BIOLOGY FIELDIANA: BOTANY A Continuation of the BOTANICAL SERIES of FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY VOLUME 32 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CHICAGO, U.S.A. \/,J> TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. A New Guatemalan Spigelia. By Dorothy N. Gibson 1 2. Three New Nicaraguan Epidendrums. By Alfonso H. Heller 7 3. Syagrus oleracea ( Mart. ) Becc. and Closely Related Taxa. By S. F. Classman jo 4. Tropical American Plants, X. By Louis O. Williams 35 5. Two New Guatemalan Tournefortias. By Dorothy N. Gibson 65 6. A New Member of Morganella. By Patricio Ponce de Leon 69 7. A New Odontoglossum from Nicaragua. By Alfonso H. Heller 73 8. Studies in the Palm Genus Syagrus Mart. II. By S. F. Classman 77 9. Revision of the Genus Vascellum ( Lycoperdaceae ) . By Patricio Ponce de Leon J09 10. A Conspectus of the Palm Genus Butia Becc. By S. F. Classman 127 11. Studies in American Plants, II. By Dorothy N. Gibson 173 12. Tropical American Plants, XI. By Louis O. Williams .179 13. The Juglandaceae of Guatemala. By Louis O. Williams and Antonio Molina R 207 14. An Overlooked Genus of the Scrophulariaceae. By Louis O. Williams 211 15. A Synopsis of the Palm Genus Syagrus Mart. By S. F. Classman 215 16. A New Hybrid in the Palm Genus Syagrus Mart. By S. F. Classman . . 241 A NEW GUATEMALAN SPIGELIA DOROTHY N. GIBSON THREE NEW NICARAGUAN EPIDENDRUMS ALFONSO H. HELLER SYAGRUS OLERACEA (MART.) BECC. AND CLOSELY RELATED TAXA S. F. GLASSMAN TROPICAL AMERICAN PLANTS, X LOUIS 0. WILLIAMS FIELDIANA: BOTANY VOLUME 32, NUMBERS 1, 2, 3, 4 Published by FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AUGUST 19, 1968 Ttie Ubrtry of the MAY \ 5 1972 A NEW GUATEMALAN SPIGELIA DOROTHY N. GIBSON Custodian of the Herbarium Field Museum of Natural History THREE NEW NICARAGUAN EPIDENDRUMS ALFONSO H. HELLER Associate, Field Museum of Natural History SYAGRUS OLERACEA (MART.) BECC. AND CLOSELY RELATED TAXA S. F. CLASSMAN Research Associate, Palms Field Museum of Natural History and University of Illinois, Chicago Circle TROPICAL AMERICAN PLANTS, X LOUIS 0. WILLIAMS Chief Curator, Botany Field Museum of Natural History FIELDIANA: BOTANY VOLUME 32, NUMBERS 1, 2, 3, 4 Published by FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AUGUST 19, 1968 CONTENTS A New Guatemalan Spigelia by Dorothy N. Gibson 5 Three New Nicaraguan Epidendrums by Alfonso H. Heller 7 Syagrus oleracea (Mart.) Becc. and Closely Related Taxa by S. F. Glassman . 13 Tropical American Plants, X by Louis O. Williams 35 FIELDIANA . BOTANY Volume 32, No. 1 August 19, 1968 Publication 1052 A New Guatemalan Spigelia DOROTHY N. GIBSON CUSTODIAN OF THE HERBARIUM FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY During a recent study of the family Loganiaceae for the "Flora of Guatemala," a new species of Spigelia was found, which is described below: Spigelia pygmaea D. Gibson, sp. nov. Herbae annuae vel perennes usque ad 14 cm. altae (plerumque 8 cm.); foliae diversae ovato-rhombicae et oblongo-ellipticae, obtusae vel acutae; inflorescentia multispicata, spica erecta simplex vel ramosa, multiflora; sepala lanceolata, cilio- lata, minute granulosa; corolla subcampanulata, lobi late lanceolati, acuti; capsula bilobata, muriculata. Plants annual or possibly perennial, the lower portion sometimes creeping and rooting, small, erect, 6-14 cm. tall (average height ca. 8 cm.), the stems short, 1-3 cm. long, tetragonous, the stipules broadly triangular; leaves decussate, entire, tapering to the short, narrowly winged petioles, the blades thin, obtuse, those of one pair ovate-rhombate, the second and larger pair oblong-ovate or oblong- elliptic, obtuse to acute, the smaller pair 1-2 cm. long, 0.8-1.5 cm. broad, the larger pair 2-5 cm. long, 1.5-2.5 cm. broad, deep green above, paler beneath, the nerves prominent, few; inflorescence multispicate, the flowering spikes erect, some arising from near the base, others, especially on older plants, from leaf axils, sometimes branching, 1.5-9 cm. tall (averaging 4-6 cm.), minutely granular-verrucose, many- flowered, the flowers sessile or subsessile, bracteolate; sepals lanceolate, ciliolate, minutely granular especially along the midnerve, ca. 1 mm. long; corolla white, ca. 1.5 mm. long, subcampanulate, smooth within, the lobes broadly lanceolate, acute; stamens included, the very short filaments inserted just below the middle of the tube; ovary subglobose, the style minute, the stigma articulating directly above the apex of the capsule; mature capsule bilobate, muriculate, 1-1.5 mm. long, ca. 2 mm. broad; seeds ridged. GUATEMALA: In savanna about 7 km. west of village in zapotal, on La Gloria Road, Dos Lagunas, Dept. Pet^n, Oct. 19, 1960, Con- treras 1537 (type LL; frag. F). Two specimens which may be seed- lings of the same species, with smaller leaves and only 1-3 spikes in the inflorescence are: savanna, Dolores, Dept. Pete"n, Oct. 18, 1961, Contreras 3071 ; pine forest, Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, alt. 1000- 1200 m., Sept. 2, 1942, Steyermark 51798. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-31880 5 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 32 FIG. 1. Spigelia pygmaea. A, habit, X 1; B, flower, X 15; C, corolla dissec- ted to show stamens, X 15; D, pistil, X 15; E, capsule showing muriculate apex, X 10. Drawing by Davida Simon. Although about the same height as S. polystachya Klotzsch ex Prog., and with the same minute style segment, S. pygmaea may be readily separated by its broad leaves, multispicate inflorescences, and muriculate capsules. Publications 1052, 1053, 1054, and 1055 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA