are large, often

3 meters high or more, and almost tree-like.

Fuchsia michoacanensis Sesse* & Mocifio, Naturaleza II. 1:

App. 58. 1888. F. biflora Sess<* & Mocino, Fl. Mex. ed. 2. 93. 1894.

F. chiapensis Brandegee, Univ. Cal. Publ. Bot. 6: 59. 1914. F. hetero-

tricha Lundell, Contr. Univ. Mich. Herb. 4: 19. 1940. Arete; aretes

de Guadalupe; fusia de monte.

Moist or wet, dense or open, mixed forest, or often in forest of

pine, oak, or Cupressus, common in thickets, sometimes on exposed

rocky places in the higher mountains, occasionally on limestone,

1,500-3,000 meters; Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; Jalapa; Jutiapa;

Guatemala; Sacatepe"quez ; Huehuetenango; Totonicapan; Quezal-

tenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; El Salvador; Costa Rica.

A terrestrial shrub, very variable in habit, usually erect and 1-2 meters high,

sometimes, especially in exposed places or where grazed, very low and intricately

branched, sometimes weak and much elongate, straggling over other shrubs or

low trees and with slender branches 6-12 meters long, the largest stems usually

less than 5 cm. in diameter, the older ones covered with brown exfoliating bark,

the young branches usually densely grayish-puberulent; leaves membranaceous,

slender-petiolate, mostly ovate to broadly rhombic-ovate or elliptic, generally

1.5-5 cm. long, obtuse or acute, rounded to acute at the base, deep green and

puberulent above, green or slightly paler beneath, thinly pilose or short-hirsute,

denticulate or subentire; flowers small, axillary, solitary, often very numerous, on

short slender peduncles; flowers rounded and cuspidate at the apex in bud, about

12 mm. long, puberulent and often bearing a few spreading stiff hairs, red or coral-

red; calyx tube deeply constricted above the globose ovary, slightly dilated above,

usually at least twice as long as the lobes; calyx lobes ovate, acuminate; petals

532 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

half as long as the sepals or slightly longer, pale; stamens shorter than the petals;

berries 5-6 mm. in diameter, subglobose, purple-black at maturity.

To this species probably belongs much of the material reported

from Guatemala at various times as F. minimiflora Hemsl., F. mixta

Hemsl., and F. parviflora Zucc. It is one of the commonest shrubs

in the mountain forest of central and western Guatemala. While the

flowers are small and usually inconspicuous, they often occur in such

abundance as to make the shrub a rather showy and handsome one.

—See comment concerning this species under F. microphylla.

Fuchsia microphylla HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 103, t. 534.

1823. F. aprica Lundell, Contr. Univ. Mich. Herb. 4: 18. 1940 (type

from Volcan de Tacana, Chiapas, E. Matuda 2378). F. microphylla

var. aprica Munz, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 25: 95. 1943.

Mostly in dense, moist or wet, mixed forest, sometimes in low

thickets or in exposed rocky places, 1,200-3,800 meters; Alta Vera-

paz; Baja Verapaz; El Progreso; Zacapa; Sacatepe"quez; Chimalte-

nango; Totonicapan; Quiche"; Huehuetenango; Quezaltenango; San

Marcos. Southern Mexico.

An erect shrub of 1-2.5 meters, sometimes low and prostrate or nearly so,

sparsely or often very densely branched, the branches brown or ferruginous, puber-

ulent; leaves small, opposite, petiolate, membranaceous or rather thick, lance-

oblong to oblong-elliptic or obovate, mostly 1-2.5 cm. long, generally obtuse,

acute at the base, remotely denticulate, glabrous on both surfaces or nearly so;

flowers axillary, solitary, rose-red to red or purple-red, about 15 mm. long, short-

pedunculate, glabrous; calyx tube deeply constricted above the ovary, somewhat

dilated above; sepals ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, slightly shorter than the tube;

petals shorter than the sepals, pale; stamens shorter than the petals; berries black

at maturity, very juicy, 5-6 mm. in diameter.

The junior author believes that F. michoacanensis would be better

treated as a synonym of this species. The differences, if any, are

slight and fugacious.

Fuchsia Skutchiana Munz, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 25: 91. 1943.

Type collected in the region of Quezaltenango, Quezaltenango,

2,500 meters, A. F. Skutch 812. Mexico (Chiapas).

A shrub, similar to F. tacanensis in habit and foliage, but finely strigillose on

the young branchlets, hypanthium, and sepals; leaves more finely strigose, on peti-

oles 2-3 cm. long; pedicels 1.5-3 cm. long, strigillose; hypanthium not longer than

broad in dried specimens, 2-3 mm. long; sepals equaling or slightly longer than the

hypanthium, reflexed, 2.5-4 mm. long, white to pink, becoming red in age, the

tips 1-1.5 mm. long; petals about equaling the sepals, white or pink, emarginate;

style 4-5 mm. long; fruit black, 4-5 mm. in diameter.

X

533

534 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Fuchsia splendens Zucc. Flora 1882, pt. 2: Beibl. 102. 1832.

Platanito (San Marcos). Melocotoncito.

Moist or wet, mixed, dense forest, terrestrial or epiphytic, some-

times in Cupressus forest, 2,000-3,500 meters; Jalapa; Jutiapa;

Sacatep^quez; Chimaltenango; Solola; Quiche"; San Marcos; Huehue-

tenango. Mexico (Chiapas) ; Costa Rica.

A stout erect terrestrial shrub 2.5 meters high or less, or a small, usually

pendent, epiphytic shrub, sparsely branched, the branches stout and thick, the

bark of older branches brown, exfoliating, the young branches densely villous-

hirsute with usually fulvescent hairs; leaves membranaceous, on long slender

petioles, ovate or broadly ovate, 5-12 cm. long, acute or acuminate, usually rather

deeply cordate at the base, sometimes rounded, puberulent above, somewhat paler

beneath, densely or sparsely villous-hirsute; flowers large and showy, axillary near

the ends of the branches, solitary, pendent on long slender peduncles, sparsely

or rather densely pilose or short-pilose, 3-4 cm. long; calyx tube broad and thick,

dilated upward, 8-10 mm. broad at the apex, bright red; sepals ovate, acuminate,

green, half as long as the tube; petals pale green or yellow, half as long as the

sepals; stamens yellow, much longer than the petals.

A handsome and decorative plant, similar in general appearance

to F. cordifolia.

Fuchsia striolata Lundell, Contr. Univ. Mich. Herb. 4: 20. 1940.

Moist or wet, mixed forest, or sometimes growing with pines and

Abies, 2,000-3,000 meters; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Type from

Volcan de Tacana, Chiapas, E. Matuda 2765.

A rather slender shrub 1-2.5 meters high, the young branches closely puberu-

lent, soon glabrate; leaves opposite, anisophyllous, firm-membranaceous, slender-

petiolate, ovate to elliptic, 2.5-10 cm. long, acute or acuminate, acute or obtuse

at the base, remotely denticulate, minutely puberulent or glabrate above, glabrous

beneath, the nerves conspicuous, usually rather densely papillose on the lower

surface; flowers small, axillary, solitary, the peduncles slender, puberulent, 12 mm.

long or less; fruit globose, dull purple or almost black, about 7 mm. in diameter.

The known material of this species is inadequate for an under-

standing of it.

Fuchsia tacanensis Lundell, Contr. Univ. Mich. Herb. 4: 20.

1940.

Mountain forest, 2,000-3,000 meters; Solola (Volcan de Santa

Clara) ; doubtless also in San Marcos. Southern Mexico; type from

Volcan de Tacana, Chiapas, E. Matuda 2399.

A slender, much branched shrub, the young branches finely puberulent, the

older ones ferruginous or dirty brown; leaves mostly opposite, on long slender

petioles, membranaceous, ovate or elliptic-ovate, 2.5-7.5 cm. long, 1.5-4 cm.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 535

broad, acute or acuminate, acute to obtuse at the base, remotely denticulate or

almost entire, sparsely pilose, principally on the nerves, with slender, spreading,

rather stiff hairs, or almost glabrous, especially on the upper surface; flowers gla-

brous, axillary, solitary, about 15 mm. long, the peduncles slender, 2 cm. long or

usually shorter; calyx tube deeply constricted above the ovary; sepals acuminate,

6.5 mm. long, somewhat longer than the calyx tube; petals ovate, 3.5 mm. long;

stamens shorter than the petals.

Fuchsia tetradactyla Lindl. Jour. Hort. Soc. 1: 304. 1846.

F. Seleriana Loes. Verb. Bot. Ver. Brandenb. 55: 179. 1913 (type

from Chacula, Huehuetenango, Seler 2844). Carmela (Guatemala).

Moist or dry, often rocky thickets or in forest, especially oak

forest, 1,000-3,000 meters; Baja Verapaz; Zacapa; Jalapa; Guate-

mala; Sacatepe"quez; Chimaltenango; Solola; Huehuetenango; Que-

zaltenango. Oaxaca and Chiapas and perhaps elsewhere in southern

Mexico.

A shrub 1-2.5 meters high or often lower and densely branched, the young

branches finely puberulent, the older ones brown; leaves opposite or ternate, on

long slender petioles, ovate to broadly ovate-rhombic or elliptic, mostly 3-8.5 cm.

long, acute or short-acuminate, broadly cuneate at the base, thin, remotely den-

ticulate, often subentire, finely and rather sparsely puberulent on both surfaces,

paler beneath, the nerves conspicuous; flowers on peduncles 8-17 mm. long, axil-

lary, solitary or binate, 10-15 mm. long, finely and inconspicuously puberulent,

rose-purple or bright red; sepals ovate- triangular, subulate-acuminate, 4 mm.

long; petals white or whitish, orbicular, 3 mm. long; stamens shorter than the

petals; berries subglobose, glossy black when ripe, as much as 9 mm. long when

fresh but smaller in the dry state.

In this as in some of the other small-flowered fuchsias the flowers

are unisexual, and most of the specimens of F. tetradactyla bear

staminate flowers only.

GAURA L.

Reference: Philip A. Munz, Studies in Onagraceae XI. A revision

of the genus Gaura, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 65: 105-122; 211-228.

1938.

Annual or perennial herbs, usually pubescent; leaves alternate, sessile or peti-

olate, entire or dentate; flowers rather large or small, white or pink, in spike-like

or subcapitate racemes, more or less symmetric, usually irregular, 4-parted or

sometimes 3-parted; calyx tube obconic or cylindric; stamens twice as many as

the petals, declinate, all fertile, each usually with a scale at the base of the fila-

ment; stigma more or less deeply 4-3-lobate, provided at the base with a cup-like

indusium; ovary 4-3-celled, or the partitions obsolete; ovules solitary or rarely 2

in each cell; style filiform, deflexed; fruit ligneous, small, 4-3-angulate, indehiscent,

4-3-seeded or by abortion 1-seeded.

536

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 86. Gaura tripetala. A, Habit of a portion of plant; X %. B, Flower;

X 5. C, Mature fruit; X 3^-

About 18 species, all American, mostly in Mexico and western

United States, chiefly in temperate or warm-temperate regions, only

one of them extending to Central America.

Gaura tripetala Cav. Icon. Descr. PI. 4: 66, t. 396. 1797.

At about 2,250 meters; Chimaltenango (near Tecpan, G. J. Good-

man 3500) ; reported by Loesener as collected on Cerro "Chi Lahuh

K'ih" near Quezaltenango, Quezaltenango, about 2,400 meters, Seler

3146. Southwestern United States; Mexico.

Plant annual or a short-lived perennial, usually branched from the base, the

stems rather slender, simple or branched, ascending, hirsute, often reddish, 20-

60 cm. long; basal leaves oblanceolate, sinuate-dentate, 4-8 cm. long, narrowed

at the base into short marginate petioles, more or less pubescent, especially on the

veins and margins; cauline leaves lanceolate to oblong-linear, entire to sinuate-

dentate, nearly or quite sessile, 2-5 cm. long, glabrate to pubescent, acuminate to

obtuse; flower spikes 10-30 cm. long; calyx tube 4-5 mm. long, slender; sepals 3,

narrow, 4-6 mm. long; petals 3, oblanceolate, 3-4 mm. long, red in withering;

stamens 6, subequal; capsule ovoid-pyramidal, sharply 3-angulate, 4-8 mm. long,

each face with a median costa and transverse wrinkles.

The plant must be rare in Guatemala, and we have not seen it

growing.

One or more species of Godetia sometimes are grown for orna-

ment in gardens and parks of Guatemala. They are natives of Cali-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 537

FlG. 87. Gongylocarpus rubricaulis. A, Habit; X Yi- B, Flower; X ±8.

fornia, slender annuals with narrow leaves and very large and hand-

some, showy flowers in various shades of pink, red, crimson, or white.

GONGYLOCARPUS Schlechtendal & Chamisso

Slender erect annuals, glabrous or nearly so; leaves alternate above, opposite

below, membranaceous, petiolate, denticulate, often marked with conspicuous

lines (cystoliths?) ; flowers very small, solitary in the upper leaf axils; ovary adnate

to the branch, long and almost filiform; sepals 4, narrow, spreading; petals 4, en-

tire, inserted in the mouth of the calyx tube; stamens 8, the anthers ovate; ovary

2-3-celled, the style filiform, short, the stigma capitate; ovules solitary in the cells;

fruit somewhat drupaceous or nut-like, ligneous, 2-celled, 2-seeded; embryo

straight, the cotyledons flat.

Probably the genus consists of only the following species.

Gongylocarpus rubricaulis Schlecht. & Cham. Linnaea 5: 558.

1830.

At 1,350-2,300 meters; Escuintla; Sacatepe*quez ; Huehuetenango.

Mexico.

Plants slender, erect, usually 20-50 cm. high, sometimes taller, simple or

branched, appearing glabrous but usually very minutely appressed-puberulent

538 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

on the inflorescence and young stems; leaves mostly opposite, slender-petiolate,

lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, commonly 3-7.5 cm. long, long-acuminate, acute

at the base, usually reddish or purplish on the margins and sometimes elsewhere,

the lateral nerves conspicuous; calyx tube filiform, 4-10 mm. long; sepals broadly

linear, 4 mm. long, usually reddish or purplish, especially within, spreading or

reflexed; petals very small, early deciduous; fruit ovoid, somewhat angulate, dark

red or purplish, 4 mm. long.

This is a curious plant with most unusual fruits, which have the

appearance of insect galls.

HAUYA De Candolle

References: J. Donnell Smith and J. N. Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat.

Herb. 16: 287-296, /. 45-54- 1913. Philip A. Munz, The Genus

Hauya (Onagraceae) , Aliso 4: 492-499. 1960.

Shrubs or small or medium-sized trees, pubescent or glabrous; leaves alternate,

membranaceous or thicker, petiolate, entire; flowers large, axillary, solitary, sessile

or pedunculate, white at first, turning to pink or red in age; calyx tube long and

slender, terete; sepals 4, narrow, deciduous; petals 4; stamens 8, the filaments long

and slender, the anthers linear, elongate, not revolute, sometimes twisted in age,

aristate-appendaged at each end; style stout, straight, elongate, the stigma glo-

bose or ellipsoid; ovary 4-celled; ovules numerous, ascending, biseriate along the

inner angle of the cell; seeds numerous, ascending, the testa coriaceous, produced

above into an oblong wing; cotyledons oblong, compressed, flat, the radicle very

short.

There are about 14 species of this attractive genus in Mexico

and Central America, according to Munz. During their sometimes

brief flowering season the trees and shrubs of this genus are often

moderately showy, having sometimes an abundance of large flowers.

The flowers are white when they open but soon change to pink or

even dull red in withering. The plants are seldom seen in flower in

the course of ordinary collecting, and seem to produce all their

flowers about the time that the first good rains arrive.

In spite of a recent revision of Hauya by Munz in which he attrib-

utes 8 species to Guatemala and British Honduras it seems unlikely

that there are really more than 3 or 4, although with an exception

or two we have accepted Munz' evaluation of them. Hauya Hey-

deana and H. Lundellii are amply distinct species. All the rest are

closely allied and curiously enough the types of too many of them

come from the vicinity of the volcano of Acatenango. Leaving An-

tigua on the road to Las Calderas, from which locality the ascent of

Acatenango and Fuego usually is started, the old road follows a

small barranco in which Hauya, bushes and small trees are plentiful.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 539

It is suspected that, in spite of the names applied to type localities,

all or most of the types came from this ravine. It is rather fantastic

that several closely related species, separated by dubious characters,

should occur in this one ravine or in any of the other ones in the

near vicinity.

Leaves glabrous or nearly so, acute or attenuated to the base, more than twice

longer than broad.

Leaves lanceolate or narrowly oblong-lanceolate, acute or obtuse at the apex.

H. Heydeana.

Leaves narrowly oblanceolate-oblong or narrowly elliptic-oblong, abruptly acute

or short-acuminate H. Lundellii.

Leaves abundantly, usually densely, pubescent or tomentose, ovate or broader,

less than twice longer than broad.

The sepal tips or appendages 2-5 mm. long.

Sepals 1.5-2 cm. long; the capsule valves distinctly keeled dorsally.

H. cornuta.

Sepals 3-7 cm. long; the capsule valves plane dorsally.

Ovary and floral tube velvety pubescent H. microcerata.

Ovary and floral tube puberulent H. Matudai.

The sepal tips or appendages 8-15 mm. long.

Capsules puberulent; sepals 3.5-5.5 cm. long H. ruacophila.

Capsules "densely grayish strigose"; sepals 6-7 cm. long H. Rodriguezii

Hauya cornuta Hemsl. Diag. PI. Mex. 1: 13. 1878; Biol. Cent.

Am. Bot. 5: t. 29, f. 3. 1888.

Known definitely only from along the Rio Guacalate, Sacatepe"-

quez, at about 1,500 meters, the type collected by Salvin.

Shrubs or small trees, the young branches finely pubescent; leaves with short

petioles 6-12 mm. long, the blades elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, short acuminate,

acute or rounded at the base, puberulent above and tomentulose below; floral

tube 3-3.5 cm. long, apparently somewhat 4-angled; the sepals 1.5-2 cm. long,

the appendages about 4 mm. long; petals round and about 2 cm. long; capsule

about 22 mm. long, the valves with a short dorsal rib.

We have seen no recent material that agrees exactly with the

description of this species, which is most unsatisfactory. However,

the plate cited looks much like H. microcerata or H. Matudai and it

is conceivable that both could belong here as synonyms.

Hauya Heydeana Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 18: 3. 1893.

Moist or wet, mountain forest, 450-1,500 meters; Alta Verapaz;

Quich^ (type from Beleju, Heyde & Lux 2935) ; Huehuetenango.

A glabrous tree of 6-12 meters, the branches rather slender but stiff, reddish

or purplish, densely leafy; leaves subcoriaceous, apparently persistent, on slender

petioles 1-2 cm. long, lanceolate or narrowly oblong-lanceolate, sometimes oblong-

a:

540

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 541

oblanceolate, 6-12 cm. long, rounded or obtuse at the apex, sometimes somewhat

narrowed to the apex, acute or attenuate at the base, usually apiculate, the lateral

nerves very slender and inconspicuous; peduncles slender, 1-3.5 cm. long; flowers

white, 6-7 cm. long; calyx lobes linear or broadly linear, about equaling the tube

or longer, the tips very short and obtuse; petals equaling but much broader than

the calyx lobes; capsule 2-2.5 cm. long, terete, the valves not evidently costate.

Hauya Lundellii Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 17: 204. 1937.

Known only from the type, Valentin, El Cayo District, British

Honduras, on a limestone hill in advanced forest, C. L. Lundell 6318.

A tree of 23 meters, the trunk 35 cm. in diameter, the young branches green,

sparsely and minutely puberulent at first, soon glabrate; leaves firm-membrana-

ceous, on slender petioles 1-3 cm. long, narrowly oblanceolate-oblong or narrowly

elliptic-oblong, 7-12.5 cm. long, 2.5-4.5 cm. broad, usually abruptly acute or short-

acuminate, attenuate to the base, glabrous and papillose-puncticulate on the upper

surface, glabrous beneath or sparsely pilose along the costa; peduncles 6 mm. long

or shorter, the ovary glabrous; calyx glabrous, pale green outside, the tube 4 cm.

long, the lobes 3.5 cm. long, subobtuse and not appendaged at the apex, linear-

lanceolate; capsule narrowly clavate, 4-4.5 cm. long, 1 cm. thick, obtuse, terete,

slightly narrowed toward the base.

The trunk is described as light tan in color and fluted.

Hauya Matudai Lundell, Am. Midi. Nat. 19: 431. 1938.

Brushy slopes or oak or pine forest, 800-1,600 meters; Jutiapa;

Jalapa; Guatemala. Mexico; El Salvador and Honduras.

Shrubs or sometimes small trees 1-6 meters tall, young branches puberulent

or tomentulose, becoming glabrous; leaves on slender tomentulose petioles 0.5-

3 cm. long, oblong or oblong-elliptic to broadly ovate, obtuse, acute or short-

acuminate, densely puberulent or tomentulose on both surfaces to glabrate above,

2-12 cm. long and 1.2-8 cm. broad; floral tube 5-6 cm. long, more or less puber-

ulent; sepals 4-4.7 cm. long, terminating in appendages 3-5 mm. long; capsules

ellipsoidal, terete, 2-4 cm. long and to 1 cm. in diameter, puberulent to tomentulose.

We have seen no flowering material of this species and it is prob-

able that some material determined as H. microcerata by Munz be-

longs here, if the two species can be separated. The relatively small

capsules may be distinctive but until more is known about the genus

we cannot be sure.

Hauya microcerata Donn.-Sm. & Rose, Bot. Gaz. 52: 46. 1911.

H. Hemsleyana Loes. Verh. Bot. Ver. Brandenb. 55: 176. 1913 (type

collected near Alotenango, Sacatepe"quez, Seler 2562). H. pedicellata

Loes. I.e. 177 (type from the pyramid Casa del Sol, Quen Santo,

Seler 2813). Chiton (fide Aguilar); guayabillo (Huehuetenango) ;

canutillo (Huehuetenango).

542 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Moist or dry, brushy or forested hillsides, often in ravines, 850-

2,000 meters; Baja Verapaz (type from Santa Rosa, Tuerckheim

1423); Jutiapa; Guatemala; Sacatep^quez; Chimaltenango; Huehue-

tenango. Mexico (Chiapas).

A shrub or tree 2-9 meters high, the bark smooth, pale brown, resembling

that of Psidium, the branchlets thick and stout, very densely pilose with grayish

or brownish, spreading or ascending hairs; leaves deciduous, membranaceous, on

slender petioles as much as 4 cm. long, mostly elliptic or oval, sometimes obovate

or oblong-obovate, 7-11 cm. long, 4-7 cm. broad, acute to rounded at the apex

and abruptly acute or short-acuminate, pilose or glabrate above, usually pale be-

neath, densely pilose-tomentose, broadly rounded to subacute at the base, the

nerves conspicuous beneath; flowers sessile or short-pedunculate; calyx tube

densely pilose, 8-10 cm. long, the lobes 3.5-4 cm. long, broadly linear, the append-

ages 3-4 mm. long; petals oval, about 3 cm. long and 2 cm. broad; anthers 18 mm.

long; capsule hard and ligneous, 4.5-5 cm. long, terete, densely pilose or tomentose.

This tree is plentiful about Guatemala, especially in the big ravine

near La Aurora. It is a beautiful sight when covered with the large,

pure white, delicate flowers, which appear at the beginning of the

rainy season when the oaks are developing new leaves and the whole

aspect of the forest reminds one of a northern spring. In its type

locality at Santa Rosa the tree grows in the very dry thickets with

Juniperus and oaks. This species has been introduced into cultiva-

tion in southern California. It has been reported from Guatemala

as H. elegans DC., a Mexican species.

Hauya Rodriguezii Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 18: 3. 1893.

Known only from the type, collected at Acatepeque, lower slopes

of Volcan de Fuego, Sacatepe"quez, 1,300 meters, J. D. Smith 2529.

A tree of 10 meters with a thick trunk, the young branches slightly pubescent

at first, glabrate in age; leaves on petioles 1-3 cm. long, rhombic-oval to elliptic,

11-12 cm. long, abruptly acuminate, rounded or obtuse at the base, grayish-

pubescent when young, glabrate in age except along the nerves, the lateral nerves

conspicuous; flowers sessile, 13-15 cm. long; ovary densely grayish-pubescent;

calyx tube 6-7.5 cm. long, the lobes equaling the tube or somewhat shorter, the

slender appendages 10 mm. long or more; petals oval, two-thirds as long as the

calyx lobes; capsule about 5 cm. long, terete.

Hauya ruacophila Donn.-Sm. & Rose, Bot. Gaz. 52: 47. 1911

(type from Volcan Acatenango, Sacatepe"quez, Donnell Smith 2528) ;

H. quercetorum Donn.-Sm. & Rose, I.e. (type from Santa Rosa,

Heyde & Lux 4479); H. longicornuta Loes. Fedde Rep. Sp. Nov. 12:

236. 1913; H. longicornuta var. oblongifolia Loes. I.e. 237 (type from

Santa Rosa, Heyde & Lux 2936) ; H. longicornuta var. ovalifolia Loes.

I.e. 237 (type from Sacatep^quez, Donnell Smith 2528).

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 543

Usually on brushy hillsides or in oak or pine forest, 800-2,000

meters; Santa Rosa; Jalapa; Jutiapa; Guatemala; Sacatep^quez;

Chimaltenango; Solola; Quiche"; Huehuetenango. El Salvador; Hon-

duras.

A shrub or small tree of 1-8 meters, often forming dense thickets, the trunk

as much as 25 cm. in diameter, the pale brownish, smooth bark resembling that

of guava, the branchlets finely and densely puberulent or tomentulose; leaves

apparently deciduous, on slender petioles 1-3 cm. long, rather thick, rounded-

oval to elliptic, oval-oblong, or rarely obovate, 4-15 cm. long, usually broadly

rounded to very obtuse at the apex, sometimes abruptly short-pointed, rounded

or emarginate at the apex, often with revolute margins, usually densely and finely

puberulent and pale on the upper surface, sometimes glabrate in age, grayish be-

neath, densely tomentulose with a close appressed tomentum, the nerves conspic-

uous, often impressed on the upper surface, very prominent beneath; flowers

sessile; calyx densely pubescent or glabrate, the tube slender, 7-10 cm. long, the

lobes 3.5-5 cm. long, the appendages 10-13 mm. long; petals about 3-4.5 cm. long;

anthers 12 mm. long; capsule 2-6 cm. long, hard and ligneous, terete, tomentulose

or glabrate; seeds lanceolate, 15 mm. long, 5 mm. broad, acute, conspicuously

winged.

The local name "guayabillo" alludes to the fact that the bark is

similar to that of guava (Psidium) . This shrub is exceedingly abun-

dant on the hillsides in the immediate vicinity of Jutiapa, where it

forms in some places dense, low, almost pure stands, generally two

meters high or less. We are unable to follow Dr. Munz in maintain-

ing H. ruacophila and H. quercetorum as distinct species.

JUSSIAEA L.

Reference: Philip A. Munz, Studies in Onagraceae XII. A revi-

sion of the New World species of Jussiaea, Darwiniana 4 : 179-284,

it. 1-20. 1942.

Herbs or suffrutescent plants, annual or perennial, glabrous or pubescent,

usually growing in wet soil, rarely in water; leaves alternate, simple, membrana-

ceous or rarely coriaceous; flowers 4-6-parted, yellow or white, axillary, on long

or short pedicels, with 2 bractlets on the pedicel or hypanthium; hypanthium

elongate, cylindric, prismatic, or obconic, adnate to the ovary and barely or not

at all prolonged beyond it; sepals acute, persistent; flowers regular, the petals

4-5 (6), very thin, caducous; stamens biseriate, twice as many as the petals and

inserted with them under the margin of the usually pilose epigynous disk; filaments

short, the anthers ovate or oblong; ovary 4-6-celled, with central placentae; style

simple, more or less produced above the disk, the stigma capitate, 4-6-lobate, the

ovules numerous; capsule cylindric, prismatic, or obconic, 4-6-celled, loculicidally

and septicidally dehiscent; seeds pluriseriate, naked, with a prominent raphe, or

uniseriate and surrounded by an endocarp.

544 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

The genus contains some 40 species in temperate and tropical

regions. One or two other species are to be found in southern Cen-

tral America and Panama. We have followed Dr. Munz' revision

of the genus, cited above, quite closely in most matters. Two spe-

cies not presently known in Guatemala are placed in the flora for

they have been found quite near the Guatemalan border in Chiapas

and are to be expected in our range.

Capsule conspicuously quadrangular, or sometimes inconspicuously if at all angu-

late but then short and obconic.

Plants floating or in the edges of shallow ponds; petioles usually about as long

as or much longer than the leaf blade.

Petioles usually more than twice as long as the dentate leaf blade.

J. sedioides.

Petioles little if any longer than the entire leaf blade J. inclinata.

Plants terrestrial but often in wet places; petioles very much shorter than the

leaf blade.

Stems narrowly winged; capsules winged on the angles J. decurrens.

Stems and capsules not winged.

Capsules and flowers sessile J. erecta.

Capsules and flowers pedunculate.

Leaves sessile, rounded or obtuse at the base J. nervosa.

Leaves conspicuously petiolate, acute to the base.

Leaf veins 20-30 on each side of the mid-rib and connected by smaller

parallel and unbranched nerves; petioles mostly 15-40 mm. long.

J. foliobracteolata.

Leaf veins 8-20 on each side of the mid-rib and connected by smaller

veins that tend to fork; petioles mostly or all less than 15 mm.

long J. peruviana.

Capsule terete or nearly so, not angulate, long and narrow.

Sepals 4.

Sepals 2.5-3.5 mm. long; capsules about 2 cm. long J. linifolia.

Sepals 8-14 mm. long; capsules 2.5-5 cm. long J. suffruticosa var.

Sepals 5-6.

Plants terrestrial, in wet soil, erect, densely pubescent.

Leaves lanceolate to lance-linear; sepals 5-8 mm. long J. leptocarpa.

Leaves ovate to elliptic; sepals 3.5-5 mm. long J. affinis.

Plants aquatic, floating or rooting in water, the stems usually floating or at

least in part prostrate or repent, sometimes growing on mud.

Petals white; leaf blades almost orbicular; floating plants with numerous

spongy pneumatophores arising from the nodes J. natans.

Petals yellow; leaf blades usually definitely longer than wide; plants not

with tufts of pneumatophores from the nodes.

Flowering stems usually floating or creeping; leaves mostly oblong or

obovate-oblong; bractlets deltoid; capsules 2-3 mm. thick.

J. repens var.

Flowering stems erect; leaves of the erect stems lance-linear or narrowly

oblong; bractlets lanceolate; capsules 3-4 mm. thick.

J. uruguayensis.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 545

Jussiaea affinis DC. Prodr. 3: 53. 1828.

In marshes or swamps, sometimes in Manicaria swamps, at or

little above sea level; Izabal; Suchitepe"quez. British Honduras to

Panama; Lesser Antilles; South America.

An erect herb 1.5 meters high or less, usually much branched, the stems hir-

sute-pilose with brownish hairs; leaves membranaceous, on petioles 1.5 cm. long

or shorter, ovate to elliptic, 2-12 cm. long, 3-25 mm. broad, abruptly acute or

obtuse, abruptly acute or attenuate at the base, entire, usually densely short-

pilose on both surfaces; flowers solitary in the leaf axils, the pedicels 1-3 mm. long;

bractlets inserted at the base of the hypanthium, scale-like, triangular; hypan-

thium short-hirsute, linear, cylindric, 5-6-nerved, 10-12 mm. long; sepals 5-6,

lance-ovate, 3.5-5 mm. long; petals yellow, 6-8 mm. long, narrowly obovate;

anthers 1 mm. long; capsule cylindric, 2-3.5 cm. long, 2.5-3 mm. thick; seeds

yellowish, 1 mm. long, the raphe one-third to one-fourth the width of the body,

the seed enveloped in the hippocrepiform corky endocarp.

Jussiaea decurrens (Walt.) DC. Prodr. 3: 56. 1828. Ludwigia

decurrens Walt. Fl. Carol. 89. 1788.

Wet meadows or savannas, 1,500 meters or less; Izabal; Chiqui-

mula. South and southeastern United States; southern Mexico;

Honduras to Panama; West Indies. Widely distributed in South

America.

An erect annual, usually much branched, commonly less than a meter high;

roots often spongious and inflated; stems mostly 4-winged; leaves sessile or nearly

so, lanceolate to linear, 2-12 cm. long, long-attenuate at each end, ciliolate, with

scattered minute hairs beneath, or almost glabrous, entire; flowers solitary in the

upper leaf axils, the pedicels 1-5 mm. long, 4-angulate or winged; bractlets in-

serted at the base of the hypanthium, deltoid-ovate, less than 1 mm. long; hypan-

thium narrowly obconic, conspicuously 4-angulate and usually winged, minutely

puberulent, 8-10 mm. long; sepals 4, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 7-10 mm. long;

petals yellow, obovate, sessile, entire, 8-12 mm. long; anthers 1 mm. long; style

1.5-2 mm. long; capsule long and narrow, clavate-pyramidal, narrowly 4-winged,

12-20 mm. long; seeds subcylindric, obtuse at each end, 0.3-0.4 mm. long, the

raphe evident.

Jussiaea erecta L. Sp. PL 388. 1753.

Wet fields or marshes, often along streams or on sand bars, some-

times in savannas, 900 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Zacapa;

Jutiapa; Retalhuleu; San Marcos; probably in all the lowland de-

partments. Southern Florida; Mexico; British Honduras to El Sal-

vador and Panama; West Indies; South America; Old World tropics.

An erect annual, commonly a meter high or less, usually much branched, the

branches erect or ascending, glabrous or nearly so, angulate by the decurrent leaf

bases; leaves on petioles 2-15 mm. long, broadly to narrowly lanceolate, 5-13 cm.

546 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

long, 1-3 cm. broad, acute or attenuate at each end, glabrous or nearly so; flowers

solitary in the upper leaf axils, subsessile or on pedicels as much as 2 mm. long;

bractlets inserted near the base of the hypanthium, scale-like, 0.5 mm. long; hy-

panthium oblong-linear, 4-angulate, puberulent, 7-10 mm. long; sepals 4, lance-

ovate, acute, 3-4 mm. long; petals yellow, obovate, sessile, 4-5 mm. long; disk

almost glabrous; anthers 0.6 mm. long; style 1 mm. long; capsule 4-angulate,

oblong-linear, puberulent, 12-16 mm. long, 2-2.5 mm. thick; seeds yellow-brown,

cylindric-ovoid, 0.4 mm. long, with an evident raphe.

The local name "rodiguera" is reported from Veracruz.

Jussiaea foliobracteolata Munz, Darwiniana 4: 228. 1942.

Along streams or marshes. Mexico (Chiapas) ; Costa Rica; West

Indies; South America.

Suffruticose plants 1-2 meters tall, pubescent especially in the inflorescence,

becoming glabrous; leaves with petioles 1-4 cm. long, the blades elliptic or broadly

elliptic, acute or acuminate, glabrous or nearly so except on the veins below,

7-20 cm. long and 3-7 cm. broad; hypanthium with lanceolate to broadly ovate,

foliaceous bracteoles well above the base, from 1 cm. in flower to 2.5 cm. long in

fruit; sepals narrowly deltoid, glandular-serrulate, acuminate, about 1 cm. long;

anthers 2-3 mm. long; disk somewhat elevated, 1-1.5 mm. high, pilose; capsule

somewhat quadrangular, 1.5-2 cm. long.

Not presently known from Guatemala but certainly to be found

there.

Jussiaea inclinata L. f. Suppl. 577. 1871.

Floating or in the edges of shallow ponds. Central and southern

Mexico; West Indies; South America.

Herbs in shallow ponds or floating, the submerged stems inflated, sparingly

branched, rooting at the nodes; leaves submerged, sessile or nearly so, linear to

linear-oblanceolate, 1-3 cm. long and 0.2-0.7 cm. broad, aerial leaves narrowly

ovate to obovate, obtuse, cuneate to the base, glabrous, pellucid-punctate, 2-

8 cm. long and 1-3 cm. broad; flowers small, occasional in axils of terminal leaves;

hypanthium obconic, quadrangular, glabrous, 5-10 mm. long; sepals 4, ovate,

obtuse or acute, 5-10 mm. long and 2-6 mm. broad; petals obovate, yellow,

6-14 mm. long; disk plane, hirsute; stamens somewhat unequal, the anthers 2-

3 mm. long; stigma subcapitate, 4-lobed; capsule quadrangular and subalate,

obconic, 1-2 cm. long and 3-4.5 mm. in diameter.

The species is not presently known from Guatemala but is found

near by in Chiapas and should be found in Guatemala.

Jussiaea leptocarpa Nutt. Gen. PL 1: 279. 1818. J. pilosa

HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 101, t. 532. 1823. J. pilosa var. robustior

Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16: 6. 1891 (type from Duenas, Sacatepe"quez,

J. D. Smith 2123).

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 547

Marshes, stream banks, wet fields or thickets, sometimes on sand

bars along streams, 1,500 meters or less, mostly at 900 meters or

lower; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; El Progreso; Zacapa; Chiqui-

mula; Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Sacatepe"quez; Quiche"; Suchi-

tepe'quez; Retalhuleu; San Marcos. Southern United States; Mex-

ico; British Honduras to El Salvador and Panama; West Indies;

South America.

Plants erect, annual, usually a meter high or lower, much branched, the

branches ascending, the younger branches angulate, glabrous to pilose (pilose in

Guatemalan material), often also puberulent; leaves very numerous, on petioles

2 cm. long or shorter, lanceolate to almost linear or nearly ovate, 2-15 cm. long,

2-30 mm. broad, acute or obtuse, acute or attenuate at the base and often sub-

sessile, entire, generally pilose or puberulent; flowers solitary in the upper leaf

axils, numerous, the pedicels 1-15 mm. long; bractlets inserted at the apex of the

pedicel, scale-like, 0.5 mm. long; hypanthium linear, subterete, 5-6-angulate, 10-

16 mm. long, pilose or puberulent to glabrous; sepals 5-6, lanceolate, acuminate,

5-8 mm. long; petals yellow, rounded-obovate, 5-10 mm. long, short-unguiculate;

disk pilose; anthers 1 mm. long; style 2-4 mm. long; capsule cylindric, 10-12-

nerved, straight or curved, 1.5-5 cm. long, 2-3.5 mm. thick, usually puberulent

or pilose; seeds uniseriate, compressed-ovoid, yellowish, 1 mm. long, surrounded

by a hippocrepiform corky endocarp but free from it; raphe one-sixth to one-

eighth as wide as the body of the seed.

There is recorded also from Guatemala what is possibly nothing

more than a sporadic variant, similar to the species except that it

lacks long spreading hairs. It is forma biacuminata (Rusby) Munz.

Jussiaea linifolia Vahl, Eclog. Amer. 2: 32. 1798. Clavitto.

Marshes or ditches, wet or moist thickets, or on sand bars along

streams, 300 meters or less; Izabal; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Suchite-

pe"quez; Retalhuleu. Southern Mexico; El Salvador; Nicaragua;

Costa Rica; Cocos Island; West Indies; South America; Africa

and Asia.

An erect annual a meter high or less, freely branched or almost simple, nearly

glabrous, the branches angulate below the decurrent leaf bases; leaves subsessile

or on petioles 2-12 mm. long, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 3-9 cm. long, acute or

short-acuminate, narrowed at the base, membranaceous, subentire; flowers white,

numerous, solitary in the upper leaf axils, sessile or nearly so; bractlets triangular,

scale-like, 0.5-1 mm. long, inserted high up on the hypanthium; hypanthium

linear, puberulent, 4-costate, 8 mm. long; sepals 4, lanceolate, acuminate, 2.5-

3.5 mm. long; petals 4, elliptic, acute, 3 mm. long; anthers 0.5 mm. long; style

1.5 mm. long; capsule linear, subterete, 18-25 mm. long, 1.5-2 mm. thick; seeds

usually pluriseriate above, oblong-ovoid, 0.5 mm. long, yellowish, with an evident

raphe; lower seeds uniseriate.

Jussiaea natans Humb. & Bonpl. PI. Aequin. 1: 16, t. 3, f. B.

1808.

548 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Floating in slow streams or lakes, 2,000 meters or less, chiefly at

low elevations; Izabal; Jutiapa; Quiche". Mexico; El Salvador and

Honduras to Panama; South America.

Plants perennial, glabrous, somewhat succulent, floating on quiet water or

sometimes rooting on muddy shores; some of the roots slender, much branched,

others apparently converted into spongy masses or pneumatophores 2-3 mm.

thick and fusiform; stems glabrous, sparsely branched, very leafy, scarcely angu-

late; leaves on petioles 1-4 cm. long, orbicular to short-oblong, mostly 1.5-5 cm.

long, very obtuse or rounded at the apex, acute at the base or abruptly contracted,

entire; flowers solitary in the leaf axils, on pedicels 1-5 cm. long; bractlets inserted

at the apex of the pedicel, squamiform, 0.5 mm. long; hypanthium linear, cylindric,

9-12 mm. long; sepals usually 5, lance-ovate, 4-6 mm. long, acute; petals white

with a yellow basal spot, oblong-obovate, 8-14 mm. long, with a short broad claw;

disk pilose; anthers 1-2 mm. long; style 4-7 mm. long; capsule cylindric, sometimes

curved, 2-3 cm. long, 2.5-3 mm. thick, sometimes nodulose; seeds uniseriate, com-

pletely invested by the lustrous, hard, angular, pale brown endocarp, this 1.5 mm.

long.

Called "lechuga" and "berro" in Honduras.

Jussiaea nervosa Poir. in Lam. Encycl. Suppl. 3: 199. 1813.

Ludwigia hondurensis Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 8: 146. 1930 (type

from Siguatepe"que, Honduras).

In wet soil, usually in savannas or open pine forest, at or near

sea level; Izabal. British Honduras; Honduras. Widely distributed

in South America.

Plants stiffly erect, 2 meters high or lower, often suffrutescent, sparsely

branched, the young branches puberulent or short-pilose; leaves sessile or nearly

so, coriaceous, often crowded, reduced in size upward, lanceolate to oblong-ovate

or broadly linear, acute or obtuse, rounded or obtuse at the base, glabrous or

pubescent, entire, the lateral nerves very prominent beneath, the principal leaves

3-9 cm. long and 0.5-3 cm. broad; flowers solitary in the axils of the upper leaves,

on pedicels 1-2 cm. long; bractlets inserted at the apex of the pedicel, linear, 0.5-

2 mm. long; hypanthium obconic, 4-costate, 4-8 mm. long; sepals 4, deltoid-ovate,

6-9 mm. long, acuminate; petals sulphur-yellow, rounded-obovate, 1-2 cm. long;

disk pilose; anthers 3-4 mm. long; style 1.5-2 mm. long; capsule narrowly obconic

to cylindric-obconic, 4-angulate, 1-1.5 cm. long, 4-6 mm. broad; seeds oblong,

lustrous, yellowish, 1 mm. long, the raphe evident.

Jussiaea peruviana L. Sp. PI. 388. 1753. Hierba de clavo.

Marshes, open swamps, or wet thickets, sometimes along the

margins of streams, 1,700 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; Baja Vera-

paz; Chiquimula; Jalapa; Santa Rosa; Guatemala; Sacatepe'quez;

Suchitepe"quez; San Marcos. Southern Florida; southern Mexico;

El Salvador and Honduras to Panama; West Indies; South America.

Apparently introduced in the Old World.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 549

FIG. 89. Jussiaea peruviana. Branch of plant; X ±34-

Plants herbaceous or often woody below, generally erect and 1-2 meters high,

sometimes much more elongate and reclining or clambering over other plants,

sparsely or densely hirsute-pilose throughout, the pubescence usually brownish

or fulvous; leaves membranaceous or thick, on very short petioles, ovate-elliptic

or lance-elliptic, mostly 5-15 cm. long and 1.5-5 cm. broad, acute or acuminate

at each end, entire, scabrous-puberulent to soft-pilose, especially beneath; flowers

solitary in the upper leaf axils, yellow; pedicels 2-3.5 cm. long at anthesis; bractlets

inserted at the apex of the pedicel or on the base of the hypanthium, lanceolate or

oblanceolate, 5-12 mm. long; sepals usually 4, lanceolate, acuminate, 10-18 mm.

long; petals rounded-obovate, 12-27 mm. long, emarginate, short-unguiculate; an-

thers 3-4.5 mm. long; disk pilose, the style 1 mm. long; capsule 4-angulate, obconic,

12-30 mm. long, 8-10 mm. broad; seeds light brown, compressed-obovoid, 0.6-

0.8 mm. long, the raphe one-fifth to one-fourth the width of the body.

550 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Called "flor de Santa Cruz" in El Salvador. This has the largest

flowers of any of the Central American species of Jussiaea and at

times is a rather showy plant; none of the plants of this genus are

particularly handsome.

Jussiaea peruviana var. glaberrima Donn.-Sm. Bot. Gaz. 16:

6. 1891.

Wet fields or thickets, 500-1,800 meters; Escuintla; Sacatepe"quez

(type from Duenas, J. D. Smith 2130) ; Chimaltenango. Dominican

Republic; Colombia; Venezuela.

Differing from the typical form of the species (above) only in being glabrous

or nearly so throughout.

Jussiaea repens L. var. peploides (HBK.) Griseb. Cat. PI.

Cub. 107. 1866. J. peploides HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 97. 1823.

Berro de clavo (fide Aguilar).

Floating on quiet streams or pools, or more often rooting in mud

or very wet soil, 1,800 meters or less, most common at low elevations;

Alta Verapaz; El Progreso; Izabal; Zacapa; Chiquimula; Jalapa;

Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe'quez; Chi-

maltenango; Solola; Huehuetenango; Quezaltenango; San Marcos;

probably in all the lowland departments. Western United States;

Mexico; Honduras and El Salvador to Costa Rica; West Indies;

South America; Old World tropics.

Plants perennial, slightly succulent, the stems creeping or floating, short or

often much elongate, glabrous or nearly so or sometimes pubescent; roots gener-

ally slender, sometimes spongious; leaves bright green, thin, slender-petiolate,

mostly oblong to spatulate-oblong, obtuse or acute, acute at the base, narrowed

at the base into a flattened or narrowly winged petiole, entire, usually glabrous;

pedicels slender, 1-6 cm. long, often reflexed in fruit; bractlets deltoid, scale-like,

0.5-1 mm. long; hypanthium subcylindric, usually glabrous, 7-14 mm. long; sepals

5, linear-lanceolate, 4-12 mm. long, acute; petals yellow, obovate, emarginate,

7-24 mm. long; disk pilose; anthers 1 mm. long; style 3-5 mm. long; capsule cylin-

dric, often nodulose, 1-4 cm. long, 2-3.5 mm. thick; seeds uniseriate in each cell,

included in the endocarp, obliquely truncate at each end, 1-1.5 mm. long.

The typical variety of the species, confined to the Old World

tropics, has white petals.

Jussiaea sedioides Humb. & Bonpl. PI. Aequin. 1: 13, t. 3,f. A.

1808. Canario de agua (fide Aguilar).

Floating in lake; Santa Rosa (Lago de los Pinos). Honduras;

El Salvador; Panama; West Indies. Widely distributed in South

America.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 551

Plants very slender, floating usually in deep water, the stems often much elon-

gated, emitting numerous roots at the nodes; leaves crowded in dense rosettes at

the ends of the branches and floating, the petioles very slender, 1-9 cm. long; leaf

blades rather thick, rhombic-ovate, 5-20 mm. long and broad, obtuse, acute at

the base, conspicuously crenate-serrate in the upper half, glabrous and bright

green above, finely strigose beneath; flowers solitary in the leaf axils, the slender

pedicels 1-3 cm. long, often reddish; bractlets tumid, less than 1 mm. long; hypan-

thium obconic, 4-angulate, glabrous, 8-10 mm. long; sepals usually 4, oblong-

ovate, subobtuse or acute, 6-8 mm. long; petals yellow, rounded-obovate, emar-

ginate, almost sessile, 10-13 mm. long; disk pilose; anthers 2 mm. long; style

3.5 mm. long; capsule narrowly obconic, 4-angulate, 10-13 mm. long, 3 mm. broad;

seeds brown, lustrous, narrowly obovoid, curved at the apex, 0.6 mm. long, with

an inconspicuous raphe.

This is a rare plant in Central America, known from a single

locality in each of the countries where it has been found.

Jussiaea suffruticosa L. Sp. PI. 388. 1753.

Plants erect, herbaceous or rarely suffrutescent below, mostly a meter high or

less but sometimes 2 meters tall, usually much branched, almost glabrous to

densely pilose; leaves membranaceous or rigid-membranaceous, sessile or short-

petiolate, oblong to lance-ovate or almost linear, subacute to acuminate, acute

at the base, entire, 3-11 cm. long, 0.2-2.5 cm. broad, or sometimes larger; flowers

solitary in the upper leaf axils, the pedicels 1-20 mm. long at anthesis; bractlets

inserted on the upper part of the pedicel or at the base of the hypanthium, usually

setaceous; hypanthium clavate-cylindric, somewhat tetragonous, usually 10-15

mm. long; sepals 4, narrowly or broadly ovate, obtuse to abruptly acuminate,

8-14 mm. long; petals yellow, cuneate-obovate, scarcely unguiculate, 1-2 cm. long;

disk pilose; anthers 2-3 mm. long; style stout, 1.5-3 mm. long; capsule cylindric

to clavate, subterete or obtusely tetragonous, 2.5-5 cm. long, 2.5-3.5 mm. broad;

seeds rounded, brown, lustrous, 0.6 mm. long, the raphe as wide as the body.

One of the commonest weedy plants of all Central America,

abundant almost everywhere in the lowlands and even at middle

elevations. Munz places the typical variety of the species as being

Indian and recognizes four varieties and one form of it in America,

among which there is almost complete intergradation. The varie-

ties and form distinguished by Munz for Central America follow:

Leaves almost linear, at least 10 times as long as wide

J. suffruticosa var. ligustrifolia f. linearifolia.

Leaves mostly lanceolate or ovate, not more than 6 times as long as wide.

Stems and leaves pubescent with more or less spreading hairs.

J. suffruticosa var. octofila.

Stems and leaves glabrous to strigillose «/. suffruticosa var. ligustrifolia.

Jussiaea suffruticosa var. liguistrifolia (HBK.) Griseb. Mem.

Amer. Acad. n. ser. 8: 187. 1860. J. ligustrifolia HBK. Nov. Gen.

552 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

& Sp. 6: 100. 1823. J. octonervia Lam. Encycl. 3: 332, t. 280, f. 1.

1789.

Wet fields, meadows, or savannas, sometimes in open pine forest

or in marshes, 1,300 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal;

Zacapa; Jalapa. Mexico; British Honduras to El Salvador and

Panama; West Indies; South America; Old World tropics.

Stems often slender and rather wiry, glabrous to strigillose, especially on the

younger parts; leaves narrowly lanceolate to ovate, usually acute or acuminate,

3-12 cm. long, glabrous or sparsely strigillose; fruiting pedicels mostly 5-10 mm.

long; bractlets inserted on the base of the hypanthium, setaceous, 1-3 mm. long;

sepals ovate, acuminate, 8-12 mm. long.

The variety is not sharply distinguished from var. octofila, and

for all practical purposes it is sufficient to call all material of this

species simply Jussiaea suffruticosa.

Jussiaea suffruticosa var. ligustrifolia f. linearifolia (Hass-

ler) Munz, Darwiniana 4: 243. 1942. J. suffruticosa var. linearifolia

Hassler, Repert. Sp. Nov. 12: 277. 1913.

Moist or wet fields, plains, or savannas, sometimes in lowland

or mountain pine forest, 1,400 meters or less; Izabal; Zacapa; Ja-

lapa; Jutiapa. Southern Florida; Mexico; British Honduras to El

Salvador and Panama; West Indies; South America.

Similar to var. ligustrifolia, the plants glabrous or puberulent; leaves linear or

lance-linear, acuminate, glabrous or nearly so, only 2-5 mm. broad.

Jussiaea suffruticosa var. octofila (DC.) Munz, Darwiniana

4: 239. 1942. J. octofila DC. Prodr. 3: 57. 1828. Hierba del clavo;

chile de rota.

Marshes, moist or wet fields, ditches, wooded swamps, thickets,

sand bars along streams, or in moist or wet places generally, often

in cultivated fields, 2,000 meters or less, most common at low ele-

vations; Pete*n; Alta Verapaz; El Progreso; Izabal; Zacapa; Chiqui-

mula; Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; Chimaltenango;

Huehuetenango; Solola; Suchitepe"quez; Retalhuleu; Quezaltenango;

San Marcos; probably in all the departments. Southern United

States; Mexico; British Honduras to El Salvador and Panama; West

Indies; South America.

A stout or slender, erect herb, commonly a meter high and often 2 meters, the

stems and leaves pubescent with sparse or often dense, mostly spreading hairs;

leaves lanceolate to lance-ovate, 2-10 cm. long and 8-25 mm. broad or even larger;

fruiting pedicels mostly 4-12 mm. long; bractlets setaceous, 1-3 mm. long; sepals

ovate or lance-ovate, 7-8 mm. long, pubescent.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 553

The Maya name of Yucatan is recorded as "mazcabche" ; "corne-

zuelo cimarron" (Yucatan) ; "flor de camaron" (Tabasco) ; "hierba de

Santa Cruz," "sulfatillo," "sanangujo" (El Salvador); "clavel" (Vera-

cruz) . When growing in thickets the stems sometimes become much

elongate, several meters long, and are clambering or subscandent

over shrubs.

Jussiaea uruguayensis Cambessedes in St. Hil. Fl. Bras. Merid.

2:264. 1829.

In marshes or about the borders of lakes, 600-1,200 meters; Juti-

apa (Lago Retana); Guatemala (Amatitlan). Southeastern United

States; Costa Rica. Widely distributed in South America.

Plants perennial, herbaceous, from creeping rhizomes, floating or creeping and

with stout erect terminal branches, glabrous throughout or sparsely pubescent;

leaves on slender petioles 1-2 cm. long, linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate or ob-

long, rather thick, glabrous, 3-10 cm. long, 3-10 mm. broad, acute or obtuse,

entire, the leaves of floating and repent stems usually smaller, the stems some-

times bearing pneumatophores; flowers solitary in the leaf axils, on pedicels 1-2

cm. long, spreading or reflexed in fruit; bractlets inserted at the base of the hypan-

thium, lanceolate, 1 mm. long or shorter; hypanthium sublinear, 7-10 mm. long,

pilose or glabrous; sepals 5-6, lanceolate, acute, pilose or glabrous, 6-13 mm. long;

petals yellow, oblong-ovate, 12-20 mm. long, emarginate, short-unguiculate; disk

pilose; anthers 2-3 mm. long; style slender, 4-5 mm. long; capsule subcylindric,

10-nerved, usually pilose, somewhat nodulose, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 3-4 mm. thick;

seeds pendulous, enclosed in the hard endocarp and thus appearing truncate at

the ends, triangular in cross section, 1.5 mm. long.

LOPEZIA Cavanilles

Reference: Philip A. Munz, The Lopezieae (Onagraceae), Brit-

tonia 13: 73-90. 1961.

Slender erect annuals, glabrous or usually abundantly pubescent; leaves alter-

nate or the lower ones opposite, petiolate, membranaceous, dentate; flowers small,

racemose or subcorymbose at the ends of the branches, usually on long slender

pedicels; hypanthium subglobose at the base, little produced beyond the ovary;

sepals 4, colored, unequal, deciduous, linear; petals 4, on short or long claws,

unequal, the posterior ones narrower, the claws glandular at the apex; stamens 2,

epigynous, one of them petaloid, without an anther, the filaments short, subulate,

dilated at the base; fertile anther linear-oblong; ovary 4-celled, the style short,

filiform, the stigma truncate; ovules numerous in each cell, multiseriate; fruit

capsular, globose, coriaceous, 4-celled, loculicidally 4-valvate at the apex or more

deeply, the valves separating from the seminiferous column; seeds numerous,

obovoid, the testa coriaceous, granulose.

Munz recognizes 17 species in the genus, with most of them to

be found in Mexico. One other species is found in Central America

and Panama.

554 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Sepals 15-20 mm. long; capsule 6-9 mm. long L. grandiflora.

Sepals 8 mm. long or less; capsule 3-5 mm. long.

Capsules 4-5 mm. in diameter; plants tending to be annuals and the stems

angled.

Lower flowers borne in the axils of bracts; racemes in open panicles.

L. racemosa.

Lower flowers borne in the axils of foliage leaves; racemes simple.

L. coronata.

Capsules about 3 mm. in diameter; plants mostly perennial and the stems terete.

L. hirsuta.

Lopezia coronata Andrews, Bot. Rep. t. 551. 1808.

Not presently known from Guatemala but to be expected there

as it is found near by in both Mexico and El Salvador.

Annuals or perhaps somewhat suffrutescent perennials to a meter or more tall,

the branchlets pubescent to almost glabrous; leaves opposite or alternate, lanceo-

late to ovate, serrulate, petioles 2-10 mm. long, the blades 2-4.5 cm. long; inflores-

cence a simple unbranched raceme, leafy; pedicels capillary, solitary, 1-2 cm. long;

sepals lanceolate, the uppermost ascending, the lower ones spreading, about 6 mm.

long; upper two petals narrowly oblong, 3-4 mm. long, the lower two broadly

obovate and projecting laterally; anther of fertile stamen about 2 mm. long; cap-

sule globose, 4-5 mm. in diameter.

Lopezia grandiflora Zucc. Flora 15, Beibl. 2: 101. 1832. L. ma-

crophylla Bentham, PI. Hartw. 83. 1841 (type from near Duenas,

Hartweg 477). Jehlia macrophylla Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb.

12: 297. 1909. Jehlia grandiflora Rose, I.e. Lila (Chiquimula).

Moist or wet dense forest, 1,500-2,000 meters; Chiquimula; Sa-

catep^quez; Santa Rosa; San Marcos. Mexico (Chiapas).

Plants perennial, suffrutescent or woody, 1.5 meters high or less, the stems

green, glabrous; leaves membranaceous, slender-petiolate, elliptic to oblong or

oblanceolate, commonly 8-16 cm. long and 2.5-6 cm. broad, acuminate, attenuate

to the base, denticulate, sparsely setulose-pilose, especially along the nerves, or

almost wholly glabrous; flowers large and showy, scarlet or dark red, in short

dense leafy-bracted racemes, these solitary or several at the ends of the main

branches; bracts equaling or shorter than the long slender pedicels; sepals about

15 mm. long, glabrous; petals about equaling the sepals, one of them twice as broad

as the others, oval-oblong, the others narrowly oblong, short-unguiculate; sterile

stamen oblong-linear, petaloid; anther oblong-linear; capsule globose or oval, 1 cm.

long; glabrous; seeds muricate-rugulose.

This is the basis of Rose's genus Jehlia and is, in general appear-

ance, unlike other species of Lopezia. Dr. Munz has placed it in

Lopezia but Dr. Miranda, astute student of the Mexican flora, has

stated that he believes the species to represent a distinct and mono-

typic genus (Brittonia 14: 46. 1962).

