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Full text of "Flora of Guatemala"

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FLORA OF GUATEMALA 



PAUL C. STANDLEY 

AND 

JULIAN A. STEYERMARK 



FIELDIANA: BOTANY 
VOLUME 24, PART IV 

Published by 

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM 
APRIL 11, 1946 



FLORA OF GUATEMALA 

PART IV 



FLORA OF GUATEMALA 



PAUL C. STANDLEY 

Curator of the Herbarium 



AND 



JULIAN A. STEYERMARK 

Assistant Curator of the Herbarium 



FIELDIANA: BOTANY 

VOLUME 24, PART IV 

Published by 

CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM 
APRIL 11, 1946 



lit* UtfNAKY OF THE 
MAY 9 1946 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
BY THE CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS 




CONTENTS 



Families Included in Part IV 



Ulmaceae . 



PAGE 

1 



Winteraceae ..................... 269 

Moraceae ....................... 10 Annonaceae .......... . .......... 270 

Proteaceae ...................... 58 Myristicaceae ................... 294 

Loranthaceae ............... ..... 62 Monimiaceae .................... 299 

Opiliaceae ...................... 86 Lauraceae ....................... 302 



Olacaceae ....................... 88 

Balanophoraceae ................. 92 

Aristolochiaceae ................. 93 



Hernandiaceae 344 

Papaveraceae 347 

Cruciferae 354 

Rafflesiaceae 101 Tovariaceae . . 380 

Polygonaceae . . 104 Capparidaceae 380 

Resedaceae 397 

Moringaceae 398 

Droseraceae 399 

Podostemonaceae . . .401 



Chenopodiaceae 137 

Amaranthaceae 143 

Nyctaginaceae 174 

Phytolaccaceae 192 

Aizoaceae 203 

Portulacaceae . . .207 Crassulaceae .... .404 

Basellaceae 214 Saxif ragaceae . .416 

Caryophyllaceae 217 Brunelliaceae . 

Nymphaeaceae 239 Cunoniaceae 

Ceratophyllaceae 242 Hamamelidaceae . ... 426 

Ranunculaceae 243 Platanaceae. . .430 

Berberidaceae 256 Rosaceae 432 

Menispermaceae 258 Connaraceae 484 

Magnoliaceae 266 Krameriaceae 488 



INTRODUCTION 



The Flora of Guatemala, of which this is the first part to be pub- 
lished, has been in preparation for the past six years. It is based 
upon published records of Guatemalan plants and upon the earlier 
collections now available in the Herbarium of Chicago Natural 
History Museum. Principally, however, it records new informa- 
tion obtained by the authors during four botanical expeditions of 
the Museum. These expeditions were extended to all the twenty- 
two departments of Guatemala and to almost all corners of the 
country. This intensive exploration was possible because of the 
admirable network of Guatemalan roads, which enable one to reach 
by automobile almost every village except in a few sparsely settled 
areas. These the junior author has explored on foot or on horseback. 

Almost all the manuscript of the Flora has been written, at least 
in provisional form, and it was planned to publish it in systematic 
order. Because of conditions imposed by the war, this has been 
found impractical. Part I will include an account of the general 
features of Guatemalan vegetation, a re'sume' of the history of its 
exploration, and other pertinent matter. 

It is believed that the form in which the data are presented on 
the following pages will be found sufficiently obvious, but an explana- 
tion of some of the details will be included in the introductory 
chapters. The flora of Guatemala, as here considered, includes 
that of British Honduras, which is continuous with that of the 
departments of Pete"n and Izabal. There is no reason to suppose 
that in British Honduras there exists more than a handful of species 
that will not be found eventually in Guatemala. 

ULMAGEAE. Elm Family 

Trees or shrubs with watery sap; leaves alternate, petiolate, simple, entire to 
serrate or crenate, stipulate, the stipules usually small and fugacious, free or united; 
flowers small and usually green or yellowish, monoecious, dioecious, perfect, or 
polygamous, mostly in small cymes or racemes, or the pistillate often solitary in 
the leaf axils; perianth normally 4-5-parted or of 4-5 distinct sepals; petals none; 



2 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

stamens as many as the perianth segments and opposite them, the filaments 
straight or nearly so; anthers erect in bud, 2-celled, longitudinally dehiscent; 
ovary 1-celled, the ovule solitary, pendulous from the apex of the cell, anatropous 
or amphitropous; styles or stigmas 2; fruit a samara, nut, or drupe; endosperm 
scant or none; embryo straight or curved, the cotyledons usually flat. 

About a dozen genera, in tropical and temperate regions of 
both hemispheres. No other genera occur in Central America. 

Leaves opposite Lozanella. 

Leaves alternate. 

Fruit dry, sometimes winged. 

Fruit winged, not ciliate Phyllostylon. 

Fruit not winged, long-ciliate Chaetoptelea. 

Fruit drupaceous. 

Cotyledons narrow; fruit scarcely more than 2 mm. long, juicy; leaves dentate 

and 3-nerved (in Guatemalan species) Trema. 

Cotyledons broad; fruit usually 7-15 mm. long and not red. 

Stamens as many as the perianth segments; leaves entire or serrate; plants 

sometimes armed with spines Celtis. 

Stamens twice as many as the perianth segments or more numerous; leaves 
entire, 3-nerved; plants unarmed Ampelocera. 



AMPELOCERA Klotzsch 

Unarmed trees; leaves alternate, very shortly petiolate, membranaceous or 
coriaceous, remotely serrate or entire, penninerved or obscurely 3-nerved ; stipules 
lateral, free; flowers small, polygamous, perfect or by the abortion of the ovary 
staminate, fasciculate or racemose in the leaf axils; perianth cuplike, 5-lobate, the 
lobes ovate, imbricate; stamens 10, the filaments filiform; exserted; ovary ovoid, 
the style 2-parted, the branches subulate, divaricate; ovule pendulous from the 
apex of the cell; fruit small, drupaceous. 

Two other species are known, in Cuba and Peru. 

Ampelocera Hottlei Standl. Trop. Woods 51: 11. 1937. Celtis 
Hottlei Standl. Trop. Woods 20: 20. 1929. Lain (Pete'n). 

Wet or swampy forest, at or little above sea level; Pete'n; Alta 
Verapaz; Izabal; Retalhuleu; Huehuetenango. Oaxaca; British 
Honduras; Honduras; Panama; Colombia. 

Sometimes only a large shrub but usually a large or medium-sized tree, 
sometimes 30 meters high with a trunk 50 cm. or more in diameter; branchlets 
grayish-puberulent, often glaucescent; petioles stout, mostly 7-12 mm. long, the 
blades coriaceous, oblong or elliptic-oblong, mostly 8-16 cm. long and 3-7.5 cm. 
wide, somewhat lustrous, abruptly acuminate, subacute to almost rounded at 
the base and often somewhat oblique, obviously 3-nerved from the base but 
essentially penninerved, glabrous; flowers densely congested and sessile in the 
leaf axils or often in small cymes, the inflorescences scarcely longer than the 
petioles, densely puberulent and sometimes glaucescent; drupes oval-globose, 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 3 

about 13 mm. long, densely scabrous-puberulent, the persistent style branches 
about 3 mm. long. 

The name "chaperno" has been reported from Guatemala, 
probably in error. In British Honduras the tree is called "bullhoof" ; 
in Honduras "manteca"; in Oaxaca "cautivo" and "frijolillo." 
The trunk is sometimes buttressed; the bark is grayish brown and 
fairly smooth, about 1 cm. thick, the inner bark yellowish or pale 
brown. Sapwood creamy yellow to light brown; heartwood dark 
with almost black streaks; fresh heartwood with a faint fragrance; 
wood not difficult to cut, splits rather easily. In Oaxaca the wood 
is utilized for railroad ties and house construction. 

CELTIS L. 

Trees or shrubs, sometimes armed with spines; leaves alternate, deciduous or 
persistent, serrate or entire, penninerved and often also 3-nerved, frequently 
oblique at the base; stipules lateral, free; flowers polygamous, small, greenish, in 
small cymes, the cymes staminate or androgynous, lax and open or sometimes 
small and congested, the fertile flowers usually long-pedicellate; perianth shallowly 
or deeply 5-lobate, the segments imbricate; stamens normally 5, the filaments 
erect or nearly so, finally exserted, the anthers ovate; torus usually densely pilose; 
ovary sessile, the style central, 2-parted, the branches plumose-stigmatose, diver- 
gent, simple or bifid; ovule pendulous from the apex of the cell, anatropous; fruit 
drupaceous, usually with scant flesh, ovoid or globose, sometimes 2-carinate, the 
endocarp osseous; testa of the seed membranaceous, the endosperm scant or none; 
embryo curved, the cotyledons broad, incurved-replicate, sometimes corrugate. 

About 75 species, in temperate and tropical regions of both 
hemispheres. No other species are native in Central America. 

Branches armed with recurved spines C. iguanaea. 

Branches unarmed. 

Leaves not at all 3-nerved, with numerous pairs of lateral nerves . . . . C. monoica. 
Leaves conspicuously 3-nerved, the lateral nerves usually 4 or fewer pairs. 

Leaves conspicuously and evenly serrate or crenate C. trinervia. 

Leaves, at least most of them, entire or nearly so. 

Leaves glabrous C. Schippii. 

Leaves densely and softly pubescent beneath C. caudata. 

Celtis caudata Planch. Ann. Sci. Nat. III. 10: 294. 1848. 
At 1,200-1,300 meters; Huehuetenango (along Rio Cuilco 
between Cuilco and San Juan, Steyermark 50906). Southern Mexico. 

A tree about 12 meters high, the young branchlets densely and softly pubes- 
cent; leaves subcoriaceous, short-petiolate, ovate, asymmetric, mostly 4-6.5 cm. 
long, acuminate or narrowly long-acuminate, rounded at the base, entire or some- 
times dentate near the base, scabrous on the upper surface and very rough to the 
touch, densely and softly pubescent beneath, 3-nerved from the base; fruiting 



4 FIELDI AN A: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

pedicels 1-1.5 cm. long or longer; fruit subglobose, about 8 mm. long, probably 
black at maturity. 

Celtis iguanaea (Jacq.) Sarg. Silva N. Amer. 7: 64. 1895. 
Rhamnus iguanaeus Jacq. Enum. PI. Carib. 16. 1760. C. aculeata 
Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 53. 1788. C. anfractuosa Liebm. 
Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 338. 1851. Cagalero; Rompa-caite ; 
Piscucuy (Zacapa) ; Clavo verde (Huehuetenango). 

Dry or wet thickets of plains and hillsides, mostly at 1,000 
meters or less; Zacapa; Chiquimula; El Progreso; Jalapa; Jutiapa; 
Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; Chimaltenango; Retalhuleu; 
Suchitepe"quez; Huehuetenango. Florida and western Texas; 
Mexico to British Honduras and Panama; West Indies; South 
America. 

A shrub or small tree, often with long, recurved or somewhat scandent 
branches, the trunk sometimes as much as 30 cm. in diameter, often branched 
from the base, the branches armed with stout, short, usually recurved spines, the 
ultimate branches often compressed; leaves short-petiolate, ovate to oval, mostly 
5-13 cm. long, abruptly acuminate, rounded or subcordate at the base, conspicu- 
ously 3-nerved at the base, serrate except near the base, sparsely pubescent or 
almost glabrous; flowers greenish yellow, in small, lax or dense cymes about as 
long as the petioles; fruit ovoid, orange, yellow, or red, 8-12 mm. long. 

Called "ufia de gato" and "cagalero bianco" in Salvador; in 
Yucatan "muc" or "zitsmuc" (Maya); in Oaxaca "palo de arco." 
The fruit is reported to be edible but the flesh is scant and its flavor 
not appetizing. Birds are said to be fond of it and children some- 
times gather it. The shrub is a common one in the dry Motagua 
Valley, and in thickets of the dry Pacific plains sometimes is domi- 
nant. The bark is brown, smooth or slightly fissured; sap wood 
white, the heartwood scant, dark brown or almost black. The 
name "palo de arco" used in Oaxaca refers to the fact that the main 
branches often are recurved, like a bow. The specific name used by 
Jacquin (iguanaea) is said to relate to the fact that iguanas eat the 
fruit. 

Celtis monoica Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 3: 139. pi. 77. 
1883. Capulin macho (fide Aguilar); Mescal. 

Moist or wet, mixed, mountain forest, 1,000-1,600 meters; 
Guatemala; Chimaltenango; Huehuetenango. San Luis Potosi, 
Veracruz, and Oaxaca; Honduras; Salvador. 

A tall tree, sometimes 25 meters high, with slender branchlets; leaves on 
short slender petioles, lance-oblong or oblong-ovate, mostly 7-11 cm. long and 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 5 

2-4 cm. wide, rather thin or coriaceous, sometimes lustrous on the upper surface, 
long-attenuate or caudate-acuminate, acute or obtuse at the base, rather coarsely 
serrate almost to the base, sparsely strigose beneath with straight, closely appressed 
hairs; fruit subglobose, covered with sharp tubercles. 

Called "duraznillo" in Salvador and "yaya" in Honduras. 

Celtis Schippii Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 12: 409. 1936. Bullhoof. 

British Honduras, and probably extending into Pete"n or Izabal; 
type from Temash River, Schipp 1322; collected also at Middlesex 
and in Silk Grass Forest Reserve. 

A glabrous tree 15 meters tall, the trunk 25 cm. in diameter, with slender 
branchlets; leaves short-petiolate, subcoriaceous, the petioles 5-8 mm. long, the 
blades oblong or elliptic-oblong, mostly 8-11 cm. long and 3.5-4.5 cm. wide, 
short-acuminate, obtuse or subacute at the base and more or less oblique, entire, 
lustrous above, 3-nerved at the base; pistillate flowers mostly solitary, axillary, 
the pedicels as much as 7 mm. long, the sepals persistent, rounded, 1 mm. long, 
ciliate; drupes ellipsoid, glabrous, 1.5 cm. long and 1 cm. broad, narrowed at the 
base. 

Celtis trinervia Lam. Encycl. 4: 140. 1797. C. petenensis 
Lundell, Bull. Torrey Club 69: 387. 1942 (type from Lake Yaxha, 
C. L. Lundell 4306). 

At 200 meters or less; Pete"n (Lake Yaxha; Uaxactun). Greater 
Antilles. 

A slender tree, sometimes 18 meters high, the bark smooth and gray; leaves 
short-petiolate, membranaceous, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 4-13 cm. long, 2-7.5 
cm. wide, long-acuminate, at the base usually rounded on one side and acute on 
the other, closely and regularly serrate or crenate, bright green, short-pilose, 
especially beneath, or glabrate; staminate flowers in lax axillary cymes, the pistil- 
late flowers often solitary; fruit purple-black, 7-8 mm. long, about equaling the 
pedicel or longer, the stone subglobose, rugose. 

CHAETOPTELEA Liebmann 

Large trees, unarmed; leaves alternate, somewhat distichous, penninerved, 
serrate, deciduous or often persistent; stipules lateral, scarious, caducous; fascicles 
of flowers borne at the nodes, solitary and sessile, at first covered with imbricate 
scales; flowers numerous in the clusters, polygamous or most of them perfect; 
perianth campanulate, 4-8-1 obate, the lobes imbricate; stamens usually 5, the 
filaments erect, finally exserted, the anthers glabrous; ovary stipitate, compressed, 
the style short, 2-fid, the branches introrsely stigmatose; ovule pendulous from 
the apex of the cell; fruit dry, compressed, elliptic, very thin, not winged, densely 
long-ciliate; seed compressed; endosperm none, the embryo straight, the coty- 
ledons plane. 

The genus consists of a single species. Some authors have united 
it with Ulmus, but in that the fruit is conspicuously winged. 



6 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

Chaetoptelea mexicana Liebm. Nat. For. Kjoebenhavn Vid. 
Medd. 1850: 76. 1851. Ulmus mexicana Planch, in DC. Prodr. 17: 
156. 1873. Duraznillo; Mescal; Muyaul (San Marcos). 

Moist mountain forest, 900-2,700 meters; Alta Verapaz; Zacapa; 
Sacatepe"quez; Chimaltenango; Solola; Retalhuleu; Huehuetenango ; 
Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; Honduras; Costa 
Rica; Panama. 

A large tree, usually 10-25 meters tall or even more, with a rather open crown, 
the trunk often 75 cm. in diameter, the bark gray, somewhat scaly; leaves decidu- 
ous, short-petiolate, lance-oblong to oblong-ovate, mostly 5-9 cm. long, sometimes 
larger, especially on young shoots, acuminate or long-acuminate, obtuse to sub- 
cordate at the base, unequally and often coarsely serrate, scabrous, especially 
beneath and usually very rough to the touch, sometimes smooth on the upper 
surface, the lateral nerves numerous, prominent beneath; flowers yellowish, the 
pistillate or perfect ones in lax racemes; fruit slender-stipitate, about 5 mm. long, 
pale green, the margins densely beset with long soft hairs, bidentate at the apex. 

Called "membrillo" in Honduras. The wood is rather hard, 
heavy, tough and strong, in structure like that of Ulmus (elm) ; the 
heartwood is deep reddish brown, often with darker streaks, while 
the thick sapwood is light brownish gray. No data are available 
regarding any use of the wood in Guatemala but in Salvador it is 
employed for railroad ties, cart axles, beds, and cart wheels. The 
tree is a common one of the central mountains of Guatemala, and 
some individuals must be fully 30 meters tall, with very massive 
trunks. It is plentiful also on hillsides about Fuentes Georginas in 
Quezaltenango. Small trees and seedlings seem to be scarce in these 
same regions. 

LOZANELLA Greenman 

Reference: E. P. Killip & C. V. Morton, The genus Lozanella, 
Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 21: 336-339. 1931. 

Shrubs or small trees, the branches opposite; leaves opposite, slender-petiolate, 
membranaceous, serrate, 3-nerved; stipules united; flowers dioecious, small, green, 
in rather lax, small, axillary cymes; pistillate perianth 5-6-parted, the segments 
imbricate; ovary sessile, the single ovule pendulous; style 2-parted to the base, 
the branches papillose; fruit a small drupe, ovoid, somewhat compressed, with 
juicy exocarp and osseous endocarp; endosperm fleshy; embryo curved, the coty- 
ledons broad, equal. 

Two species are known, the other in Peru and Bolivia. 

Lozanella enantiophylla (Donn. Smith) Killip & Morton, 
Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 21: 339. 1931. Trema enantiophylla Donn. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 7 

Smith, Bot. Gaz. 33: 259. 1902. L. trematoides Greenm. Proc. Amer. 
Acad. 41:236. 1905. 

Damp mixed upland forest, 1,400-3,000 meters; El Progreso; 
Zacapa (Sierra de las Minas); Guatemala; Chimaltenango; Quiche"; 
Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; Costa Rica; 
Colombia; Peru. 

A tree 6-9 meters high, the trunk as much as 25 cm. in diameter, the young 
branches densely villous-pilose, the older branches brown; leaves slender-petiolate, 
broadly ovate to lance-ovate, 9-16 cm. long, 5-9 cm. wide, usually acuminate or 
long-acuminate, obtuse or acute at the base, rather evenly and closely crenate, 
bright green, very rough above, rather densely and shortly harsh-pilose beneath, 
conspicuously 3-nerved; inflorescences usually about equaling the petioles; fruits 
subglobose, very juicy, scarcely more than 2 mm. in diameter, bright orange. 

PHYLLOSTYLON Capanema 

Unarmed trees with rough pubescence; leaves alternate, short-petiolate, 
deciduous, penninerved, crenate or serrate; stipules small, lateral, distinct, cordate- 
lanceolate; flowers polygamous, the clusters fasciculate on leafless branches, sessile, 
subtended by a few imbricate scales; lower flowers of the fascicle staminate, the 
uppermost fertile; perianth 5-8-parted, the segments narrow, thin, slightly imbri- 
cate; stamens usually fewer than the perianth segments, unequal, the filaments 
short, erect, the anthers glabrous; ovary sessile, compressed; style continuous 
with the ovary, plane, broadly falcate, or usually unequally and divaricately 
bilobate, the upper margin stigmatose; ovule pendulous from the apex of the cell; 
fruit dry, samaroid, compressed, terminated by a large membranaceous unequal 
falciform wing, with another small wing at the base; seed subcordiform, with a 
thin testa; endosperm none, the embryo straight. 

One or perhaps two other species are known, in South America. 

Phyllostylon rhamnoides (Poisson) Taubert, Oesterr. Bot. 
Zeit. 40: 409. 1890. Samaroceltis rhamnoides Poisson, Journ. Bot. 1: 
256. 1887. 

Dry brushy hillsides of the Oriente, 300-700 meters; Zacapa; 
Chiquimula. Southern Mexico; Cuba and Haiti; Colombia; Vene- 
zuela; Argentina. 

A tree, in some parts of its range 15 meters high with a trunk 70 cm. in diame- 
ter, but in Guatemala usually much smaller, with stiff irregular branches, the 
young branchlets as well as the leaves scabrous or scabrous-puberulent; leaves on 
very short petioles, the blades broadly ovate to oval, mostly 2-4.5 cm. long and 
1.5-2.5 cm. wide, on young branches often larger, obtuse or subacute, broadly 
rounded to shallowly cordate at the base, pale green when dried, very rough to 
the touch; flowers usually produced when the tree is leafless, small, greenish, 
inconspicuous; fruits mostly 2.5-3 cm. long, resembling the samaras of Acer, the 
seed-bearing portion short and hard, densely short-pilose, the thin wing 6-8 mm. 
wide, thickened along one edge. 



8 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

The Maya name used in Yucatan is "canche"; in Mexico the tree 
is called "ceron." The wood is clear deep yellow to very pale brown, 
with a thin layer of white or colorless sap wood, heavy, hard, and 
compact, with very fine and uniform texture, the grain straight or 
nearly so, easy to carve and turn, and taking a high polish. From 
the Dominican Republic it has been exported to the United States 
under the trade name of "San Domingan boxwood." It is employed 
for weaver's shuttles, rulers, and piano keys. So far as known, the 
wood is used in Guatemala only for firewood. 

TREMA Loureiro 

Trees or shrubs, unarmed, usually with rough pubescence; leaves alternate, 
commonly distichous, short-petiolate, serrate or entire, penninerved and 3-nerved 
at the base; stipules lateral, free, small, caducous; flowers small, monoecious, 
dioecious, or polygamous, sessile in the leaf axils or in axillary cymes; staminate 
perianth usually 5-lobate, the segments induplicate-valvate; stamens normally 
5, the filaments short, erect; segments of the pistillate calyx slightly imbricate; 
ovary sessile, the style central, divided, often to the base, the branches stigmatose, 
linear, the ovule pendulous; torus of the flower usually pilose; fruit a small drupe, 
ovoid or subglobose, usually terminated by the persistent style branches, the 
exocarp succulent and juicy, the endocarp hard; testa of the seed membranaceous, 
the endosperm fleshy; embryo curved or almost involute, the cotyledons narrow, 
the radicle incumbent, ascending. 

Perhaps 20 species, widely dispersed in tropics of both hemi- 
spheres. One other Central American species occurs in Panama. 
It seems that in all regions where the trees grow their characters are 
variable and the species separable only with difficulty. Guatemalan 
material of the genus is separable into three groups that usually can 
be distinguished, at least when ample material is available for com- 
parison. These may represent distinct species but it appears more 
satisfactory to treat them all as forms of the widespread T. micrantha. 

Trema micrantha (L.) Blume, Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 2: 58. 
1853. Rhamnus micranthus L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2: 937. 1759. 
Sponia micrantha Decaisne, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Paris 3: 498. 1834. 
Capulin; Kib (Quecchi). 

Chiefly in dry thickets, along streams, or often on plains, ascend- 
ing from sea level to about 2,000 meters; Alta Verapaz; Zacapa; 
Baja Verapaz; El Progreso; Chiquimula; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; 
Guatemala; Sacatepe"quez ; Chimaltenango; Solola; Quiche"; Que- 
zaltenango; Suchitepe"quez; probably in all or most of the other 
departments except Totonicapan. Mexico to British Honduras 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 9 

and Panama; West Indies; through most of South America except 
the highlands. 

A shrub or a tree, in Guatemala sometimes 15 meters high or more, the bark 
thin, brown, shallowly fissured; leaves short-petiolate, oblong-ovate to oblong- 
lanceolate, mostly 6-15 cm. long, acute or acuminate, rounded to subcordate at 
the base, finely serrate, very rough to the touch, beneath usually densely pilose 
with short spreading hairs, or the pubescence sometimes sparse; flowers very small, 
green or yellowish, the cymes small, dense or lax, little exceeding the petioles; 
fruit about 2 mm. long, bright red or orange-red. 

Known in British Honduras by the names "white capulin," 
"wild bay cedar," and "bastard bay cedar"; in Salvador called 
"capulin macho," "capulin months," "capulincillo," and "chu- 
rrusco"; "capulin negro" (Honduras). The bark contains a strong, 
tough fiber that is used as cordage in Guatemala and throughout 
Central America. Along the North Coast the tree is sometimes 
found in such places as Manicaria swamps, but dry situations are 
more usual. This is one of the most common and characteristic 
species of second-growth thickets. 

Trema micrantha var. floridana (Britton) Standl. & Steyerm. 
Field Mus. Bot. 23: 40. 1944. T. floridana Britton ex Small, Fl. 
Southeast. U. S. 366: 1329. 1903. Capulin cimarrdn (Pete'n). 

Occasional in thickets, 1,600 meters or less; Pete'n; Jalapa; 
Huehuetenango. Southern Florida; Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico; 
British Honduras. 

A large shrub or small tree, similar to the species, but the leaves mostly ovate 
or even broadly ovate, short-acuminate, rather deeply cordate at the base, densely 
and rather softly short-pilose beneath. 

Usually this can be recognized by the relatively broad and con- 
spicuously cordate leaves but some intermediate forms are found 
in Central America. This seems to be the only form of the species 
in Yucatan. 

Trema micrantha var. strigillosa (Lundell) Standl. & Steyerm. 
Field Mus. Bot. 23: 40. 1944. T. strigillosa Lundell, Phytologia 1: 
337. 1939 (type from Middlesex, British Honduras, W. A. Schipp 
439). Capulin; Kiim (Coban, Quecchi). 

Moist thickets or forest, sometimes in pine forest, chiefly at 800- 
1,400 meters; Alta Verapaz; Chimaltenango; Quezaltenango. 
Southern Mexico; British Honduras. 

Sometimes a tree of 15 meters with a trunk 40 cm. in diameter; leaves lance- 
oblong, green, less rough than in other forms, long-acuminate, rounded at the base, 



10 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

almost glabrous beneath, the hairs, if any, confined to the veins and closely 
appressed. 

A form very similar to this and perhaps identical is found in the 
West Indies, and there may well be an earlier name for the variety. 

MORACEAE. Mulberry Family 

Trees or shrubs, usually with milky sap, rarely herbs, sometimes epiphytic; 
leaves alternate, stipulate, entire, dentate, or variously lobate; flowers small and 
commonly green or greenish, monoecious or dioecious, in ament-like spikes, 
capitate, on a flat, entire or lobate receptacle, or sometimes on the inner surface 
of a closed receptacle; staminate perianth 2-4-1 obate or 2-4-parted, or the perianth 
tubular, sometimes none; stamens usually as many as the perianth lobes and 
opposite them, rarely only 1; petals none; pistillate flower with a 3-5-parted 
perianth, or sometimes tubular with a small aperture at the apex; ovary superior 
or partly inferior, 1-2-celled; styles or stigmas 1-2; ovule solitary, pendulous, 
anatropous, or erect and orthotropous; fruit a syncarp of numerous small fruits 
upon a usually fleshy receptacle, or the fruits separate and enclosed in the more 
or less enlarged and fleshy perianth ; seeds small or large, the endosperm scant or 
none; embryo straight or curved, the cotyledons often unequal, usually thick. 

About 50 genera, in both hemispheres, most of the species tropi- 
cal. Other genera represented in Central America, chiefly in Costa 
Rica and Panama, are Olmedia, Perebea, Helicostylis, and Ogcodeia, 
the last of which may well extend into Guatemala. 

Plants herbaceous Dorstenia. 

Plants trees or shrubs. 

Flowers borne upon the inner surface of a more or less globose, hollow receptacle, 

this having at the apex a small opening closed by scales Ficus. 

Flowers variously arranged but never upon the inner surface of a closed recep- 
tacle. 

Leaves palmately or pinnately lobate or parted, rarely entire (cultivated 
tree) but the fruit then a very large syncarp 15-30 cm. long. 

Leaves pinnately lobate or rarely entire Artocarpus. 

Leaves palmately lobate or parted; fruits small, the individual ones less 
than 2 cm. long. 

Flowers in dense spikes, these clustered at the end of a peduncle; leaves 

peltate Cecropia. 

Flowers in cymes; leaves not peltate Pourouma. 

Leaves, at least those of adult branches, entire or dentate, the leaves of young 
shoots rarely lobate. 

Flowers of one or both sexes in ament-like spikes or racemes. 

Trees, often armed with spines; pistillate flowers in globose heads, the 
staminate in ament-like spikes; leaves dentate Chlorophora. 

Trees or shrubs, unarmed; both pistillate and staminate flowers in ament- 
like spikes; leaves dentate or entire. 
Pistillate perianth of distinct segments, not enclosing the fruit; seeds 

minute Morus. 

Pistillate perianth tubular, enclosing the fruit; seeds large. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 11 

Staminate perianth none Clarisia. 

Staminate perianth present. 

Stamens not inflexed in bud Sorocea. 

Stamens inflexed in bud Trophis. 

Flowers never in ament-like spikes or racemes, arranged in heads or upon 

flattened receptacles, or sometimes solitary. 

Stipules and usually the leaves armed with small prickles .... Poulsenia. 
Stipules and leaves unarmed, the branches rarely armed with spines. 
Branches often armed with spines; stamens inflexed in bud; staminate 

flowers in ament-like spikes; leaves dentate Chlorophora. 

Branches unarmed; stamens not inflexed in bud; staminate flowers 

not in ament-like spikes; leaves dentate or entire. 
Ovule erect; staminate peduncles bearing several flower heads; 

plants often epiphytic; leaves entire Coussapoa. 

Ovule pendulous; staminate peduncles bearing a single flower head; 

plants not epiphytic; leaves entire or dentate. 
Leaves cordate at the base, membranaceous, densely pilose on 

both surfaces Castillo,. 

Leaves not cordate at the base, usually coriaceous, glabrous or 

practically so, at least on the upper surface. 
Staminate and pistillate flowers borne upon the same recep- 
tacle Brosimum. 

Staminate and pistillate flowers borne upon separate recep- 
tacles. . . .Pseudolmedia. 



ARTOCARPUS Forster 

Trees with milky sap; leaves large, alternate, coriaceous, penninerved, per- 
sistent, entire or pinnate-lobate, the stipules lateral; flowers monoecious, in 
unisexual, globose or oblong, very dense heads, the peduncles axillary, solitary, 
the individual flowers very small and numerous, the receptacle becoming fleshy; 
staminate perianth with 2-4 lobes or segments, these concave at the apex, slightly 
imbricate; stamen 1, the filament erect and usually complanate, the anther short- 
exserted; pistillate perianth mostly tubular or obovoid, immersed in the receptacle, 
its apex free; ovary straight, included, buried in the receptacle but free from it; 
style central or somewhat lateral, the stigmatose apex exserted, linear-spatulate 
or rarely subpeltate; ovule affixed near the apex, pendulous; fruiting perianths 
numerous, forming with the receptacle a fleshy syncarp; achenes included in the 
syncarp, the pericarp membranaceous or coriaceous; endosperm none, the embryo 
straight or incurved, the cotyledons fleshy, equal or very unequal. 

About 40 species, in tropical Asia, Malaysia, and the Pacific 
Islands, one of them now cultivated in all tropical regions. 

Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg, Journ. Wash. Acad. 
Sci. 31: 95. 1941. Sitodium altile Parkinson, Journ. Voy. Endeavour 
45. 1773. A. communis Forst. Char. Gen. 102. 1776. A. incisa L. f. 
Suppl. PL 411. 1781. Palo de pan; Arbol de pan; Mazapan; Fruta 
de pan; Pan de fruta; Castana (Pete"n, presumably the name applied 
to the seeds). 



12 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

Planted abundantly in the North Coast, in the Pacific plains 
and bocacosta, and in the lowlands of Alta Verapaz. Native of the 
Pacific islands but now grown in all tropical regions. 

A medium-sized or large tree, in Guatemala often 25 meters tall, with thick 
trunk and smooth gray bark, the crown very dense; leaves stout-petiolate, 30-80 
cm. long, 25-40 cm. wide, dark green above and often sparsely hairy, paler beneath, 
scabrous, often pubescent, cuneate and entire at the base, deeply pinnate-lobate, 
the lobes acuminate; staminate spikes dense and clublike, 25-40 cm. long; pistillate 
inflorescence subglobose, long-pedunculate; fruits large and fleshy, subglobose or 
oval, often 30 cm. long, smooth or spiny, with or without seeds. 

The name "mazapan" is said to be restricted to the seedless fruits, 
and it is these that are most used as food where the trees are grown 
for the purpose. Breadfruit is an important food in the Pacific 
islands and Malaysia, but in Central America little use is made of it 
except in areas where there are people of African origin, as in the 
banana regions of the Atlantic coast. They consume the young 
fruits in large quantities, usually sliced and fried. The fruits are 
said to be eaten at times along the Pacific bocacosta, where there 
are many hundreds of giant trees, the largest we have observed in 
Central America. The Indian and ladino people, however, have 
little taste for breadfruit, and we have not seen it upon the table in 
Pacific Guatemala. Both the smooth and spiny forms are planted, 
as well as seedless and seed-bearing trees. It is stated with some 
authority that all the trees of the Pacific slope have fruits with seeds. 
The tree does not grow well except in rather hot regions and it is 
rarely if ever seen in the central regions as high as 1,500 meters. 
At Coban, for instance, the tree is rarely if ever planted, but fruits 
are sometimes brought to the market from the Rio Polochic. The 
fruits are used in the Pacific lowlands for fattening pigs, and there 
are large quantities of them available about many of the fincas. 
The seeds, after having been cooked, also are sometimes eaten by 
people. The story of the introduction of breadfruit into the West 
Indies, to which it was introduced in order to provide food for the 
suffering population, is a long and romantic one, too long to be 
repeated here. A good re'sume' of it may be found in Curtis' s Botani- 
cal Magazine, under plates 2869-2871, published in 1828. The 
story of the expedition of the Bounty under Captain Bligh, to obtain 
the plants, has been the subject of many books, short articles, and 
moving picture films. The plants were introduced into the West 
Indies on the island of St. Vincent in January, 1793. No data are 
at hand as to the date at which the breadfruit reached Central 
America and Mexico, but it seems reasonable to suppose that it 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 13 

may have reached Panama and Mexico one or two centuries earlier, 
by the ships that plied every year between those coasts and the 
Philippines. 

Artocarpus integrifolia L., the jack-fruit, with similar fruits 
but entire, mostly ovate leaves, is planted in Guatemala City and 
elsewhere. It is a native of the East Indies. 

BROSIMUM Swartz 

Trees with milky latex; stipules small, lateral, caducous; leaves short-petiolate, 
entire, usually coriaceous, penninerved; flowers monoecious, affixed to a globose 
receptacle, the receptacles axillary, geminate; bracts closely appressed to the 
receptacle, or sometimes none, the bractlets numerous among the staminate flowers, 
usually peltate and short-stipitate, before anthesis covering the whole surface, 
usually persistent in fruit; staminate flowers numerous, the perianth short-cupu- 
late or scarcely distinguishable; stamen 1, the filament short, erect, the anther 
small, ovate; staminate flowers 1 or 2 in the center of the receptacle, more or less 
immersed, their perianth none or concrete with the receptacle; ovary adnate to the 
receptacle, attenuate above to a short style, the stigma branches exserted, thick, 
spreading; fruit globose, more or less surrounded by the fleshy or rather dry 
receptacle; seed subglobose, the testa membranaceous; endosperm none, the 
cotyledons thick, fleshy, subequal, the radicle small, superior. 

A group of perhaps 25 species, in tropical America. Three other 
species have been reported from southern Central America. 

Leaves pale and glaucescent on the lower surface, also minutely and sparsely 
sericeous, usually abruptly short-acuminate, commonly lustrous on the upper 

surface; pistillate flowers 2 in each receptacle B. panamense. 

Leaves almost concolorous, not glaucescent beneath and usually glabrous, not or 

scarcely lustrous on the upper surface; pistillate flowers 1 or rarely 2. 
Leaves abruptly caudate-acuminate, with a long linear tip .... B. costaricanum. 
Leaves merely acute or abruptly short-acuminate, never with a long linear tip. 
Leaves brownish or rufescent beneath when dried, the ultimate veins elevated 

and prominently reticulate B. terrabanum. 

Leaves pale greenish beneath when dried, not at all brownish or rufescent, the 
veins not prominent or conspicuously reticulate B. Alicastrum. 

Brosimum Alicastrum Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 12. 1788. 
Ujushte; Ujushte bianco; Masico; Ox (Maya); Ramon; Ramon 
bianco; Capomo (British Honduras). 

Moist or wet forest, ascending to about 1,000 meters but mostly 
at 300 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Escuintla; 
Guatemala (valley of Rio Motagua); Retalhuleu; Quiche"; Hue- 
huetenango; Baja Verapaz. Southern Mexico and British Honduras; 
Salvador; West Indies. 

A medium-sized or large tree, sometimes 30 meters tall with a trunk a meter 
in diameter, the crown broad and dense, the bark gray; leaves short-petiolate, 



14 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

coriaceous, bright green when fresh, glabrous, entire, mostly oblong-elliptic to 
elliptic, chiefly 7-14 cm. long and 3-5.5 cm. wide, acuminate or abruptly short- 
acuminate, sometimes merely acute, obtuse or acute at the base, the lateral nerves 
about 14 pairs; flower heads about 1 cm. in diameter, short-pedunculate; fruit 
yellow or orange, about 1.5 cm. in diameter, containing a single seed 12 mm. in 
diameter. 

Called "breadnut" in British Honduras; "ajah," "tsotz ax," 
"ax," "mo," "muju," "talcoite" (Chiapas). Wherever it grows 
in quantity, this tree, like some other species of the genus, is much 
used as food for stock, especially during the dry season when other 
forage is scarce. In Guatemala this is chiefly in Pete*n, but the tree 
is still more important for the purpose in British Honduras and 
Yucatan. In the latter region it is often the principal food for stock 
during the drier months. The branches, of course, must be cut, 
and this is done by men who climb the tree with machetes, and cut 
down limbs for the stock to browse upon. Mr. J. B. Kinloch states 
that the men who do this are more expert tree climbers even than 
the chicleros, who are noted in this respect. According to Lundell, 
in Pete"n the tree is most abundant on the sites of old Maya villages, 
where it forms groves called ramonales. The pulp of the fruit is 
edible, and the seeds when boiled are nutritious, with a flavor some- 
what like that of potatoes. They are eaten alone or with plantains, 
maize, or honey. Sometimes they are roasted and eaten. Also, 
they are dried and ground to form a meal, from which a kind of cake 
(probably a tortilla) is made, and sometimes are boiled in sirup to 
make a sweetmeat. In southern Mexico the roasted seeds are said 
to be used sometimes as a coffee substitute. The milky latex, which 
flows freely when the trunk is cut, resembles cream and when diluted 
with water is said to afford a substitute for cow's milk. There is a 
belief in Yucatan that if the seeds are eaten by nursing women the 
flow of milk is increased. The wood is described as white or some- 
times grayish or tinged with pink, compact, hard, and fine-grained. 
It is used at times for construction and other purposes in the Yucatan 
Peninsula. 

Brosimum costaricanum Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. 
V. 2: 334. 1851. Ojushte; Ajuste; U juste; Albaricoce (Solola); Ramon 
Colorado (Alta Verapaz). 

Moist or wet, mixed forest, ascending from sea level to about 
2,200 meters, but chiefly at low elevations; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; 
Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Retalhuleu; Solola; Quezaltenango; San 
Marcos. Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 15 

A small, medium-sized, or often very tall tree, sometimes 30 meters high or 
more, the trunk 30 cm. or more in diameter, the crown spreading, the bark light 
brown, rather smooth, the sap with whitish or yellowish latex, the branchlets 
often short-pilose; leaves short-petiolate, oblong-elliptic to lance-oblong, chiefly 
8-15 cm. long and 3.5-6.5 cm. wide, caudate-acuminate, with a long linear tip, 
acute or obtuse at the base, glabrous above, beneath sparsely strigose or almost 
wholly glabrous, the venation elevated and reticulate beneath; flower heads 
grayish white, hemispheric or subglobose, about 8 mm. in diameter, the peduncles 
stout and usually very short; fruit 1-1.5 cm. in diameter. 

Called "masicaran" and "masicaron" in Honduras. The 
inflorescences often fall from the trees in great numbers and carpet 
the ground. In this state they are sometimes cooked and eaten in 
Costa Rica. The tree is one of the most abundant species of the 
forest on the plains near Retalhuleu and extends upward on the 
hills above the cabecera. It is said that here the seeds are an impor- 
tant food during seasons when there is a failure of the maize crop, 
being cooked in various ways and eaten. The young inflorescences, 
too, are eaten on the Pacific plains of Guatemala. The trees there 
are said often to attain a height of 27 meters. They are good for 
shade and often are left for this purpose in pastures. The leaves 
and flower heads are much eaten by stock as well as by deer and other 
wild animals, and by some birds, and the foliage is used by chicleros 
as food for stock. The word "ojushte" is of Nahuatl derivation, 
probably signifying "trail flower," in allusion to the fallen flowers 
seen strewing the trails at some seasons of the year. Two caserios 
of Guatemala in the departments of Jutiapa and Santa Rosa are 
called Ujuxte" and Ujuxtales, their names derived from that of 
this tree. Leaves of seedlings that are assumed to belong to this 
species often have undulate, shallowly lobate, or somewhat dentate 
or serrate margins. It may be remarked here that, because of lack 
of abundant fertile specimens of the genus from Guatemala and 
from other parts of Central America the species of Brosimum still 
are imperfectly known and their classification is not altogether 
satisfactory. 

Brosimum panamense (Pittier) Standl. & Steyerm. Field 
Mus. Bot. 23: 40. 1944. Piratinera panamensis Pittier, Contr. 
U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 100. pi. 7. 1918. 

Wet mixed forest, eastern border of Pete"n, on the boundary of 
British Honduras, probably extending into Izabal. Oaxaca; Panama. 

A small to large tree, sometimes 25 meters high with a trunk 60 cm. in diame- 
ter, the bark grayish, smooth, the sap with latex, the crown narrow or irregular 
and depressed; leaves distichous, short-petiolate, oblong or elliptic-oblong, some- 



16 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

times obovate-oblong, mostly 5-10 cm. long and 2.5-3.5 cm. wide, abruptly short- 
acuminate to merely acute or subobtuse, entire, usually very lustrous above, 
glaucescent beneath and minutely and sparsely sericeous, the lateral nerves about 
10 pairs, divergent at a wide angle; stipules caducous, 3 mm. long; receptacles 
solitary, pedunculate, irregularly obconic or in age subglobose, 1-1.5 cm. broad, 
the whole surface covered with orbicular peltate bracts; staminate flowers yellow; 
pistillate flowers 2; fruit containing 1 or 2 seeds. 

Although it has been maintained by some recent authors, Pira- 
tinera seems not essentially different from Brosimum, with which 
it often has been merged. In typical Brosimum there is only one 
pistillate flower, in Piratinera two; but with ordinary herbarium 
specimens it is difficult to find even one pistillate flower, to say 
nothing of discovering two, and the difference is at least not a 
practical one. The tree is called "asta" in Oaxaca. There the inner 
bark is described as yellowish brown and yielding a fair quantity 
of turbid latex; fruiting in May; sap wood cream-colored but turning 
pale brown on exposure to air; heartwood grayish brown or vermilion, 
thin; used for railroad ties, boards, and ax handles. 

Brosimum terrabanum Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 
69. /. 76. 1914. Piratinera terrabana Lundell, Carnegie Inst. Wash. 
Publ. 478: 208. 1937. Masicaran (British Honduras). 

British Honduras and Chiapas (near Palenque), and doubtless 
extending into Pete*n, Alta Verapaz, or Izabal. Veracruz and 
Oaxaca; Honduras; Salvador(?); Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama. 

A medium-sized or large tree, sometimes 27 meters tall with a trunk 50 cm. or 
more in diameter, the crown narrow, irregular, the trunk round and slightly fluted, 
sometimes with buttresses a meter high, the bark light gray, fairly smooth; stipules 
small, caducous; leaves glabrous, coriaceous, short-petiolate, elliptic-oblong to 
narrowly elliptic, mostly 8-14 cm. long and 3-6 cm. wide, acuminate or abruptly 
short-acuminate, acute to usually obtuse or narrowly rounded at the base, darken- 
ing when dried, often slightly lustrous above, the lateral nerves about 15 pairs, the 
margins entire; receptacles in flower 1 cm. or slightly less in diameter, subglobose, 
short-pedunculate, with 1 or 2 pistillate flowers, in fruit slightly larger; fruit with 
1 or 2 seeds. 

Called "masica" and "pisma" on the Atlantic coast of Honduras, 
where the wood is used for preparing charcoal and also is sometimes 
sawed into lumber. About Tela the seeds are boiled and eaten or 
made into a sort of tortilla. Parrots are said to be fond of the fruits. 
In Oaxaca and Veracruz the tree is called "ojoche," "ojoche bianco," 
and "ojochillo." The inner bark is white to pinkish brown, and 
yields a small amount of thick latex; the sap wood is white, the 
heartwood not sharply defined, pale pink or sometimes darker brown. 
The fruit is described as reddish pink. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 17 

Cannabis sativa L. Canamo; Marijuana; Mariguana. 

This species (of which C. indica L. is a synonym), native of the 
Old World but cultivated and introduced in many parts of the earth, 
seems to be little known in Guatemala or in other parts of Central 
America except Panama. In fact, when we have made inquiries 
regarding marijuana (the name by which it is generally known in 
Mexico), and explained what it was, the person questioned often has 
remarked that he had always wondered what the word meant as it 
is used in that most common of street and tavern songs, La Cucaracha. 
In many parts of the world Cannabis is cultivated for its fiber, from 
which hemp rope is made. It formerly was planted extensively in 
the United States for fiber but has been abandoned, largely because 
it exhausts the soil rapidly. At the present time it is more known in 
the United States as the source of the narcotic hashish or marijuana, 
whose production and sale are forbidden in all or most parts of this 
country. When the dry plant is smoked, in the form of cigarettes, 
mixed with tobacco, it produces hallucinations and often homicidal 
mania. The plant is grown clandestinely in the United States and 
the cigarettes are peddled in many places, especially to school 
children. Its complete suppression is difficult, in part because the 
plant is naturalized in many regions and often grows profusely along 
roadsides and in waste ground of cities. The seeds are one of the 
principal ingredients of bird seed, and it is perhaps on this account 
that hemp has become naturalized in so many places. 

CASTILLA Cervantes 

References: Pittier, A preliminary treatment of the genus Castilla, 
Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 247-279. 1910; 0. F. Cook, The culture 
of the Central American rubber tree, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. PI. Ind. 
Bull. 49. 1903. 

Trees with milky latex; leaves large, deciduous, alternate, short-petiolate, 
distichous, entire or denticulate; stipules large, caducous; flowers monoecious, 
inserted upon large flat receptacles, these unisexual, covered outside with imbri- 
cate bracts; staminate receptacles of two kinds, the primary ones one to several 
pairs or sometimes absent, flabellate or compressed, in the axils of leaves or at 
defoliate nodes, the complementary ones smaller, clavate or flabellate, always 
accompanying the pistillate inflorescences; perianth none; stamens numerous, 
irregularly scattered among the bractlets; pistillate receptacles flattened or cup- 
iike, the perianth urceolate, with 3-5 short lobes; fruit enclosed in the accrescent, 
dry or fleshy perianth. 

About 10 species, distributed from western Mexico to the Amazon 
Valley of Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. In Central America 5 species 



18 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

are known, the others in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and 
Panama. The number of species is somewhat indefinite because 
the species still are imperfectly understood. The generic name has 
sometimes been written Castilloa. 

Castilla elastica Cervantes, Gaceta de Literatura de Mexico, 
Suppl. July 2, 1794. Ficus gummifera Bertol. Fl. Guat. 40. pi. 9. 
1859 (type from Escuintla, Velasquez}. C. lactiflua 0. F. Cook, 
Science, n. ser. 18: 438. 1903. C. guatemalensis Pittier, Contr. U. S. 
Nat. Herb. 13: 272. 1910 (type from Secanquim, Alta Verapaz, Cook 
295). C. gummifera Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 34. 1917. 
Ule; Rule; Cheel k'i'c (Poconchi); Kik (Lacandon); Kiikche 
(Quecchi). 

Common in dry or wet forest or thickets of the lowlands, some- 
times planted in fincas at somewhat higher elevations, chiefly at 
300 meters or less, most abundant on the Pacific plains and perhaps 
also in Pete"n; Pete*n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; 
Suchitepe'quez; Retalhuleu; San Marcos; also growing in the Zona 
Reina of Quiche" and Huehuetenango. Tepic to San Luis Potosi and 
British Honduras; Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and perhaps 
even farther southward. 

A medium-sized or sometimes large tree, the branchlets pilose with fulvous, 
appressed or ascending hairs; petioles stout, mostly 1-2.5 cm. long; leaf blades 
oblong or elliptic-oblong, chiefly 20-45 cm. long and 8-18 cm. wide, abruptly 
acuminate, usually shallowly cordate at the base, with a narrow sinus, scabrous- 
pilose and rough above, somewhat paler and hirtellous or velutinous-pilose beneath; 
primary staminate receptacles mostly in clusters of 6, about 2 cm. broad, the com- 
plementary receptacles geminate, pedunculate, claviform, 2-2.5 cm. long; pistillate 
receptacles sessile or nearly so, in fruit often more than 5 cm. broad, red or orange- 
red at maturity; fruits almost 2 cm. long, the seeds about 1 cm. long. 

The trees of this genus are well known as a source of rubber and 
are the only native Central American plants from which rubber has 
been extracted commercially. Some of the species of southern 
Central America, it may be noted, do not produce rubber, or only in 
insignificant amounts. For export, Castilla rubber has never attained 
great importance in Central America, although it long has been 
exported on a small scale from various countries and is still being 
exported. The quality and price obtained for it have not encouraged 
its cultivation and development, for it is considered greatly inferior 
to Hevea rubber. The greater part of the rubber produced in Central 
America is used locally, and it is stated that probably no more than 
200 tons of it ever were exported in a year from Guatemala at the 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 19 

height of the industry. If its price were sufficiently high, no doubt 
a larger quantity could be gathered, for the trees are numerous and 
widely dispersed in the tierra caliente on both coasts. As a matter of 
fact, it is unusual to find a tree that has not already been tapped; 
the oblique slashes along the trunk leave huge scars. 

In Guatemala, as elsewhere in Central America, the rubber is 
much used for making rain capes or coats, which in these tropical 
regions are much superior for shedding rain to anything brought 
from Europe or North America, because the rubber withstands 
combined heat and moisture. The white sap flows freely when any 
t part of the tree is cut, and coagulates upon exposure to air. To 
hasten its coagulation various substances often are added to it, 
particularly the sap of Calonyction and other Convolvulaceae. 

The extraction and uses of rubber were well known to the aborigi- 
nal inhabitants of Central America and Mexico, who used it for 
waterproofing articles of clothing, bottles, etc. They also made from 
it large balls that were used in the game of pelota, played somewhat 
like basketball. The ball was thrown through large stone rings 
inserted high in the walls of courtyards, but the ball was manipu- 
lated by catching it upon the hips and tossing it into the ring without 
touching it with the hands. The stone rings may be found now in 
some of the ruined Maya temples. A similar or the same game is 
sometimes played at the present time, but in most places has been 
forbidden by law because of the danger to the players. It was 
through the use of the ball in such games that rubber first became 
known to the Old World, for the games must have been observed 
by the earliest Spaniards who visited Mexico. 

The Guatemalan rubber trees are rather handsome, some of 
them attaining a great height, especially in the North Coast. Even 
from a distance they are easily recognizable because the very large, 
soft leaves are 2-ranked and droop limply along each side of the 
spreading or often pendent branches. The mature fruits are con- 
spicuous because of their bright coloring. The trees usually lose 
their leaves toward the end of the dry season (in the spring of the 
North) and produce their flowers at the same time. One of the 
rivers of Guatemala bears the name Ulapa, said to signify "river 
of ule trees." 

Tozzer states that the sap of the rubber trees was used as incense 
among the Lacandon Indians but probably this is an error, for no 
one who knows the odor of burning rubber would consider it a 
pleasing offering to any god. The bolillos with which Guatemalan 



20 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

marimbas are played are made from Castillo, rubber. The Maya 
names reported from Yucatan are "yaxha" and "kiikche." 

The crown of the rubber tree is either rounded or spreading or, 
when the trees are crowded, tall and narrow; its trunk is sometimes 
buttressed; the bark is light brown or light gray. The wood is 
creamy white throughout, or the heartwood light brown, without 
distinctive odor or taste; it is light and soft, although firm, with 
fairly straight grain, rather coarse in texture, easy to cut; it is rather 
tough and strong for its weight, but is not durable. Little or no use 
is made of it in Central America. One peculiarity of the tree is its 
extensive root system, the roots being near the surface of the ground, 
where sometimes they may be traced for 30 meters. 

GECROPIA L. 

Trees or large shrubs with milky sap, the trunk simple or usually sparsely 
branched, smooth, whitish, hollow, with cross partitions at the nodes; stipules 
large, deciduous; leaves large, long-petiolate, peltate, palmately lobate or parted, 
usually scabrous and rough on the upper surface and white-tomentose beneath, 
the lobes mostly entire; flowers minute, dioecious, in very dense, cylindric, short 
or elongate spikes, these few or numerous, sessile or pedicellate, digitate at the end 
of a short or elongate, axillary peduncle; staminate perianth tubular or campanu- 
late, entire or 2-cleft; stamens 2; pistillate perianth thin, with a small aperture at 
the apex; ovary included, with very short style, the stigma exserted, penicillate; 
ovule erect, orthotropous; fruit oblong, included in the very thin perianth, the 
exocarp very thin or obsolete, the endocarp crustaceous or hard; seed with mem- 
branaceous testa; endosperm none, the cotyledons oblong or ovate, equal, straight, 
the radicle small, superior. 

Probably 50 species or more, in tropical America. A few other 
species are known from other parts of Central America. The 
Central American species, like those of other regions, are imper- 
fectly known because of lack of ample material for their study, and 
it is not known just how many species really are represented in this 
area. 

All species of Cecropia are much alike' in general appearance, and 
are distinguished by their smooth whitish trunks, few branches, and 
large, deeply palmate-lobed leaves with often snowy white under 
surfaces. No tree is more exotic in appearance to one coming from 
the North, and not even palms are more important in giving to the 
lowland vegetation of Central America its distinctive facies. The 
hollow trunks and branches usually but not invariably are inhabited 
by ants that bite severely when the tree is molested. Spruce states 
that in the Amazon region the hollow trunks often are inhabited 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 21 

by bees. The branches are said to have been used by some of the 
American aborigines for making trumpets, hence the English name 
"trumpet tree" often applied to the genus. The split trunks some- 
times are employed as troughs or conduits for conducting water. 
The bark contains a tough fiber utilized in some regions (not in 
Central America, so far as known) for making cordage, mats, and a 
kind of coarse cloth. The stems have been used in Brazil for making 
paper. The sap contains a kind of rubber but in too small quantities 
for commercial purposes. It is reported that some South American 
Indians ate the pith of the branches. The trees have been much 
used in domestic medicine but no definite properties seem to be 
ascribed to them. 

Guarumo (the usual name in all Central America) trees grow 
rapidly, like weeds, and thrive best in cut-over or abandoned land. 
In many regions they are almost if not quite confined to second- 
growth thickets, but some species are seen in primeval forest. In 
Guatemala this is true of C. sylvicola, which has not been noted out- 
side the wet forest of the Tactic region. 

Pistillate spikes long and slender, mostly 15-30 or even 40 cm. long. . C. obtusifolia. 
Pistillate spikes short, mostly 3-5 cm. long. 
Leaves white beneath, covered with a dense cobwebby tomentum, membrana- 

ceous C. peltata. 

Leaves green beneath, appearing glabrous but with a very minute, close, sparse 
tomentum between the veinlets, coriaceous C. sylvicola. 

Cecropia obtusifolia Bertoloni, Fl. Guat. 439. 1840. C. 
mexicana Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 3: 151. pi. 80. 1883. 
C. mexicana var. macrostachya Donn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 27: 442. 1899 
(type from Costa Rica). Guarumo (often modified, especially about 
Coban, to Guarumbo) ; Pad, Choop (Coban, Quecchi) ; Xobin (Baja 
Verapaz, fide Tejada). 

Common through most of the lowlands, usually in wet or moist 
thickets, sometimes in wet forest, even in Manicaria swamps, 
frequent along borders of pastures or forest, ascending from sea 
level to (in the Occidente) about 1,300 meters; Pete"n(?); Alta 
Verapaz; Baja Verapaz; Izabal; Santa Rosa; Escuintla (type from 
Escuintla, Velasquez); Suchitepe"quez; Retalhuleu; Sacatepe'quez ; 
Chimaltenango; Huehuetenango; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. 
Southern Mexico and British Honduras throughout the lowlands 
of Central America to Panama. 

A small to large tree, sometimes 22 meters tall but usually much lower, the 
trunk seldom more than 30 cm. in diameter, the branchlets very stout and thick; 



22 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

stipules large, whitish-pubescent or glabrate; leaves on very long, terete petioles, 
suborbicular in outline, 30-50 cm. wide or larger, cleft about halfway to the base 
into usually 10-13 lobes, green and scaberulous above, densely white-tomentulose 
beneath or sometimes glabrate, the lobes entire, broad or narrow, rounded or 
abruptly short-acuminate at the apex; spathe at the base of the inflorescence 
white-tomentose or rarely glabrate, closed and pointed before an thesis; staminate 
peduncles elongate, the spikes few, 3-4 mm. thick, long and slender; pistillate 
spikes usually 2-4 or sometimes more, sessile or nearly so, mostly 20-40 cm. long 
and 6-7 mm. thick, in fruit very fleshy. 

This is an abundant and characteristic tree almost throughout 
the Pacific plains, and almost equally so in the North Coast. It is 
easily distinguished from C. peltata by the very long and pendent 
flower spikes. The leaves, especially young ones, often are tinged 
beneath with red or purple but this coloring is not very conspicuous. 
Trees brought from the Pacific coast have been planted in Guate- 
mala City, where they seem to grow well. This species sometimes 
flowers when only a shrub of 4 meters. The leaves are eaten by 
stock, and in Salvador the leaves are salted, after which cows are 
said to eat .them in quantity. The wool separated from the stems 
and leaves is said to be sometimes smoked by the Indians of Alta 
Verapaz, like tobacco. Velasquez, in notes accompanying the origi- 
nal specimens of C. obtusifolia, remarks that it is on this tree that the 
bird called "ciacia" (chacha or chachalaca) builds its nests. The 
local name, "guarumo," gives its name to a caserio of San Marcos, 
called El Guarumo. In British Honduras the tree is called "trumpet." 
The name "guarumo" is probably of West Indian origin. Oviedo 
cites it as "yaruma," which probably is closest to the original form 
of the word. 

Gecropia peltata L. Syst. ed. 10. 1286. 1759. C. asperrima 
Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 19: 227. 1917. Guarumo; Igarata, 
Ix-coch (Maya); Trumpet (British Honduras); Ixcochle (Pete"n). 

Chiefly in pastures or second-growth, often in thickets or modified 
forest, at 900 meters or less; Pete"n; Izabal; Santa Rosa. Yucatan and 
British Honduras; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; West Indies; 
northern South America. 

A small or medium-sized tree, attaining sometimes a height of 20 meters; 
petioles often longer than the leaf blades, these suborbicular in outline, 30-50 cm. 
wide or larger, mostly 7-9-lobate, shallowly or deeply lobate, dark green and sca- 
brous above, rough to the touch, densely covered beneath with a white, often 
snowy tomentum, or sometimes greenish and only sparsely tomentose; spathes 
about 6 cm. long, cuspidate at the apex, caducous; staminate spikes numerous, 
about 4 cm. long and 3 mm. thick, short-pedicellate; pistillate spikes usually 2-6, 
sessile, yellowish at first, 3-6 cm. long, in fruit very thick and succulent. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 23 

The Central American tree has never, so far as we know, been 
referred to the common West Indian C. peltata, but there are no 
apparent characters by which two species may be distinguished in 
the fairly ample material at hand. Specimens from Guatemala and 
Yucatan have been referred in the past to C. obtusa Tre'cul and C. 
Humboldtiana Klotzsch. The wood is whitish or light-colored, very 
light and soft, with a specific gravity of about 0.45, with straight or 
fairly straight grain, coarse- textured, easy to cut, tough and strong 
for its weight, but perishable. So far as known, no use is made of it 
in Central America. The Maya name reported from Yucatan is 
"xco-che." 

Cecropia sylvicola Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23: 153. 
1944. 

Known only from the type region, dense wet mixed forest, 
mountains along the road between Tactic and the divide on the road 
to Tamahu, about 1,500 meters; type, Standley 90762. 

A tall tree, growing in primeval forest, abundantly branched above; leaves 
large, coriaceous, long-petiolate, the petioles terete, multicostulate, as much as 
50 cm. long or even longer, densely hirtellous; leaf blades suborbicular, about 
9-lobate almost to the base, finely scabrous above, paler beneath, hirtellous or 
hispidulous on the nerves and veins, in age glabrate but minutely tomentulose 
between the veins, not whitened, the lobes oblong or obovate-oblong, as much as 
40 cm. long and 11 cm. wide, very obtuse at the apex; pistillate inflorescence 
borne on a stout peduncle 3.5-6 cm. long, the spikes numerous, crowded, on stout 
pedicels almost 1 cm. long, the spikes 5-5.5 cm. long, 5-6 mm. thick, rounded at 
the apex. 

The tree is apparently rare and very local. It is rather plentiful 
in the one locality where it has been found, but all the trees were 
so tall that it was impossible to reach the branches by ordinary 
means. 

CHLOROPHORA Gaudichaud 

Trees with white latex, often armed with spines; leaves alternate, petiolate, 
entire or dentate, penninerved; stipules lateral, caducous; flowers dioecious, the 
staminate in long slender dense ament-like spikes, the bracts small; pistillate 
inflorescence capitate, globose or oblong; bracts similar to the perianth segments 
and of equal length; staminate perianth 4-parted, the segments broad, obtuse, 
slightly imbricate; stamens 4, the filaments inflexed in bud, porrect and exserted 
in anthesis; pistillate perianth 4-fid or 4-parted, the segments concave and thick- 
ened at the apex; ovary included, oblique, the style sublateral, filiform, usually 
simple; ovule laterally affixed, descending; fruiting perianths fleshy, forming a 
globose or oblong syncarp; achene equaling the perianth or somewhat exserted, 
ovate, compressed, oblique at the apex, the pericarp coriaceous; seed with mem- 
branaceous testa; endosperm none, the embryo incurved, the cotyledons ovate. 



24 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

Probably three species, one in Africa, one in Mexico, and the 
following: 

Chlorophora tinctoria (L.) Gaud, in Freyc. Voy. Bot. 508. 1826. 
Moras tinctoria L. Sp. PI. 986. 1753. Mora. 

Moist or usually dry thickets or forest in the tierra caliente, 
common in the plains and lowlands of the Oriente and the Pacific 
coast, 1,200 meters or less; Pete'n; El Progreso; Chiquimula; Jutiapa; 
Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Suchitep^quez; Retalhuleu; Huehuetenango; 
doubtless in all the Pacific coast departments. Southern Mexico 
to British Honduras and Panama; West Indies; South America. 

Sometimes only a shrub but usually a tree, sometimes 20 meters tall with a 
trunk 30-60 cm. or more in diameter, sometimes with buttresses, the bark light 
brown with numerous lighter excrescences, the branches often armed with stout 
sharp axillary spines; leaves deciduous, membranaceous, short-petiolate, oval to 
ovate or ovate-oblong, 5-10 cm. long, usually cuspidate-acuminate, obtuse to 
subcordate at the base, entire or serrate, often deeply lobate on young branches, 
glabrous or nearly so; staminate spikes cylindric, 4-12 cm. long and about 4 mm. 
thick, whitish or greenish, short-pedunculate; pistillate heads spheric, 6-10 mm. 
in diameter; fruits 1-1.5 cm. in diameter, globose; styles very long and thread- 
like. 

Known in Tabasco as "lora de clavo," "mora lisa," and "palo 
amarillo." The wood is of various shades of yellow, lustrous, becom- 
ing reddish or brownish on exposure; sap wood white, sharply defined; 
without distinctive odor or taste; hard and heavy, with fairly straight 
or somewhat interwoven grain, medium to coarse in texture, not 
very difficult to work, finishes smoothly, and is tough, strong, and 
durable. It is sometimes used in regions where plentiful for interior 
finish, cart wheels, and other purposes, but its principal value is as a 
dyewood. It is the fustic of commerce, long an important export 
from tropical America to the United States and Europe, the wood 
being exported chiefly from the Antilles but also from Mexico, 
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The coloring 
principle, maclurin, gives a yellowish brown or khaki color much 
used for military uniforms. With other dyes it gives various colors 
for cotton and silk materials, and also a permanent black. During 
wars it usually is much in demand. In Salvador, and probably also 
in Guatemala, the wood is utilized for railroad ties, posts, wheels, 
wooden balls, and other articles. By the Indians of Guatemala it 
is used to color wool yellow or olive-drab. The bark is bitter and 
has a disagreeable odor. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 25 

CLARISIA Ruiz & Pavon 

Reference: J. Lanjouw, Recueil Trav. Bot. Ne"erl. 33: 254-276. 
1936. 

Trees or shrubs with milky sap; leaves alternate, short-petiolate, entire or 
dentate, membranaceous to coriaceous, penninerved; flowers dioecious; staminate 
inflorescences spicate, pedunculate, axillary and simple or forming short raceme- 
like inflorescences; staminate flowers consisting only of one stamen, more or less 
arranged in rows, intermixed with bracts, these often peltate, the spike usually 
having on one side a naked strip without flowers and bordered by two rows of 
peltate bracts; filaments erect and straight in bud; pistillate flowers racemose or 
capitate, the inflorescences axillary, sessile or pedunculate; pistillate perianth 
ovoid, adnate to the ovary, with a small, often irregularly lobate apical opening; 
ovary inferior or semi-inferior; style short, the two stigmas exserted, short or 
elongate; fruit globose or ovoid, included in the enlarged perianth, the pericarp 
membranaceous; seed subglobose, the testa membranaceous; endosperm none; 
embryo erect, the cotyledons thick, fleshy, equal. 

About eight species, distributed from Mexico to southern Brazil. 
A single species is known from Central America and Mexico. 

Clarisia mexicana (Liebm.) Lanjouw, Recueil Trav. Bot. 
N4erl. 33: 270. /. 3, B. 1936. Sahagunia mexicana Liebm. Dansk. 
Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 316. 1851. 

Moist or wet, mountain forest, or in lowland forest, 2,450 meters 
or less; Suchitepe"quez; Quezaltenango; San Marcos; Huehuetenango. 
Veracruz. 

A tree 30 meters tall, the trunk 60-100 cm. in diameter, the bark smooth, 
brown, the young branchlets sparsely appressed-pilose; leaves membranaceous, on 
petioles 5-10 mm. long, oblong or elliptic-oblong, 8-19 cm. long, 2.5-5 cm. wide, 
short-acuminate, acute or obtuse at the base, entire, glabrous, with 12-14 pairs 
of lateral nerves; staminate spikes arranged in a small panicle or raceme, 1.5-3 
cm. long; bracts usually spatulate or obliquely peltate; flowers greenish white; 
pistillate flowers usually two together in the leaf axils, the pedicels 2-3 mm. long; 
perianth 3-4 mm. long, almost glabrous; styles 5-6 mm. long. 



COUSSAPOA Aublet 

Trees or shrubs with milky sap, usually epiphytic when young, in age often 
standing alone, sometimes somewhat scandent; leaves mostly large and coriaceous, 
alternate, petiolate, entire or undulate, the stipules small or large, caducous; 
flowers dioecious, globose-capitate, the heads sessile or pedunculate, the bracts 
filiform below, spatulate or peltate at the apex; staminate perianth tubular or 
subclavate, 3-dentate or 3-parted, the lobes imbricate; stamens 1-2, the filaments 
connate into a column, the anthers ovate; pistillate perianth tubular or clavate, 
with a minute aperture at the apex or 3-dentate; ovary and style included, only 
the stigma exserted, it subpeltate, penicillate-capitate; ovule erect, orthotropous; 
perianths slightly accrescent in fruit; fruit included in the perianth, the pericarp 



26 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

fleshy or succulent, the endocarp crustaceous or harder, separable into two valves; 
seed with a membranaceous testa, the cotyledons ovate or oblong, the radicle 
short, superior. 

About 30 species, chiefly in South America. A few besides those 
listed here occur in other parts of Central America. In habit the 
trees are like Ficus, but they seem to be less aggressive and are 
usually much rarer than trees of that genus. 

Leaves glabrous beneath or essentially so C. Purpusii. 

Leaves sparsely or usually densely tomentose beneath. 

Leaves narrowly oblong to elliptic-oblong, mostly 3-6 cm. wide . . C. oligocephala. 

Leaves chiefly ovate or broadly ovate, commonly more than 10 cm. wide. 

C. panamensis. 

Coussapoa oligocephala Bonn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 40: 11. 1905. 
Cop 6 zotz (Pete"n, fide Lundell). 

Moist or wet forest, 350 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz 
(type from Cubilgiiitz, Tuerckheim 8659); Izabal. Tabasco; British 
Honduras. 

A large epiphytic shrub or tree, or often an independent tree (probably after 
death of the host) sometimes 30 meters high with a trunk 60 cm. or more in diame- 
ter, when cut exuding a yellow latex; leaves on petioles 1.5-3.5 cm. long, the blades 
narrowly oblong to elliptic-oblong, mostly 10-15 cm. long and 2-6 cm. wide, some- 
times larger, obtuse or subacute, rounded or emarginate at the base, glabrous 
above, whitish or grayish beneath and arachnoid-tomentose, the lateral nerves 
9-11 pairs, ascending at a very narrow angle; staminate peduncles bearing 3-5 or 
more heads, these pedunculate, 4-5 mm. broad, yellow or whitish; pistillate 
peduncles mostly 2.5-3.5 cm. long, bearing a single globose head about 1 cm. broad. 

Coussapoa panamensis Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 
226. 1917. 

Wet forest, sometimes in wooded swamps, at or little above sea 
level; Izabal. Honduras; Costa Rica; Panama. 

An epiphytic or terrestrial tree, sometimes 30 meters tall but usually lower, 
the branchlets glabrous or nearly so; stipules caducous, 2-4 cm. long or larger, 
acuminate, tomentose or sericeous; leaves long-petiolate, coriaceous, the blades 
broadly ovate or elliptic-ovate, chiefly 10-30 cm. long and 7-15 cm. wide, obtuse or 
rounded at the apex and apiculate, rounded to subcordate at the broad base, 
glabrous above or nearly so, whitish or grayish beneath and closely tomentulose, 
the lateral nerves about 15 pairs, almost straight, ascending at a rather wide angle; 
staminate peduncles about equaling the petioles, cymosely branched and bearing 
several globose heads 5 mm. in diameter; pistillate peduncles 4-6 cm. long, bearing 
a single globose head 1.5-2.5 cm. broad. 

Called "matapalo" in Honduras. The heartwood is pinkish 
gray or oatmeal-colored, becoming somewhat yellowish upon 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 27 

exposure, the sapwood not distinguishable from the heart, without 
distinctive odor or taste, of medium density and hardness, with 
straight or somewhat irregular grain, rather coarse- textured, fairly 
easy to work, finishes smoothly, is not durable. 

Coussapoa Purpusii Standl. Field Mus. Bot. 8: 6. 1930. 
Matapalo. 

Moist mixed mountain forest of the Occidente, 900-1,800 meters; 
Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Jalisco to Veracruz and Chiapas. 

An epiphytic or terrestrial tree, sometimes 18 meters high, with a trunk 15 cm. 
or more in diameter, the branchlets fuscous-ferruginous, glabrous; stipules acumi- 
nate, glabrous or minutely puberulent, about 2 cm. long; leaves on long slender 
petioles, the blades broadly elliptic or oval to ovate-elliptic or lance-elliptic, mostly 
9-14 cm. long and 4-7 cm. wide, acuminate at the apex or rounded and abruptly 
short-pointed, rounded at the base or subemarginate, green above and lustrous, 
paler beneath, glabrous, 5-nerved at the base, the lateral nerves about 5 pairs; 
staminate peduncles equaling or longer than the leaves, branched and bearing 
mostly 4-5 globose pedunculate heads 5-6 mm. broad; pistillate peduncles 2-4 cm. 
long, slender, stiff, glabrous, each bearing a single globose many-flowered head 
1 cm. in diameter. 

DORSTENIA L. 

Perennial herbs with milky sap, with rhizomes, acaulescent or with somewhat 
elongate stems; leaves very variable, usually long-petiolate, mostly membrana- 
ceous, entire, dentate, angulate, or pinnate-lobate; flowers minute, monoecious, 
densely crowded on a usually large, explanate, commonly saucer-like, entire or 
angulate or lobate receptacle, the receptacles axillary, long-pedunculate, the flowers 
of both sexes numerous and intermixed, the pistillate flowers usually surrounded 
each by 3-4 staminate ones, the bracts minute and inconspicuous; perianths com- 
monly connate with the receptacle, their margins sometimes obscurely bilobate or 
bidentate; stamens 2, rarely 1 or 3, the filaments at first inflexed, finally porrect 
and exserted; ovary included, the style excentric or almost lateral, exserted, 2-fid, 
the short branches subulate; fruits very small, finally protruded from the pits of 
the receptacle, the exocarp fleshy, the endocarp crustaceous; testa of the seed 
thin-membranaceous; endosperm none; cotyledons subequal, embracing the ascend- 
ing radicle. 

About 50 species, mostly in tropical America and Africa, one or 
more in eastern Asia. No other species known in Central America. 

Plants with elongate, erect or ascending, herbaceous stems. 

Receptacles hispidulous on the lower surface; leaves mostly obtuse, not lobate. 

D. Lindeniana. 
Receptacles glabrous on the lower surface; leaves acute or acuminate, often 

pinnate-lobate D. choconiana. 

Plants acaulescent or practically so, never with elongate stems. 

Receptacles orbicular or oval, entire D. Drakena. 

Receptacles more or less quadrate, often deeply lobate D. Contrajerva. 



28 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

Dorstenia choconiana Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 22: 477. 1887. 

Usually in dense wet forest at or near sea level; type collected 
"in dry stream beds in the forest at the head of Black River, a 
branch of the (Rio) Chocon," Sereno Watson; Izabal. Atlantic 
lowlands of Costa Rica. 

Plants with elongate rhizomes, the stems erect, 15-30 cm. tall, stout, the whole 
plant glabrous or nearly so; leaves long-petiolate, 10-15 cm. long, shallowly or 
deeply pinnate-lobate, often blotched with silver on the upper surface, the lobes 
usually 7 or 9, acute or acuminate, entire, spreading or ascending; receptacles pale 
green, long-pedunculate, glabrous, turbinate, 1.5-3 cm. broad, entire. 

Dorstenia choconiana var. integrifolia Donn. Smith, Bot. 
Gaz. 13: 76. 1888. 

Dense wet mixed forest, often on steep stream banks, ascending 
from sea level to about 1,600 meters; Alta Verapaz (type from 
Pansamala, Tuerckheim 751); Baja Verapaz; Izabal. Honduras; 
Costa Rica. 

Similar to the species and apparently much more common; foliage very dif- 
ferent from that of the typical form, the blades lanceolate to lance-oblong or 
oblong, 7-20 cm. long, usually long-acuminate, truncate or rounded at the base, 
entire or nearly so. 

Dorstenia Contrajerva L. Sp. PI. 121. 1753. Contrahierba; 
Mano de leon (Quezaltenango) ; Hierba de sapo (Pete"n); Cambahan 
(Pete"n, Maya); Contaul (Chimaltenango, fide Tejada). 

Moist forest or thickets, ascending from sea level to about 1,800 
meters; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Chiquimula; Jalapa; Santa Rosa; 
Escuintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe'quez; Chimaltenango; Retalhuleu; 
Quezaltenango; Huehuetenango. Mexico and British Honduras to 
Panama; West Indies; South America. 

Plants acaulescent or nearly so, the stems, if any, very short; leaves often 
very numerous and crowded, long-petiolate, deeply and pinnately or almost 
palmately lobate, sparsely scabrous or puberulent, usually somewhat rough to the 
touch, the lobes acute to acuminate, narrow or broad; receptacles on long slender 
peduncles, quadrangular or deeply and irregularly lobate, accrescent in age and 
2-5 cm. wide, scaberulous beneath. 

Maya names reported from Yucatan are "xcambalhan" and 
"cabalhau." The plant is well known in Central America because 
of its use in domestic medicine. It is a common household remedy 
for dysentery and is also employed in treating bites of poisonous 
animals of all kinds. The name "contrahierba," employed by 
Linnaeus as the specific name of this widespread species, usually 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 29 

is used in Spanish to designate plants of supposed outstanding value 
as counteragents for poisons. The aromatic rootstocks are much 
used in Salvador, and probably also in Guatemala, for flavoring 
cigarette tobacco. 

Dorstenia Contrajerva var. Houston! (L.) Bureau in DC. 
Prodr. 17: 259. 1873. D. Houstoni L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 176. 1762. 
Contrahierba; Hierba de loro (fide Aguilar). 

Moist forest or thickets, often a weed in cafetales, ascending from 
sea level to about 1,100 meters; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Santa 
Rosa; Sacatepe"quez; Chimaltenango; Quiche; Quezaltenango. 
Widely distributed, like the typical form of the species. 

Like the species except in leaf form, the blades large or small, usually ovate- 
cordate or triangular-cordate, acute to long-acuminate, subentire or undulate or 
crenate, often somewhat hastate-angulate. 

This scarcely deserves varietal designation, being nothing more 
than a leaf form and often growing with lobate-leaved plants, quite 
possibly even from the same root. 

Dorstenia Contrajerva var. tenuiloba (Blake) Standl. & 
Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 23: 40. 1944. D. Contrajerva subsp. 
tenuiloba Blake, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 24: 2. pi. 1. 1922. 
Contrahierba. 

Type collected in damp forest along trail from Los Amates to 
Izabal, Izabal, lower slopes of Sierra de las Minas, Blake 7803; 
collected also in Chimaltenango, Huehuetenango, and San Marcos, 
600-1,000 meters. 

Differing from the species in having the leaves very deeply lobate, with 
exceptionally long and narrow lobes. 

This is a feebler variety even than the preceding and less worthy 
of special designation. 

Dorstenia Drakena L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 176. 1762. Contrahierba. 

Moist or wet, open or forested banks or slopes, mostly at 200- 
900 meters; Alta Verapaz; Izabal; Zacapa; Chiquimula; Jutiapa. 
Mexico, the type from Veracruz; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; South 
America. 

Plants acaulescent, with short thick rhizomes; petioles long and slender, 
sometimes 20-25 cm. long; leaves membranaceous, sparsely puberulent, often 
rough to the touch, very variable in form, often cordate-ovate and long-acuminate, 
frequently pinnate-lobate or angulate, mostly 10-25 cm. long, the lobes often 



30 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

sinuate or dentate; receptacles long-pedunculate, orbicular or oval, 2-4 cm. broad, 
puberulent beneath, rather thin and almost flat, excentrically peltate. 

The species is used like D. Contrajerva, which it much resembles 
except in the form of the receptacles. The two species can not be 
separated by foliage alone. Although in this species there are found 
the same leaf variations as in D. Contrajerva, apparently they have 
not been designated by name. 

Dorstenia Lindeniana Bureau in DC. Prodr. 17: 269. 1873. 
Contrahierba. 

Wet mixed forest, 1,100 meters or less; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; 
Izabal. Tabasco, the type from Teapa; British Honduras. 

Plants with slender rhizomes, the stems erect or decumbent, 10-20 cm. long, 
hispidulous; petioles about half as long as the blades, these obovate or oblong- 
obovate, mostly 7-10 cm. long, obtuse or rounded at the apex or sometimes sub- 
acute, narrowed to the cordate base and with a deep narrow sinus, sinuate-denticu- 
late, sparsely hispidulous; peduncles about equaling the petioles, hispidulous; 
receptacle rounded, cyathiform, dentate, 7-10 mm. broad. 

The leaves often are blotched with silver on the upper surface. 



FICUS L. Fig 

Reference: Standley, The Mexican and Central American species 
of Ficus, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 1-35. 1917. 

Trees or shrubs with milky sap, often epiphytic or scandent; leaves alternate, 
petiolate, entire in American species; stipules mostly caducous; flowers monoecious, 
inserted on the inner surface of a usually globose, fleshy receptacle, this with a 
small opening (ostiole) at the apex, the opening closed by several small scales; 
receptacle subtended at the base by a lobate involucre; staminate perianth of 2-6 
small segments; stamens usually 1-2; fruit of numerous small achenes crowded 
over the inner surface of the usually succulent and juicy receptacle. 

Probably 600 species or more, widely distributed in tropical 
regions. Several additional ones are known from other parts of 
Central America. It is probable that some further species remain 
to be listed for Guatemala since a few sterile specimens may repre- 
sent species not found in the following list. 

Most or all the native Central American figs have a characteristic 
habit of growth, although the same habit is found also in other 
tropical groups, such as Clusia and Araliaceae. They are hemi- 
parasites; that is, they often or usually begin growth upon other 
trees, frequently upon palms, germinating and developing a stem 
from which aerial roots descend to the ground and take root. Young 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 31 

plants are consequently often vine-like. With age the aerial roots 
and the stems increase in size, ultimately forming a shell-like trunk 
that envelops the host plant. The stems at first are flat, broad, and 
thin, and as they increase in size several will unite, assuming fan- 
tastic and often serpent-like forms. Finally the host plant dies, 
but it often survives for a long time and one may see the top of a 
palm or some other tree rising above the crown of a large fig. Trees 
of this type are known usually in Central America by the term 
"matapalo." Large fig trees often send down from their branches 
cord-like aerial roots that may take root in the soil and develop into 
secondary trunks, thus forming trees, often of enormous size, of the 
banyan type, best developed, apparently, in India. Banyan trees 
are scarcely if at all known in Central America but in Mexico some 
species occasionally develop thus. 

Because of their broad dense crowns and handsome foliage, many 
of the native figs make fine shade trees and they often are planted for 
this purpose in Central America. A few exotic species also are 
planted for shade or ornament. 

The fruits of all native species are edible, but generally they are 
so small and dry that they are not very palatable. Birds and domes- 
tic animals are fond of them, and they are much sought by such 
birds as toucans and parrots and by monkeys. The latex, often 
copious, contains a kind of rubber that may some day be utilized. 
From the bark, pounded into thin sheets, the ancient Mexicans 
and probably also the Guatemalans obtained a kind of paper 
upon which their manuscripts were written. In many parts of 
Guatemala, as about Antigua, leafy branches are cut and given 
as fodder to cattle when pasture is poor. The wood is light, soft, and 
of little value even for fuel, but canoes are said to be made sometimes 
from the trunks. The small seeds (achenes) are spread widely by 
birds, and it is doubtless thus that the epiphytic habit of most of 
the species has been established. It is worthy of note that terrestrial 
seedlings of the white figs (subgenus Pharmacosyce) are abundant 
in the forests, the seedlings developing rapidly and never becoming 
epiphytes. Fig trees are little infested by epiphytes, possibly because 
their bark is ordinarily smooth and does not afford a good lodging 
place for seeds. 

The names "higuero" and "higueron" as well as "matapalo" 
(tree-killer) are given commonly to the wild figs, but in mere general 
use in Central America is the term "amate," from the Nahuatl 
amatl, signifying "paper." The Nahuatl term appears naturally in 



32 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

many place names, notably Amatitlan and its lake in the Depart- 
ment of Guatemala, and Los Amates in Izabal. Amatepeque 
(fig mountain) is an aldea of Jutiapa, while the diminutive Ama- 
tillo also is used as a place name. The caserio Cuxapa of Jalapa 
derives its name from the Nahuatl cux, a kind of fig, and apan, "in" 
or "on the water." In Salama the Pipil name for the genus Ficus 
is dmat, a modification of the Nahuatl term. Fig trees figure com- 
monly in poetry and romance of Central America, and the trees, 
occurring as they do about many dwellings, become intimately 
associated with daily life and often are regarded with affection. 
The amate is called the national tree in Salvador. Village markets 
of ten are held in the ample shade of some giant fig tree, although 
the larger ceiba is preferred. 

Wisdom reports the following curious belief among the Chorti 
Indians of the Jocotan region of Chiquimula: "The flower of the 
amate tree is a talisman and assures its owner of lifelong happiness, 
good health, success in love- and money-making, and safety from 
the harm of sorcerers and evil spirits. He will also possess bravery 
and boldness, will be invulnerable to all harm, and will be able to 
dominate all wild animals, even poisonous snakes. The tree is said 
not to possess visible flowers, being reproduced by spores, but the 
curers insist that it produces a single flower each year. It becomes 
visible on a Friday at midnight, at which time an evil spirit, usually 
the Devil, suddenly appears and seizes it for himself. The tree 
from which it is taken must be deep in the forest, far from any 
habitation, and it can be obtained only when it falls to the ground. 
It is said that many men have tried to get one of these flowers but 
have failed, owing to their being stricken with terror upon seeing 
the evil spirit. They immediately sickened from fright, and some 
are believed to have died." 

Leaves deeply lobate; cultivated species F. Carica. 

Leaves entire. 

Cultivated species; plants scandent, or receptacles oblong, or the leaves broadly 
obovate and deeply cordate at the base. 

Plants creeping and scandent F. pumila. 

Plants trees. 

Leaves acuminate, not cordate at the base . . . F. elastica. 

Leaves broadly rounded at the apex, deeply cordate at the base. 

F. pandurata. 

Native species, never with any of the three characters mentioned above. 
Receptacles solitary; involucre 3-lobate; stamens 2; leaves often scabrous. 

Subgenus Pharmacosyce. 

Leaves hirtellous or short-pilose beneath; receptacles pilose or hirtellous. 

F. glaucescens. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 33 

Leaves glabrous or merely scabrous beneath ; receptacles glabrous or nearly 
so, at least in age, sometimes scabrous. 

Leaves gradually and evenly acute to long-acuminate F. glabrata. 

Leaves rounded or very obtuse at the apex, often abruptly apiculate. 

Leaf blades broadly ovate or rounded-oval, broadly rounded at the 
apex, less than twice as long as wide F. guajavoides. 

Leaf blades short-acute or obtuse and apiculate at the apex, oblong- 
elliptic to oval-elliptic, sometimes oblong, much more than twice 
as long as wide. 

Stipules 1-1.5 cm. long; epidermis of the petioles exfoliating; leaves 
usually rough to the touch F. radula. 

Stipules 4-6 cm. long; epidermis of the petioles not exfoliating; 
leaves smooth to the touch F. crassiuscula. 

Receptacles geminate; involucre bilobate; stamen 1. Subgenus Urostigma. 

Involucre very asymmetric, adherent to the receptacle over a large portion 
of its surface, the receptacle attached excentrically to the peduncle 
and its main axis thus parallel to that of the supporting branch. 
Receptacles small, 5-10 mm. in diameter; leaves glabrous. 

Receptacles pedunculate F. tecolutensis. 

Receptacles sessile. 

Leaves broadly rounded at the apex F. Jimenezii. 

Leaves acute or short-acuminate, sometimes obtuse or very obtuse 

but not rounded. 
Petioles short, mostly 5-17 mm. long; leaf blades mostly 5-8 cm. 

long F. Lundellii. 

Petioles elongate, mostly 2-5 cm. long; leaf blades mostly 8-15 cm. 

long. 
Leaf blades mostly 4-8 cm. wide, the lateral nerves prominent 

beneath, 7-9 on each side F. Tuerckheimii. 

Leaf blades mostly 2-4.5 cm. wide, the lateral nerves very slender, 
scarcely prominent, inconspicuous, 8-12 on each side. 

F. eugeniaefolia. 

Involucre symmetric, free from the receptacle or nearly so, the receptacle 
attached centrally to the peduncle or branch, its main axis thus form- 
ing an angle with that of the supporting branch. 
Receptacles sessile or, in one species, some sessile and others pedunculate. 

Receptacles partly sessile and partly pedunculate upon the same 
branch F. Cookii. 

Receptacles all sessile. 

Leaves cuspidate-acuminate, with a long acute acumen. Leaves 
glabrous F. panamensis. 

Leaves not cuspidate, sometimes short-acuminate but with an 

obtuse acumen. 
Leaves conspicuously and often densely pilose or pubescent on 

the upper surface, usually rough to the touch. 
Receptacles globose F. inamoena. 

Receptacles oval, conspicuously longer than broad. 

F. Popenoei. 

Leaves glabrous on the upper surface or nearly so, not rough. 



34 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

Receptacles 5-6.5 mm. in diameter; leaves abruptly acute or 
short-acuminate, with only 2-4 pairs of lateral nerves. 

F. Colubrinae. 

Receptacles 6-12 mm. in diameter; leaves broadly rounded to 
obtuse at the apex, sometimes short-apiculate, with usually 
5-7 or more pairs of nerves. 
Leaves conspicuously cordate at the base, mostly 7.5-14 cm. 

wide F. cabusana. 

Leaves obtuse to subcordate at the base, mostly 4-7 cm. wide. 
Involucre small, about 5 mm. in greatest diameter, incon- 
spicuous; receptacles usually quite glabrous. 

F. costaricana. 

Involucre large, conspicuous, enclosing the receptacle for 
half to two-thirds its length; receptacles finely pubes- 
cent or in age glabrate F. cotinifolia. 

Receptacles all pedunculate, the peduncles sometimes short but usually 

elongate and conspicuous. 

Leaf blades pilose or puberulent beneath, sometimes glabrate in age. 
Receptacles 8-9 mm. in diameter, minutely puberulent or glabrate; 

leaves 3-5 times as long as broad F. Donnell-Smithii. 

Receptacles 13-22 mm. in diameter, usually conspicuously pubes- 
cent or pilose; leaves less than 2.5 times as long as broad. 
Young branches densely ferruginous- villous; peduncles 2-3 mm. 

long, the receptacles pilose F. velutina. 

Young branches glabrate; peduncles 4-9 mm. long, the receptacles 

finely puberulent F. lapathifolia. 

Leaf blades glabrous beneath or practically so. 
Receptacles 15-25 mm. in diameter. 

Leaves cuneate-obovate, rounded at the apex, long-tapering to 

the base F. involuta. 

Leaves oblong to ovate, broadest at or below the middle, not 

cuneate at the base F. Goldmanii. 

Receptacles 4-12 mm. in diameter. 

Leaves rounded or very obtuse at the apex F. ovalis. 

Leaves acute or acuminate. 

Leaf blades oblong-oblanceolate, broadest above the middle; 

receptacles only 5-6 mm. in diameter F. Oerstediana. 

Leaf blades broadest at or below the middle; receptacles 

usually larger. 
Leaves mostly 1.5-3 cm. wide; ostiole depressed. 

F. padifolia. 

Leaves mostly 4.5-8.5 cm. wide; ostiole convex. 

Receptacles 8-10 mm. in diameter, long-pedunculate. 

F. Hemsleyana. 
Receptacles 4-5 mm. in diameter, short-pedunculate. 

F. Schippii. 

Ficus cabusana Standl. & Steyerm. Field Mus. Bot. 22: 226. 
1940. Matapalo. 

In quebradas or thickets, 500-1,300 meters; Escuintla; Sacate- 
pe"quez (above Barranco Hondo); San Marcos (type from Potrero 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 35 

Matasan, along Rio Cabus, Volcan de Tajumulco, Steyermark 
37583); sterile specimens from Izabal, near sea level, possibly are 
referable here. 

A small to large tree, sometimes 30 meters high, glabrous almost throughout; 
stipules caducous, 2 cm. long, long-acuminate; leaves large, long-petiolate, the 
petioles 2.5-6.5 cm. long; leaf blades oval or broadly oval-ovate, 12-21 cm. long, 
7.5-14 cm. wide, very obtuse or rounded at the apex, not apiculate, broad and 
rounded at the base and shallowly and narrowly cordate, the lateral nerves about 
10 pairs, slender and prominent beneath; receptacles sessile, 12 mm. long, often 
crowded and obtusely angulate, glabrous, almost wholly included in the large 
thin involucre, rounded at the apex, the ostiole small, prominent; involucre 
bilobate, brownish, glabrous or sparsely and minutely puberulent. 

Ficus Carica L. Sp. PI. 1059. 1753. Higo; Higuero (the plant). 

Native of Asia but cultivated for its fruit in all warmer regions 
of the earth, where the climate is not too unfavorable. Planted 
sporadically in the mountains of Guatemala and sometimes even 
at low elevations, but never, so far as we know, in quantity; Usually 
one to a dozen bushes or small trees are found about a dwelling here 
and there through the country. 

A coarse shrub or a tree 9 meters high or less, usually or often branching from 
the ground, scabrous throughout; leaves long-petiolate, palmately 3-5-1 obate, 
the lobes obtuse, undulate or often again lobate, cordate at the base; receptacles 
solitary, pyriform. 

We have noted trees in cultivation in Alta Verapaz, Zacapa, 
Santa Rosa, Guatemala, Sacatepe"quez, Chimaltenango, Solola, 
Huehuetenango, Totonicapan, Retalhuleu, Quezaltenango, and 
San Marcos; doubtless a few are to be found in every department. 
The trees often bear well, especially in drier regions or during the 
dry months, and the fruit is of reasonably good quality. It some- 
times is offered for sale in the markets, where imported dried foreign 
figs also are obtainable. The fig was introduced into the North 
American continent at an early date, and has thrived in many 
regions, particularly southwestern United States and northern 
Mexico. In Central America, however, it is little grown, and 
scarcely ever on a large scale. The largest plantings we have seen 
were in the mountains of Honduras and the Pacific lowlands of 
Costa Rica. 

Ficus Colubrinae Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 16. 1917. 

In forest or pastures, 450 meters or less; Alta Verapaz (type from 
Cubilguitz, Tuerckheim 11.156); Izabal. British Honduras; Hon- 
duras; Costa Rica; Panama. 



36 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

A tree 9-15 meters high, the trunk sometimes 45 cm. in diameter, often epiphy- 
tic, the young branchlets densely appressed-pilose with long sordid hairs; stipules 
5-8 mm. long, appressed-pilose outside, long-acuminate; petioles 8-24 mm. long, 
appressed-pilose; leaf blades oval to obovate-oval or oval-oblong, 5-9 cm. long, 2-5 
cm. wide, rounded or obtuse at the apex and abruptly contracted into a triangular 
acumen, rounded or very obtuse at the base, 5-nerved, glabrous above, appressed- 
pilose beneath along the nerves and veins, the lateral nerves 2-4 pairs; receptacles 
sessile, subglobose, 5-6.5 mm. in diameter, glabrous, green or yellow, sometimes 
streaked with red, the ostiole not prominent; involucre very small, bilobate, the 
lobes rounded, hirsute at the base. 

Schipp reports the tree as epiphytic in British Honduras upon 
Orbignya. The species has been reported from Guatemala as F. 
Hartwegii Miq. 

Ficus Cookii Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 15. 1917. 
Amate. 

Along streams or on forested hillsides, 350-2,000 meters; El 
Progreso; Huehuetenango. Chiapas; several times collected, the 
type from San Vicente. 

A small or large tree, commonly 9-15 meters high, the branchlets puberulent 
or glabrate; stipules about 1.5 cm. long, glabrous or nearly so, caducous, acumi- 
nate; petioles stout, 2.5-7.5 cm. long; leaf blades broadly oval to rounded-oval or 
orbicular-ovate, 6-11 cm. long, 4.5-8.5 cm. wide, broadly rounded at the apex, 
sometimes apiculate, shallowly cordate or broadly rounded at the base, 5-7-nerved, 
coriaceous, the lateral nerves 8-10 pairs; receptacles geminate, subglobose, about 
1 cm. in diameter, red or pinkish, glabrous, the ostiole slightly elevated; involucre 
two-thirds as long as the receptacle and closely investing it, bilobate, the lobes 
broadly rounded, rigid, finely puberulent; receptacles partly sessile and partly 
pedunculate, the peduncles equaling or shorter than the receptacles. 

Ficus costaricana (Liebm.) Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 
3: 298. 1867. Urostigma costaricanum Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. 
Skrivt. V. 2: 322. 1851. F. Kellermanii Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. 
Herb. 20: 18. 1917 (type from El Rancho, El Progreso, Kellerman 
5595). Amate; Higo; Matapalo; Cuxamate (fide Aguilar). 

Dry or moist hillsides, in forest or open places, often along road- 
sides, frequently planted as a shade tree, ascending from sea level 
to about 2,000 meters, most common below 1,000 meters; Izabal; 
Zacapa; Chiquimula; Jalapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; 
Sacatepe"quez; Retalhuleu; Solola; San Marcos. British Honduras; 
Honduras; Salvador; Costa Rica; Panama. 

A small to large tree, often epiphytic, the trunk usually low, often a meter 
thick, the crown broad and spreading, dense; branchlets glabrous or when young 
sometimes sparsely hirsute; stipules 1-2.5 cm. long, often persisting for a long 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 37 

time, brown; petioles 1-3.5 cm. long, glabrous or sometimes sparsely hirsute; 
leaf blades narrowly obovate-oblong to obovate, oblong, or elliptic-oblong, mostly 
6-15 cm. long and 2.5-6.5 cm. wide, rounded or obtuse at the apex or sometimes 
subacute, rounded and emarginate or subcordate at the base, usually 5-nerved, 
the lateral nerves 5-7 pairs, often coriaceous, sometimes lustrous on the upper 
surface; receptacles geminate, sessile, depressed-globose, 8-12 mm. in diameter, 
glabrous, green to red or sometimes whitish, the ostiole not prominent; involucre 
bilobate, about 1 cm. long, the lobes rounded, somewhat strigose outside. 

Called "higuero" and "higuillo" in Honduras. This is one of 
the most common Ficus species of the central region and of the 
Pacific slope, especially in Santa Rosa and Escuintla. It is probably 
the species most seen as a shade tree about houses or planted along 
roads and streets, as about Antigua and Amatitlan (whence proba- 
bly its name, signifying "place of fig trees"). Like other species, 
it can be reproduced quickly from branches set in the ground, which 
take root and grow rapidly. Tourists are recommended to see the 
avenues of this species about Antigua, which probably are the finest 
in all Guatemala. The trees lose their leaves toward the end of the 
dry season but do not remain naked for long. The Guatemalan 
material referred here is variable, and it is possible that more ample 
collections will make possible its division into two or more species. 
It may be that ultimately F. Kellermanii may be maintained as a 
distinct species, but at present it is not obvious on what characters 
it can be separated. 

Ficus cotinifolia HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 2: 49. 1817. 

Chiquimula (Quebrada Shusho, above Chiquimula, 480 meters, 
in arenal}. Mexico; Costa Rica. 

Often a large tree with broad spreading crown and low trunk, the young 
branchlets tomentulose or glabrate; stipules 5-13 mm. long, sericeous; petioles 
1-7 cm. long; leaf blades broadly oblong to suborbicular, usually broadest slightly 
above the middle, 5-14 cm. long, 2.5-10 cm. wide, usually broadly rounded at the 
apex, sometimes only obtuse, rounded or subcordate at the base, commonly grayish 
green when dried, glabrous or tomentulose above, tomentulose or short-villous 
beneath or in age glabrate, with 5-7 pairs of lateral nerves; receptacles globose or 
slightly depressed, 6-11 mm. in diameter, pale green, often spotted with red or 
dark green, finely sericeous or in age glabrate, the ostiole not prominent; involucre 
bilobate, half as long as the receptacle or more, densely white-sericeous on both 
surfaces. 

Known in Yucatan by the names "alamo" and "copo"; called 
"congo" in Oaxaca. The roots, as in other species, are often exposed 
above the ground. The bark is dark brown or grayish; wood white 
throughout. The leaves and branches are much used in the Yucatan 



38 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

Peninsula as fodder for horses and mules, and the sap is reported to 
be used as an adulterant of chicle. 

Ficus crassiuscula Warb. ex Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 
20: 12. 1917. Amate. 

Wet or moist forest, sometimes in cafetales, occurring at sea 
level or as high as 1,100 meters; Pete"n; Izabal; Alta Verapaz; 
Escuintla; Chimaltenango; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Hon- 
duras; Costa Rica; Panama. 

A large tree, sometimes 30 meters high with a trunk 2 meters in diameter, 
often buttressed, the crown rounded or spreading, the bark brown, slightly rough, 
the branchlets glabrous or nearly so; stipules 4-6 cm. long, caducous, glabrous or 
nearly so; petioles 2.5-4 cm. long; leaf blades pale green when dried, thick, gla- 
brous, broadly oblong to narrowly oval or oblong-obovate, 10-23 cm. long, 5-11 
cm. wide, obtuse at the apex and abruptly contracted into a short acumen, obtuse 
or rounded at the base, the lateral nerves 14-22 on each side; peduncles solitary, 
2 cm. long, the involucre small and inconspicuous; receptacle obovoid-globose, 
2 cm. in diameter or larger, green, soft and succulent, sometimes pink at maturity. 

Ficus Donnell-Smithii Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 
21. 1917. 

Alta Verapaz, 350 meters (type from Cubilgiiitz, Tuerckheim 
11.597; J. D. Smith 8289). British Honduras. 

A small tree of 4-5 meters, or sometimes 15 meters tall, with a trunk 20 cm. 
in diameter, the branchlets puberulent or short-hirtellous, tardily glabrate; 
stipules 5-7 mm. long, puberulent; petioles 7-18 mm. long; leaf blades oblong or 
narrowly oblong, sometimes oblanceolate-oblong, 7-15 cm. long, 2-2.7 cm. wide, 
acuminate to rounded at the apex, rounded at the base, scaberulous or glabrate 
above, short-pilose or glabrate beneath, the lateral nerves 7-8 pairs; peduncles 
geminate, 6-7 mm. long, the involucre 3-4 mm. broad; receptacles subglobose, 
8-9 mm. in diameter, the ostiole not prominent. 

The species has been reported from Guatemala as F. lancifolia 
Hook. & Arn. 

Ficus elastica Roxb. Hort. Beng. 65. 1814, nomen nudum; Fl. 
Ind. ed. 2. 3: 541. 1832. 

Native of India. Planted occasionally in parks and gardens of 
Guatemala City and elsewhere for ornament. 

Becoming a large tree, glabrous; leaves very thick, oblong to elliptic, 10-30 
cm. long, cuspidate-acuminate, obtuse at the base, the lateral nerves very numer- 
ous; receptacles axillary, sessile, geminate, oval or oblong, about 12 mm. long, 
greenish yellow. 

This species is little planted in Guatemala but in some other 
regions of Central America it is more plentiful. It is the India 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 39 

rubber plant of the United States, where it is much grown in pots 
as a house plant, since it withstands neglect and especially the dry 
air of steam-heated dwellings. As a shade tree it is not to be recom- 
mended since the large heavy limbs are easily broken by wind. 
Var. variegata L. H. Bailey is rarely planted in Guatemala City. 
Its leaves have creamy white or yellow margins. The stipules in 
this species are extraordinarily large and enclose the young leaves 
like a sheath, which is rose-colored or purplish. 

Ficus eugeniaefolia (Liebm.) Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 
3: 144. 1883. Urostigma eugeniaefolium Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. 
Skrivt. V. 2: 329. 1851. Amate. 

Moist or wet forest or open fields, Alta Verapaz (vicinity of 
Coban, 1,250-1,400 meters). Salvador; Costa Rica. 

A small or large tree, glabrous throughout or nearly so; stipules 1-2.5 cm. 
long, long-acuminate, puberulent outside or glabrate; petioles 1.5-3 cm. long; 
leaf blades obovate or elliptic-obovate, mostly 5-12 cm. long and 3-6.5 cm. wide, 
obtuse or acute and apiculate, obtuse at the base or on sterile branches sometimes 
shallowly cordate, glabrous, the lateral nerves 8-12 pairs, very slender and not 
prominent beneath; involucre asymmetric, large, thin, at first completely enclosing 
the receptacle, at maturity about two-thirds as long; receptacles globose or some- 
what depressed, 1 cm. in diameter, the ostiole large, slightly elevated. 

Ficus glabrata HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 2: 47. 1817. F. anthel- 
mintica Mart. Syst. Mat. Med. Bras. 88. 1843, not F. anthelmintica 
Raeuschel, 1797. Pharmacosycea angustifolia Liebm. Dansk. Vid. 
Selsk. Skrivt. V. 3: 333. 1851. F. segoviae Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. 
Lugd. Bat. 3: 300. 1867. Amate; Higueron; Matapalo. 

Forest or open fields or hillsides, often along roadsides, frequently 
growing about habitations, ascending from sea level to about 
1,400 meters, but chiefly at low elevations; Pete"n; Alta Verapaz; 
Baja Verapaz; Izabal; Zacapa; El Rancho; Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; 
Escuintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe"quez; Suchitepe'quez; Retalhuleu; 
Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Southern Mexico; British Honduras 
to Salvador and Panama; Colombia to Brazil and Peru. 

Usually a large tree, commonly 12-40 meters high, with pale, almost smooth 
bark and often with low buttresses, the trunk usually low and thick and the crown 
spreading, the branchlets glabrous; stipules caducous, pale green, long and narrow, 
sometimes 6 cm. long, glabrous; leaves slender-petiolate, mostly elliptic-oblong to 
elliptic-oval, 12-23 cm. long, 5-10 cm. wide, often lance-elliptic or narrowly 
oblong-lanceolate, acute or acuminate to long-attenuate, obtuse or acute at the 
base, glabrous, green or pale green when dried, the lateral nerves conspicuous, 
14-21 pairs; peduncles solitary, thick, 7-15 mm. long, the involucre very small; 
receptacles subglobose, 1.5-4 cm. in diameter or even larger, glabrous or obscurely 



40 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

scaberulous, usually mottled with light and dark green, very soft and juicy at 
maturity. 

Called "higuero" in Honduras, and in Salvador sometimes 
"chilamate" and "chilamaton." This is one of the common large 
trees of the Pacific plains and the lower Motagua Valley, where 
there are some huge examples that almost rival the ceibas in size. 
The fruit is larger than that of most other Central American species 
and more like that of the cultivated fig. It is of mediocre flavor and 
is little eaten by man although much sought by many birds and 
mammals. In its native regions it has long been known that the 
copious white latex that issues from the trunk or branches when 
cut has anthelmintic properties, and in recent years the latex has 
attracted the attention of local and foreign physicians. It is said 
that some fresh latex is now being exported to the United States 
for hospital use, and in some of the hospitals of Panama and the 
Atlantic coast it is the practice to give a dose of it to all or most 
patients entering for hospitalization, on the well-grounded assump- 
tion that they need a vermifuge. Ficus segoviae has often been 
maintained as a distinct species, but it now appears certain that the 
specimens referred to it are merely juvenile shoots or seedlings, 
which usually have narrow and greatly elongate leaves, much nar- 
rower than those of normal adult branches. In Alta Verapaz the 
young hard fruits are used for making designs on hats and probably 
other articles. If a cross section of the fruit is pressed against the 
surface, a blackish circular figure of more or less permanence is left 
upon it. 

Ficus glaucescens (Liebm.) Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 
3: 300. 1867. Pharmacosycea glaucescens Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. 
Skrivt. V. 2: 332. 1851. Amate. 

Forest or thickets, often along streams, ascending from sea level 
to about 1,600 meters, but chiefly at 900 meters or less; Alta Verapaz; 
Baja Verapaz; Izabal; Zacapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; 
Suchitepe"quez; Retalhuleu; Quezaltenango; San Marcos. Southern 
Mexico; Salvador; Nicaragua; Panama. 

A medium-sized or often very large tree with pale, almost smooth bark and 
usually a low spreading crown, the trunk usually low and thick, the branchlets at 
first hispidulous or puberulent; stipules 1-2 cm. long, scabrous or glabrate; petioles 
1-4 cm. long, with exfoliating epidermis; leaf blades oval-oblong to obovate-oval, 
8-23 cm. long, 4-11 cm. wide, rather thick, usually pale grayish green when dried, 
rounded or very obtuse at the apex and usually abruptly short-pointed, rounded 
or obtuse at the base, scaberulous on the upper surface and rough to the touch, 
beneath usually densely hirtellous, or sometimes glabrate except on the nerves, 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 41 

the lateral nerves 7-12 pairs, stout, conspicuous; peduncles solitary, 5-20 mm. 
long, the involucre very small; receptacles subglobose, 1.5-2.5 cm. in diameter, 
usually mottled with light and dark green, commonly densely pilose or hirtellous. 

This species is noteworthy for its very rough leaves, suggestive 
of sandpaper, a feature characteristic also of F. radula. These two 
species are not always sharply separable. 

Ficus Goldmanii Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 32. 
1917. Amate. 

Baja Verapaz(?); Jutiapa (in finca near Jutiapa). Western and 
southern Mexico; British Honduras; Salvador. 

Usually a medium-sized tree with low trunk and spreading crown, the branch- 
lets glabrous or nearly so; stipules short, sericeous or puberulent outside; petioles 
2-3.5 cm. long; leaf blades oblong to elliptic-oval, 7-18 cm. long, 4-10 cm. wide, 
rounded or very obtuse at the apex, obtuse at the base or narrowly rounded, 
glabrous, usually coriaceous, the lateral nerves 5-13 pairs; receptacles short- 
pedunculate, globose, 1.5-2.5 cm. in diameter, puberulent or glabrate, the ostiole 
not prominent. 

Called "matapalo" in British Honduras. The species is common 
in Salvador and should occur more plentifully in the Oriente of 
Guatemala, where probably we have overlooked it. 

Ficus guajavoides Lundell, Bull. Torrey Club 64: 547. 1937. 

Type collected near Valentin, El Cayo District, British Hon- 
duras, Lundell 6295, in high, advanced forest; to be expected in 
Pete"n. 

A tree 45 meters tall, the low trunk 75 cm. in diameter, with thin buttresses, 
glabrous throughout; stipules 3-4.5 cm. long, attenuate, caducous; petioles stout, 
2.5-6 cm. long, with exfoliating epidermis; leaf blades broadly oval or rounded- 
oval, 10-20 cm. long, 8-14.5 cm. wide, broadly rounded at the apex, rounded or 
very obtuse at the base, thick, paler beneath, smooth to the touch, the lateral 
nerves 11-17 pairs, divergent at right angles; peduncles solitary, 2-3.5 cm. long; 
receptacles globose or obovoid-globose, 2-3 cm. in diameter. 

Further material is necessary to determine whether this is a 
species with constant characters or only a leaf form of F. Tonduzii 
Standl. 

Ficus Hemsleyana Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 29. 
1917. Urostigma verrucosum Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. 
V. 2: 321. 1851. F. verrucosa Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 3: 
148. 1883, not F. verrucosa Miq. 1867. Amate; Matapalo. 

Wet or dry forest or thickets, often by roadsides, ascending to 
1,200 meters, but mostly in the lowlands; Izabal; Escuintla; Suchi- 



42 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

tep^quez; Retalhuleu; Quezaltenango; Quiche*. British Honduras; 
Honduras; Salvador; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama. 

A medium-sized or large tree, often epiphytic, the branchlets glabrous or 
obscurely puberulent; stipules 1-2 cm. long, glabrous or puberulent; petioles 2-6 
cm. long, slender; leaf blades oblong or elliptic-oblong, 10-22 cm. long, 4-8 cm. 
wide, abruptly acuminate or caudate-acuminate, rounded or subcordate at the 
base, rather thin, glabrous, slightly paler beneath, with 7-13 pairs of lateral nerves; 
peduncles slender, mostly shorter than the receptacles, the involucre 4 mm. broad; 
receptacles globose, green, about 1 cm. in diameter, minutely puberulent or 
glabrate, the ostiole slightly prominent. 

This has been reported from British Honduras as F. laevigata 
Vahl. 

Ficus inamoena Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 16. 1917. 

Amate; Cushamate (Jutiapa); Cuxche (fide Aguilar). 

Moist or rather dry forest, often in pine forest, frequently in 
brushy quebradas or along streams, sometimes in fields or by road- 
sides, ascending from sea level to about 1,600 meters; El Progreso; 
Jalapa; Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe 1 - 
quez; Chimaltenango; Quiche" (type from Joyabaj, 0. F. Cook 22). 
Honduras. 

A small to large tree, often 12-15 meters high or more, with low thick trunk 
and dense spreading crown; branchlets mostly whitish-pilose or hirtellous; stipules 
commonly 5-12 mm. long, strigose dorsally; petioles 1.5 cm. long or less, stout; 
leaf blades rounded-oval to oblong or obovate-oblong, 6-14 cm. long, 4.5-6.5 cm. 
wide, broadly rounded or obtuse at the apex, usually conspicuously cordate at 
the base, with a shallow narrow sinus, rather softly pilose on both surfaces, some- 
times glabrate above, the lateral nerves prominent, 5-8 pairs; involucre bilobate, 
strigose; receptacles sessile, depressed-globose, 1 cm. in diameter, glabrous or 
nearly so, green, the ostiole not elevated. 

Called "higuero" in Honduras. 

Ficus involuta (Liebm.) Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 3: 
298. 1867. F. obtusifolia HBK. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 2: 49. 1817, not 
F. obtusifolia Roxb. 1814. Urostigma involutum Liebm. Dansk. 
Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 320. 1851. U. Bonplandianum Liebm. op. 
cit. 323. 1851. F. Bonplandiana Miq. loc. cit. Amate; Matapalo; 
Copo zotz (Pete*n); Cux (fide Aguilar). 

Open forest, wet or rather dry regions, often in fields, frequently 
by roadsides, ascending from sea level to 1,500 meters; Pete'n; Izabal; 
Zacapa; Jutiapa; Santa Rosa; Escuintla; Guatemala; Sacatepe'quez ; 
Retalhuleu; Huehuetenango. Southern Mexico; British Honduras 
to Panama. 



STANDLEY AND STEYERMARK: FLORA OF GUATEMALA 43 

A medium-sized or large tree, usually with short thick trunk and broad 
spreading crown, the thick branchlets sparsely puberulent; stipules 1.5-3 cm. long, 
glabrous; leaves on petioles 1-2 cm. long, oblanceolate-oblong or cuneate-oblong, 
sometimes cuneate-obovate, rounded or very obtuse at the apex, gradually long- 
cuneate to the base, glabrous, thick, the lateral nerves 6-8 pairs; peduncles 
geminate, 2-3 mm. long, the involucre large, often covering almost half the 
receptacle; receptacles globose, often appearing sessile, 1.5-2 cm. in diameter, 
finely sericeous, the ostiole prominent. 

Sometimes called "capulamate" in Salvador. Well distinguished 
by the narrowly wedge-shaped leaves, unlike those of any other 
Central American species. The tree is abundant in many regions, 
especially along the hills of the lower Pacific slope. 

Ficus Jimenezii Standl. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 14. 1917. 

Forest or open hillsides, about 300 meters; Escuintla. Salvador; 
Costa Rica. 

A large tree, sometimes epiphytic, the branchlets glabrous; stipules 1-1.5 cm. 
long, puberulent, caducous; petioles 2-3 cm. long; leaf blades obovate-oval, oval, 
or obovate-oblong, mostly 5-11 cm. long and 3.5-6 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, 
rounded or obtuse at the base, thick, usually blackening when dried, glabrous, with 
6-9 pairs of lateral nerves, these slender and inconspicuous; involucre asymmetric, 
large and conspicuous; receptacles sessile, geminate, depressed-globose, 5-8 mm. 
in diameter, glabrous or minutely puberulent, green spotted with red or brown. 

The species was named for Oton Jime'nez Luthmer of Costa 
Rica, enthusiastic student of the rich flora of Costa Rica, and 
esteemed friend of all botanists visiting that country. The latex 
of this species is said to be employed in Salvador as a medicament 
for expelling intestinal parasites. 

Ficus lapathifolia (Liebm.) Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 
3: 297. 1867. Urostigma lapathifolium Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. 
Skrivt. V. 2: 319. 1851. Urostigma guatemalanum Miq. Versl. Med. 
Kon. Akad. Amsterdam 13: 411. 1862 (described from plants grown 
at Berlin from seed said to have been collected in Guatemala by 
Warscewicz). F. guatemalana Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 3: 
298. 1867. Amate; Amate cusho (Oriente). 

Moist thickets or forest, often on open hillsides or along streams, 
ascending from sea level to about 1,200 meters; Pete"n; Zacapa; 
Jalapa; Jutiapa; Guatemala; Escuintla. Southern Mexico; British 
Honduras. 

A medium-sized or large tree, often epiphytic, the branchlets puberulent and 
hirtellous; stipules 1.5-2 cm. long, sericeous; petioles 1-3 cm. long; leaf blades 
oval to broadly oblong, mostly 10-25 cm. long and 5-15 cm. wide, rounded or 



44 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 24 

obtuse at the apex and often short-apiculate, rounded to subcordate at the base, 
pubescent or glabrate above, densely velutinous-pilose beneath or in age glabrate, 
the lateral nerves prominent, 7-13 pairs; peduncles short, geminate, the involucre 
about 8 mm. broad, bilobate, sericeous; receptacles globose, 1.5-2 cm. in diameter, 
minutely sericeous, green, the ostiole not prominent. 

Called "alamo" and "higo" in Campeche, the fruit said to be 
eaten there. 

Ficus Lundellii Standl. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Publ. 461: 54. 
1935. Amate. 

Pete"n, the type from La Libertad, Lundell 3406; known only 
from the region of the type locality. 

Branchlets puberulent or almost glabrous; stipules caducous, 1.5-2.5 cm. 
long, minutely puberulent; petioles 5-17 mm. long; leaf blades elliptic-oblong, 
broadest near the middle, 4.5-9 cm. long, 2-4.5 cm. wide, very obtuse or rounded 
at the apex, obtuse at the base, glabrous, the lateral nerves about 8 pairs; recep- 
tacles sessile, geminate, 7-8 mm. in diameter, minutely puberulent or almost 
glabrous, green spotted with dark purple or red, the ostiole prominent; involucre 
asymmetric, glabrous, deeply bilobate, shorter th