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 555

FIG. 90. Lopezia hirsuta. A, Habit; X K- B, Flower, enlarged; X 1%.

C, Section of stem from pubescent phase of species.

Lopezia hirsuta Jacq. Obs. Bot. 5: t. 15, /. 4- 1796. L. corym-

bosa Sprague & Riley, Jour. Bot. 62: 15. 1924 (type from Coban,

Tuerckheim 766). Pienetilla.

Moist or wet meadows or thickets, sometimes in thin forest or

a weed in corn fields or coffee plantations, 1,200-3,200 meters; Alta

Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; Chimaltenango; Sacatepe"quez ; Guatemala;

556 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Jalapa; Zacapa; Jutiapa; Escuintla; Huehuetenango; San Marcos;

Quezaltenango. Mexico; El Salvador.

Plants erect annuals or woody perennials usually a meter high or less, gener-

ally much branched, the branches green or brownish, generally densely hirsute

with whitish, thick, mostly spreading hairs and also more or less puberulent;

leaves on long slender petioles, chiefly ovate to elliptic or oblong-ovate, 1.5-5.5 cm.

long, acute or acuminate, rounded or very obtuse at the base, denticulate, some-

what paler beneath, sparsely or copiously pilose or hirsute on both surfaces with

long or short, spreading or subappressed hairs; flowers salmon-pink, forming long

slender leafy-bracted racemes, the bracts leaf-like, mostly shorter than the pedi-

cels; pedicels very slender, 1-2 cm. long, spreading or ascending, puberulent or

glabrous; buds dark red, about 5 mm. long, usually quite glabrous, rounded at

the apex; petals unguiculate, 8 mm. long or shorter, the posterior ones 1-tubercu-

late on the claw; anther little more than 1 mm. long; capsule globose, glabrous,

3 mm. in diameter.

Called "moscas" in Veracruz, in allusion to the form of the flowers,

which suggest large and delicate, colored gnats hovering over the

plant. The species of this genus have long been in cultivation in

Europe and the United States as pot plants in houses or in green-

houses. They are not very decorative and consequently never have

become common, although they are easy of growth. In the moun-

tains of Guatemala they often occur in great abundance on the bor-

ders of the forest and at times provide a fair display of color, but they

are decidedly weedy in nature, remain in flower for a rather brief

period, and in age are unsightly.

Lopezia racemosa Cav. Ic. 1: 12, 1. 18. 1791. L. mexicana Jacq.

Ic. PI. Rar. 2: 12, t. 203. 1793-94. Marimbita.

Moist or wet thickets or rather thin forest, sandy fields, sand bars

along streams, frequently in oak or pine forest or in coffee planta-

tions, 800-3,000 meters, nearly always above 1,500 meters; Chi-

maltenango; Sacatepe"quez; San Marcos; Quezaltenango. Mexico.

An erect annual, usually a meter high or often much lower, generally much

branched, the branches brownish in age, puberulent, short-pilose or almost gla-

brous, terete; leaves slender-petiolate, broadly ovate to lance-ovate, mostly 1-4

cm. long, acute or acuminate, rounded or obtuse at the base, denticulate, setulose-

pilose, especially beneath, with short, mostly subappressed hairs or almost wholly

glabrous; flowers salmon-red, very numerous, on slender, spreading or ascending,

almost filiform pedicels in long slender leafy-bracted racemes, these glabrous or

sparsely puberulent; flower buds deep red, rounded at the apex, glabrous, to about

5 mm. long; larger petals slender-unguiculate, the blades almost as broad as long;

claw of the posterior petals 1-tuberculate; anther about 1.3 mm. long; capsule

globose, glabrous, 3-4 mm. in diameter.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 557

This species has been most often determined as L. mexicana due

to confusion concerning date of publication of the book in which it

appeared.

LUDWIGIA L.

Reference: Philip A. Munz, Studies in Onagraceae — XIII: The

American species of Ludwigia, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 71: 152-165.

1944.

Annual or perennial herbs, glabrous or pubescent; leaves opposite or alternate,

membranaceous, entire; flowers mostly axillary, solitary, and sessile, rarely pe-

dunculate or in terminal heads, the peduncles usually 2-bracteate; hypanthium

cylindric, prismatic, or turbinate, not produced above the ovary; sepals 3-5,

acute, persistent or tardily deciduous; petals 3-5 or none, inserted below the edge

of the conic or depressed, sulcate or lobate epigynous disk, lanceolate or obovate,

spreading; stamens 3-5, inserted with the petals, the filaments short, the anthers

ovoid or oblong; ovary 4-5-celled, the style usually short, the stigma capitate,

3-5-lobate, or 3-5-sulcate; ovules pluriseriate along the interior angle of the cell;

fruit capsular, crowned by the epigynous disk and sepals, coriaceous or charta-

ceous, terete or with 4-5 costae, angles, or wings, dehiscent septicidally or by apical

pores or the cells irregularly rupturing; seeds very numerous, minute, the testa

membranaceous or chartaceous.

About 30 species, mostly in temperate regions of North America,

a few in the Old World; in the tropics found in mountain regions.

One other Central American species has been found in Honduras

and Panama.

Ludwigia palustris (L.) Ell. Bot. S. Carol. & Ga. 1: 211. 1817.

Isnardia palustris L. Sp. PL 120. 1753.

The typicaj form of the species, L. palustris var. palustris, is na-

tive in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Two varieties occur in Guatemala:

Leaf blades at least one-half as wide as long; mature hypanthium 2-3.5 mm. in

diameter at the middle L. palustris var. americana.

Leaf blades one-fourth to one-third as wide as long; mature hypanthium 1.4-2 mm.

in diameter at the middle L. palustris var. nana.

Ludwigia palustris var. americana (DC.) Fernald & Griscom,

Rhodora 37: 176. 1935. Isnardia palustris var. americana DC.

Prodr. 3:61. 1828.

In running water, 500-1,800 meters; Alta Verapaz; Baja Vera-

paz; Jutiapa; Huehuetenango (near Huehuetenango). Southern

Canada; United States; Mexico; Costa Rica.

Plants aquatic, floating, sometimes rooting on mud, glabrous, rooting at the

nodes, somewhat succulent, the stems branched, mostly 30 cm. long or shorter;

558

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 91. Ludwigia palustris var. nana. A, Plant; natural size. B, Calyx; X 10.

leaves opposite, oval to ovate or spatulate, 1-2.5 cm. long, acute or obtuse, nar-

rowed at the base into a short slender petiole; flowers solitary, sessile, about 2 mm.

broad, greenish; bractlets usually none at the base of the hypanthium; sepals

broadly deltoid, acute; petals very small, dull reddish or wanting; capsule slightly

longer than broad, about 3 mm. long, slightly longer than the persistent sepals.

Ludwigia palustris var. nana Fernald & Griscom, Rhodora 37:

176. 1935.

Wet meadows or fields, 1,500-1,900 meters; Alta Verapaz; Jalapa;

Huehuetenango. Southern United States; southern Mexico; Greater

Antilles; Colombia.

Similar to the preceding variety, but distinguished by its narrower and usually

smaller leaves, 2.5 cm. long or shorter, long-petiolate, acute or acuminate; capsule

2.2-3 mm. long; sepals narrowly deltoid or broadly lanceolate, acuminate.

OENOTHERA L. Evening primrose

References: Philip A. Munz, Studies in Onagraceae — VIII: The

subgenera Hartmannia and Gauropsis of the genus Oenothera. The

genus Gayophytum, Am. Jour. Bot. 19: 755-778. 1932. Studies in

Onagraceae — IX: The subgenus Raimannia, op. cit. 22: 645-663.

1935. The Oenothera Hookeri group, Aliso, 2: 1^7, illus. 1949.

Annual or perennial herbs, pubescent or glabrous, usually erect or ascending,

branched or simple; leaves alternate, sessile or petiolate, often forming basal ro-

settes, entire, dentate, lobate, or pinnatifid; flowers small or large, axillary, solitary,

sessile or pedicellate, yellow, pink, or white; hypanthium linear or clavate, 4-angu-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 559

late, produced above the ovary into a short or elongate, cylindric tube, this more

or less dilated above; sepals 4, deciduous; petals 4, obovate or obcordate, scarcely

unguiculate; stamens 8, equal or alternately unequal, the filaments filiform; an-

thers linear, not revolute, generally elongate; ovary 4-celled, the style filiform, the

stigma capitate and entire or 4-lobate, or 4-parted with elongate lobes; ovules

numerous, 1-2-seriate along the interior angle of the cell, horizontal or ascending;

fruit capsular, various in form, usually coriaceous or lignescent, linear to oblong

or clavate, terete, 4-angulate, or multi-angulate, sometimes broadly 4-winged,

4-celled or rarely 1-celled, 4-valvate to the middle or rarely for its whole length;

seeds numerous or few, naked or appendaged.

Species 100 or fewer, nearly all American, chiefly in temperate

or warm-temperate regions and mostly in the United States. Only

the following have been found in Central America.

Capsule elongate-cylindric, sessile; petals bright yellow, turning red in age; tube

of the hypanthium 1.5-5 cm. long.

Leaves, at least the cauline ones, merely denticulate; capsule 5-6 mm. thick.

O. elata.

Leaves all or mostly sinuate-lobate or coarsely dentate; capsule 2-3 mm. thick.

O. laciniata.

Capsule clavate, narrowed below into a long stipe; petals usually white or pink,

sometimes partly yellow but then principally dark red; tube of the hypan-

thium 1 cm. long or shorter.

Petals dark red and yellow; leaves denticulate or subentire O. multicaulis.

Petals white or pink; leaves, at least part of them, pinnatifid or sinuate, or the

uppermost merely denticulate.

Petals 5-10 mm. long; pubescence of the flowers all closely appressed.

O. rosea.

Petals 20-35 mm. long; pubescence of the flowers partly of long spreading

hairs O. tetraptera.

Oenothera elata HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 90. 1823; Munz,

Aliso 2: 35, t. 5. 1949. 0. Simsiana Se'ringe in DC. Prodr. 3: 47.

1828.

At 2,000 meters or more; cultivated commonly for ornament in

Guatemalan gardens and parks, principally at middle or rather high

elevations; Solola. Mountains of Mexico; El Salvador.

A tall erect herb, about a meter high or lower, densely and rather softly pubes-

cent, simple or sparsely branched, the stems stout, densely leafy; cauline leaves

sessile or short-petiolate, gradually smaller upward, narrowly lanceolate, mostly

5-8 cm. long, attenuate-acuminate, inconspicuously denticulate or almost entire;

flowers numerous, forming short or elongate, leafy-bracted spikes; tube of the

hypanthium very slender, about 3.5 cm. long, densely pilose with ascending hairs;

sepals linear or lance-linear, 4 cm. long, with short free tips; petals yellow, 4 cm.

long; anthers linear, about 8 mm. long; capsule cylindric, sessile, about 3.5 cm. long

and 6 mm. thick, costate, pilose.

560

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 92. Oenothera laciniata var. pubescens. A, Habit; X H- B» Flower; X ±8.

Perhaps this is the plant reported from Rio Guacalate (prob-

ably Sacatepe"quez) by Hemsley as 0. biennis L., a related species

of the United States. The plant is cultivated frequently for its large

and handsome flowers.

Oenothera laciniata Hill, Hort. Kew. 172, t. 6. 1769. Raiman-

nia lacinata Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 8: 331. 1905. 0. sinuata

L. Mant. PI. 2: 228. 1771. 0. mexicana Spach, Nouv. Ann. Mus.

Paris 4: 347. 1835. 0. pubescens Willd. ex Spreng. Syst. 2: 229.

1825. 0. laciniata var. pubescens Munz, Am. Jour. Bot. 22 : 656. 1935.

Moist or dry fields or hillsides, often in open rocky places, fre-

quently in pine or oak forest, a common weed in gardens or corn

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 561

fields, sometimes on sand bars along streams, 1,350-2,700 meters;

Escuintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe"quez; Chimaltenango; Huehuete-

nango; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. United States; Mexico; Costa

Rica; northwestern South America.

Plants usually annual, perhaps sometimes perennial, erect or ascending, sim-

ple or usually branched, often with numerous stems from the base, commonly

35 cm. high or less, finely whitish-strigose on the stems, leaves, and flowers, the

stems stout; leaves glabrate or usually rather densely whitish-strigose, oblanceo-

late to oblong-lanceolate, usually sinuate-pinnatifid or sinuate-dentate, sometimes

entire, 2-10 cm. long, the lower ones petiolate, the upper sessile or nearly so, not

reduced to bracts; flowers solitary in the upper leaf axils, the buds erect or nutant;

hypanthium 1.5-5 cm. long; sepals lance-linear, 5-30 mm. long, with short free

tips; petals yellow, turning red in drying, 5-35 mm. long, broadly obovate or

obcordate; stigma lobes linear, 2-6 mm. long; capsule cylindric, usually somewhat

arcuate, divaricate, 1-3.5 cm. long, 2-3 mm. thick, sessile; seeds 1 mm. long,

brownish, evenly pitted.

The Central American material is referable to 0. laciniata var.

pubescens (Willd.) Munz. The typical variety of the species is native

in the United States. The plant has been reported from Guatemala

as 0. Walpersii Donn.-Sm., with 0. micrantha Walp., not Hornem.,

cited as a synonym. It is often extremely abundant at and after

the end of the rainy season in corn fields in the central and western

departments. The flowers, as in most other species, open late in the

evening and close during the following forenoon. This is presumably

the species recorded from Guatemala by Loesener as Anogra pinna-

tifida (Nutt.) Spach.

Oenothera multicaulis Ruiz & Pavon, Fl. Peruv. 3: 80, t. 317.

1802. 0. tarquensis HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 91. 1823. 0. cuprea

Schlecht. Linnaea 12: 269. 1838. Xylopleurum multicaule Loes. Re-

pert. Sp. Nov. 12: 237. 1913. 0. multicaulis var. tarquensis Munz &

Johnston, Contr. Gray Herb. 75: 18. 1925. Bolsa amarilla (fide

Aguilar).

Moist meadows or thickets or in rather dry, exposed, rocky

places, 2,300-4,000 meters; Alta Verapaz; Sacatepe"quez (Volcan de

Agua); Chimaltenango; Solola; Huehuetenango; Totonicapan; Que-

zaltenango. Mountains of southern Mexico; Costa Rica; north-

western South America.

Plants perennial from a thick and more or less woody, often matted root,

usually with numerous stems from the base, these prostrate or procumbent, 10-

25 cm. long, leafy, rather stout, villous to glabrate, simple or sparsely branched;

leaves of the basal rosette broadly oblanceolate, 1-5 cm. long, obtuse, pubescent

on the margins and on the veins beneath, gradually narrowed into a winged petiole

562 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

about as long as the blade; cauline leaves oblong-ovate to lance-ovate, sessile, 1-3

cm. long, obtuse, pubescent on the veins and margins; flowers solitary, axillary,

sessile, diurnal; hypanthium tube 4-8 mm. long, pubescent, often purplish; sepals

lanceolate, 3-6 mm. long, pubescent, without free tips in bud; petals yellow and

dark red, becoming orange-red in age, broadly obovate, 3-6 mm. long, erect and

connivent in anthesis; stigma lobes ovoid, 1 mm. long; capsule clavate, villous to

glabrate, 1-2 cm. long, arcuate, 3-4 mm. thick in the upper part, somewhat 4-an-

gulate or narrowly winged; seeds numerous, brown, obovoid, 0.5-1.5 mm. long.

The Central American material is referable to var. tarquensis

(HBK.) Munz & Johnston, the typical variety of the species (var.

multicaulis) occurring in Peru and Bolivia. This plant is found in

Guatemala chiefly in alpine or subalpine meadows, where it is in-

conspicuous but attracts attention from the somewhat unusual color

of its dark red or orange-red petals.

Oenothera rosea Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 1, 2: 3. 1789. Hartman-

nia rosea G. Don in Sweet, Hort. Brit. ed. 3: 236. 1839. Bolsa de

pastor (fide Aguilar).

Moist or wet thickets, open banks, meadows, or fields, sometimes

in rather dry, rocky places, often on sand bars along streams, or a

weed in cultivated ground, 400-2,300 meters, mostly at middle ele-

vations; Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; El Progreso; Jalapa; Santa

Rosa; Guatemala; Sacatep^quez; Chimaltenango; Solola; Quiche";

Huehuetenango; Quezaltenango. Western Texas; Mexico; Costa

Rica; western South America.

Plants annual or perennial, 15-50 cm. high, the stems solitary or several,

slender and rather wiry, simple or branched, grayish-strigillose throughout; basal

leaves oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, usually coarsely sinuate-dentate or pin-

natifid, 2-5 cm. long, obtuse, narrowed into a slender petiole 1-2 cm. long; cauline

leaves gradually reduced upward, mostly oblong-ovate, subentire to sinuate-

denticulate or often pinnatifid at the base, 1.5-3 cm. long, obtuse or acute, the

uppermost leaves reduced to lance-linear bracts; flowers axillary, forming slender

racemes; tube of the hypanthium 4-8 mm. long, slender, grayish-strigillose; sepals

5-8 mm. long, with short free tips; petals pink, turning purplish or violet in fad-

ing, broadly obovate, 5-10 mm. long; stamens subequal, almost equaling the

petals; anthers 2.5-4 mm. long; stigma lobes linear, 2 mm. long; capsule obovoid,

8-10 mm. long, 3-4 mm. thick, strigillose, the 4 angles somewhat winged, the

base of the capsule narrowed into a hollow pedicel 5-20 mm. long; seeds oblong-

obovoid, brown, 0.6 mm. long.

A rather weedy plant with small inconspicuous flowers.

Oenothera tetraptera Cav. Icon. 3: 40, t. 279. 1794. Xylo-

pleurum tetrapterum Raim. in Engler & Prantl, Pflanzenfam. 3,

Abt. 7: 214. 1893. Hartmannia tetraptera Small, Bull. Torr. Bot.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 563

Club 23: 181. 1896. Bolsa de pastor (fide Aguilar); tchac-tzulucdn

(Huehuetenango).

Moist to dry fields, hillsides, often a weed in waste or cultivated

ground, 1,300-2,400 meters; Alta Verapaz; El Progreso; Jalapa;

Guatemala; Quiche* ; Huehuetenango. Mexico; Costa Rica; Colom-

bia; Venezuela.

Plants annual or perennial, herbaceous, erect or decumbent, the stems few

or solitary, sparsely branched, 50 cm. high or lower, strigillose and pilose with

spreading hairs; basal leaves oblanceolate or broader, 3-10 cm. long, 1-3 cm.

broad, sinuate-pinnatifid, with several ovate-oblong lateral lobes and a large ter-

minal lobe, sometimes entire, petiolate, villous or glabrate; cauline leaves smaller,

2-5 cm. long, mostly lance-ovate and sinuate-pinnatifid, sometimes dentate or

even subentire, the uppermost leaves more reduced; hypanthium about 1 cm.

long, hirsute and strigose; sepals 2-3.5 cm. long, with very short, free tips in bud;

petals white, turning pink, 2-3.5 cm. long, broadly obovate; stamens subequal;

capsule obovoid, 1-1.5 cm. long, 6-8 mm. thick, hirsute and strigose, narrowly

winged on the angles, narrowed into a hollow pedicel 5-25 mm. long; seeds light

brown, obovoid, 1.3 mm. long.

A rather showy plant when in full flower. It and some of its

close relatives are sometimes planted for ornament.

OOCARPON Micheli

Tall slender glabrous herbs or suffrutescent plants, branched, the lower part

of the stem usually much thickened and spongious; leaves alternate, linear or

linear-lanceolate, entire, membranaceous or chartaceous, short-petiolate; flowers

small, yellow, usually 5-parted, solitary and pedicellate in the leaf axils; pedicels

bearing at the apex 2 small bractlets; hypanthium obconic; sepals lance-subulate,

herbaceous or rigid, persistent and erect in fruit; petals shorter than the sepals;

stamens 5, alternate with the petals; fruit capsular, oblong or oval, conspicuously

torulose, the epicarp thin, the endocarp thick, lignescent, not opening; seeds few,

usually 8-10 or fewer, large, 1-seriate, pendulous.

The genus consists of a single species.

Oocarpon torulosum (Arnott) Urban, Ark. Bot. 23A, no. 11:

28. 1931. Jussiaea torulosa Arnott, Ann. Sci. Nat. ser. 2, 3: 251.

1835. 0. jussiaeioides Micheli, Fl. Ratisb. 57. 1874.

In open swamps at sea level; British Honduras (All Pines, W. A.

Schipp S-185). Panama; Cuba; South America.

Plants usually 1-1.5 meters high, glabrous or practically so, very leafy, usually

much branched, the branches slender, ferruginous or dark reddish; leaves mostly

4-12 cm. long and 3-12 mm. broad, long-attenuate, acute at the base, short-

petiolate, the lateral nerves very numerous but inconspicuous, arcuate, the costa

slender, prominent beneath; hypanthium 2.5 mm. long at anthesis, acute at the

564

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

FIG. 93. Oocarpon torulosum. A, Habit of plant, showing one mature fruit;

X Yi. B, Flower; X ±8.

base; sepals about 3 mm. long, attenuate; petals small and inconspicuous, cream-

colored or yellow at the base; style rather stout, 2.5 mm. long; fruit 5-6 mm. long,

2.5-3 mm. thick, strongly constricted about the seeds, borne on a pedicel 3-4 mm.

long.

HALORAGACEAE

Reference: Anton K. Schindler, Halorrhagaceae, Pflanzenreich IV,

225:1-133.1905.

Mostly perennial herbs, aquatic or terrestrial; leaves opposite, alternate, or

verticillate, the submersed ones often pinnate; stipules none, but large ligules

sometimes present on the stems; flowers perfect or unisexual, mostly minute;

calyx tube adnate to the ovary, the segments generally 4 or 2, sometimes 3 or

none; petals 4, 2, or none, the filaments usually long and slender, the anthers basi-

fixed, laterally dehiscent, broadly linear, rarely elliptic; ovary hypogynous, ovoid

or oblong, cylindric or 4-5-angulate, 4-8-costate, or winged or sulcate, 1-4-celled ;

styles 4-1, discrete, short or elongate, the stigmas papillose or plumose; ovules as

many as the styles, pendulous from the apex of the cell, anatropous; fruit small,

nut-like or drupaceous, angulate, sulcate, or winged, indehiscent, 4-1-celled, 4-1-

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 565

seeded, or of 4 or 2 cocci; testa of the seed membranaceous, the endosperm carnose,

usually abundant, the embryo cylindric, the cotyledons short, the radicle terete,

superior, elongate.

Seven genera, in tropical and temperate regions of both hemi-

spheres. Only the following are represented in Central America.

Ovary 1-celled; plants terrestrial, acaulescent, the leaves very large, cordate at the

base, palmate-nerved Gunnera.

Ovary 4-2-celled; plants aquatic, with elongate stems; leaves various, but not

cordate at the base.

Leaves all except the uppermost divided into capillary segments.

Myriophyllum,

Leaves mostly lanceolate and serrate Proserpinaca.

GUNNERA L.

Acaulescent herbs, perennial, often very large, pubescent or glabrous, with an

often very thick, repent or suberect rhizome; leaves petiolate, sometimes very

large, mostly rounded-cordate, variously lobate or simple, crenate or serrate;

flowers perfect or unisexual, monoecious or dioecious, very small, usually dark red,

spicate, racemose, or paniculate upon a long scape, generally ebracteolate; calyx

tube of the perfect flowers ovoid or compressed, the 2 lobes thick, laciniate; petals

2 or none, oblong, concave, laciniate; stamens 2, inserted upon the petals, the

filaments short and thick, the anthers elliptic, longer than the filaments; styles 2,

elongate, subulate or compressed, papillose; calyx tube of the staminate flowers

reduced, the lobes usually long, the filaments very long and slender; petals of the

pistillate flowers abortive, the ovary 1-celled, 1-ovulate; fruit very small, drupa-

ceous or nut-like.

Species 30 or more, chiefly in the southern hemisphere. Three

species, two probably synonymous, have been described from Costa

Rica, and G. insignis (Oerst.) A. DC. extends into the mountains of

Panama. Two species are described from Mexico and northern

Central America, of which the following is in Guatemala.

Gunnera Killipiana Lundell, Phytologia 1 : 452. 1940. Capote;

sechd (Indians of San Martin Chile Verde) ; Santa Maria.

Wet, densely forested ravines, mostly on steep wet banks, the

young plants often abundant on steep open roadside banks, 1,800-

2,850 meters; Solola; Huehuetenango; Quezaltenango; San Marcos.

Mexico (Chiapas), the type from Volcan de Tacana; Honduras.

Plants very large, usually growing in large dense colonies from very thick,

fleshy rhizomes, essentially acaulescent, but sometimes developing a thick trunk

90 cm. high, this covered with large purple-red ligules; leaves on long stout erect

petioles, the blades often 1-1.5 meters broad, cordate-orbicular, shallowly pal-

566 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

mate-lobate, the lobes obtuse or acute, irregularly dentate, green, scabrous on

both surfaces, especially on the nerves, deeply and broadly cordate at the base;

inflorescence dark red or purple-red, as much as 135 cm. high, the main rachis

very stout, conspicuously bracteate, hispidulous, bearing very numerous, crowded,

slender, densely flowered branches mostly 8-15 cm. long; calyx lobes 1.2 mm.

long, filiform-attenuate; petals sparsely hispidulous, soon deciduous; fruits purple-

red, ovoid, 2 mm. long.

An occasionally abundant and well-known plant in the forested

mountains of western Guatemala, often occurring in great abundance

in wet ravines. It is strange that it was not collected and described

long ago, since it is common in many places along steep banks beside

the roads, and can scarcely have failed to attract the attention of

such collectors as Hartweg. One of the finest displays of this orna-

mental plant is in a white sand ravine at El Pasito, on the road be-

tween San Martin Chile Verde and Colomba, where many of the

plants are 2 meters high, with massive trunks 10 cm. or more in

diameter. The larger petioles are somewhat spiny or prickly. Many

of the leaves in this locality were broken down, and had perhaps

been browsed by goats. Along the road mentioned there are thou-

sands of plants, mostly small ones, on banks beside the road. It

seems likely they may be spread by birds, but at any rate there is

some very effective means of dispersing them. It is improbable that

in such exposed locations they ever become large flowering plants.

The broad leaves often are used as protection against rain, just as

G. insignis is employed in Costa Rica.

MYRIOPHYLLUM L.

Glabrous aquatic herbs with elongate, siiriple or branched stems; leaves mostly

submersed, alternate, opposite, or verticillate, pinnately parted, the emersed leaves

often merely dentate, serrate, or entire; flowers small, perfect or monoecious,

mostly solitary in the leaf axils, 4-parted; calyx tube very short, 4-sulcate, the

4 lobes deciduous; petals cucullate, glabrous; stamens 8 or 4, with elongate fila-

ments, the anthers broadly linear; styles 4, short, erect, capita te-stigmatose;

ovary 4-celled, 4-ovulate; fruit 4-coccous; seeds pendulous, oblong-cylindric, the

testa membranaceous, the embryo cylindric, inserted at the axis of the copious

endosperm.

About 35 species, widely dispersed in both hemispheres, most

plentiful in temperate regions. Only the following is known from

Central America.

Myriophyllum heterophyllum Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 191.

1803.

STANDLEY AND WILLIAMS: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 567

FIG. 94. Proserpinaca palustris var. crebra. A, Habit; X %. B, Flower; X ±8.

In rivers, 150-200 meters; Alta Verapaz (Rio Sebol, downstream

from Carrizal, Steyermark 45798). Widely dispersed in North Amer-

ica from Mexico northward.

Plants submerged, forming large beds on mud in shallow water where there

is strong current, the stems a meter long or more, densely leafy, sparsely branched;

leaves verticillate, pinnately dissected into filiform lobes, 5 cm. long or usually

much shorter, the few emersed leaves linear to spatulate or oblong, serrate or

entire, 2 cm. long or shorter; flowers solitary and sessile in the axils of bracts,

perfect or the lowest by abortion pistillate, the uppermost mostly 5-nate and stami-

nate; calyx tube tetraquetrous, slightly dilated above, 4-sulcate, 0.7 mm. long, the

4 lobes triangular, narrowly acuminate, about equaling the tube; petals navicular,

1.5-3 mm. long, short-unguiculate; stamens 4, the anthers 1-2.3 mm. long; fruit

4-parted, papillose-punctate and tuberculate-rugulose.

568 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

The single Guatemalan collection is sterile but probably refer-

able here. At least it is not M . hippuroides Nutt. (M. mexicanum

Wats.), the species apparently most common in Mexico.

There is doubtless in cultivation in Guatemala the Brazilian

M. brasiliense Camb., in English called "parrot-feather." This is

planted frequently in other parts of Central America in the fountains

of patios, where it grows luxuriantly, the long stems with their glau-

cous leaves usually pendent from the bowl of the fountain.

PROSERPINACA L.

Glabrous aquatic herbs, arising from rhizomes, the stems usually simple; leaves

alternate, subsessile, lanceolate, dentate or pinnatifid; flowers minute, perfect,

mostly solitary in the leaf axils; calyx tube triquetrous, the 3 lobes ovate, short-

acuminate; petals 3, with 3 epipetalous stamens, these abortive, 3 stamens in-

serted on the sepals, these fertile, the filaments very short and thick; anthers

broadly ellipsoid; ovary 3-celled, 3-ovulate; styles 3, cylindric or conic-subulate,

stigmatose above the middle; fruit nut-like, 3-angulate, 3-celled, 3-seeded; seeds

pendulous, the testa membranaceous, the embryo cylindric.

Two species in North America, chiefly in temperate regions.

Only one extends to Central America.

Proserpinaca palustris L. Sp. PI. 88. 1753. P. palustris var.

crebra Fernald & Griscom, Rhodora 37: 177. 1935.

In shallow water of open swamps or in shallow ponds, 1,400-1,500

meters; Alta Verapaz; Baja Verapaz. Widely distributed in eastern

and southern United States; Mexico (Chiapas); El Salvador.

Stems mostly simple, slender or rather stout and succulent, suberect or pro-

cumbent, partially submerged, the lower part of the stem emitting long branched

roots; submerged leaves pinnatifid with linear lobes; emersed leaves sessile or

short-petiolate, narrowly lanceolate, averaging about 45 mm. long and 6 mm.

broad, acute or attenuate at each end, serrate; flowers sessile in the leaf axils,

solitary or ternate; calyx tube 3-winged; sepals 1 mm. long; petals rudimentary;

anthers elliptic, basifixed, 0.5 mm. long; styles equaling the sepals; fruit sub-

globose or pyramidal, trigonous.

The plant is abundant in the shallower parts of swamps and

ponds in the general region of Tactic. — Dr. N. C. Fassett had bor-

rowed (1953) most of our material of this genus and that from Cen-

tral America is all annotated as P. palustris var. crebra, a variety

certainly not abundantly distinct from the typical variety.

INDEX

Acanthocereus, 190

Aciotis, 409

Acisanthera, 411

Actinidiaceae, 10

Adelobotrys, 414

Adenaria, 240

Ammannia, 241

Amoreuxia, 68

Aporocactus, 191

Arthrostemma, 415

Ascyrum, 37

Banara, 83

Bartholomaea, 83

Begonia, 157

Begoniaceae, 157

Bellucia, 418

Bixa, 65

Bixaceae, 65

Blakea, 420

Bucida, 269

Cactaceae, 187

Calophyllum, 37

Calyptranthes, 290

Camellia, 26

Carica, 147

Caricaceae, 146

Carpotroche, 86

Casearia, 87

Cassipourea, 264

Centradenia, 423

Cephalocereus, 192

Cistaceae, 61

Cleyera, 27

Clidemia, 427

Clusia, 39

Cochlospermaceae, 67

Cochlospermum, 68

Combretaceae, 268

Combretum, 271

Conocarpus, 275

Conostegia, 441

Corynostylis, 71

Cuphea, 242

Curatella, 2

Daphnopsis, 235

Davilla, 3

Deamia, 193

Dilleniaceae, 2

Doliocarpus, 4

Echinocactus, 195

Echinopsis, 195

Elaeagnaceae, 239

Epilobium, 526

Epiphyllum, 196

Erblichia, 110

Eucalyptus, 285

Eucnide, 153

Eugenia, 309, 315

Flacourtia, 93

Flacourtiaceae, 82

Freziera, 28

Fuchsia, 527

Garcinia, 46

Gaura, 535

Gongylocarpus, 537

Graffenrieda, 447

Grias, 262

Gronovia, 154

Gunnera, 565

Guttiferae, 36

Haloragaceae, 564

Hasseltia, 94

Hauya, 538

Heimia, 253

Helianthemum, 62

Heliocereus, 204

Henriettea, 448

Heterocentron, 452

Homalium, 94

Hybanthus, 71

Hylocereus, 205

Hypericum, 47

Jacaratia, 151

Jussiaea, 543

Laetia, 96

Lafoensia, 253

Lagerstroemia, 255

Laguncularia, 276

Laplacea, 32

Lawsonia, 256

Leandra, 455

Lechea, 63

Lecythidaceae, 261

Lemaireocereus, 208

Leptospermeae, 284

Lirtdackeria, 96

Loasa, 155

Loasaceae, 152

Lopezia, 553

Ludwigia, 557

Lunania, 97

Lythraceae, 240

Lythrum, 257

Mammea, 52

Mammillaria, 210

Marcgravia, 18

Marcgraviaceae, 16

Marila, 54

Melastoma, 525

Melastomaceae, 407

Melocactus, 211

Mentzelia, 156

Meriania, 459

Miconia, 460

Monochaetum, 497

Monolena, 501

Mouriri, 501

Myrcia, 374

Myrcianthes, 377

Myrciaria, 379

Myriophyllum, 566

Myrtaceae, 283

Myrteae, 287

Myrtiflorae, 234

Myrtillocactus, 212

Myrtus, 405

Nepsera, 505

Nopalea, 213

Nyctocereus, 216

Ochnaceae, 10

Oenothera, 558

Olmediella, 98

Onagraceae, 525

Oocarpon, 563

Opuntia, 216

Opuntiales, 187

Orthion, 76

Ossaea, 506

Ouratea, 12

Pachycereus, 222

Parietales, 1

Passiflora, 116

Passifloraceae, 115

Pereskia, 222

569

570

FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24

Pereskiopsis, 226

Pimenta, 382

Piriqueta, 112

Pleuranthodendron, 100

Prockia, 102

Proserpinaca, 567

Psidium, 385 .

Pterolepis, 508

Punica, 260

Punicaceae, 260

Quiina, 24

Quiinaceae, 23

Quisqualis, 277

Rheedia, 55

Rhexia, 524

Rhipsalis, 226

Rhizophora, 266

Rhizophoraceae, 263

Rhynchanthera, 509

Rinorea, 77

Rotala, 258

Ruyschia, 20

Sauvagesia, 15

Schwackaea, 511

Sclerothrix, 156

Selenicereus, 230

Souroubea, 21

Symphonia, 58

Symplococarpon, 32

Syzygium, 310

Terminalia, 277

Ternstroemia, 33

Tetracera, 7

Theaceae, 24

Thymelaeaceae, 234

Tibouchina, 51,2

Tococa, 516

Topobea, 517

Tovomita, 59

Triolena, 520

Turnera, 112

Turneraceae, 109

Ugni, 403

Viola, 79

Violaceae, 70

Vismia, 59

Werckleocereus, 231

Wilmattea, 231

Xylosma, 103

Zuelania, 108

Zygocactus, 232

Publication 975

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA