BOTANIC
GARDE
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 108
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN
PLANTS-I
By NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1908
[Reprinted, without change of paging, from the Bulletin of tub Torre? Botanical
Club 35 : 337-345, 1908.]
<- ,
[From the Bulletin of the Tokkey Botanical C'i.ih 35 : 337-345. 1908]
BIND
Studies of West Indian plants — I
Nathaniel Lord Britton
i. THE JAMAICAN SPECIES OF HERNANDIA
On March 20, 1908, while exploring a wooded hill near Dol-
phin Head Mountain, parish of Hanover, in the western part of
Jamaica, in company with Mr. William Harris, we observed large
trees which were unknown to us from the character of their trunks,
and too high to enable us to determine the character of their foli-
age without a pair of field glasses, which we did not have along that
day. While sitting at lunch in a relatively open place in the for-
est, we observed the top of one of these trees, some 30 meters
high and at least a meter in diameter, against the sky line, and
saw that it was covered with round fruits, some of which we found
on the ground under this tree, and realized that we had found a
very interesting species. Our negro guide felled a somewhat
smaller tree with his machete, and thus enabled us to obtain ex-
cellent fruiting herbarium and museum specimens of the Jamaican
species of Hernandia.
Up to this time the tree does not appear to have been definitely
known to botanists in the island of Jamaica. Patrick Browne
(Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, ^Jl, 1756), admits the
genus and remarks : " This tree is pretty common in Barbadoes
and Mountserat, and grows to a considerable size in those islands ;
but I have not seen any in Jamaica, though I have been credibly
informed that it was frequent in the parish of Portland. The cups
that sustain and partly invelop the nuts are very large, and, as
they move in the wind, keep a whistling noise, which is often
frightful to unwary travellers. The seeds are very oil)-." Browne
cites Jack-in-a-Box as a common name.
In Flora of the British West Indian Islands, page 285, pub-
lished in i860, Grisebach does not attribute the tree to Jamaica at
all, thus indicating that no specimens of it were extant at that
time, but Meissner, in DeCandolle's Prodromus (151 : 263. 1864),
337
338 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
does credit it to Jamaica, and cites P. Browne, although, as lie
omits an exclamation mark, it is evident that he did not see a
specimen, nor does his herbarium, now at the New York Botan-
ical Garden, contain any Her'nandia from Jamaica ; Meissner re-
fers the record of P. Browne to the species Hcrnandia sonora L.,
native of the Windward Islands and Porto Rico, and perhaps also
of the East Indies.
Hcrnandia sonora is readily distinguishable from the other spe-
cies by its peltate, long-pointed leaves, and the only other West
Indian species known is the Cuban Hcrnandia cubcnsis Griseb.,
which has narrow long-acuminate leaves. Under H. sonora,
Meissner (DC. Prodr. 264) notes a variety gnadelonpensis from
Guadeloupe Island, which has leaves rounded at the apex and
base, or slightly cordate. It is possible but not probable that
this is the same as the Jamaican tree, but the description is insuf-
ficient to make this certain. In any event, the Jamaican tree is
evidently specifically distinct from either H. sonora, or H. cnbensis.
There is a species of Hcrnandia, H. gidancnsis, in French Guiana,
but not much is known of it other than the plate of Aublet, PI.
Guian. //. 32Q, which shows that this must be quite different from
the plant here to be described.
Hernandia jamaicensis Britton & Harris
A tree 30 m. high or less, with spreading and ascending stout
branches, the trunk becoming at least a meter in diameter, the
young twigs more or less flattened and angled. Leaves subcori-
aceous, sometimes 2.5 dm. long ; petioles stout, somewhat shorter
than the blade, but sometimes 1 dm. in length, the blades elliptic
to elliptic-obovate, obtuse at the apex, obtuse or subcuneate at the
base, 3-nerved or faintly 5-nerved, not at all peltate ; inflorescence
as long as the leaves or longer, racemose or racemose-paniculate ;
calyx of the pistillate flowers turbinate, about 5 mm. long, its
margin truncate ; fruiting calyx subglobose, yellow, fleshy, 3—4
cm. long and about as thick as long, its wall about I mm. thick,
its orifice 1.5-2 cm. wide with a slightly raised margin ; drupe
ovoid, nearly 2 cm. long, 1.5 cm. in diameter, rounded at the
base, bluntly pointed, bluntly 8-ribbed and rugose between the ribs.
On wooded hill, at about 400 meters altitude, near Dolphin
Head, Jamaica [Britton 2321, type; Harris 10J12); Woodstock,
Westmoreland, Jamaica (Harris 9835).
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants 339
2. THE GENUS CASSIPOUREA IN JAMAICA
Cassipourea was proposed by Aublet (Hist. PI. Guian. i: 528)
in 1775 for a tree of French Guiana, his Cassipourea guianensis
being the type of the genus. Svvartz (Prodr. 84) published the
generic name Lcgnotis, including in it two species, L. elliptica
from Jamaica and L. Cassipourea, based on Aublet's Cassipourea
guianensis ; he assigns no reason why his name thus published in
1788 should replace Aublet's Cassipourea of 1775. Poiret (Lam.
Encycl. Suppl. 2: 131) properly adopted the older generic name
and transferred the Legnotis clliptiea of Swartz to it. A number
of additional species from tropical America and Africa have since
been added by several authors, including Cassipourea alba Griseb.
from the island of Dominica. That Cassipourea Aublet and Leg-
notis Swartz are the same genus seems evident from an examina-
tion of specimens.
Cassipourea elliptica (Sw.) Poir. is a shrub or small tree, some-
times reaching 6 meters in height, and grows in Jamaica on rocky
wooded hillsides. Its elliptic long-pointed leaves are as brilliantly
shining as those of any plant known to me, and individuals seen
in contrast to the duller luster of other trees and shrubs stand out
as most striking elements in the landscape. Mr. Harris, Dr. Hol-
lick, and I, while botanizing near Kempshot, at an altitude of
about 500 meters in the parish of St. James, western Jamaica, on
March 23, 1908, had our first opportunity of studying this won-
derfully beautiful plant in the field, and were fortunate enough to
see its bright white flowers with strikingly laciniate petals, and it
was an experience long to be remembered. The lustrous leaves
and pediceled flowers distinguish Cassipourea elliptica from the two
species to be described below. A remarkable feature of an indi-
vidual tree found by us near Kempshot on March 24, 1908, is the
development of the lower branches, which droop ami bear leaves
not more than one half the size of those on the flowering branches
above, the twigs of these drooping branches being very slender
and repeatedly forked. We preserved herbarium specimens of this
curious bud-sport ; if cuttings from such a branch could be prop-
agated, they would doubtless yield a weeping Cassipourea.
340 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
The distinguishing characters of the three Jamaica species are
indicated by the following key :
Pedicels as long as the calyx or longer; leaves brilliantly shining. I. C. elliptica.
Pedicels much shorter than the calyx, or scarcely at all developed;
leaves dull or faintly shining.
Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, narrowed at the base, the petioles
about as long as the calyx. 2. C. subsessilis.
Leaves ovate, subcordate at the base, petioles only half as long
as the calyx. 3. C. subcordata.
I. Cassipourea elliptica (Sw.) Poiret
On rocky wooded hills, Kempshot and vicinity {Britton 2307
and 24.23; Harris 10330, 10340); collected also in Jamaica
by Swartz and by Purdie.
2. Cassipourea subsessilis sp. nov.
A tree about 6 m. high with slender spreading branches.
Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, 6-9 cm. long, 3.5 cm. wide or less,
acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, entire-margined, dull
green on both sides, or faintly shining above, the midvein promi-
nent beneath, the petioles 4-7 mm. long ; flowers solitary in the
axils, nearly or quite sessile ; calyx campanulate, its tube 3 mm.
long, its lobes ovate to ovate-lanceolate, about as long as the tube;
ovary appressed-pubescent ; capsule subfusiform, appressed-pu-
bescent, about 1.3 mm. long, 2.5 mm. in diameter, surmounted by
the persistent appressed-pubescent style.
On wooded hill near Dolphin Head, parish of Hanover, Ja-
maica, at about 400 meters altitude (Britton 2316 ; Harris 10307').
3. Cassipourea subcordata sp. nov.
A tree 4 m. high, the twigs rather stout, the branches as-
cending. Leaves ovate, bright green on both sides but not
strongly shining, 5-7 cm. long, 3.5 cm. wide or less, short-acumi-
nate at the apex, subcordate at the base, the midvein prominent
beneath, the petioles rather stout, 2-3 mm. long ; flowers 1 or 2
together in the axils, very nearly sessile ; calyx tube obconic, 2. 5
mm. long, the lobes ovate, obtusish, about as long as the tube,
petals white, fimbriate.
Along a brook, Troy, Jamaica {Britton 488, type) ; collected
also by Mr. Harris at the same place (no. 0466).
Brittox : Studies of West Indian plants 34]
3. THE GENUS TEREBINTHUS P. BR. IX
THE WEST INDIES
The type species of Terebinthus P. Br. is Pistacia Simaruba L.,
commonly known as the West Indian birch. A subsequent name
for the genus is Bitrscra Jacq. but, as shown by Dr. J. N. Rose
(Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10 : 118), this name is unavailable, because
Terebinthus has priority. Seven species are known to me from the
West Indies, two of them here to be described as new ; the Mexi-
can species have been listed by Dr. Rose.
Leaflets broad, ovate, elliptic, or obovate.
Leaflets 3—1 1 , ovate, acuminate or acute.
Leaflets thin ; bark exfoliating in thin layers. I. T. Simaruba.
Leaflets coriaceous ; bark close. 2. T. Hollickii.
Leaflets only I, obovate to elliptic, obtuse. 3. T. simplicifolia.
Leaflets narrow, oblong to lanceolate or oblanceolate.
Leaflets obtuse at the base. 4. T. glattca.
Leaflets acute at the base.
Inflorescence elongated, sometimes as long as the leaves.
Leaflets 5-1 1, linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate. 5- ^ angustata.
Leaflets 3-5, oblong to oblanceolate. 6. T. inaguensis.
Inflorescence short, compact, in fruit not longer than the
petioles ; leaflets 1-3. 7. T. Nashii.
i. Terebinthus Simaruba (L.) W. F. Wight, Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb. 10 : 122. 1906.
Pistacia Simaruba L. Sp. PI. 1026. 1753.
Bursera gummifera L. Sp. PI. ed. 2,471. 1762.
Bursera gummifera glabra Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 173. 1859.
Bursera gummifera pubescens Engler, in DC. Mon. Phan. 4 : 40.
1883.
Florida ; Bahamas ; Cuba ; Jamaica ; Haiti ; Porto Rico ; St.
Thomas to Grenada ; Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.
Most of the Jamaica trees have pubescent twigs and leaf-rach-
ises ; this hairy race is evidently the typical one, based by Linnaeus
on Sloane, pi. 199.
2. Terebinthus Hollickii sp. nov
A tree 6 m. high, with trunk 2.5 dm. in diameter, its bark about
8 mm. thick, reddish-gray outside, red inside, close, not peeling
off in papery layers. Young twigs stout, pubescent ; leaves 8-12
342 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
cm. long, clustered at the ends of the twigs ; rachis pubescent with
spreading hairs; leaflets 3-7, coriaceous, ovate 3-6 cm. long, 1.5
-3 cm. wide, entire-margined, obliquely rounded at the base, short-
acuminate at the apex, glabrous or very nearly so when old, very
inconspicuously veined above, rather prominently veined beneath ;
petiolules stout, 3-5 mm. long ; fruiting inflorescence 4-7 cm.
long, the raceme simple or slightly compound, its axis pubescent ;
fruits 8-10 mm. long, about 7 mm. thick, bluntly triangular, on
stout pedicels 4 or 5 mm. long ; seed sharply 3-angled.
Dry rocky hillside, Fort Henderson, Kingston Harbor, Ja-
maica (N. L. Britton & Arthur Hollick, March 2, 1908, no. 1816).
3. Terebinthus simplicifolia (DC.)
Bursera simplicifolia DC. Prodr. 2 : 78. 182?.
Frequent on dry hillsides near the southern coast of Jamaica,
becoming at least 13 meters high.
4. Terebinthus glauca (Griseb.)
Bursera glauca Griseb. Cat. PI. Cuba 66. 1866.
Cuba.
5. Terebinthus angustata (Griseb.)
Bursera atigustata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cuba 65. 1866.
Cuba.
6. Terebinthus inaguensis (Britton)
Bursera inaguensis Britton, Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 3 : 443. 1905.
Bahama Islands, from Eleuthera and Great Guana Cay to
Inagua.
Combs 454, from Calicita, Santa Clara Province, Cuba, resem-
bles this very closely, more closely than it does T. angustata.
7. Terebinthus Nashii sp. nov.
A tree about 3 m. high with nearly smooth terete twigs,
glabrous throughout. Leaves I— 3-foliolate, the slender petiole
5—15 mm. long, somewhat glaucous; leaflets linear-oblong, nar-
rowed at the base, obtuse or acutish and mucronulate at the apex,
3—5 cm. long, 1-1.5 cm. wide, pale green, very indistinctly veined
on both sides, chartaceous ; fruiting inflorescence short, few-
fruited, 2 cm. long or less ; fruits 6—j mm. long, nearly as thick
as long, borne on short stalks, 2-5 mm. long, the calyx persistent
at their bases.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plant- 3 13
Gonaives to La Hotte Rochee on road to Terre Neuve {Geo.
V. Nash & Norman Taylor, August 12, 1905, no. iJSp).
4. PASSIFLORA CILIATA Ait.
This species was described in 1789 (Hort. Kew. I : 310) from
plants cultivated by Mrs. Norman, who introduced it into England
from Jamaica in that year. In the Botanical Magazine, plate 288,
published January 1st, 1795, Curtis remarks that he saw it during
the latter part of the preceding summer with great profusion of
flowers in several collections, and the figure given by him at this
place was made from a plant in the collection of Mr. Vere.
This beautiful passion-flower seems to have been much mis-
understood by subsequent botanists. It appears to be confined
naturally to the island of Jamaica, where Mrs. Britton found it in
March, 1908, in quantities along roadsides through the hills near
Bulstrode, parish of Westmoreland, growing with P. foetida.
The plant has been supposed to be a variety of P. foetida, and
has been so ranked by a number of authors. Grisebach, in Flora
of the British West Indies, however, regarded it as specifically dis-
tinct, but apparently erred in attributing it to the Bahamas as well
as to Jamaica. It has not been found in the Bahamas during any
of our extensive explorations of that archipelago. So far as one
can see, Grisebach was quite justified in maintaining it as a species
distinct from P. foetida.
5. BIDENS PILOSA L.
This species was founded by Linnaeus (Sp. PI. 832) in 1753 on
the " Bidens latifolia hirsutior semine angustiore radiato " of Dil-
lenius Hort. Eltham. 51. pi. 4.3. f.51. The name has since been
used by many authors for a very common and well-known tropical
weed and often with the remark that it is not pilose. Dr. Gray
surmised that the figure of Dillenius might really have been made
from a plant of/?, frondosa. During repeated trips to the West
Indies I have looked closely at a great many individuals of this
weedy plant but never could find any pilose ones until this spring ;
the species is usually almost or quite without trichomes. But at
Moneague, Parish of St. Ann's, Jamaica, in April, 1908, I noticed
344 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
with great interest a roadside ditch full of these plants, some
densely pilose all over, some essentially glabrous. I could not
see at the time of collecting nor have I been able to see from
further study of the dried specimens, any other difference what-
ever in the two races. Both arc rayless, have identical achenes
varying from 2 to 4, with awns relatively of the same length,
leaves of the same shape and texture and involucral scales alike
From the environment and occurrence there was nothing to pre-
vent one coming from the seeds of the other. The plants as here
observed are not as stout nor as large-leaved as the figure of Dil-
lenius. The typical race of Bidens pilosa L. is then well named,
but it is apparently rare.
Bidens laicantlia (L.) Willd. published by Linnaeus as Coreop-
sis leucantlia (Sp. PI. ed. 2. 1282), also a very common tropical
weed, has sometimes been regarded as a variety of B. pilosa. It
has white rays often 1.5 cm. long, and in life appears very different,
but herbarium specimens from which the rays have fallen are
often difficult to place. It commonly grows with the glabrous B.
pilosa, but perhaps more frequently in separate patches and in the
West Indies one frequently sees large areas inhabited by the one
to the exclusion of the other. At Kempshot, near Montego
Bay, Jamaica, they grew together in a small garden and I was
able to study them side by side ; here B. leucantha had the invo-
lucral scales spreading at flowering time, while those of the glab-
rous B. pilosa were erect. I am inclined to regard 'leucantha as a
distinct species. There is a race with undivided leaves.
6. THE GENUS MALACHE B. VOGEL.
Malaclie scabra was proposed by B. Vogel (Trew, PI. Select.
50. pi. 90. 1772) as the name of a mangrove-swamp shrub
common nearly throughout the West Indian region, subsequently
called by Cavanilles (Diss. 3: 136. pi. 46. f. 1. 1787) Pavonia
spicata, and by Swartz (Fl. Ind. Occ. 2: 121 5. 1800) Pavonia
racenwsa. Trew cites pre-Linnaean names for the plant, and gives
a detailed description and a beautiful illustration of it, especially
referring to Sloane, Hist. Jam. 221. pi. ijp. f. 2 ; Sloane's de-
scription and illustration are unmistakable for the species. Lin-
naeus does not appear to have had any name for it.
Brittox : Studies of West Indian plants 345
Pavonia Cav. has as its type species P. spinifex Cav. After
studying quantities of this and of Malache scabra, both in the field
and in the herbarium, I am confident that they should not be
included in the same genus, inasmuch as they differ too widely in
the floral and fruit-structure and in habit ; only the most artificial
classification can retain them as congeneric.
Malache scabra is a typical shrub of coastal swamps from
Florida southward through the Caribbean region to Central
America, Colombia, Trinidad, and Brazil, and is recorded as grow-
ing as far south as Peru on the western side of South America.
Having seen much of this species along mangrove swamps,
nearly or quite always within the tidal influence at high water, I
was surprised and interested while exploring the high rocky
" Cockpit Country" of Jamaica with Air. William Harris in Sep-
tember, 1907, to find a similar plant on hills in wet woods in the
vicinity of Troy, reaching altitudes of at least 600 meters. Mr.
Harris had collected fruiting specimens of it the year before, and
had noticed its resemblance to the coastal shrub ; Professor Urban
has recently described it from these specimens [Harris P4S7), as
Pavonia racemosa var. troyana (Symb. Ant. 5: 530. 1908). I
obtained additional specimens both in flower and fruit in 1907
{Britton 515) and from field studies made then in comparison with
Malache scabra I am convinced that this "Cockpit Country"
plant is specifically distinct, and to be called Malache troyana ;
it has broader involucral bracts, much broader and differently
shaped carpels, the anther-bearing part of the stamen-column pro-
portionately shorter, and the fruiting peduncles are shorter and
stouter. The plant is tall and slender and sometimes approaches
the form of a small tree up to 4 or 5 meters high.
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 118
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN
PLANTS-II
By NATHANIEL LORD BRIXTON
NEW YORK
1908
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 35 ;
561-569. 2 Ja 1909.
From the Bi-lletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 35: 561-569. 1908.
Studies of West Indian plants — II
Nathaniel Lord Britton
7. HARRISIA, A NEW GENUS OF CACTACEAE
Night-flowering cacti with slender upright branched cylindric
stems, the branches fluted, with from 8 to 1 1 rounded ribs, sepa-
rated by shallow grooves and bearing areoles at frequent intervals,
each areole with several acicular spines. Flowers borne singly,
at areoles near the ends of the branches, funnelform, large, with a
cylindric scaly but spineless tube as long as the limb or longer ;
buds globose, ovoid or obovoid, densely scaled, the scales bearing
long or short woolly hairs ; sepals pink or greenish, linear-lanceo-
late ; petals white ; stamens shorter than the petals, style some-
what longer than the stamens ; fruit globose to ovoid-globose,
green to yellow, spineless but with deciduous scales, the corolla
withering-persistent ; seeds very numerous, small.
The genus is named in honor of William Harris, Superintendent
of Public Gardens and Plantations of Jamaica, distinguished for his
contributions to the knowledge of the flora of that island. The
descriptions are drawn up mainly from field observations and from
living plants in the collections of the New York Botanical Garden.
Bud-scales densely covered with hairs I — 1 . 5 cm. long.
Hairs bright white ; areoles 2.5-3 crn- aPart ; spines 6-9,
the longer 2.5-3 cm- l°ng- *■ H. eriophorus.
Hairs tawny; areoles 2-2.5 cm- aPart ; spines 8-1 1, the
longer 1 cm. long. 2. II. Fernowi.
Bud-scales loosely covered with hairs 3-10 mm. long.
Buds rounded-truncate. 3. H. portoricensis.
Buds pointed.
Plant dark green ; hairs of the bud-scales straight. 4. //. gracilis.
Plants light green ; hairs of the bud scales curled.
561
562 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
Spines 3-6, the longer 1. 5 mm. long; buds obovoid,
very short pointed. 5. //. Araskii.
Spines y— 15 ; buds ovoid to subglobose.
Areoles I cm. apart ; spines 1 cm. long. 6. //. undata.
Areoles 2-3 cm. apart; longer spines 2-5 cm.
long.
Buds ovoid, long-pointed ; longer spines
2.5 cm. long. 7. H. Brookii.
Buds subglobose, short-pointed ; longer
spines 4-5 cm. 8. //. laylori.
i. Harrisia eriophora (PfeifT.)
Cereus cubensis Zucc; Seitz, Allg. Gartenz. 2: 244. 1834.
[Hyponym.]
Cereus eriophorus PfeifT. En urn. 94. i&37-
Plant rather light green, the main stem 4 cm. in diameter or
more, the branches nearly as thick, erect-ascending, 8-ribbed or
9-ribbed, the ribs prominent, the depressions between them rather
deep. Areoles 3-4 cm. apart ; spines 6-9, the longer ones 2.5-4
cm. long, light brown with nearly black tips ; buds ovoid, sharp-
pointed, their scales densely covered with bright white woolly hairs
1 — 1.5 cm. long; flower about 18 cm. long; scales of the tube
lanceolate, acuminate, appressed, 1— 1.5 cm. long, bearing long
white hairs ; sepals pale pink outside, the outer greenish ; petals
pure white, tipped with a hair-like cusp 5 mm. long ; filaments
white ; anthers oblong, yellow ; pistil cream-colored.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 2S9J3, collected by C. F.
Baker at Cajimar, Cuba, in 1907.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution : Cuba.
Illustration : PfeifT. & Otto, Abb. u. Beschr. Cact. pi. 22.
2. Harrisia Fernowi sp. nov.
Plant 2.5-3 m- high; branches slender, about 2.5 cm. thick,
light green, 9-ribbed, the ribs not prominent, the depressions be-
tween them shallow. Areoles about 2 cm. apart; spines 8— 11,
light brown with blackish tips, the longer ones 1 cm. long ; bud
subglobose-ovoid, its scales rather densely covered with tawny
curled woolly hairs 1 cm. long ; flower nearly 2 dm. long.
Cereus pellucidus Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 116. 1866. Not C. pel-
lucidus Otto. 1837.
Description mainly from N. Y. B. G. no. 25766, collected by
Norman Taylor (no. 25 j), between Rio Grande and Rio Ubero, in
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 563
eastern Cuba in company with Prof. B. E. Fernow, in 1906; col-
lected also by C. Wright, near Guantanamo.
3. Harrisia portoricensis sp. no v.
Plant slender, 2—3 m. high, little branched, the branches 3-4
cm. thick, 1 1 -ribbed, the ribs rounded, the depressions between
them shallow. Areoles 1.5-2 cm. apart ; spines 13-1 7, grayish
white to brown with dark tips, the longer ones 2.5-3 cm- 'ong ;
bud obovoid, depressed-truncate, its scales with many curled white
hairs 6 mm. long or less; flower about 1.5 dm. long; sepals
pinkish green inside ; scales of the corolla-tube lanceolate, ap-
pressed, 1.5 cm. long, loosely hairy, the hair completely decidu-
ous in flakes ; fruit ovoid, yellow, tubercled, acuminate at the
apex, rounded at the base, 4 cm. long, 3 cm. in diameter.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 2j6jj, collected by N. L.
Britton and John F. Cowell, near Ponce, Porto Rico (//<?. ij2j),
in 1906.
4. Harrisia gracilis (Mill.)
Cereus gracilis Mill. Gard. Diet. ed. 8, no. 8. 1768.
Cercus rcpandus Haw. Syn. PI. Succ. 183. 181 2. Not Cereus
repandus L.
? Cereus subrepandus Haw. Suppl. PI. Succ. 78. 18 19.
Plant much branched, often 7 m. high, dark green, its branches
rather slender, somewhat divergent, 9—1 1 -ribbed, the ribs rounded,
the depression between them rather shallow. Areoles 1.5-2 cm.
apart; spines 10-16, whitish with black tips, the longer 2—2.5 cm-
long ; bud oblong-ovoid, short-pointed, its scales with a few straight
white hairs 8—12 mm. lonp; ; corolla 2 dm. lon<7, the scales of its
tube greenish brown, narrowly lanceolate, abruptly bent upward
near the base, acuminate, about 2 cm. long, having a few hairs, the
sepals pale brown, the petals white ; fruit depressed globose, yel-
low, about 5 cm. long, 6—7 cm. thick, the base flat, the top bluntly
pointed, strongly tubercled when young, the tubercles low-conic,
about 4 mm. high, about 1.5 cm. from tip to tip, bearing a decidu-
ous triangular-lanceolate scale 6—8 mm. long, becoming confluent,
the fruit finally smooth or nearly so.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 2rgo2, collected in Jamaica
by Mr. John F. Cowell in 1904, and from Britton [255, Great
Pedro Bay, Jamaica. This plant has been observed by me in great
quantities in the arid districts of the southern part of Jamaica, and
is represented in our collections by living specimens from six locali-
ties. I designate this species as the type of the genus.
504 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants"
Type locality : British Islands of America.
Distribution : Jamaica.
Harrisia gracilis has been illustrated as follows : Trew, PI.
Select.//. 14 ; Bot. Reg. pi. 33 6, as Cactus repandns ; DC. Mem.
Mus. Paris 17 : pi. 3, as Cereus npandus.
5. Harrisia Nashii sp. no v.
Branches widely divergent, light green, 3-4 cm. thick, 9—1 1-
ribbed, the ribs rounded. Areoles 2—2.5 cm. apart; spines only
3-6, gray, the longer ones 15 mm. long; bud narrowly obovoid,
obtuse, very short-pointed, its scales with many curled white hairs
6 mm. long or less; corolla 1.6 dm. long; scales of the corolla-
tube linear, acuminate, 1.5 cm. long, bearing a few hairs; fruit
ellipsoid, 6-8 cm. long. 4-5 cm. thick, very strongly tubercled,
the conic tubercles 6—8 mm. high.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 24.089, collected between
Gonaives and Plaisance in Haiti by G. V. Nash and Norman
Taylor (no. 1763), in 1905.
Illustration: PDescour. Fl. Med. Ant. 1 : pi. 66, as Cactus
divaricatus.
6. Harrisia undata (Pfeiff.)
Cereus undatus Pfeiff. Enum. Cact. 94. 1837.
Plant branched, about 2 m. high, the older branches light
green, 10-ribbed, the ribs rounded, the depressions between them
shallow ; young branches dark green, only about 2 cm. thick.
Areoles only 1 cm. apart; spines 12-15, gray, the longer ones
only 1 cm. long ; bud small, ovoid, short-pointed, its scales with
few somewhat curled hairs 4—6 mm. long ; flower (according to
Pfeiffer and Otto) about 1.5 dm. long, the tube green, covered with
acute loosely woolly scales, the petals white, denticulate.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 10263, obtained by N. L.
Britton from the Havana Botanic Garden in 1903 (no. 302), and
determined as Cereus undatus Pfeiff. by the description.
Distribution : Cuba.
Illustration : Pfeiff. & Otto, Abb. u. Beschr. Cact. //. 23,
which shows the areoles farther apart than they are in our living
plants.
7. Harrisia Brookii sp. nov.
Plant 5 m. high, much branched, light green ; branches 3-4
cm. thick, 10- ribbed, the ribs very prominent, with deep depres-
sions between them. Areoles about 2 cm. apart; spines 9-12,
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 565
the longer ones 2-2.5 cm. long ; bud ovoid, prominently long-
pointed, its scales with few curled white hairs 7- 10 mm. long ;
fruit yellowish, ellipsoid, about 8 cm. long, 5-6 cm. thick, rounded
at both ends, the tubercles very low, with tips only 1.5 mm. high.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 261-f, collected at George-
town, Long Island, Bahamas, by N. L. Britton and C. F. Mills-
paugh, in 1907 (no. 6jjy). Named in honor of Hon. Herbert
A. Brook, Registrar of the Bahamas, in recognition of his valuable
aid in our exploration of these islands.
The plant of Florida, of which I do not yet know the buds
or the flowers, more closely resembles this Bahamian species
in its spines and areoles than it does any of the others here de-
scribed. Our living plant, N. Y. B. G. no. icjpoo, was collected
by Prof. P. H. Rolfs on islands east of Malabar and brought to
the Garden by Dr. J. K. Small in 1903. As shown by an her-
barium specimen, prepared by Dr. Small at that time (no. yS), the
fruit of this species is nearly globular, about 5 cm. in diameter,
and apparently smooth or nearly so. We also have an excellent
photograph, taken by Mr. C. L. Pollard on Key Largo ; and Cur-
tiss' N. A. Plants no. g6j, from a locality between the Indian
River and the ocean, is this same species, which is described in
Chapman's Southern Flora, at least in so far as the flower is con-
cerned, under the name Cerens monoclonos, but it is not C. mono-
clonos of De Candolle.
8. Harrisia Taylori sp. no v.
Plant light green, branched above, 1.5-2 m. high, the branches
divaricate-ascending, rather stout, 4 or 5 cm. thick, 9-ribbed, the
ribs rounded, the depressions between them rather deep. Areoles
2-3 cm. apart; spines 9-12, the longer 3-5 cm. long, ascending;
bud globose-ovoid, short-pointed, its scales with sparse curled
grayish-white wool $—6 mm. long.
Description from N. Y. B. G. no. 2jj6j, collected by Norman
Taylor on the sea-beach between Rio Grande and Rio Ubero, in
in eastern Cuba, in 1906 (no. 2jj).
9? Cekeus divaricatus Lam. Encycl. 1 : 540. 1783.
Cerens divergens Pfeiff. Enum. 95. 1837.
Pilocerens divaricatus Lemaire, Rev. Hort. 1862 : 427. 1862.
Type locality : Santo Domingo.
Distribution : Santo Domingo and Haiti.
566 Brixton : Studies of West Indian plants
Illustration : Plumier, PI. Amer. ed. Burmann, pi. /pj.
Known only from Plumier's description and illustration ; it
may belong to the genus Harrisia, — although the long-exserted
style seems to preclude it.
10? Cereus erectus Karw.; Pfeiff. Enum. 95. 1837.
Type locality : Mexico.
Referred in synonymy by Schumann to Cereits repandus, that is
to say, presumably a Harrisia. Known only from the description.
Cereus repandus L., originally from Curacao, is, from the
description, presumably a Cephaloeereus.
8. POTOMORPHE PELTATA (L.) MIQ.
Potomorphe peltata (L.) Miq. Comm. Phyt. $J '. 1838.
Piper pcltatum L. Sp. PI. 30. 1753.
Piper umbellatum L. Sp. PI. 30. 1753.
Potomorplie umbelleita Miq. Comm. Phyt. 31. 1838.
Field observations in Jamaica demonstrate that the two supposed
species of Potomorplie are not distinct. The difference of peltate
and non-peltate leaves depended upon by Linnaeus and most sub-
sequent authors who have had occasion to describe these plants,
including M. Casimir de Candolle (in Urban, Symb. Ant. 3 : 208
—211), is worthless, because individual plants bear both kinds of
leaves. I had long suspected this to be the case, and while discussing
the matter with Mr. William Harris on the road from Bath to Cuna
Cuna Gap last September, where specimens of both supposed species
were abundant, he almost immediately detected a plant which bore
peltate leaves at its upper nodes and non-peltate leaves at the lower
ones, and we found a plenty of such specimens afterwards {Britton
3j 13). The relative number of spikes, which also has been supposed
to differentiate the species, I had previously found to be quite incon-
stant, and the character of pubescence used in the descriptions by
M. de Candolle is also inconstant, as evidenced by his proposing a
hairy variety of P. peltata (Joe. cit. 210, as Piper peltatum hirtel-
lum C. DC).
M. de Candolle includes the species in the genus Piper, and
describes them as shrubs up to 4 meters high. As a matter of
fact, the plant is not properly a shrub, its stems being soft, not
Britton : Studies of West Indian plan .r,i;7
.appreciably woody ; his principal character to distinguish Piper from
Peperomia is that Piper consists of shrubs and trees and Peperomia
of herbs ; P. peltata should then be excluded from Piper, and as
it has distinct habital characteristics, differing widely from any true
Pipers or Peperomias, I think it better regarded as a distinct genus
under Miquel's name PotomoipJic. Kunth, and also A. Dietrich,
allowed it in Peperomia.
9. THE GENUS STEGNOSPERMA BENTH.
Stegnosperma was established by Bentham (Bot. Voy. Sulphur
17. pi. 12. 1844) with the single species 6". halimifolium Benth.
from Cape St. Lucas, Lower California. The next year, A. Richard
(Ess. Fl. Cub. 632. 1845) proposed an additional species, S.
cnbense A. Rich, from Cuba. Moquin (in DC. Prodr. 132 : 36.
1849) makes no mention of the Cuban plant, though recording it
from Guatemala, but in Bentham and Hooker (Genera Plantarum
3 : 86. 1880) the two supposed species are regarded as one, and
its range extended to Santo Domingo.
The range is now extended to Jamaica, where the plant was
found by us in the Healthshire Hills, an exceedingly dry region
at about 100 meters elevation, south of Spanish Town {Britton &
Harris 10322 ; Britton 3062) ; here it is a woody vine 8 m. long,
climbing to the tops of low trees ; its reddish fleshy fruits are 3-
grooved, borne in short terminal racemes. The Mexican and
Central American plant seems to me to be specifically identical
with that of the West Indies, as maintained by Bentham and also
bv Heimerl in " Die natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien."
10. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM JAMAICA
Dorstenia jamaicensis Britton, sp. nov.
Rootstock erect, about 2 cm. long, 5 mm. thick, simple or
branched, scarred by leaf-bases. Leaves 5-13; petioles flat,
densely short-pubescent, 2-1 1 cm. long, about 1.5 mm. wide,
erect or ascending, mostly longer than the blades ; blades ovate
to ovate-orbicular, rather firm in texture, 3-4.5 cm. long, 1.5-3.5
cm. wide, peltate below the middle, repand-dentate or nearly en-
tire, papillose-scabrous above, short-pubescent beneath, especially
on the 7-9 veins, which are slightly elevated and rather prominent ;
scape pubescent, about 2 cm. long, much shorter than the peti-
568 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
oles ; receptacle peltate, purplish, puberulent, 8-10 mm. broad,,
saucer-shaped, its margin with about 20 triangular-subulate teeth
0.5 mm. long ; flowers dark purple.
On vertical limestone cliffs, Somerset, Parish of Manchester,
Jamaica, Sept. 2 2, 1908 {Britton j 73 7, type; Harris & Britton
10607). An interesting addition to the West Indian peltate-
leaved Dorstenias, three being known from Cuba and one from
Santo Domingo.
Trichilia Harrisii sp. nov.
A tree about 7 m. high, the twigs and leaves glabrous.
Leaves 2-3 dm. long ; petiole 1.5-2.5 cm. long; leaflets 5-9,
flat, thin, oblong-lanceolate to ovate-elliptic, faintly pinnately
veined with about 1 5 veins on each side of the midrib, narrowed
or rounded and somewhat oblique at the base, rather long-acumi-
nate at the apex, the larger ones 10-16 cm. long, 4-7.5 cm.
wide ; petioles 5-8 mm. long ; fruiting panicles 1 5 cm. long or
less, its branches finely appressed-pubescent ; fruiting pedicels
stout, 2—3 mm. long; capsule globose to oval, 1-2.5 cm- l°ng>
blunt or pointed, rugose, densely velutinous, tardily dehiscent.
In woods near summit of Dolphin Head Mountain, Hanover,
Jamaica, March 18, 1908 [Britton 2263, type; 226g ; Harris
10282, 10286).
11. ADDITIONS TO THE LIST OF JAMAICA SEDGES
In 1907 I contributed an enumeration of the sedges of Jamaica
to the Bulletin of the Jamaica Department of Agriculture (5 :
Supplement 1). Further exploration of that island in the autumn
of 1907 and in the spring and autumn of 1908 has disclosed the
occurrence of some additional species and the habitat of others
which were recorded by me from the statements of other botanists.
Kyllinga intermedia R. Br. Prodr. 219. 18 10.
Pasture, Cornwall near Lacovia {Britton 1400). Distribution :
Cuba ; Australia.
Kyllinga peruviana Lam. Encyl. 3: 366. 1789.
Not uncommon in swamps along the coasts.
Cyperus humilis Kunth, Enum. 2: 23. 1837.
East of Port Antonio ( Wight 54) ; rocky thicket, Salem {Brit-
ton 2342) ; edge of water-hole, Lucea {Britton 2po6). Distribu-
tion : Cuba ; Martinique ; Central America.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 509
Cyperus bromoides Humb.; Link, Jahrb. 3: 85. 1820.
Marsh west of Black River [Britton 1353). Distribution :
'Cuba ; Haiti ; California to Mexico and Paraguay.
•Cyperus oxylepis Nees ; Steud. Syn. PI. Cyp. 25. 1855.
Ditches near Salt Ponds, south of Spanish Town [Britton
3032). Previously collected in Jamaica only by Alexander. Dis-
tribution : northern South America.
Cyperus esculentus L. Sp. PI. 45. 1753.
Ditch near Flat Bridge, Rio Cobre [Britton jog 2). West
Indian distribution : Bermuda ; Cuba ; Martinique ; Guadeloupe.
Cyperus digitatus Roxb. Hort. Bengal. 81. 181 3.
Border of Black River, Lacovia [Britton 14.82). Distribution :
tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World and the New.
Cyperus anceps Liebm. Mex. Halvgr. 25. 1850.
In my paper in the Jamaica Bulletin, I followed Mr. C. B.
Clarke, in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2 : 44, in recording the continental
North American Cyperus tctragonus Ell. from Jamaica, and in re-
ferring C. anceps to it as a synonym, but abundant material now
convinces me that the species are distinct. This sedge is plentiful
on grassy hillsides and banks in the parish of Manchester [Britton
1024, 3 161); also at Woodstock near Newmarket, in Westmore-
land [Britton 1367). Distribution : Cuba.
Cyperus granularis (Desf.) Britton, Bull. Jam. Dept. Agric. 5 :
Suppl. 1, 9. 1907.
Dry soil, Longacre Point [Britton 1383). Distribution : Haiti
to St. Croix.
Eleocharis capillacea Kunth, Enum. 2 : 137. 1837.
In mud, marsh west of Black River [Britton 1354). Distri-
bution : southern United States ; Cuba ; South America.
FlMBRISTYLIS AUTUMNALIS (L.) R. & S. Syst. 2 : 97. I S I /.
Border of pond, Cornwall, Lacovia. [Britton 1493). Distribu-
tion : United States ; Cuba.
Rynchospora jubata Liebm. Vidensk. Selsk. Skr. V. 2 : 254.
185 1.
Marsh west of Black River [Britton 1336); border of Great
Morass, Negril [Britton 21 16). Distribution : Bahamas ; Cuba ;
Mexico to Paraguay.
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 135
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN
PLANTS-1II
By NATHANIEL LORD BR1TTOX
NEW YORK
1910
Reprinted, without change of pasin?, from the Bcllrtin or thuTokbiy Botawk al
Club 31: 345-3G3. 29 Jl 1910
I From the BULLETIN OF THE TORRKY BOTANICAL Cl.UB,37: 345-363. 1910.]
Studies of West Indian plants — III
Nathaniel Lord Britton
12. THE WEST INDIAN SPECIES OF COMOCLADIA P. Br.
Comocladia* P. Br.; L. Syst. eel. 10, 861. 1759
Type species: Comocladia pinnatifida L.
1. Leaves entire or undulate.
A. Glabrous species.
a. Lateral leaflets distinctly stalked.
i. Comocladia pixxatifida L. Syst. ed. 10, 861. 1759
Comocladia integrifolia Jacq. Enum. PI. Carib. 12. 1760.
Type locality: Jamaica.
Both names are based wholly on P. Browne, Hist. Jam. 124,
where the generic name is printed Comocladia. Browne refers
to Sloane's description and figure of "Primus racemosa, caudice
non ramosa" (Hist. Jam. 2: 131. pi. 222. f. 1); the illustration
there given is not wholly satisfactory for the plant which has been
taken for this species, but which is here accepted as usually
interpreted.
Distributiox: Moist woodlands at middle and lower eleva-
tions throughout Jamaica; Haiti and Santo Domingo.
*The spelling of the generic name was changed by Linnaeus t.i ( 'atnoi ladia, but
this form is here regarded as a typographical error, although it was continued by
Linnaeus, in the second edition of Species Plantarum, and in suco litions of
the Systema, but was changed back to the original by Gmi t. ed. [3. 1
The original spelling was accepted by Jacquin, by Swartz. and by most subsequent
authors.
345
346 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
2. Comocladia Hollickii sp. nov.
Low, flowering when not more than i m. high, the tallest plants
seen not more than 3 m. high. Leaves 3-4 dm. long, glabrous;
leaflets 17-21, distinctly petioluled, subcoriaccous in texture,
undulate-dentate with acutish teeth, acuminate at the apex,
obtuse or truncate at the base; lower leaflets ovate, 3-5 cm. long,
middle leaflets (5 or 6 pairs) ovate-lanceolate to oblong, 6-9 cm.
long, terminal leaflet broadly lanceolate, long-petioluled, 6-8 cm.
long; petiolules of the lateral leaflets 1.5-3 mm. long; petioles
3-6 cm. long; inflorescence glabrous, short, about 8 cm. long,
sparingly branched, narrow; pedicels 1 mm. long or less; corolla-
buds 0.5 mm. in diameter, purple; sepals and petals obtuse,
rounded ; filaments twice as long as the anthers.
Rocky hillside, Bluefields Mountain, Jamaica, at 500 m. alti-
tude {Britton & Hollick 2000, March, 1908, type); wooded hill,
Potsdam, Santa Cruz Mountains, Jamaica (Britton 1271).
3. Comocladia grandidentata sp. nov.
A slender tree, up to 10 m. high. Leaves glabrous, about
8 dm. long; leaflets about 29, petioluled, thin in texture, coarsely
irregularly dentate with obtuse or acutish teeth, acute or abruptly
acuminate at the apex, obtuse or subtruncate and more or less
oblique at the base, the lower 4 or 5 pairs ovate, 3.5—6 cm. long,
the others oblong, oblong-lanceolate or somewhat oblong-oblan-
ceolate, 7-1 1 cm. long, 2.5-4 cm- wide; lateral petiolules 2-3
mm. long; flowers and fruit unknown.
Hopeton, Westmoreland (Harris 0944, Sept. 19, 1907).
4. Comocladia Ehrenbergii Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 1: 420. 1881
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Santo Domingo.
Note. — Known to me only from the description. A glabrous
species, its leaves with only two pairs of entire ovate short-peti-
oluled leaflets.
b. Lateral leaflets sessile or subsessile.
5. Comocladia parvifoliola sp. nov.
A tree, up to 10 meters high, glabrous throughout. Leaves
1-2 dm. long; leaflets 7-11, coriaceous, entire, sessile, or on peti-
olules 1 mm. long or less, rounded or subcordate at the base, acute
or bluntly short-acuminate at the apex, the lowest pair ovate,
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 347
2-4 cm. long, the others oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 4-7 cm.
long; panicles very slender, as long as the leaves or longer;
flowers minute; sepals broadly ovate, obtuse; petals twice as long
as the sepals, oval-orbicular, rounded; stamens a little shorter
than the petals.
Woodlands, Dolphin Head Mountain, Jamaica (Britton 2473,
March, 1908, type; Harris 10,267).
6. Comocladia CORDATA N. L. Britton, Torreya 7: 6. 1907
Type locality: Troy, Jamaica.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
B. Pubescent species.
a. Lateral leaflets distinctly stalked.
7. Comocladia pubescens Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 1: 420. 1881
Type locality: Jamaica.
Distribution: Jamaica, in woodlands at lower and middle
elevations in relatively moist districts.
8. Comocladia jamaicensis sp. now
Low, about 2 meters high. Leaves 3-4.5 dm. long, the rachis
loosely pilose; leaflets about 21, thin in texture, distinctly peti-
oluled, obtuse or subtruncate at the base, acute to acuminate
at the apex, glabrous above, sparingly pubescent on the veins
beneath, undulate-dentate or some of them nearly entire; lateral
petiolules 2-3 mm. long; lower two or three pairs of leaflets <>\ ate,
3-5 cm. long, the others lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate or oblong,
5-10 cm. long, 1.5-4 cm- ^"ide; inflorescence puberulent, shorter
than the leaves, about 3 dm. long, its branches short and slender;
sepals and petals obtuse; young stamens with filaments not longer
thanthe anthers.
On dry rocky hill, Green Island, Jamaica {Britton & Hollick
2132, March, 1908, type; Harris 10,250).
b. Lateral leaflets sessile or subsessile.
9. Comocladia velutina X. L. Britton, Torreya 7: 6. 1907
Type locality: Great Goat Island, Jamaica.
Distribution: Jamaica, on very dry rocky hillsides and sand
dunes near the southern coast, Healthshire Hills to Great Pedro
Bay.
348 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
Note. — Recorded by Grisebach from Jamaica as C. propinqua,
which it little resembles.
10. Comocladia pilosa sp. nov.
A tree, 6 meters high, the young twigs, leaves, and inflores-
cence densely pilose-pubescent. Leaves about 7 dm. long; leaf-
lets about 19, chartaceous, dark green above, paler beneath,
entire-margined, the lateral ones sessile, or on petiolules about
1 mm. long, cordate or subtruncate at the base, obtuse, acutish
or abruptly short-acuminate at the apex; lowest pair of leaflets
suborbicular, 4-5 cm. long; second and third pairs ovate-orbicular,
5-8 cm. long, the others oblong or ovate-oblong, 9-14 cm. long,
4-5 cm. wide; terminal leaflet long-stalked; panicles several,
shorter than the leaves, 2.5 dm. long or less, the branches rather
stout; calyx with a few scattered hairs, the sepals rounded; petals
a little longer than the sepals, rounded; filaments twice as long
as the anthers.
Wooded hill, Union Hill, near Moneague, Parish of St. Ann's,
Jamaica {Britton & Hollick 2762, April, 1908).
11. Comocladia undulata Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 401. 1908
Type locality: Martinique.
Distribution: Known only from Martinique.
2. Teeth of the leaves bristle-tipped.
A . Glabrous species.
12. Comocladia platyphylla A. Rich.; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub.
68. 1866
Type locality: Cuba [Rugel 277, the type specimen, is from
Matanzas].
Distribution: Cuba, at lower altitudes, provinces of Oriente,
Camagiiey, Santa Clara, Matanzas, and Havana.
Note. — Lower leaflets ovate, the others mostly oblong. Engler
(DC. Mon. Phan. 6: 365) describes a specimen with all the leaflets
ovate, long-stalked, and with only 3 or 4 teeth on each margin.
The number of teeth is often 9 on each margin. The species
consists of a number of races, differing in width of leaflets, length
of petiolules and number of teeth on the leaf-margins, the
extremes appearing quite different from each other.
A. Richard (in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 10: 155. 1850) remarks
Brixton : Studies of West Indian plants .".49
as follows concerning this species, which was subsequently de-
scribed by Grisebach :
"I have observed an example of this tree, but without flowers,
which, it seems to me, could form, if not a distinct species, which
I am not far from believing, at least a very notable variety. The
leaflets are almost as large as the leaves of the 'castafio,' are also
rough on both faces, dentate and spine-like in their contour; and,
in short, recall in all their shape the leaflets of Comocladia dentata,
but are much larger and rougher. If the opportunity comes to see
this plant with flower and fruit it will perhaps be possible to form
a distinct species to which the name Comocladia platyphila* will
apply perfectly."
13. Comocladia intermedia C. Wright; Engler in DC.
Mon. Phan. 4: 366. 1883
Type locality: Cuba. [Wright's specimen in the Kew Her-
barium is from Trinidad, Cuba.]
Distribution: Southern coast of Santa Clara Province, Cuba,
in dry districts.
14. Comocladia acuminata sp. nov.
Leaves about 1 m. long, glabrous. Leaflets about 31, charta-
ceous, short-petioluled, the lowest ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5-6
cm. long, the others oblong-lanceolate, 10-14 cm. long, 3-4 cm.
wide; slenderly acuminate at the apex, broadly cuneate at the
base, serrate with about 8 bristle-tipped teeth on each margin,
the veins prominent on the underside, diverging nearly at right
angles from the slender midvein, the under surface paler green
than the upper ; panicles 4 dm. long, glabrous, slender, their branches
widely diverging, 8-12 cm. long; flowers 4-parted, about 1.5 mm.
broad.
Santo Domingo {Wright, Parry & Brummel i(j2, in United
States National Herbarium).
B. Pubescent species.
15. Comocladia glabra Spreng. Syst. 1: 176. 1825
Type locality: Porto Rico.
Distribution: Porto Rico, at lower and middle elevations
*Doubtless a misprint for plalyphylla.
350 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
in moist and wet districts. Recorded by Engler from Santo
Domingo and from Cuba.
The inflorescence, leaf-rachis, and venation of this species are
sparingly pubescent. The races differ greatly in the length of
the spiny tips of the teeth of the leaflets.
1 6. Comocladia dentata Jacq. Enum. PI. Carib. 12. 1760
Comocladia propinqua H. B. K. Nov. Gen. 7: 16. 1824.
Comocladia dentata propinqua Engler, in DC. Mon. Phan. 4:
364. 1883.
Type locality: Near Havana, Cuba (according to Jacq. Stirp.
Am. 13. pi. 173).
Distribution: Woodlands at lower elevations, provinces of
Camagiiey, Havana, Matanzas, and Santa Clara, Cuba, ascending
to 420 meters on the Trinidad Mountains; Santo Domingo.
Field observations indicate that Comocladia dentata and C.
propinqua can not be held as distinct species; the leaflets vary
from narrowly lanceolate to broadly ovate, and from sharply
spinulose-dentate to nearly or quite entire. The tree becomes 6
meters high in Santa Clara, Cuba.
Note. — Comocladia dentata brevifolia Engler, in DC. Mon.
Phan. 4: 364. 1883.
I have not seen this plant, described as from "Domingo"
it may be the same as the following species.
17. Comocladia domingensis sp. nov.
Twigs densely short-pubescent. Leaves about 2 dm. long,
the rachis densely short-pilose; leaflets 17-19, ovate to ovate-
elliptic, sessile, chartaceous, obtuse at the apex, rounded or sub-
truncate at the base, glabrous and rather dark green above, pilose
on the prominent veins and light green beneath, the lower ones
1.5-2.5 cm. long, the others 4-5 cm. long, 2-3 cm. wide, serrate
with 7 or 8 spinulose-tipped teeth on each margin and spinulose
at the apex; panicles narrow, slender, loosely pilose, about 13 cm.
long; flowers 4-parted; sepals orbicular, 0.5 mm. long; petals
ovate, obtuse, 1 mm. long; stamens much shorter than the petals.
Santo Domingo (Wright, Parry & Brummell iqo, in United
States National Herbarium).
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 351
i 8. Comocladia Dodonaea (L.)
Ilex Dodonaea L., Sp. PI. 125. 1755.
Comocladia tricuspidata Lam. Mem. Acad. Sci. Paris 1784:
347- 1787.
Comocladia ilicifolia Sw. Prodr. 17. 1788.
Type locality: "America meridionalis."
Plumier's plate 118, f. 1, identifies this species beyond doubt.
Distribution: Santo Domingo (according to Engler) ; Porto
Rico, at low elevations in dry districts; Culebra; St. Thomas;
St. Croix; Montserrat; Antigua; Guadeloupe; Mustique Island,
Grenadines.
Note. — This species is the monotype of the genus Dodonaea
(Plum.) Adans. 1763.
13. THE GENUS VIBURNUM IN JAMAICA
1. Viburnum vtllosum Sw. Prodr. 54. 1788
Hillsides and woodlands in moist and wet districts, at middle
and higher altitudes, ascending to 2300 meters in the Blue Moun-
tains.
The species apparently consists of numerous races, differing
in the amount of stellate pubescence, in the shape of the fruit,
and in the length of the stamens. Very densely tomentose bushes
grow in proximity to slightly pubescent ones about Cinchona.
2. Viburnum arboreum sp. nov.
A tree, 15 m. high, with a straight trunk and spreading
branches. Leaves chartaceous, entire, oval-elliptic, dull green,
glabrous or sparingly stellate-pubescent above, loosely stellate-
pubescent beneath, 8-12 cm. long, 5-6.5 cm. wide, short-acumin-
ate at the apex, unequally narrowed or obtuse at the base, the
veins about 6 on each side of the midvein, the stout petioles stel-
late-pubescent, 1-2 cm. long, inflorescence stellate-pubescent,
8-12 cm. broad; fruiting pedicels 3 mm. long or less; fruit oblong,
9-10 mm. long and 3 mm. thick when dry, narrowed at both ends,
crowned by the ovate acute ciliate calyx-lobes and tipped by
the base of the style.
Wooded rocky hill, Tyre, Cockpit Country (Britton, Sept.
13-18, 1906, no. 553, type; Harris 9475). Hams 0403 from the
same region, a shrub with white flowers, is probably this species.
352 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
3. Viburnum alpinum Macf. Fl. Jam. 2: 201. 1850
Hillsides and woodlands at middle and higher elevations in
both relatively dry and wet districts, ascending to at least 1800
meters in the Blue Mountains. Erroneously regarded by Grise-
bach as identical with V. glabratum H.B.K. of Mexico and South
America.
14. HITHERTO UNDESCRIBED SPECIES OF JAMAICA
Thrinax Rex Britton & Harris, sp. nov.
Trunk up to 20 meters high, cylindric, 2-2.5 dm. in diameter,
sometimes swollen at the base. Leaf-blades of middle-sized trees
3 m. broad, silvery beneath, those of young plants sometimes 4 m.
broad; leaf-segments 40-50, united to about one half, 3-5 cm.
wide, notched at the apex into rigid acuminate narrow lobes 1-3
cm. long, revolute-margined, the midrib prominent on the under
side; petioles very stout, compressed, 2-edged, as long as the
blades or longer; ligule triangular, acute, 2-2.5 cm. long; in-
florescence glabrous, much shorter than the leaves; bracts oblong,
puberulent, with a triangular-acute apex; ultimate branches of
the inflorescence rather stout, 10-12 cm. long; pedicels stout,
1.5-2 mm. long, about twice as long as the triangular acuminate
bractlets; calyx hemispheric-campanulate, minutely toothed; fruit
subglobose, 6-7 mm. in diameter; seeds brown, globular, shining,
very nearly smooth, 5 mm. in diameter.
Eastern slopes of the John Crow Mountains at 450 to 600
meters altitude {Britton 415 1; Harris & Britton 10,750).
Chamaecrista fasciata sp. nov.
Herbaceous, the roots apparently annual, the stems slender,
erect, little-branched, 5-10 dm. high, more or less pubescent with
long curled hairs. Leaves 8 cm. long or less, short-petioled ;
leaflets 20-40, linear-lanceolate, inequilateral, rounded at the
base, acute and aristulate at the apex, strongly veined, ciliolate,
but otherwise nearly glabrous, 10-12 mm. long, 1.5-2 mm. wide;
stipules lanceolate-attenuate, strongly veined, 8-10 mm. long;
gland scutellate, sessile, 0.5 mm. wide, borne on the petiole below
the lowest pair of leaflets; peduncles a little shorter than the
petioles, villous, the bracts ovate-acuminate, about 4 mm. long;
sepals lanceolate, acuminate, villous on the back, about one half
as long as the petals; flowers 1.5 cm. broad; ovary and young
pod densely long-villous; mature pod linear, a little curved, some-
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 353
what narrowed toward the base, 4-5 cm. long, 5-6 mm. wide,
obliquely short-beaked, loosely villous, black-banded over the
spaces between the seeds and along both margins.
Bank, between Bath and Cuna-Cuna Gap, at 300 m. altitude
{Britton 3500, September, 1908).
Meibomia umbrosa sp. nov.
Stem trailing, sometimes 1 m. long, densely villous to the base.
Leaflets ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 6-10 cm. long, acute or acu-
minate at the apex, the lateral ones short-stalked, obliquely obtuse
at the base, the middle one narrowed or blunt at the base and
longer-stalked, all finely and rather densely pubescent beneath,
sparingly pubescent above; petioles about as long as the leaflets,
densely villous; stipules lance-subulate, about 1 cm. long; pe-
duncles arising in the lower axils, as long as the leaves or longer,
slender, pubescent, bearing a few distant lance-subulate bracts;
flowers purple; fruiting racemes 1 dm. long or longer, the filiform
pedicels spreading, about 2 cm. long; loment 1-3 -jointed, the
upper suture undulate; loment-joints obliquely oblong, nearly
separated, uncinate, about 8 mm. long and 5 mm. high. -
Shaded grassy hillside, Troy, Jamaica {Britton 444, Sept. 13-
18, 1906, type); woodlands near Newport, Manchester {Britton
320Q) ; nearest to M. axillaris (Sw.) Kuntze, which is nearly
glabrous, with blunt leaflets.
Cissus (?) cucurbitacea Britton, sp. nov.
A woody, high-climbing vine, the stem up to 7.5 cm. thick at
the base, the twigs and leaves fleshy. Leaves triangular-ovate,
6-10 cm. long, cordate at the base with a widely open sinus, 5-
nerved and pinnately veined, remotely dentate with apiculate
teeth, scabrous on both sides with short stiff hairs or when old
papillose, the petioles 2-3 cm. long; tendrils slender, 1-2 dm. long.
Dry rocky hillside, Fort Henderson, Jamaica {Britton & IIol-
lick 1812, March 2, 1908, type); base of Healthshire Hills {Harris
& Britton 10,512).
An interesting xerophytic vine, of which we do not yet know
either flowers or fruit.
Xylophylla contorta sp. nov.
A much branched shrub about 1 m. high, the main branches
terete, the twigs flat and 2-edged. Phyllodes pale green, linear,
354 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
5-7 nun. wide at the middle, 6-10 cm. long, narrowed to both ends,
acutish, many of them curved or falcate, finely and closely striate,
the upper ones floriferous to below the middle, the crenatures
1 -flowered, distant; stipules triangular-lanceolate, 2 mm. long or
less; pedicels of pistillate flowers 3.5-4.5 mm. long, very slender,
thickened above, sepals broadly ovate, obtusish, about 1 mm.
long; fruit depressed, 3-lobed, obscurely reticulated, 3.5 mm.
wide, nearly 2 mm. high; seed obovoid, 1.5 mm. long, minutely
black-dotted.
Dry hillside, St. Ann's Bay (Britton 2515, March, 1908).
Tricera macrophylla sp. nov.
An erect virgate simple or sparingly branched shrub 1-2 meters
high, with rough bark. Leaves narrowly elliptic or lanceolate-
elliptic, very large for the genus, flat, 15-24 cm. long, 5-8 cm.
wide, subcoriaceous, acute at both ends, the midvein stout, prom-
inent beneath, impressed above, the veins numerous, slender,
diverging nearly at right angles from the midvein and connected
at 2-3 mm. from the margin, the ultimate venation finely and
strongly reticulated, the stout petiole 1—1.5 cm- long: capsules
brown, finely pubescent, 7-8 mm. long, woody, their recurved
beaks 2 mm. long; inflorescence very short-stalked, lateral and
supra-axillary; seeds linear-oblong, shining, 5 mm. long.
Woodlands, eastern and southeastern slopes of the John Crow
Mountains at 500 meters altitude (Harris & Britton 10,770 1
March 11, 1909, type; Britton 4173, 4I93)-
Clusia silvicola sp. nov.
A tree, 12 m. high. Leaves firm, obovate, 13 cm. long, 7-8
cm. wide, firm, thick, dull, inconspicuously veined, rounded at
the apex, cuneate-narrowed at the base, the midvein rather prom-
inent beneath, the stout petiole 1 cm. long; fruit ovoid, white,
7 cm. long, about 5 cm. thick; sepals 4, broad; bracts much smaller
than the sepals; stigmas 8, sessile, oblong-obovate, 8 mm. long,
4-5 mm. wide, with a slight depression near the base.
Wooded hill near Dolphin Head, Hanover, 400 m. altitude
(Britton 23 jo, March 18-20, 1908).
Homalium integrifolium sp. nov.
A tree, about 15 m. high, the foliage glabrous. Leaves oblong-
lanceolate, 10-15 cm- l°ng> 4 or 5 cm. wide, entire-margined or
with a few low crenatures, chartaceous, attenuate-acuminate at
Britton : STUDfEs of West Indian plants 355
the apex, obtuse or somewhat narrowed at the base, the midvein
impressed above, rather prominent beneath, the primary veins
about 12 on each side, the ultimate venation reticulated; petioles
6-8 mm. long; raceme 8-io cm. long, its axis puberulent; pedicels
2-4 mm. long; hypanthium, sepals, and petals puberulent; sepals
linear, acutish, 2.5 mm. long; petals ovate with a bluntish point,
nearly 3 mm. long; stamens numerous; glands of the disk nearly
contiguous; ovary depressed-globose.
Woodlands, eastern slopes of the southern end of the John
Crow Mountains {Harris & Britton 10,741, March 10, 1909).
Anamomis grandis sp. nov.
A tree up to 13 meters high, the bark smooth, reddish, the
branches gray, the young twigs sparingly pubescent. Leaves
thin in texture, the blades pale green on both sides, not shining,
copiously punctate, rather prominently veined, obovate, 4-6 cm.
long, 2-4 cm. wide, obtuse or sometimes emarginate at the apex,
narrowed or cuneate at the base, the midvein sparingly pubescent,
impressed above, rather prominent beneath, the pubescent petioles
7-10 mm. long; peduncles slender, pubescent, 3-4 cm. long;. cyme
3 -flowered, the central flower sessile, the lateral ones on pubescent
diverging pedicels 6 mm. long; hypanthium subglobose, appressed-
pubescent; sepals concave, 2.5 mm. broad, rather broader than
long, punctate, ciliate.
Dry rocky woodlands, Great Goat Island {Harris 9307).
Differs from A. fragrans (Sw.) Willd., of the Jamaica moun-
tains, which has coriaceous, elliptic, shining, short-petioled leaves,
and nearly erect pedicels.
Petesioides subverticillatum sp. nov.
A woodland shrub, 1-2 m. high, with slender branches.
Leaves subopposite or subverticillate, sessile, oblong-elliptic to
ovate-oblong, 5-14 cm. long, 6 cm. wide or less, cordate-clasping
at the base with rounded auricles, acute or obtusish at the apex,
indistinctly pinnately veined and slightly reticulated, punctate,
the margins low-crenulate or entire; inflorescence bipinnate-
paniculate, terminal, 4-6 cm. wide; pedicels rather stout, 1.5-3
mm. long; flowers 4-merous; calyx and corolla epunctate; stam-
inate calyx 2.5 mm. long, its lobes semiorbicular-ovate, rounded,
about one third as long as the tube; corolla as long as the calyx
and similarly lobed; stamens nearly twice as long as the corolla:
pistillate calyx 1 mm. long, the corolla a little shorter; staminodia
half as long as the corolla; ovary ovoid; style short and stout;
356 Rkitton : Studies of West Indian plants
fruit subglobose, red, 2.5 mm. in diameter, apiculate with the
base of the style.
Woodlands, southeastern slopes of the John Crow Mountains,
350-600 m. altitude {Harris & Britton io,6q4, type; Britton 3937 ;
Harris & Britton 10,701); slopes, Cuna-Cuna Gap, Britton 4040)
Plumiera jamaicensis sp. now
An irregularly branched tree 8-10 m. high, the trunk up to
3 dm. in diameter. Leaves firm in texture, the blade elliptic,
12-15 cm- l°ng> 5~7 cm- wide, rounded or emarginate at the apex,
narrowed at the base, glabrous on both sides, or minutely puber-
ulent on the veins beneath, the upper surface dark green with the
veins somewhat impressed, the under surface lighter green with
the broad nerves very prominent, diverging nearly at right angles
from the strong elevated midvein, the ultimate venation strongly
reticulated; petiole stout, 3-4.5 cm. long; peduncle stout, 18 cm.
long or less; flowers numerous; bracts broadly ovate, acutish,
1.5 mm. long; pedicels 8-13 mm. long; calyx nearly truncate,
with 5 short teeth; corolla white with a yellowish blotch at the
base of each lobe, the tube 1 cm. long, the lobes 2-2.5 cm- l°ng>
oblong-obovate, obtuse; pods 15-22 cm. long, 1.5-2 cm. in
diameter.
Coastal hillsides and thickets, parish of Portland. Wheeler-
field, March 13, 1909 {Britton 4123, type); near Port Antonio,
Sept. 25, 1906 {Britton 870). Near P. emarginata Griseb., of
Cuba.
Valerianoides jamaicensis X mutabilis.
Hybrids are not often seen in the West Indian flora, but the
one here recorded seems to be genuine. I found it growing near
its parents on a roadside between Mandeville and Brown's Town,
Manchester, with characters of foliage and flowers exactly inter-
mediate.
Lantana jamaicensis sp. nov.
A vine, climbing on trees, up to 7 meters long, or shrubby and
1 meter high, or less, the branches long, slender, terete, densely
puberulent. Leaves lanceolate to ovate, 2.5-9 cm- l°ng> rather
firm in texture, acute or acuminate at the apex, narrowed or
rounded at the base, crenulate, sparingly pubescent above, densely
puberulent and rather prominently veined beneath, or becoming
glabrate, the petioles 1 cm. long or less; peduncles puberulent,
2-4 cm. long; heads involucrate, subgi0bose in flower, 1— 1 .5 cm.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plant- 357
in diameter, somewhat elongating in fruit; involucral bracts
ovate to lanceolate, acutish, puberulent; corolla 6.5-10 mm. long,
white or pale pink with a yellowish eye, puberulent, its lobes irregu-
larly rounded; calyx-limb undulate, ciliate; stamens borne near
the middle of the corolla-tube.
Banks and woodlands, Manchester and St. Elizabeth. Type
from between Malvern and Stanmore Hill, Santa Cruz Moun-
tains {Britton iogy, Sept. 3, 1907).
Apparently recorded by Grisebach as Lantana stricta lilacina,
but it is not Lantana lilacina of South America. Certainly dis-
tinct from Lantana stricta.
Lantana arida sp. now
A widely branched shrub 1 meter high, or less, pubescent with
long simple hairs and short glandular hairs intermixed; branches
slender, 4-angled. Leaves ovate to oval, 1-2 cm. long, obtuse at
both ends, or acutish at the apex, densely pubescent on both
sides, rather firm in texture, crenate-dentate, the venation im-
pressed above, prominent beneath, about 4 veins on each side of
the midvein; petioles 2-3 mm. long; peduncles slender, longer
than the leaves; inflorescence capitate; fruit oblong, 3-4 mm.
long.
Dry rocky hillside, Salt Pond Hills, Kingston Harbor, in old
fruit March 2, 1908 {Britton & Hollick 1824).
Rondeletia elegans sp. nov.
A tree, 5 m. high, the twigs densely appressed-pubescent.
Leaves rather firm in texture, elliptic, the blades 11-16 cm. long,
9 cm. wide or less, glabrous above, sparingly pubescent on the
veins beneath when old, quite densely pubescent beneath when
young, acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, the mid-
vein prominent beneath, with about 7 veins on each side, the stout
pubescent petioles 2-4 cm. long; cymes axillary, pubescent,
the peduncles about as long as the petioles; flowers all pedicelled;
hypanthium hemispheric, pubescent, 1.5 cm. long; sepals nar-
rowly lanceolate, pubescent, about as long as the hypanthium;
corolla salverform, 10-14 mm. long, the cylindric crimson tube
about twice as long as the 5 tawny-yellow obovate-orbicular
undulate lobes; stamens sessile near the top of the corolla-tube;
style 3 mm. long, pubescent below; fruit about 7 mm. long.
Woodlands, eastern slopes of the John Crow Mountains at
520 m. altitude {Britton 4143, March, 1909, type; Harris &
Britton 10,744).
.''.OS Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants
Rondeletia pallida sp. nov.
A tree, 10 m. high, the young foliage sparingly pubescent.
Leaves thin, bright green, oblong-lanceolate to elliptic, 18 cm.
long or less, 2-7 cm. wide, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs
beneath and on the slender petioles when old, sharply acuminate
at the apex, cuneate-narrowed at the base, the narrow midrib
rather prominent on both sides with 4 or 5 pairs of veins on each
side, the petioles 1-2 cm. long; cymes axillary; peduncles slender,
a little shorter than the petioles; bractlets linear-lanceolate,
pubescent, 2-3 mm. long; flowers in threes on the branches of
the cyme, all on slender glabrous pedicels 3-5 mm. long; hypan-
thiumhemispheric-campanulate, 1.5-2 mm. high; sepals triangular-
lanceolate, acuminate, nearly as long as the hypanthium ; corolla
white or yellowish, fading brownish, 12-15 mm. long, salverform,
glabrous or puberulent, the cylindric tube twice to three times as
long as the 5 suborbicular. rounded, spreading lobes; stamens
borne near the top of the corolla-tube, the filaments shorter than
the anthers; style about 3 mm. long, pubescent below; stigma
2-lobed; fruit about 6 mm. long.
Woodlands, southeastern foothills of the John Crow Moun-
tains, 350 m. altitude {Britton 3992, March, 1909, type; 3940;
4146; Harris & Britton, 10,680, 10,724).
Guettarda constricta sp. nov.
A tree about 7 in. high, the twigs terete. Leaves broadly
ovate; blades 17 cm. long or less, about two thirds as wide as long,
rather firm in texture, glabrous and bright green above or puber-
ulent on the veins, pale green or whitish and densely puberulent
beneath, short-acuminate at the apex, obtuse or subtruncate and
sometimes strongly inequilateral at the base, with 8 or 9 pairs
of veins on each side of the prominent midvein; petioles stout,
puberulent, 6 cm. long or less; peduncles axillary, somewhat
angled, puberulent, as long as the petioles or longer; cymes several-
flowered; fruit sessile, oval, finely puberulent, 10-12 mm. long,
8 or 9 mm. thick, obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the unequal
base, distinctly constricted at the middle.
Wooded hillside, Grove Place, Manchester (Britton 3769,
September, 1908). The fruit of G. argentea is globular.
Psychotria subcordata sp. nov.
A slender tree, 5 m. tall, the twigs and leaves glabrous. Leaves
lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, thin in texture, 7-10 cm. long,
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 359
2.5—3.5 cm- wide, sessile, subcordate at the base, acuminate at
the apex, dark green above, paler beneath, the midvein rather
prominent on both sides, the veins about 10 on each side of the
midvein, diverging from it nearly at right angles, curving upward
and united 2 or 3 mm. from the margins; stipules apparently
distinct, deciduous; cyme sessile, 3 -rayed, the rays slender,
glabrous, 2.5-3 cm- l°ng> the- 2 or 3 raylets 1— 1.5 cm. long; fruiting
pedicels 2-5 mm. long; fruit globose-oblong, red, nearly 1 cm.
long; pyrenae oblong, 8 mm. long, 4 mm. wide, strongly 3-crested
longitudinally, with two shallow grooves on the nearly flat com-
missural side.
Woodlands, eastern slopes of the John Crow Mountains at
520 m. altitude {Britton 4144). Related to the Cuban P. auric-
ulata C. Wright.
Lobelia grandifolia sp. nov.
Stem stout, somewhat pubescent, about 9 dm. high. Leaves
flaccid, large, about 3 dm. long, 10-12 cm. wide, abruptly acu-
minate at the apex, cuneate at the base, crenulate all around,
glabrous and dull green above, rather bright green beneath and
pubescent on the veins, the broad flat midvein prominent, the
numerous lateral veins arching upward; peduncles stout, pubes-
cent, about 1.5 dm. long; raceme densely many-flowered, 1-1.5
dm. long; bracts linear-lanceolate, acuminate, glandular-serrate,
nearly as long as the pedicels; pedicels about 2 cm. long; hypan-
thium campanulate, glabrous, 1 cm. long; sepals linear-lanceolate,
glandular-serrate, 12-15 mm. l°ng> 2 mm. wide; corolla yellowish
white, greenish yellow, or brownish, glabrous, strongly curved,
about 2.5 cm. long; androecium stout, pubescent, 1.5-2 cm. long;
anthers 9 mm. long, loosely pubescent, two of them bearded at
the tip.
Woodlands, eastern slopes of the John Crow Mountains at
about 400 meters elevation {Britton 4194, type; 4197; Harris
& Britton 10,725). Related to L. Fawcettii Urban, in which the
leaf-blade is decurrent on the petiole nearly or quite to the base,
the sepals narrower and longer, the foliage glabrous or very
nearly so.
Bidens Shrevei sp. nov.
Glabrous; stems woody, diffusely branched, reclining or
straggling, 3-6 dm. long, the twigs striate. Leaves simple, ovate
to lanceolate, 5-10 cm. long, acuminate at the apex, obtuse or
subtruncate at the base, sharply serrulate, the slender petioles
860 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
one third to one half as long as the blades, the finely reticulate
venation much darker in color than the parenchyma; heads
several or numerous; peduncles 6 cm. long or less; involucre
oblong-cylindric, about i cm. high, its bracts linear, spreading
at anthesis, acutish and puberulent at the apex; rays oval to
oblong, bluntish or emarginate, 1.5-2 cm. long, strongly veined;
disk-corollas tubular-cylindric, narrowed below, 7-10 mm. long,
with acute triangular-ovate teeth; anthers and style-branches
slightly exserted; achenes linear, 12-16 mm. long, about 1 mm.
thick, sparingly pubescent on the angles, the two yellowish awns
3-5 mm. long, downwardly barbed.
Banks at higher altitudes in the Blue Mountains; type col-
lected by Forrest Shreve at Cinchona, November, 1905.
Chaenocephalus propinquus sp. nov.
A shrub, 2 m. high. Leaves firm in texture, oblanceolate,
5-9 cm. long, acute at the apex, cuneately tapering from above
the middle to a sessile entire base, sharply and rather coarsely
dentate above the middle, smooth on both sides or minutely
scabrate-puberulent beneath, the pinnate venation not very prom-
inent; inflorescence corymbose, 5-8 cm. broad; peduncles ap-
pressed-pubescent, 2-4 cm. long, nearly erect, or narrowly as-
cending; heads numerous, turbinate-campanulate, 6-7 mm. high;
involucral bracts pubescent, the outer narrowly oblong to lance-
olate, obtuse, 5.5 mm. long, the inner broadly oblanceolate,
sharply acute, 5 mm. long, 2 mm. wide; corolla 3.5 mm. long,
nearly cylindric above the narrowed base, its lobes triangular-
ovate, acute; pappus-bristles about one half as long as the corolla;
achene cuneate-oblanceolate, 4 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide at the
top, scabrous-pubescent, the wings nearly 1 mm. wide above.
In rocky soil, Lover's Leap, Yardley Chase, Santa Cruz
Mountains, at 530 meters altitude {Britton 1144, Sept. 4, 1907;
type; Harris 9672). Nearly related to C. venosus Urban, from
wet woodlands on the summit of John Crow Peak, at 2000 meters
altitude. (See Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 526.)
15. THE GENUS BADIERA DC.
Badiera DC. Prodr. 1: 334. 1824
Type species: Badiera Penaea (L.) DC.
Leaves obovate to oblong, 1-4 cm. long, obtuse or emarginate.
Leaves obovate.
Pubescent; leaves 2-2.5 cm. long, papillose-scabrous. 1. B. Penaea.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 36]
Puberulent, leaves 1.5 cm. long or less. 2. B. virgala.
Leaves oblong. 3. B. oblongata.
Leaves ovate, oval or ovate-lanceolate, 2.5-9 cm. long.
Leaves bluntly acuminate, or bluntly acute at the apex.
Leaves 2-3 times as long as wide. 4. B. diversifolia.
Leaves less than twice as long as wide. 5. B. cubensis.
Leaves rounded or emarginate at the apex. 6. B. montana.
Unknown to me, except from description. 7. B. Berteriana.
i. Badiera Penaea (L.) DC. Prodr. 1: 335. 1824
Poly gala Penaea L. Sp. PI. 703. 1753.
Poly gala domingensis Jacq. Stirp. Am. ed. min. 252. 1788.
Badiera domingensis DC. Prodr. 1: 335. 1824.
Mountains of Haiti and Santo Domingo. This plant is rep-
resented in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden by
the following specimens: "In montibus, Hispaniola (Jacquemont) ;
Sierra del Palo Quemado, Santo Domingo, at 500 meters (Eggers
18 gf); pineland, Marmelade, Haiti, at 900 to 1100 meters {Nash
jig; Nash & Taylor 13 12).
Professor Chodat ignores Badiera Penaea in his monograph,
and describes Eggers no. iSgy as Poly gala domingensis , not recog-
nizing the genus Badiera. Mr. Nash's no. Jig, which is in young
fruit, so closely resembles the original figure of Poly gala Penaea
L. (Plumier, ed. Burmann, pi. 214. f. 1) that it appears to me
the two supposed species must be one; the character cited by
De Candolle (Prodr. 1: 335) of flowers solitary in B. Penaea
and flowers racemose in B. domingensis is doubtful; the Plumier
figure shows the plant in fruit, and in this as in other species of the
genus often only one flower of the cluster produces fruit.
2. Badiera virgata sp. nov.
A shrub or small tree up to 4 meters high, the branches nearly
erect, densely leafy, the twigs finely puberulent. Leaves obovate,
or obovate-oblanceolate, rigid, 10 mm. long or less, 4-8 mm. wide,
puberulent or minutely papillose-puberulent, or becoming nearly
or quite glabrous when old, rounded at the apex, or some of them
slightly emarginate, narrowed at the base, the petioles pubescent,
1— 1 .5 mm. long, the midvein slightly elevated beneath, the lateral
venation wholly obscure; flowers several in the axillary clusters
or solitary, yellow-green, 2 mm. long; fruiting pedicels 1.5 mm.
long; fruit 5 mm. long, the lobes narrowly winged (only imperfect
ones with one lobe developed seen).
362 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
Thickets in dry soil, Oriente, Camagiiey, and Santa Clara,
Cuba. (Type, Britton 2086, from United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, March 17-30, 1909.)
3. Badiera oblongata N. L. Britton, Bull. N. Y. Bot.
Gard. 5: 314. 1907
Distribution: Bahama Islands: Andros, New Providence, Cat
Island, Acklin's Island, Crooked Island, Watling's Island, Caicos
Islands; Cayo Sabinal and mainland of Camagiiey, Cuba {Shafer
878 1085, 977; also collected in Cuba by Wright, no. 115 in part).
The Cuban specimens here referred have leaves mostly more
obtuse at the base than those of the typical Bahamian plant, but
a specimen from Andros Island {Small & Carter 8681) seems to
be identical with them.
A plant from the palm barren at Santa Clara, Cuba {Britton
& Wilson 6066), has shorter emarginate leaves 12-20 mm. long,
with the midvein deeply impressed above; it is tentatively re-
ferred to this species.
4. Badiera diversifolia (L.) DC. Prodr. 1: 334. 1824
Poly gala diversifolia L. Sp. PI. 703. 1753.
Poly gala jamaicensis Chodat, Mem. Soc. Phys. Geneve 312:
11. 1893.
Jamaica, in hillside thickets and woodlands in relatively dry
districts from sea level up to 1100 meters elevation.
5. Badiera cubensis sp. now
Polygala diversifolia Chodat, Mem. Soc. Phys. Geneve 312:
10. 1893. Not L.
Leaves ovate to elliptic, 2.5-6 cm. long, 1.5-3.5 cm- wide,
bluntly acuminate or acute at the apex, cuneate-narrowed or
acute at the base; fruit 7.5-8.5 mm. long, 10 mm. wide, lobed to
about one third, the lobes rounded.
Cuban woodlands; type, Wright, no. 191 3 from "La loma
pelada, Dec. 27," in herb. N. Y. Bot. Gard.; also collected by
Wright at "La Sabanilla" and distributed under this same number;
Wright's no. 3496 belongs to this species, and also part of his 115,
collected in eastern Cuba.
Brittox : Studies of West Indian plants 363
Professor Chodat indicates this Cuban species as occurring
also in Jamaica, but this I take to be an error.
6. Badiera montana sp. nor.
A shrub, 3 m. high, the twigs densely puberulent. Leaves
broadly oval, 4-5 cm. long, 2.5-3.5 cm- wide, firm in texture,
quite densely puberulent when unfolding and sparingly puberulent
when mature, rounded or slightly emarginate at the apex, acutish
at the base, dull dark green, the midvein slightly impressed in the
upper surface, elevated on the underside, the lateral veins few,
slender, the rather stout puberulent petioles 2-3 mm. long; in-
florescence several-flowered; bracts ovate, acute, pubescent,
about 0.5 mm. long; fruiting pedicels pubescent, 1.5-2 mm. long;
stipe of the fruit 1 mm. long; fruit 8-10 mm. long, 10-12 mm. wide
at the top, puberulent, lobed to about one fifth, the lobes rounded-
truncate.
Rocky wooded hill, Arroyo Grande, Trinidad Mountains, Cuba,
at about 700 meters altitude (Britton & Wilson 5461, March 11,
12, 1910).
Differs from B. cubensis by its obtuse leaves, larger and longer
fruit.
7. Badiera Berteriana Spreng. Syst. 3: 172. 1826
Described as with oblong-lanceolate obtuse leaves and re-
corded as from Hispaniola. Professor Chodat does not refer to
this species in his monograph; it was collected by Bertero and
called by him Polygala domingensis, but Sprengel's description
indicates that it is not Polygala domingensis of Jacquin, here
referred to Badiera Penaea (L.) DC.
Excluded Species.
Badiera (?) acuminata (Willd.) DC. Prodr. 1: 335 is Polvoala
acuminata Willd. Sp. PI. 3: 887, native of Peru and Chile.
Professor Chodat describes it as new in his monograph (p. 46),
but the name dates from at least the year 1805.
Badiera (?) divaricata DC. Prodr. 1: 335, from Para, South
America (presumably Brazil), was not taken up by Mr. A. \Y.
Bennett in the Flora Brasiliensis.
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN- No. 147
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS-IV
By NATHANIEL LORD BRIXTON
NEW YORK
1912
Reprinted, without change of paging, from the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club
39: 1-14. 10 F 1912
I From the Bulletin of the Tcrrf.y Botanical Club 39; 1-14. 12 F 1912.]
Studies of West Indian plants — IV
Nathaniel Lord Britton
16. DENDROPANAX IN THE WEST INDIES
1. Dendropanax arboreum (L.) Dene. & Planch.
A tree, up to 20 m. high, but usually much smaller and often
flowering as a shrub. Leaves chartaceous, from ovate to obovate,
mostly acuminate at the apex, narrowed or rounded at the base,
often 2 dm. long; inflorescence from shorter than the leaves to
equaling them, or longer, the 20 umbels or fewer racemosely
arranged and umbellate at the summit, sometimes leafy-bracted,
but the bracts usually small, ovate to lanceolate; peduncles of
the umbels slender, ascending, up to 3 cm. long in fruit; pedicels
1 3^ to 3 times as long as the flowers, somewhat elongating in
fruit; petals white or greenish ; calyx rather sharply toothed, about
2 mm. wide at flowering time; fruit black, strongly lobed, 6-8 mm.
thick.
Widely distributed at lower and middle altitudes in moist
or wet districts in Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola, Porto Rico, and
on Signal Hill, St. Thomas. Ascends to 1,600 meters in Jamaica.
2. Dendropanax samydifolium (C. Wright) Seem.
This species is known to me only from the original specimens
collected by Wright at S. Felepina near La Grifa, western Cuba;
Wright's description calls for a tree up to 13 meters high. The
leaf base is decurrent on the petiole. The species seems very
closely related to D. arboreum, which is abundant in the mountains
and hills of western Cuba.
1
2 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
3. Dendropanax brachypodum (Urban) Britton nom. nov.
Gilibertia brachypoda Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 452. 1908.
A short-pctioled and long-pediceled Haitian mountain species,
related to D. arboreum, known to me only from Professor Urban's
description.
4. Dendropanax laurifolium (E. March.) R. C. Schneider
A detailed description of this endemic Porto Rico mountain
tree is published by Professor Urban in Symbolae Antillanae 1 :
203.
5. Dendropanax cuneifolium (C. Wright) Seem.
A shrub or tree up to 6 m. high, the branches slender, often
drooping. Leaves spatulate to oblong-oblanceolate, 2 dm. long
or less, 1.5-6 cm. wide, obtuse, or bluntly acute at the apex,
cuneate at the base, the petiole 1/6 to 1/4 the length of the blade;
peduncle slender, straight, as long as the leaves or longer; umbel
7-20-flowered ; pedicels 1.5-2 cm. long; petals green, acute; flower-
ing calyx about 4 mm. broad; fruit globose to globose-oblong,
black, 6-8 mm. thick, the persistent style about half its length.
Banks of streams and wooded bogs at lower and middle eleva-
tions, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba.
6. Dendropanax nutans (Sw.) Dene. & Planch.
A shrub with stout gray branches. Leaves ovate to ovate-
elliptic, coriaceous, 10 cm. long or less, acute or short-acuminate at
the apex, narrowed or rounded at the base, the veins rather
prominent on the under side, the stout petioles very unequal in
length, sometimes two thirds as long as the blade; peduncle
stout, 5-7 cm. long, bracted at or near the base; umbels many-
flowered, inclined or nodding; pedicels 2-3 cm. long; flowering
calyx 5 mm. broad.
Known only from Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica, where it is
reported as abundant. Professor Urban (Symb. Ant. 1 : 200)
characterizes the umbel as strictly erect, but it is inclined or
nodding in all specimens seen by me.
7. Dendropanax pendulum (Sw.) Dene. & Planch.
A shrub about 4 m. high. Leaves chartaceous in texture,
ovate, acute or bluntish at the apex, rounded or subcordate at
the base, triplinerved and rather prominently pinnately veined,
Brittox : Studies of West Indian plants
the blades 12 cm. long or less, nearly twice as long as wide;
petioles rather stout, one half to two thirds as long as the blades;
peduncle much longer than the leaves, pendulous, 2 dm. long or
less, bracted and jointed a little below the middle; umbel many-
flowered; pedicels slender, 15-18 mm. long; flowering calyx
broadly turbinate, 3.5 mm. broad; petals oblong-lanceolate, about
as long as the calyx.
Cockpit Country, Jamaica, Harris Q188, from Lapland, near
Catadupa; this specimen agrees with the type specimen of Hedera
nutans Sw., in the herbarium of the British Museum of Natural
History. The species is also recorded by Marchand from Catha-
rine's Peak, collected by Eggers, 3651, which I have not seen.
8. Dendropanax grandiflorum sp. now
A tree, about 8 m. high. Leaves chartaceous, obovate, 5-10
cm. long, 5 cm. wide or less, bluntly pointed at the apex, cuneate-
narrowed at the base, rather strongly pinnately veined, the margins
slightly revolute, the stout petioles about I cm. long or less;
inflorescence of simple, terminal, few-flowered umbels, or rarely
a secondary umbel borne halfway up on the peduncle; peduncle
rather stout, 3-5 cm. long, bracted and jointed just above the
base; flowers 8 or fewer in the umbels; pedicels rather stout,
nearly erect, 1.5-2 cm. long; flowering calyx 8 mm. high, narrowly
campanulate, its mouth 6-7 mm. broad; corolla 5 mm. long just
before expanding, the bud rounded; anthers in the unopen bud
about as long as the filaments; fruit oblong, I cm. long, 7 mm.
thick, the persistent style 6-7 mm. long.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, July 7, 191 1,
Harris 10QQ4.
9. Dendropanax elongatum sp. nov.
A slender tree about 8 m. high. Leaves clustered at the ends
of the branches, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, coriaceous, faintly
pinnately veined, acute at the apex, narrowed or somewhat rounded
at the base, the blade 15 cm. long or less; the petiole one sixth
to one third as long as the blade; peduncle shorter than the
larger leaves, 8-12 cm. long, bracted somewhat below the middle,
the bracts triangular-ovate, apparently nearly erect; very young
inflorescence depressed-hemispheric, 8 mm. broad ; the flower buds
sessile or nearly so.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, at 800 to 900
meters elevation, January 3, 1910, Harris 108/4.
1 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
The very young slate of the inflorescence does not enable me
to give a description of the flowers of this interesting tree, and its
generic position is therefore uncertain. Its jointed and bracted
peduncle is similar to that of Dendropanax pendulum, but its
foliage is altogether different from that species.
10. Dendropanax grande sp. nov.
A tree up to 16 m. high. Leaves clustered at the ends of the
branches, ovate to ovate-elliptic, coriaceous in texture, rather
prominently pinnately veined, obtuse at both ends, the blade 15
cm. long or less, the stout petioles as long as the blades, or shorter;
peduncle much shorter than the leaves, erect, stout, about 4 cm.
long, bracted at the base; pedicels numerous, about 50, rather
stout, 2 cm. long; flowering calyx subhemispheric, 5 mm. broad;
petals lanceolate, about as long as the calyx; filaments rather
stout, somewhat longer than the petals.
Moneague, Jamaica, Alexander Prior, May 1850.
11. Dendropanax blakeanum sp. nov.
A slender tree about 8 m. high. Leaves clustered near the
ends of the branches, elliptic, or somewhat obovate-elliptic, rather
coriaceous in texture, faintly pinnately veined, sharply acute at
the apex, cuneate at the base, 10 cm. long or less; the petiole
one fifth to one third as long as the blade; peduncle erect, as
long as the leaves or twice as long, bracted at the base; umbels 8-16-
flowered; pedicels slender, 2 cm. long in fruit; flower buds ovoid-
hemispheric, obtuse, 3 mm. long just before the petals unfold;
calyx in young fruit turbinate, 4 mm. broad; fruit subglobose, 5
mm. in diameter; the conic persistent style 2.5 mm. long.
John Crow or Blake Mountains, Jamaica, at 550 meters eleva-
tion, Harris & Britton 10761, collected March 10, 1909.
Differs from Dendropanax nutans in the longer, strictly erect,
few-flowered peduncles, and in the venation, texture, and shape
of the leaves.
12. Dendropanax cordifolium sp. nov.
A tree about 6 m. high. Leaves clustered at the ends of the
branches, chartaceous in texture, broadly ovate, prominently pin-
nately veined, obtuse, or short-acuminate at the apex, cordate, or
subcordate at the base, the blades 2 dm. long or less, about two
thirds as wide as long, the stout petioles about one half as long as
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 5
the blades, or shorter; peduncle stout, bracted at and very near the
base, inclined, longer than the petioles, 12-15 cm- long; umbels
many-flowered; pedicels rather slender, 2.5 cm. long; flowering
calyx broadly turbinate, 4-5 mm. broad; petals white, about as
long as the calyx; filaments somewhat longer than the petals;
persistent style of the young fruit very broadly conic, 2 mm. long
or less.
Woodlands, summit of Dolphin Head, Jamaica, March 17,
1908, Britton & Hollick 2856.
17. THE GENUS CAMERARIA (PLUMIER) L.
The genus was accepted by Linnaeus from Plumier, C. latifolia
being the type species, and C. angustifolia L. also appearing in the
original publication of the genus, which is wholly West Indian in
distribution, so far as I am aware.
1. Cameraria latifolia L. Sp. PI. 210. 1753
This is a shrub or tree up to 15 m. high, as observed by me at
the United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It has
characteristic ovate-elliptic acuminate leaves. Its fruit is about
6 cm. long. The species seems to be widely distributed in Cuba;
occurring in the provinces of Oriente, Matanzas, and Havana.
In Jamaica it is apparently rare, the only specimen seen by me
being one collected by Dr. A. Hollick and myself {2045) in rocky
woods at Negril, the extreme western end of that island. It is
recorded from Haiti but I have seen no specimens from Hispaniola,
which is presumably the type locality.
2. Cameraria angustifolia L. Sp. PI. 210. 1753
My knowledge of this species rests wholly on Plumier's descrip-
tion and plate 72, figure 2, where it is illustrated as having linear-
acuminate leaves and fruit 2.5 cm. long. According to Miller,
cited by Grisebach, Fl. Br. W. I. 410, it was found in Jamaica,
but it is unknown to us from that, island.
3. Cameraria retusa Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 410. 1861
(C. angustifolia Griseb. loc. cit. not L.)
This is wholly a Cuban species, so far as it is represented in
our collections, occurring in the provinces of Santa Clara, Havana,
6 Bkitton : Studies of West Indian plants
Pinar del Rio, and on the Isle of Pines. It has lanceolate to
oblong leaves, which are obtuse and emarginate at the apex. Its
fruit is about 2 cm. long, the narrowly linear terminal wing about
as long as the ovoid body. Its flowers are only about I cm. long,
the corolla limb about 1.5 cm. wide.
I take as the type of this species the specimen from "West
Indies," collected by Lane, and preserved in the Kew Herbarium.
4. Cameraria oblongifolia sp. nov.
A tree 4-6 m. high with slender twigs. Leaves oblong to
oblong-lanceolate, acutish to obtuse or minutely emarginate at
the apex, narrowed at the base, 2-3.5 cm- long, 14 mm. wide or
less, the slender petiole about 2 mm. long; corolla about 17 mm.
broad; fruit compressed, lanceolate, 2-3 cm. long, about I cm.
wide, grooved at the base on one side, the terminal wing oblong-
triangular, obtuse, about as long as the body.
In wet woods near Tiffin, Camagiiey, November 1-5, 1909,
Shafer 2877; also represented by part of Wright's Cuban no.
2Q50, collected at Hanabana.
The other part of Wright's 2950, which has ovate-lanceolate
acuminate leaves, may represent another species. It has much
more slender and longer petioles than C. oblongifolia, but the speci-
mens examined by me are too imperfect to afford a complete
description. Combs' no. ig, collected in Cieneguita in the
province of Santa Clara, appears to be the same as this, but our
specimen of that number also is incomplete.
5. Cameraria microphylla sp. nov.
A tree up to 5 m. high, intricately branched, the twigs very
slender. Leaves oblong 10 oblong-obovate, I cm. long or less,
2-4 mm. wide, emarginate at the apex, narrowed at the base, the
margins strongly revolute; fruit 2 cm. long, 4-6 mm. wide, com-
pressed, the wing oblique, sinuate, terminal and lateral, similar
to that of C. Jatifolia but very much smaller.
Near the northwestern end of Cayo Coco, Camagiiey, October
23-24, 1909, Shafer 270Q.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 7
18. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM JAMAICA
Acalypha jamaicensis sp. nov.
A shrub, 2-2.7 m- high> the branches slender, the young ones
densely pubescent. Leaves oblong-lanceolate to oblong-oblance-
olate, thin in texture, rather strongly pinnately veined, 9-15 cm.
long, 3-5 cm. wide, sharply serrate all around, long-acuminate at
the apex, subcordate at the base, sparingly pubescent above,
rather densely pubescent on the veins beneath, the slender pu-
bescent petioles 4 cm. long or less; flowers apparently monoecious;
staminate spikes dense, pubescent, slender-stalked, about 3 cm.
long, the short narrow bracts ciliate; pistillate spikes 3-6 cm. long,
their bracts ciliate and pubescent, especially on the veins, 5-7-
cleft to about the middle, the lobes obtuse or acutish; style dis-
sected into filiform segments; fruit compressed, pubescent, 2 mm.
broad.
Woodlands, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica. Type, Harris 10842,
collected at Leicesterfield, January 28, 1910.
Related to A. pruinosa Urban, a nearly glabrous species with
more deeply cleft pistillate bracts.
Actinostemon jamaicensis sp. nov.
A tree, up to 10 m. high, with slender, somewhat drooping
branches, glabrous throughout. Leaves ovate to oblong-lanceo-
late, thin, 5-7 cm. long, 2-3.5 cm- wide, acuminate at the apex,
rounded or narrowed at the base, shining above, pale beneath,
pinnately veined, the very slender petioles 1 cm. long or less;
staminate inflorescence interruptedly spicate, slender, 4-5 cm.
long, flowers opposite the upper leaves; stamens 12, in clusters
of 3, the united part and the free part of the filaments about equal
in length; fruit depressed-globose, 9-12 mm. broad, 8-9 mm. high,
both apex and base slightly sunken; seed globose, 3-3.5^01. in
diameter.
Thickets, Grant's Pen, near Yallah's Bay, Jamaica, May 26,
191 1, Harris 10936, type; also at the same station, Harris 10643,
10818, and 10826, Britton 3470 and 3913; coastal thickets, Morant
Point, Britton 4103.
Clusia clarendonensis sp. nov.
A small tree, up to 5 meters high. Leaves thick, rigid, obovate,
10 cm. long or less, 5-7 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, narrowed
at the base, finely but rather strongly pinnately veined, the stout
8 Brixton : Studies of West Indian plants
petioles 4-6 mm. long; fruiting peduncles stout, 3 cm. long; in-
florescence about 3-flowered; fruiting pedicels about 1 cm. long;
bracts triangular-ovate, acute, rigid, 5 mm. long; fruit oblong,
obtuse, 2.5 cm. long, 1.5 cm. thick, the persistent sepals broadly
triangular-ovate, scarious-margined; stigmas 5.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, in fruit July 7,
191 1, Harris I0QQ2. Related to C. venosa Jacq.
Maytenus clarendonensis sp. nov.
A tree, up to 18 meters high. Leaves broadly elliptic, coria-
ceous, obtuse at both ends, 8-10 cm. long, 5-7 cm. wide, strongly
revolute-margined, shining above, dull, and the veins rather
prominent beneath, the stout petioles I cm. long or less; fruiting
pedicels about 6 mm. long; capsules oblong, pointed at both ends,
15-18 mm. long, 8 mm. thick, roughened with depressed tubercles.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, in fruit July 5,
191 1, Harris 10947. Related to M. jamaicensis Krug & Urban.
Portlandia Harrisii sp. nov.
A small tree up to 6 meters high. Leaves orbicular, coriaceous,
sessile, 8-10 cm. long and broad, rounded at the apex, cordate at
the base, shining and reticulate-veined on both surfaces; stipules
broad, obtuse; flowers 2-5 together in the upper axils, about 5
cm. long; corolla campanulate, the tube apparently about as long
as the limb; fruiting pedicels stout, 6-8 mm. long; immature
capsules obovoid, obtusely 5-angled, 2 cm. long, 1.5 cm. thick,
crowned by the short calyx teeth.
On limestone rocks, Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, July 6,
191 1, Harris 10975. Only old withered fallen corollas were
obtained.
Rondeletia saxicola sp. nov.
A shrub about 4 meters high, the twigs pilose-pubescent.
Leaves thin, oblanceolate to oblong, acute at the apex, narrowed
at the base, rather dark green and loosely appressed-pubescent
above, paler green and loosely pilose-pubescent at least on the
veins beneath, pinnately veined, 7-10 cm. long, 3 cm. wide or less,
the pilose petioles about 1 cm. long; flowers in short-stalked
globose clusters about 1 cm. in diameter, the rather stout, densely
pubescent peduncles 5-8 mm. long; bracts linear, acute, 5-8 mm.
long; calyx 4 mm. long, pubescent, lobed to below the middle,
the lobes narrowly lanceolate, acute; fruit pubescent, about 5
mm. thick.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 9
Rocky Cliff, Somerset, Manchester, September 23, 1908,
Harris & Britton 1060Q.
Bidens clarendonensis sp. nov/
Perennial, glabrous, the stem and branches terete, trailing,
somewhat woody. Leaves firm in texture, 4-7 cm. long,r hombic-
ovate, acute at the apex, rather coarsely serrate, except at the
broadly cuneate base, with slightly incurved gland-tipped teeth
with revolute margins, the venation rather prominent, the petioles
one fourth to one third as long as the blades; heads several to-
gether, on stalks 1.5 cm. long or less; involucre nearly hemispheric,
many-flowered, its bracts about I cm. long, linear, obtuse or with
a triangular acutish tip, 1.5-2 mm. wide; ray flowers about 5,
I.5-2 cm. long, the rays oblong, orange yellow, 2-toothed, 6-7
mm. wide, the tube about 3 mm. long; disk flowers 6 mm. long,
the cylindric limb acutely 5-toothed; achenes 1 cm. long, less than
0.5 mm. thick, pappus of I or 2 subulate awns about 0.5 mm.
long at flowering time, becoming 2 mm. long and downwardly
barbed at maturity.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, July 7, 1911, .Harris
ioq8j.
19. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM CUBA
Mettenia acutifolia Britton & Wilson sp. nov.
A slender tree, 3-8 m. high, with hirsutulous twigs and petioles.
Leaves ovate, occasionally lanceolate, 2-6 cm. long, 1-3.4 cm-
broad, bluntly acuminate at the apex, rounded and equilateral
or nearly so at the base, obscurely reticulate-veined and more
or less pubescent with blackish hairs along the midrib and
lateral veins above, hirsutulous on the midrib and lateral veins
beneath, the margin ciliate; flowers unknown; valves of the cap-
sule with crowded conic or subpyramidal tubercles, each tubercle
tipped with a hair; seeds (immature) brownish black, lustrous, 4
mm. long, 3 mm. broad.
Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente, Cuba, Decem-
ber 30, 1910, Shafer 8250. Distinguished from M. globosa (Sw.)
Griseb. by its spreading pubescence and by its pointed leaves.
Clerodendron (?) calcicola sp. nov.
A tree, 8 m. high, the branches smooth, the bark flaky in
narrow strips. Leaves opposite, coriaceous, ovate to ovate-elliptic,
10 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
distantly low-serrate, 10 cm. long or less, 3-5 cm. wide, glabrous,
shining and with the inconspicuous venation somewhat impressed
above, pale, strongly reticulate-veined with elevated venation,
and rather densely pubescent beneath, the stout nearly terete
petioles puberulent, 8-12 mm. long; flowers and fruit unknown.
Apparently related to C. spinosum Urban, of Santo Domingo,
which has similar leaves with bristle-tipped teeth and villous
petioles.
Pseudocarpidium pungens sp. nov.
A tree 8 m. high, the twigs slender. Leaves oblong to oblong-
lanceolate, 3-7 cm. long, 3 cm. wide or less, chartaceous, strongly
pinnately veined, spinulose-dentate, the apex acuminate, spinulose-
tipped, the base obtuse, the upper surface smooth and shining, the
under surface dull and puberulent; fruit irregularly 4-lobed,
puberulent, depressed, 8 mm. in diameter.
Hillside, near Guantanamo, Oriente, Cuba, March 1909,
Britton IQQ2, type; Sevilla Estate, near Santiago, Oriente, Cuba,
Norman Taylor iq.
Related to P. avicennioides (A. Rich.) Millsp., which has
entire leaves and more deeply lobed fruit.
Pseudocarpidium rigens (Griseb.) Britton comb, nov., Vitex
rigens Griseb., has glabrous oblong to oblanceolate shining leaves,
spinulose-dentate, at least above the middle, or some of them
entire.
Portlandia nitens sp. nov.
A slender shrub, about 3 meters high. Leaves sessile, coria-
ceous, broadly ovate-elliptic, rounded at the apex, cordate or
subcordate at the base, inconspicuously pinnately veined, shining
above, dull beneath, 9 cm. long or less, the upper much smaller
than the lower; flowers corymbose; pedicels short, viscid; calyx
viscid, its lobes linear, about 8 mm. long; corolla pink, campanu-
late, 2.5 cm. long; capsule obovoid-oblong, 13 mm. long.
Dry thicket, upper valley of the Rio Navas, Oriente, March
22, 1910, Shafer 4450.
Elaeagia cubensis sp. nov.
A shrub, up to 3.2 meters high, the branches rather stout, the
young twigs, branches of the inflorescence, and pedicels minutely
pubescent. Leaves chartaceous, oblong or oblong-obovate, 7 cm.
long or less, 2.5-3 cm. wide, abruptly short-acuminate at the apex,
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 11
narrowed at the base, strongly pinnately veined, the petioles 6-9
mm. long; stipules narrow, obtuse, deciduous, I cm. long; panicles
rather loosely flowered, 7 cm. long or less, minutely bracteolate;
pedicels 2-3 mm. long; calyx tube obconic, 2 mm. long, the limb
with 5 short rounded lobes; corolla white, 4 mm. long, its narrowly
oblong lobes twice as long as the tube; filaments about as long
as the corolla, the scale near the base of each with a dense tuft
of white hairs; stigmas one fourth as long as the style.
Monte Jiquarito, Sierra Maestra, Oriente, Cuba, at about
1,100 meters altitude, September 18, 1906, Norman Taylor 513.
The genus has been hitherto known only from the South
American Andes.
20. NOTES ON SPECIES OF SOLANUM
Solanum Blodgettii Chapm.
This species is cited by Mr. O. E. Schulz* as a synonym of
Solanum bahamense subarmatum (Willd.) O. E. Schulz, but he has
wholly misunderstood its type specimens, which show that it
is more nearly related to S. verbascifolium than to S. bahamense;
it grows plentifully on Key West, Florida (Blodgett, type; Merrill;
Pollard, Collins & Morris 3; Britton 320; Lansing 1969s), in the
Florida Everglades (Britton 237; Small & Wilson 1678, 1962;
Small & Carter 2674, 2673, 2936, 3101), and is to be added to the
West Indian Flora, as it occurs on Cat Cay, Bahamas (Millspaugh
2341; Brace 3749).
The varietal name Solanum bahamense subarmatum, under which
Mr. Schulz groups nearly or quite unarmed specimens of S.
bahamense, is redundant, for there is every transition from very
prickly plants to entirely unarmed ones throughout the range
of the species, individual bushes often bearing prickles below
and being quite devoid of them above. Harris 8169, from
Plowden Hill, Jamaica, as represented by our specimen, is un-
armed, though the duplicate of it, examined by Mr. Schulz, is
referred by him to the typical prickly form.
Solanum boldoense A. DC.
This interesting Cuban vine is apparently of quite local
distribution at widely separated stations; about Matanzas it
* Urban, Symb. Ant. 6: 223.
12 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
grows especially in the famous gorge of the Yumury or Yumuri
River (Rugel 145). Mr. Schulz (loc. cit. 170) erroneously spells
this "Tomory," while Mr. A. H. Moore* also has it wrong as
"Sumuri." This gorge is one of the scenic attractions of the
northern coast of Cuba; the handwriting of Rugel's labels is
somewhat difficult to decipher. In Pinar del Rio it inhabits
limestone rocks at San Diego de los Banos {Britton, Earle &
Gager 6674); C. Wright's specimen 381 was collected in Oriente;
the locality of the type specimen is doubtfully cited as Havana.
21. NOTES ON TWO JAMAICA PLANTS
Ampelocissus Alexandri Urban, Symb. Ant. 6: 15. 1909
To the description may be added "berry depressed-globose,
black, shining, 1.5 cm. in diameter, the pulp watery; seeds 2 or 3,
depressed-obovoid, slightly rugose, rather deeply and broadly
grooved, 5 mm. long, 4 mm. wide."
Wooded hillside, Union Hill near Moneague, St. Ann's,
Jamaica, at 500 meters altitude, Britton & Rollick 2767; this
station is within a few miles of the type locality at Mount Diablo.
Tabernaemontana discolor Sw. Prodr. 52. 1788
Tabemaemontana ochroleuca Urban, Symb. Ant. 6: 34. 1909.
An examination of the type specimen of Swartz' species in
the herbarium of the British Museum of Natural History estab-
lishes the identity of these species.
22. THE GENUS GINORIA IN CUBA
GlNORIA AMERICANA Jacq.
As intimated by Koehne (Bot. Jahrb. 3: 349) this species
may sometimes bear spines, as observed by me on plants in the
palm barren at Santa Clara, in March, 1910 (Britton & Wilson
60Q3). This shrub grows along brooks and streams, attaining a
height of 2.5 meters, at lower elevations in all provinces of Cuba,
ascending to 160 meters in Oriente.
* Proc. Am. Acad. 42: 530.
Britton : Studies of West Indian plants 13
Ginoria spinosa Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 106. 1866
I know this only from Wright's 2545, collected in eastern
Cuba (not western Cuba, as cited by Koehne). Rugel's 727 from
the Rio San Juan at Matanzas, as shown by our specimen, is
certainly G. americana Jacq. and was so written up by Grisebach,
though this number, as studied by Koehne, is by him referred to G.
spinosa. The true G. spinosa Griseb. {Wright 2545) is quite a
different plant, with much smaller leaves and acicular spines; it
is possible, however, that the species are not distinct.
Ginoria glabra Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 106. 1866
Known to me from Wright's 2544, collected in eastern Cuba;
and from Shafer's 8784, collected at Farallon de la Perla, Oriente,
where it grows on cliffs as a shrub 6 dm. high. It is evidently
quite distinct from the other species.
Ginoria arborea sp. nov.
A tree, 8 meters high, the trunk up to 2.5 dm. thick, the
bark gray, the branching irregular, the twigs of the season 4-
angled with internodes 5-15 mm. apart; nodal spines 4, spread-
ing, recurved, yellowish, I— 1.5 mm. long. Leaves sessile, linear-
oblong, 1.5-3 cm- l°ng> 2~5 mm- wide, coriaceous, bright green,
shining, obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base, strongly pin-
nately veined, the veins prominent on both surfaces; flowers
solitary in the axils; pedicels filiform, a little shorter than the
leaves; sepals triangular-lanceolate, acute, 4 mm. long.
Thicket, Leeward Point, United States Naval Station, Guanta-
namo Bay, Cuba, March 1909, Britton 2217.
Ginoria curvispina Koehne, loc. cit. 349. 1882
In the palm barren near Santayana, Camagiiey, this species
is a shrub I meter high {Britton 2368) ; near Tiffin, Camagiiey,
it grows in wet woods and becomes nearly 3 meters high.
Ginoria ginorioides (Griseb.) Britton comb. nov.
Diplusodon ginorioides Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 106. 1866.
Ginoria Diplusodon Koehne, Bot. Jahrb. 3: 350. 1882.
This beautiful shrub or tree inhabits cliffs and rocky hillsides;
in the province of Santa Clara it ascends to 560 meters on the
14 Britton : Studies of West Indian plants
southern slope of the Trinidad Mountains, and at sea level on
the southern coast becomes a tree up to 7 meters high; the flowers
are rose pink to purple and densely cover leafless branches in
March.
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146. Phycological Studies— V. Some Marine Algae of Lower California,
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New York Botanical Garden
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 164
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS-V
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1914
Reprinted without change of paging from Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club
41: 1-24 Ja 1914
[Kroni the Bulletin of the Tohrey Botanical Club, 41 : 1-24. 20 F 1914.]
Studies of West Indian plants — V
Nathaniel Lord Britton
23. ADDITIONAL SEDGES FROM JAMAICA*
Cyperus comosus Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 5: 185. 1817
Shettlewood, Hanover {Harris 11647).
Distribution: Cuba; continental tropical America.
Scirpus cubensis Kunth, Enum. 2: 172. 1837
River Head, near Ewarton (Underwood i860).
Distribution: Southern United States; Cuba; Hispaniola;
Trinidad; continental tropical America; tropical Africa.
Rynchospora cymosa (Michx.) Ell. Bot. S. C. and Ga. 1: 58.
1816
Savannah, Upper Clarendon (Harris iiioj).
Distribution: Southeastern United States; Cuba; Hispaniola;
Porto Rico; Martinique; South America.
Rynchospora jamaicensis sp. nov.
Rootstocks short; culms clustered, slender, 6-8 dm. long,
reclining. Leaves 2-3 mm. wide, rather stiff, the lower 2-5 cm.
long, the middle ones 12-15 cm- l°ng» those subtending the clusters
of spikelets 6-10 cm. long; sheaths of all the leaves densely short-
pubescent; spikelets loosely panicled in several distant axillary
clusters and in a terminal one, short-pedicelled, the axis of the
inflorescence loosely pubescent; spikelets narrowly conic, 4-5 mm.
* See Bull. Dept. Agric. Jam. 5: Suppl. 1. 1907- Bull. Torrey Club 35: 568, 569.
1909.
1
2 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
long, maturing 2 achenes; lower empty scales broadly ovate, the
others lanceolate, acuminate; bristles none; achenes obovate-
orbicular, I mm. long, pale brown, shining, finely cancellate;
tubercle triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, flat, about one-third
longer than the achene, its base nearly truncate.
Rocky banks in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica; type, from
Hardware Gap, N. L. Britton 3322, collected Sept. 9, 1908. Re-
lated to R. elongata (Boeckl.) Clarke, and to R. polyphylla Vahl,
but at once distinguished from them by its pubescent sheaths.
I. P. circinale.
2. P. Unguis-cati.
3. P. guadalupense.
4. P. bahamense.
5. P. Hystrix.
24. THE GENUS PITHECOLOBIUM IN CUBA
A. Pods curved or coiled, dehiscent, the valves twisting after separating.
1. Seeds with a fleshy aril; stipules spinescent; pinnae i
or 2 pairs; leaflets 2-4 pairs.
Leaflets 1-6 cm. long (species perhaps confluent).
Leaflets spinulose-mucronate.
Leaflets obtuse or mucronulate.
Leaflets chartaceous; petioles of the lower
leaves, at least, longer than the petiolules.
Leaflets coriaceous; petioles shorter than the
petiolules or as long.
Petioles and petiolules stout; leaflets large,
2.5-6 cm. long.
Petioles and petiolules slender; leaflets small,
1-3 cm. long.
Leaflets only 3-7 mm. long.
2. Seeds without a fleshy aril; stipules not spinescent;
pinnae 2 pairs or more; leaflets 3 pairs or more.
1. Leaflets obovate to oval, large, 1.5-6 cm. long, 3-6
pairs to each pinna.
Calyx subtruncate at base; seeds oblong, about
twice as long as wide.
Calyx narrowed at base; seeds suborbicular to
obovate.
Pinnae 3 or 4 pairs; leaflets 4-6 pairs; calyx
narrowly campanulate, thin.
Pinnae 1 or 2 pairs; leaflets 2-4 pairs; calyx
broadly campanulate, coriaceous.
Calyx truncate, its teeth minute, mucronu-
late.
Calyx teeth large, broadly ovate.
Calyx short-campanulate; stamen- tube
short; leaflets broadly obovate.
Calyx long-campanulate; stamen-tube
5-6 mm. long; leaflets oblong to obo-
vate.
6. P. savannarum-
7. P. discolor.
8. P. Iruncatam,
9. P. obovale.
10. P. pinetorum.
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 3
2. Leaflets linear to oblong, small, 5-16 mm. long,
6-many pairs to each pinnule.
Leaflets 2-3 mm. long, oblong, coriaceous. 11. P. nipense.
Leaflets 5-16 mm. long, thin, dull.
Leaflets obliquely oblong, narrowed at base. 12. P. as pi eni folium.
Leaflets linear, linear-lanceolate or oblong,
obtuse, rounded or subcordate at the base.
Leaflets oblong, 5-7 mm. long. 13. P. trinitense.
Leaflets linear.
* Pinnae 2 pairs; leaflets acute, strongly
veined; pod compressed. 14. P. guantanamense.
Pinnae 3-1 1 pairs; leaflets obtuse, not
strongly veined; pod swollen. 15. P. arbor eum.
B. Pods straight, or curved, indehiscent, or dehiscent, the valves not twisting.
Unarmed trees.
Pod straight or a little curved, compressed, turgid,
fleshy; leaflets oblong to obovate, large. 16. P. Saman.
Pod straight, thin, very flat, chartaceous; leaflets
linear, small, very numerous. 17. P. Berterianum.
Trees or shrubs, armed with spinescent stipules (P. tortum
sometimes unarmed).
Pod coriaceous, tardily dehiscent; stamens 2 cm. long
or less, the tube short; leaflets many; spines straight. 18. P. tortum^-
Pod chartaceous, thin and flat, dehiscent; stamens 5-6
cm. long, the tube much exserted; leaflets few;
spines curved. 19. P. prehensile.
1. Pithecolobium circinale (L.) Benth. Lond. Journ. Bot„
3: 201. 1844
Mimosa circinalis L. Sp. PI. 517. 1753.
Thickets in dry districts at low elevations, southern Oriente;
Hispaniola.
Bentham's record of this species for the Bahamas appears
to refer to P. mucronatum Britton, which has quite different
leaves. The Oriente plant differs from the typical one of His-
paniola in having smaller, thicker leaflets, less cuneate at the
base, and is either glabrous or densely pubescent.
2. Pithecolobium Unguis-cati (L.) Mart. Hort. Monac. 188.
1829
Mimosa Unguis-cati L. Sp. PI. 517. 1753.
Cayo Sabinal, Camagiiey (Shafer 1063); recorded by Richard
as in various parts of the island, but is apparently rare. West
Indies (except Bermuda) ; northern South America.
4 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
3. PlTHECOLOBIUM GUADALUPENSE Chapm. Fl. S. U. S. Il6.
i860
Cays of Camagiiey; Bahamas; Florida Keys.
4. Pithecolobium bahamense Northrop, Mem. Torrey Club
12: 38. 1909
Cays of Camagiiey; Bahamas.
5. Pithecolobium Hystrix (A. Rich.) Benin, in Hook. Icon. PI.
pi. 1 168. 1876
Inga Hystrix A. Rich. Ess. Fl. Cub. 1: 471. 1845.
Pithecolobium calliandrifolhim C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub.
83. 1866.
Coastal thickets and hillsides: Camagiiey, Santa Clara,
Havana, Pinar del Rio; Bahamas.
6. Pithecolobium savannarum sp. nov.
A tree up to 7 m. high, with smooth bark, the foliage finely
and densely puberulent when young, glabrous or sparingly
puberulent when old. Leaves 1.5-2 dm. long, the rather stout
petioles 1-2.5 cm- l°ng. the glands somewhat elevated ; pinnae about
4 pairs, the petiolules slender, 2 cm. long or less; leaflets 4-6 pairs,
obliquely obovate, 1.5-3 cm. long, chartaceous, loosely reticulate-
veined, deep green and somewhat shining above, pale and dull
beneath, obtuse or retuse at the apex, acute at the base; peduncles
^axillary, slender, striate, glabrous, 7-9 cm. long; flowers short-
racemose, white; pedicels slender, glabrous, 3-6 mm. long; calyx
,3-4 mm. long, subtruncate at the base, campanulate, its teeth
acute, ovate, often somewhat unequal; corolla funnelform, ap-
pressed-pubescent, 8 mm. long, its lobes ovate-oblong; stamens
15 mm. long, united about one-third their length; ovary and
young pod densely pubescent; old pods 8-10 cm. long, the valves
doubly coiled after dehiscence, moniliform, 4-6 mm. wide across
the seed cavities, 2 mm. wide between them; seed cavities oblong,
8-10 mm. long.
Along a water course on barren savannas southeast of Holguin,
Oriente, April 7, 1909 (Shafer 1 1Q4).
7. Pithecolobium discolor sp. nov.
A shrub 3 m. high, or a small tree up to 7 m. high, the young
twigs and leaves densely puberulent, the old leaves glabrous or
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 5
somewhat puberulent, 1-2 dm. long, the stout petioles 2 cm.
long or less, the glands on the rachis between the pinnae
orbicular, small. Pinnae 3 or 4 pairs; leaflets 4-6 pairs, obo
vate, chartaceous, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, dark green above, pale
beneath, loosely reticulate- veined, obtuse or retuse at the apex,
obliquely narrowed at the base; peduncles axillary, puberulent
above, 5-1 1 cm. long; flowers short-racemose; pedicels puberu-
lent, 4-6 mm. long; calyx narrowly campanulate, 4-5 mm. long,
narrowed to the base, puberulent, its teeth ovate, 1 mm. long;
corolla 7-8 mm. long, campanulate-funnelform, pubescent, its
lobes oblong-ovate, ciliate; stamans 1.5-2 cm. long, the filaments
united about one-fourth their length; pod coiled, 6-8 cm. long,
8-10 mm. wide, more or less constricted between the seeds; seeds
blue and white, shining, orbicular, 4 mm. broad, the funicle
slender.
Provinces of Havana, Pinar del Rio and Camagiiey. Type
from Batabano, April 10, 1903 {Shafer 161); apparently the same
species at Old Kerr's Point, Abaco, Bahamas {Brace 2017).
8. Pithecolobium truncatum sp. nov.
A tree up to 12 m. high, the bark rough, the young twigs and
leaves brownish-puberulent, the old foliage glabrous. Leaves 15
cm. long or less; petiole stout, 1-2 cm. long; glands oblong-
orbicular; pinnae I or 2 pairs; leaflets 3 or 4 pairs (on leaves of
shoots 1 or 2 pairs), obovate, coriaceous, 1.5-4 cm- l°ng (those of
shoots larger and suborbicular), obtuse at the apex, narrowed
at the base, pinnately veined; peduncles axillary, 4-9 cm. long;
flowers short-racemose; pedicels stout, puberulent, about 2 mm.
long; calyx broadly campanulate, puberulent, coriaceous, 3 mm.
long, the limb truncate, the teeth minute, mucronate; corolla
finely pubescent, its tube 5-6 mm. long, its lobes 3 mm. long,
lanceolate, acute; stamens about 2.5 cm. long, the filaments
united about one-fourth their length; pod curved to a nearly
complete circle, 6 or 7 cm. long, 8-10 mm. wide, scarcely or not at
all constricted between the seeds; seeds blue and white, somewhat
compressed, obovate, shining, 4 or 5 mm. long.
Southern Oriente. Type from gravelly hills, El Cobre, west
of Santiago, March 23, 1912 {Britton, Cowell & Shafer 12874).
9. Pithecolobium obovale (A. Rich.) C. Wright; Sauvalle.
Anales Acad. Habana 5: 407. 1868
Inga obovalis A. Rich. Ess. Fl. Cub. 1: 472. 1845.
Calliandra revoluta Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 83. 1866.
C Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
Leaflets mostly broadly obovate; stamen tube very short;
pod flat, curved in a partly complete circle.
Hillsides and river banks. Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines.
10. Pithecolobium pinetorum sp. nov.
A tree up to 10 m. high, the young twigs and leaves puberulent,
the old foliage nearly or quite glabrous. Leaves 2 dm. long or
less; petioles stout, 1.5-3 cm- long; glands oblong, somewhat
elevated; pinnae I or 2 pairs; leaflets 3 or 4 pairs, coriaceous,
oblong or obovate-oblong, pinnately and loosely reticulate-veined,
rounded at the apex, narrowed or obtuse at the base, 3-6 cm. long;
peduncles axillary, 3-6 cm. long; calyx coriaceous, campanulate,
5 mm. long, its teeth broadly obovate, rounded, somewhat un-
equal; corolla pubescent, its tube about 6 mm. long, its lobes 3
mm. long, ovate-lanceolate, acute; stamens 2-2.5 cm« l°ngt
united about one-fourth their length; pod curved into a nearly
complete circle, about 7 cm. long, 12 mm. wide, flat, not con-
stricted between the seeds; seeds blue and white, shining, orbicu-
lar-obovate, 5-6 mm. long.
Mountain pinelands of northern Oriente. Type from south-
east of Paso Estancia, May 1-2, 1909 {Shafer 1725); fruit and
seeds described from Shafer 3096, collected in pinelands of Sierra
Nipe.
11. Pithecolobium nipense sp. nov.
A shrub or a tree up to 10 m. high, the young twigs, petioles
and rachises permanently short-pubescent. Leaves 4-6 cm. long;
petioles 6 mm. long or less; glands circular, elevated; pinnae 3 or
4 pairs; leaflets 10-16 pairs, oblong, coriaceous, approximate, 2-3
mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, slightly inequilateral, obtuse at the apex,
rounded or subtruncate at base, glabrous, dark green and lustrous
above, pale and dull green beneath with the midvein prominent,
glabrous or with a few scattered hairs; flowers unknown; pod
curved into a partly complete circle, 6-10 cm. long, 7-8 mm. wide,
compressed, glabrous, short-stipitate, not constricted between the
seeds, or occasionally constricted; seeds blue, shining, oblong-
obovate to obovate-orbicular, 6 mm. long.
Mountains of northern Oriente. Type from near Woodfred,
Sierra Nipe, 450-550 m. altitude, Dec. 20, 1909 {Shafer 3220).
12. Pithecolobium asplenifolium Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 83.
1866
Western Cuba. Known only from the type collection of C.
Wright 2403.
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 7
13. Pithecolobium trinitense sp. nov.
A tree up to 10 m. high; young twigs, petioles and rachises
densely brown-puberulent. Leaves 10-15 cm- long; glands cir-
cular, I mm. in diameter; petioles 1.5 cm. long or less; pinnae
6-8 pairs, approximate; leaflets 12-16 pairs on each pinna, oblong,
chartaceous, slightly inequilateral, 5-7 mm. long, 3 mm. wide or
less, rounded at the apex, obliquely obtuse at the base, glabrous
or nearly so and dark green above, pale, and pubescent beneath,
at least on the veins, the midvein prominent; peduncles densely
puberulent when young, glabrous when old; young flower-heads
densely puberulent; flowers unknown, apparently capitate; pod
curved into a nearly complete circle, about 6 cm. long and 7 mm.
wide, somewhat constricted between the seeds; seeds blue, shining,
orbicular-obovoid, somewhat compressed, 5 mm. long.
Hillside, El Porvenir to Aguacate, Trinidad Mountains, Santa
Clara, at 700-900 m. altitude, March 10, 1910 (Britton fir Wilson
5346, type).
14. Pithecolobium (?) guantanamense sp. nov.
A tree, 10 m. high with flexuous twigs, the foliage sparingly
villous-pubescent. Leaves 6-8 cm. long, petioles slender, 1 cm.
long or less; glands scutellate, 0.5 mm. in diameter; pinnae 2
pairs; leaflets 20 pairs or fewer, linear, chartaceous, 5-7 mm. long,
1-1.5 mm. wide, inequilateral, pale green but somewhat darker
above than beneath, acute at the apex, obliquely obtuse at the
base, the few veins prominent beneath; flowers unknown; pod
compressed, glabrous, chartaceous, dehiscent, doubly coiled, 6-8
cm. long, 7-8 mm. broad over the seeds, constricted between them,
the coils about 2 cm. broad; immature seeds suborbicular, some-
what flattened, 4 mm. in greatest diameter.
Bank of a water course, United States Naval Station, Guanta-
namo Bay, Oriente, March, 1909 (Britton 2051).
15. Pithecolobium arboreum (L.) Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 259.
1900
Mimosa arbor ca L. Sp. PI. 519. 1753-
Pithecolobium filicifolium Benth. in Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot. 3:
205. 1844.
? Mimosa filicifolia Lam. Encycl. I: 13. 1783-
Hillsides, river-banks and woodlands at lower and middle
elevations, ascending, in Oriente, to at least 330 m.; all provinces
S Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
and Isle of Pines; Hispaniola ; Porto Rico; Jamaica; Mexico and
Central America.
16. Pithecolobium Saman (Jacq.) Benth. Lond. Journ. Bot. 3:
216. 1844
Mimosa Saman Jacq. Fragm. 15. 1809.
Calliandra Saman Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 225. i860.
Hillsides and pastures; all provinces and Isle of Pines:
widely distributed in the West Indies. Native of continental
tropical America. Not a true Pithecolobium. Perhaps referable
to Zygia [P. Br.] J. St. Hil. Exp. Fam. Nat. 2: 246. 1805. The
type of Zygia, which has long priority of publication over Pithe-
colobium, is Z. arborescens J. St. Hil., which is the same as Pithe-
colobium Jatifolium (L.) Benth.
17. Pithecolobium Berterianum (Balbis) Benth. Lond. Journ.
Bot. 3: 220. 1844
Acacia Berteriana Balbis; DC. Prodr. 2: 470. 1825.
Hillsides and woodlands in dry districts. Oriente, Camaguey,
Santa Clara; Hispaniola; Jamaica.
Not a true Pithecolobium.
18. Pithecolobium tortum Mart. Herb. Fl. Bras. 114. 1837
Pithecolobium vincentis Benth. Lond. Journ. Bot. 3: 222. 1844.
Acacia lentiscifolia A. Rich. Ess. Fl. Cub. 469. 1845.
Sand dunes, sandy river-banks, coastal thickets and hillsides
near the coast, Santa Clara, Havana, Pinar del Rio, Isle of Pines;
St. Vincent; Martinique; Central and South America.
Not a true Pithecolobium.
19. Pithecolobium prehensile (C. Wright) Benth. Trans. Linn.
Soc. 30:593. 1875
Calliandra prehensilis C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana
5: 406. 1868.
Rocky river-banks, coastal thickets and saline plains, Oriente;
Santa Clara. Endemic.
Perhaps a congener of P. brevifolium Benth., the type of the
genus Havardia Small.
Britton: Studies of West Indian' Plants 9
25. FURTHER NOTES ON COMOCLADIA*
I. COMOCLADIA PINNATIFOLIA L. Syst. ed. 10, 86l. 1 759
Professor Urban has pointed out. to me that Linnaeus, who
printed the speeific name pinnatif., more likely intended this con-
traction to mean pinnatif olia than pinnatifida, as I printed it,
following the Kew Index.
12. COMOCLADIA PLATYPHYLLA A. Rich.
The species ranges westward in Cuba into the province of Pinar
del Rio as far as Corrientes Bay {Britton ef Cornell 9914).
14. Comocladia cuneata nom. nov.
Comocladia acuminata Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 37: 349. 1910.
Not C. acuminata Moc. & Sesse; DC. Prodr. 2: 65. 1825.
Known hitherto only from the type specimen, this species has
recently been collected by Rose, Fitch and Russell {4185) at San
Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo. The broadly cuneate leaf-
bases distinguish it from its relatives.
15. Comocladia glabra Spreng.
In Flora Portoricensis, Professor Urban refers to this species,
the C. acuminata Moc. & Sesse, as a variety, and states that it is
Porto Rican, rather than Mexican as supposed by DeCandolle.
18. Comocladia Dodonaea (L.) Urban, Symb. Ant. 4: 360.
15 My 1910; Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 37: 351. 29 Jl 1910
The species extends eastward in the Virgin Islands to Tortola
{Britton & Shafer 902).
26. ANOTHER WEST INDIAN DENDROPANAX
Dendropanax fllipes sp. nov.
A slender, straggling shrub up to 3 in. high. Leaves oblong-
oblanceolate, thin-coriaceous, 12 cm. long or less, 1-3 cm. wide,
rather strongly pinnately veined, acutish at the apex, obtuse or
acute at the base, the petioles 2-25 mm. long; peduncle very
slender, bracted at the base, apparently nodding, 10 cm. long or
* See Bull. Torrey Club 37: 345-363. iqio.
10 Brittox: Studies of West Indian Plants
less; umbel about 12-flowered; pedicels filiform, 8-15 mm. long;
flowering calyx only 1.5 mm. high and broad, broadly obconic;
petals 1.5-2 mm. long, oblong-lanceolate.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, at about 800
meters elevation, May 22, 1912, Harris 11057.
Among the species discussed by me in 1912,* this most nearly
resembles the Cuban D. cuneifolium.
27. THREE UNDESCRIBED BOURRERIASf
Bourreria mucronata sp. nov.
A divaricately branched shrub 2 m. high, with very slender
branches, the young twigs and branches of the inflorescence ap-
pressed-pubescent. Leaves elliptic, 1-3 cm. long, 8-15 mm. wide,
coriaceous, acute and mucronate at the apex, narrowed at the
base, revolute-margined, reticulate-veined, strongly tuberculate-
roughened, shining, and when young hispid above, dull and smooth
beneath, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath, the
lateral veins about 5 on each side, the petioles 2-3 mm. long,
pubescent when young; inflorescence 3-6-flowered ; calyx, in bud,
oblong, 3 mm. long, glabrous; corolla unknown; fruiting calyx 3
mm. long, its lobes acutish or obtuse; drupe ovoid-spherical,
pointed, 5 mm. long.
Limestone cliff, San Diego de los Bafios, Pinar del Rio, Cuba,
(Britton, Earle & Gager 67Q1), Sept. 1910. Probably nearest
related to B. setoso-hispida O. E. Schulz.
Bourreria moaensis sp. nov.
A slender shrub or tree up to 3.3 m. high, glabrous throughout.
Leaves obovate or broadly oblanceolate, 10 cm. long or less, 2.5-
4.5 cm. wide, coriaceous, revolute-margined, acute or acutish, at
the apex, narrowed at the base, the midvein impressed above,
prominent beneath, the lateral veins about 6 on each side of the
midvein, the petiole stout, only 2-4 mm. long; flowers unknown;
fruiting inflorescence stalked, 4 cm. broad or less, 6-8 cm. long,
its branches stout; fruiting calyx about 13 mm. long, its ovate
acute lobes about as long as the tube; fruit subglobose, 12 mm. in
diameter.
Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente (Shafer 8182) ,
Dec. 24-30, 1 910.
* Bull. Torrey Club 39: 1-14.
t See O. E. Schulz in Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 45~7i; 349-
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 11
Apparently nearest related to B. grandiflora (Poir.) Griseb.,
which has smaller, obtuse leaves with much narrower petioles.
Bourreria Nashii sp. nov.
A shrub, about I m. high, the young twigs pilose. Leaves
•obovate to oblong-obovate, 18 mm. long or less, 4-7 mm. wide,
coriaceous, revolute-margined, densely rough-papillose and in-
conspicuously veined above, canescent, reticulate-veined and the
midrib prominent beneath, obtuse, retuse or apiculate at the apex,
narrowed at the base, the margin papillose-hispid, the pubescent
petiole about 1 mm. long; fruits solitary or 2 together, orange-
brown, terminal, subsessile, depressed-globose, about 6 mm. in
diameter, persistent calyx-lobes ovate-lanceolate, acute, loosely
pubescent.
Foothills, between Marmelade and San Michel, Haiti, Aug. 4,
1905 (Nash & Taylor 1380).
Nearest related to the Cuban B. pauciflora 0. E. Schulz.
28. NOTES ON PSYCHOTRIA*
Psychotria ligustrifolia (Northr.) Millsp. Field Col. Mus. 2:
172. 1906
To the range of this species may now be added Bermuda,
where it is locally abundant, and hitherto referred to P. undata
Jacq.; Florida: Key Largo (Curtiss 5501) ; Cuba; on coral-rock,
Madruga (Britton & Shafer 776).
Psychotria Sulzneri Small, Fl. Miami 176. 26 Ap 1913
Psychotria pulverulentu Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 456. 15 Au 1913.
29. NOTES ON VARIOUS SPECIES
Juniperus lucayana Britton, N. A. Trees 121. 1908
Juniperus australis Pilger, in Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 479. 1913.
The types of both are from the Bahamas.
Thrinax microcarpa Sargent, Gard. & For. 9: 162. 1896
Western part of Cayo Cruz, Camagiiey, Cuba (Shafer 2S00).
Not heretofore recorded from Cuba: — South Florida; Bahamas.
* See Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 433-477.
12 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
Maytenus phyllanthoides Benth. Bot. Sulph. 54. 1844
Cayo Coco, Cayo Sabinal and Cayo Romano, Camagiiey,
Cuba {Shafer 1062, 2507, 2633, 2678). Not heretofore recorded
from Cuba: — Southern Florida; Mexico and Lower California.
Croton nummulariaefolius A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11:
211. 1850
Rocky coastal thicket. Guanica, Porto Rico {Britton & Shafer
iqi 1). New to Porto Rico; Cuba.
ACALYPHA ALOPECUROIDEA Jacq. Obs. 3: 1 96. I789
Palo Seco, Porto Rico {Brother Hioram, Oct. 191 2). New to
Porto Rico: — Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Grenada.
Callicarpa Hitchcockii Millsp. Field Col. Mus. Bot. 2: 312.
1909
Alto del Aji, Cayo Romano, Camagiiey {Shafer 2JQ1). Not
previously recorded from Cuba: — Bahamas.
Clerodendron (?) calcicola Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 39: 9.
1912
The habitat of this plant, omitted at the place of publication,
is limestone rocks, Corrientes Bay, Cuba {Britton & Cowell Q871).
Lycium carolinianum Walt. Fl. Car. 84. 1788
Rio Gavelan, Santa Clara {Britton, Earle & Wilson 6027) and
on Cayo Romano, Camagiiey, Cuba {Shafer 2632s). Not hereto-
fore recorded from Cuba: — Southeastern United States.
Stenostomum myrtifolium Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 334. i860
Western part of Cayo Cruz, Camagiiey, Cuba {Shafer 2jg8).
Not previously reported from Cuba: — Bahamas.
Ernodea littoralis Sw. Prodr. 29. 1788
In my discussion, in 1908, of the species and races of the genus
Ernodea Sw. (Bull. Torrey Club 35: 203-208) I remarked that no
species had been found in Cuba, but I can now record the typical
race of E. littoralis Sw. as occurring between Punta Sol and
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 13
Molinas, Nipe Bay, Oriente {Shafer 1794), and also on Cayo
Romano, Camaguey {Shafer 2621).
Spermacoce keyense Small, Flora Florida Keys 141. 11 Au
1913
Spermacoce floridana Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 550. 15 Au 1913.
From the printed dates of publication, Dr. Small has four
days priority.
ACANTHOSPERMUM HISPIDUM DC. Prodr. 5: 522. 1836
Island of Culebrita, Porto Rico {Britton fir Wheeler 280).
30. ASTER IN THE WEST INDIES
Scapose, the scapes monocephalous; leaves rosulate, linear-
oblong, pilose. 1. A. Grisebachii.
Caulescent, branched, polycephalous.
Rays large, surpassing the involucre.
Leaves, except the basal ones, reduced to small im-
bricated scales; rootstocks tuberous. 2. A. adnatus.
Leaves normal, the upper often small, but distant.
Involucre-bracts densely pubescent, acuminate;
inflorescence wand-like; rootstocks tuberous. 3. A. lucayanus.
Involucre-bracts glabrous or nearly so, or puberu-
lent; inflorescence paniculate; rootstocks
not tuberous.
Not fleshy, or but slightly so, at least the
lower leaves flat, linear to spatulate.
Involucre-bracts acuminate, glabrous. 4. A. bahamensis.
Involucre-bracts obtuse or merely acutish.
Very densely leafy; involucre-bracts
puberulent; rays white. 5. A. Burgessii.
Not densely leafy; involucre-bracts
glabrous. 6. A. dumosus.
Fleshy; leaves all narrowly linear, thick,
subterete. 7. A. Bracei.
Rays small, little if at all surpassing the involucre.
Stem-leaves lancolate, 6-12 cm. long, 2 cm. wide or
less. 8. A. inconspicuus.
Stem-leaves linear to linear-oblong.
Stem-leaves elongated-linear; involucre-bracts
acuminate. 9- A. cxilis-
Stem-leaves oblong-linear; involucre-bracts acute. 10. A. squamalus.
14 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
i. Aster Grisebachii Britton, nom. nov.
Haplopappus marginatus Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 149. 1866. Not
Aster marginatus H.B.K.
Sandy and gravelly pine-lands, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines,.
Cuba.
A species with solitary heads on long, sparingly bracted scapes,,
the rootstocks much-branched, the rosulate linear-oblong leaves
pilose, the rays bright white.
2. Aster adnatus Nutt. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 7: 82.
1834
Pine-lands, Great Bahama Island; southeastern United States.
3. Aster lucayanus Britton, Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 4: 143.
1906
Pine-lands, Great Bahama Island.
4. Aster bahamensis Britton, sp. nov.
Stout, fibrous-rooted, slightly fleshy, glabrous, 3-20 dm. high.
Lower leaves and those of sterile shoots with sheathing petioles
4-7 cm. long, the blades oblong to linear-oblong or oblong-lanceo-
late, obtuse or acute, 4-8 cm. long, 5-20 mm. wide, sparingly
crenate-dentate or entire, narrowed into the petiole, the midvein
prominent, the lateral veins obscure; upper stem-leaves linear,
entire, 6 cm. long or less, those of the branches nearly subulate,
3-12 mm. long; heads numerous, paniculate; involucre nearly
cylindric, 6-8 mm. high, its bracts linear, acuminate, about 0.7
mm. wide, green with scarious margins, or the inner merely green-
tipped; rays purple, 4-5 mm. long; achenes columnar, 2.5 mm.
long, the angles roughened; pappus brownish, twice as long as the
achene.
Moist grounds and marshes, Great Bahama, Andros, Eleuthera
and Cat Island. Type from Barnett's Point, Great Bahama
{Britton & Millspaugh 2621). .
5. Aster Burgessii Britton, sp. nov.
Rootstock short, thick. Stems clustered or solitary, densely
leafy, often with many short branches, pubescent, at least above,
5 dm. high, or less. Lower and basal leaves oblanceolate or
spatulate, obtuse or acutish, distantly low-serrate, 2-5 cm. long,
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 15
6 mm. wide or less, narrowed into slender, ciliate, partly clasping
petioles, otherwise glabrous; stem-leaves similar, but narrower
and sessile or nearly so, those of the branches 4-10 mm. long;
heads numerous, thyrsoid-corymbose ; involucre about 5 mm.
high, its bracts in about 4 series, linear, ciliolate or glabrous,
obtuse or acutish; rays white, 5-8 mm. long.
Rocky river-banks, Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Type collected on
Rio Portales, near Guane, March, 191 1 (Britton, Britton & Cowell
9751)- Erroneously recorded by Grisebach as Aster carneus Nees.
6. Aster dumosus L. Sp. PI. 873. 1753
Pinelands, high mountains of Santo Domingo; eastern United
States.
7. Aster Bracei Britton; Small, Fl. Miami 190. 1913
Brackish marshes and savannas, southern Florida, Bahamas,
Cuba.
8. Aster inconspicuus Less. Linnaea 5 : 143. 1830
Erigeron expansus Poepp.; Spreng. Syst. 3: 518. 1826. Not
Aster expansus Nees.
Marshes, ditches and roadsides at lower and middle elevations:
Cuba; Jamaica; South Florida; Mexico.
9. Aster exilis Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 2: 344. 1824
Wet grounds, provinces of Santa Clara, Havana and Pinar del
Rio, Cuba; Andros Island, Bahamas; southeastern and southern
United States.
10. Aster squamatus (Spreng.) Hieron. Bot. Jahrb. 29: 19.
1901
Conyza squama ta Spreng. Syst. 3 : 515. 1826.
Naturalized along roadsides, especially on Ireland Island and
Boaz Island, Bermuda. The plant erroneously listed by Lefroy
as Aster Trifolium L., was probably this species, misprinted for
A. tripolium L. Native of southern South America.
16 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
31. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES OF JAMAICA
Lasiocroton Harrisii sp. nov.
A tree, about 8 m. high, the stout twigs densely brown-tomen-
tose when young, bearing prominent leaf-scars. Leaves oblong-
elliptic, rather firm in texture, 8-15 cm. long, 7 cm. wide or less,
sharply acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, sparingly
pubescent above, densely pubescent beneath, yellowish-green,
somewhat paler beneath than above, pinnately veined, with about
5 veins on each side of the midvein, the margin entire or slightly
undulate, the stout, tomentose petioles 10-16 mm. long; fruiting
racemes slender, tomentose, equalling the leaves or longer, the
slender tomentose pedicels 10-15 mm. long; fruiting calyx tomen-
tose, 4 mm. broad, the sepals ovate, acute; capsule obtusely
3-lobed, 7 mm. broad, 3-4 mm. high, densely brown-tomentose;
styles 2 mm. long; stigmas fimbriate; seeds subglobose, 2.5 mm.
in diameter.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, September 9.
1912 {Harris 111Q2).
L. Fawcettii Urban, of Dolphin Head Mountain, Jamaica,
differs in having nearly glabrous long-petioled leaves.
Varronia clarendonensis sp. nov.
A slender shrub with weak straggling branches, the twigs
loosely pilose. Leaves broadly ovate-elliptic, 5-10 cm. long,
3-7 cm. wide, firm-chartaceous in texture, rather strongly pin-
nately veined, coarsely and sharply dentate, obtuse at the apex,
obtuse or subtruncate at the base, loosely pilose beneath, scabrous-
pubescent and papillose above, the loosely villous petioles 1.5
cm. long or less; peduncles slender, pilose, 5-8 cm. long; heads
globose, densely many-flowered, 2 cm. in diameter; calyx brown-
pilose above, its tube about 4 mm. long, its lobes triangular-ovate
with linear, pilose, curled tips 5-6 mm. long; corolla about 9 mm.
long, its lobes short and broad; stamens about equalling the
corolla; filaments filiform; anthers oblong.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica, July 7, 191 1
(Harris 10QQ5).
Jacobinia (?) jamaicensis sp. nov.
Stem stout, 3-6 dm. high, densely long-villous. Leaves
lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 6-10 cm. long, 1.5-3 cm. wide,
rather firm in texture, densely villous-pubescent on both sides,
acuminate at the apex, narrowed to an obtuse base, with villous
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 17
petioles 2-4 mm. long; spike terminal, few-flowered; bracts lan-
ceolate, acuminate, villous, about 1.5 cm. long; calyx-teeth nar-
rowly lanceolate, loosely villous; corolla rose-colored, 3.5 cm.
long, loosely villous, 2-lipped, the teeth of the lobes short and
rounded; filaments slender, nearly as long as the corolla, glabrous;
anthers 2.5 mm. long.
Crevices of limestone rocks, Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon,
Jamaica (Harris 10978, type; 11 178).
32. UNDESCRIBED CUBAN SPECIES
Copernicia rigida Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A tree up to 6 m. high, with a slender cylindric trunk. Leaf-
blades wedge-shape, 13-15 dm. long, deeply grooved below the
middle, bright green above, paler beneath and sometimes armed
on the margins of the grooves with small, straight or recurved
teeth 1-4 mm. long; leaf margins armed mostly below the middle
with numerous recurved, straight, ascending, or sometimes hooked
teeth 3-7 mm. long; petiole short, stout, 1-1.5 dm. long, 1-1.4
dm. broad, unarmed; ligule rigid, rhombic-ovate, 2.5-3.5 dm. long,
1.7-2 dm. broad, armed on the margin with ascending, recurved,
straight or sometimes hooked teeth 3-12 mm. long, coalescent
with and decurrent on the short petiole; inflorescence lax, branches
slender, the ultimate ones densely clothed with short hairs;
spathes of the inflorescence abruptly tapering to a long, slender
acuminate tip; flowers unknown; fruit subglobose, 1.5-1.6 mm.
long, 1 .4-1.6 mm. broad, brown, shining; old calyx persistent
beneath the fruit, the lobes triangular; seed subglobose, 9-1 1
mm. long.
Type collected in the vicinity of Tiffin, Camagiiey, Cuba,
November 1-5, 1909 (Shafer 28 '93) ; also collected at Santa Lucea,
Camagiiey (Shafer 971); Province of Santa Clara (Britton &
Wilson 4563; Britton, Cowell & Earle 10299).
Copernicia Cowellii Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A small tree, up to 3 m. high, the head globose, about 1 m.
in diameter, very dense, the trunk up to 1.7 dm. thick, strictly
cylindric. Leaves many, the blades shining, yellow-green above,
covered with a bright white waxy bloom beneath, about 6 dm.
long, somewhat wider than long, the younger erect, the older per-
sistent, reflexed; petioles white-waxy, 1 dm. long or less, 3-5
cm. wide, flattened, armed with irregular, curved and somewhat
hooked teeth 5-8 mm. long; margins of the leaves with many
18 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
recurved teeth 2-3 mm. long, the leaf otherwise unarmed; in-
florescence lax, the branches slender, densely clothed with short
hairs; spathes of the inflorescence gradually tapering to long
acuminate tips; calyx cylindric, 3-3.5 mm. high, the lobes strongly
mucronate; corolla 5-6 mm. long, densely clothed with short,
mostly appressed hairs on the outer surface, the lobes prominently
grooved within below the middle, the grooves hairy on the margin,
longitudinally converging and bearded above; dilated portion of
the filaments prominently triangular; carpels truncate at the
summit, grooved; styles nearly cylindric; fruiting panicles about
twice as long as the leaves, pendent, glabrous, much-branched,
slender, the stalk about as long as the fruit-bearing part; sheath
closely appressed, the lower up to 1 dm. long; fruits close together
on the ultimate branches of the panicle, subglobose, obovoid, a
little longer than thick, yellow when full-grown but not quite ripe,
shining, 14-17 mm. long; old calyx-segments persistent under the
fruit, triangular-ovate, acute, 2 mm. long; flesh of old ripe fruit
very thin; seed smooth, about 12 mm. long; endosperm bony,
grooved.
Seedlings have rough-edged leaves green on both sides.
Type collected in savannas near Camagiiey, Cuba, April 2-7,
1912 (Britton, Britton & Cowell 13187); also collected in the prov-
ince of Camagiiey (Shafer 508-, 11 44, 2917).
Anneslia enervis sp. nov.
A shrub or small tree 4 m. high, with slender, stiff, somewhat
zigzag twigs sparingly pubescent when young, soon glabrous.
Leaves very small; pinnae 2, the petiole and petiolules each
about 1 mm. long, rather stout; pinnules 2 to each pinna, 2-3
mm. long, obovate, sessile, nerveless, shining, rounded at the apex,
oblique at the base; heads nearly sessile in the upper axils, few-
flowered; calyx campanulate, 1.5 mm. long, its teeth acute;
corolla about 3 mm. long; stamens 6-7 mm. long; legume gla-
brous, 3-4 cm. long, 5 mm. wide, abruptly tipped at the apex,
narrowed from below the middle to the base, the valves subcoria-
ceous.
Mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba; type from Camp La
Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Shafer 8274, December, 1910.
Not closely related to any species known to me, but somewhat
resembling A. colletioides (Griseb.) Britton [Calliandra colletioides
Griseb.] of low elevations in dry parts of the same province.
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 19
Belairia parvifoliola sp. nov.
A slender tree, up to 10 m. high, the twigs copiously armed with
dark brown to black subulate spines 1.5-3 cm- long- Leaves
short-petioled, the slender rachis puberulent or short-pubescent;
leaflets 7-13, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, shining, nearly equally
bright green and rather prominently veined on bodi sides, 8-13
mm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, the base inequilateral, the apex mucro-
nate, the petiolules 0.5 mm. long; legume narrowly oblong, 10-12
mm. long, 3-4.5 mm. wide, narrowed at base and apex, strongly
veined, borne on a filiform pedicel 6 mm. long or more.
Coastal woods, thickets and hillsides, southern Oriente, from
Guantanamo Bay to Ensenada de Mora. Type, Britton, Cowell
& Shafer 13037, Ensenada de Mora, March, 1912.
Meibomia Cowellii sp. nov.
Root thick and woody; stem slender, stiff, erect, hirsute, 3-8
dm. high, simple, or with few nearly erect hirsute branches.
Leaves unifoliolate, short-petioled, oblong, linear-oblong or lanceo-
late, subcoriaceous, 2-10 cm. long, 2.5 cm. wide or less, obtuse
and mucronulate at the apex, obtuse at the base, rather strongly
reticulate-veined, finely short-pubescent above, villous-pubescent
on the veins beneath, nearly equally green on both sides, the
rather stout petioles 2-10 mm. long, the stipules lanceolate,
striate, acuminate, 2-4 mm. long, the stipels subulate, about 3
mm. long; panicle narrow, nearly simple, long-stalked, 1-3 dm.
long; bracts linear-subulate, 2.5-4 rnm. long; pedicels filiform,
puberulent, 4-7 mm. long; calyx 2.5-3 mm. long, campanulate,
pubescent, lobed to about the middle, the lobes lanceolate, acute;
corolla purple, 10 mm. broad; loment short-stipitate, 4-6-jointed,
2 cm. long or less, nearly equally constricted on both margins, the
joints oval, about 4 mm. long and 2.5 mm. broad, loosely pubes-
cent, indistinctly reticulate-veined.
Savannas and pine-lands, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba.
Type, Britton, Britton & Cowell ioogo, from between Pinar del
Rio and Coloma, March 16, 191 1. Related to M. angustifolia
(H.B.K.) Kuntze.
Kieseria cubensis sp. nov.
A tree, up to 13 m. high, the twigs stout, densely leafy toward
the ends. Leaves coriaceous, oblong-obovate, 6-10 cm. long,
3 cm. wide or less, obtuse and rounded or somewhat emarginate
at the apex, narrowed to the nearly sessile base; midvein impressed
20 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
above, rather prominent beneath, the lateral veins obscure;
peduncles solitary in the upper axils, stout, ancipital, 3-5 cm.
long, 2-bracted at the top; bracts oblong, obtuse, about 1 cm.
long; fruiting pedicels stout, subterete, 1-2.5 cm. long; sepals
narrowly oblong, obtuse, 1.5 cm. long, entire; capsule about as
long as the sepals, tapering into a stout-subulate beak about 6
mm. long.
Mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba. Type, Shafer 8 121,
from Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, December 1910. The
genus is hitherto known only from South America. The Cuban
species most resembles Bonnetia anceps Mart., of Brazil. The
generic name Kieseria Nees, has priority over Bonnetia Mart.,
which is a homonym of Bonnetia Schreb.
33. A HYBRID PALM
On the sterile "savannas" north and east of Camaguey, Cuba,
palms of two species of Copernicia abound. The one, C. Jwspita,
has grey-green, thin foliage with spiny- toothed petioles about as
long as the blades, and elongated, slender panicles; the other, C.
macroglossa, has bright green, rigid foliage with very short, broad,
unarmed petioles, the blades spiny-toothed on the margins of the
outermost segments and on the upper surface of the ribs of the
undivided part, the stout panicles not much longer than the
leaves and the inflorescence with large bracts.
Of the two, C. hospita is the more abundant, C. macroglossa
growing in colonies, more or less surrounded by it. At many
places where the two grow together, plants intermediate in foliage
characters occur, their leaves with spiny-toothed petioles of various
lengths, the blades with sparingly spiny-toothed margins, other-
wise smooth, and in color varying from green to grey, the panicles
short and the inflorescence lacking the characteristic large bracts
of C. macroglossa.
Field observations during four days with Mr. John F. Cowell,
led us to the conclusion that these intermediate plants are of
hybrid origin rather than a third species, as was first suggested.
I.
P. sessilifolia.
2.
P. nitens.
3-
P. Harrisii.
4-
P. elliptica.
5-
P. involucrata.
6.
P. uliginosa.
7-
P. grandiflora.
8.
P. pendula.
Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants 21
34. PORTLANDIA [P. Br.J L., IN THE WEST INDIES
The type species is Porllandia grandiflora L.
1. Leaves cordate or subcordate at base, sessile or nearly so.
Capsules i cm. long or less.
Leaves orbicular, 2.5 cm. wide or less; corolla yellow;
flowers sessile or very nearly so.
Leaves elliptic, 5-10 cm. long; corolla pinkish; flowers
pedicelled.
Capsules nearly 2 cm. long.
2. Leaves narrowed or rounded at the base, petioled.
Leaves rounded or obtuse at the apex.
Leaves elliptic.
Leaves obovate or oblanceolate.
Capsule involucrate by bractlets.
Capsule not involucrate.
Leaves acute or acuminate at the apex.
Calyx-lobes oblong to ovate.
Calyx-lobes linear to subulate.
Capsule 1 cm. long or less; leaves 5-8 cm. long.
Capsule 1.5-5 cm. long; leaves 6-15 cm. long.
Capsule scarcely angled.
Leaves ovate to elliptic; calyx-lobes linear;
corolla 5-7 cm. long.
Leaves oblong-lanceolate; calyx-lobes long-
subulate; corolla 2-2.5 dm. long.
Capsule distinctly angular.
Capsule long-stalked, truncate.
Capsule short-stalked, narrowed at both ends.
I. Portlandia sessilifolia sp. nov.
A branching resinous shrub about 1.3 m. high, the young twigs
short-pubescent, angular. Leaves thick-coriaceous, orbicular, 1.5-
3 cm. long, sessile, subcordate, shining above, dull beneath, very
indistinctly veined, the margins thick and revolute, their bases
connected by a stipular sheath; inflorescence terminal, sessile,
subcapitate, several-flowered; pedicels very short; calyx about
8 mm. long, very resinous, the linear lobes about as long as the
tube; corolla tubular-campanulate, yellow, 1.5 cm. long; capsule
oblong-obovoid, 5-6 mm. long.
Wet mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba. Type from Camp
La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Cuba, December, 1910 (Shafer
8 1 go) .
A specimen from between Rio Yamaniguey and Camp Toa
(Shafer 4180) with much larger elliptic leaves, 1 1 cm. long or less,
but otherwise similar, may, perhaps, be referred to this species.
9-
P.
coccinea.
10.
P.
Lindeniana.
11.
P.
daphnoides.
12.
P.
domingensis.
22 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
2. Portlandia nitens Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 39: 10. 1912
Wet mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba.
3. Portlandia Harrisii Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 39: 8. 1912
On limestone rocks, Peckham Woods, Upper Clarendon,
Jamaica.
To the original description the following may now be added
from Mr. Harris' subsequent collections and observations: Corolla
white, tinged with rose, urn-shaped, about 9 cm. long and 3.5 cm.
wide at the mouth, fragrant, the tips of its lobes reflexed; pedicels
and calyx-lobes usually claret-colored; calyx-lobes oblong, about
1.5 cm. long and 5 mm. wide; filaments pubescent below; anthers
narrowly linear, yellow, nearly 2 cm. long, about half as long as
the filaments {Harris 1120Q, Sept. 28, 1912).
4. Portlandia elliptica sp. nov.
A slender shrub 3.3 m. high, the young twigs, pedicels and calyx
finely pubescent. Leaves elliptic, coriaceous, glabrous, or when
young, slightly pubescent, 8 cm. long or less, 2-4 cm. wide, obtuse
or rounded at the apex, narrowed at the base, dark green and shin-
ing above, bright green and rather dull beneath, the midvein
prominent, the lateral veins obscure, the stout petioles 1 cm. long
or less, the stipular sheath truncate; inflorescence terminal, sessile,
few-flowered; pedicels slender, 5-8 mm. long; calyx 10-12 mm.
long, its linear-lanceolate lobes longer than the tube; corolla
narrowly campanulate, glabrous, ochroleucous, 2 cm. long; cap-
sule obovoid, 12 mm. long.
Thickets on serpentine rocks, between Baracoa and Florida,
Oriente, Cuba, March 15, 19 10 (Shafer 4332).
5. Portlandia involucrata Wernham, Jour. Bot. 51 : 320. 1913
Wet parts of northern Oriente, Cuba. As remarked by Mr.
Wernham, perhaps not of this genus; the corolla is unknown.
6. Portlandia uliginosa Wrernham, Jour. Bot. 51: 320. 1913
Between Rio Yamaniguey and Camp Toa, northern Oriente,
Cuba.
7. Portlandia graxdiflora L. Syst. ed. 10. 928. 1759
Thickets and hillsides at lower and middle altitudes, in moist
districts, Jamaica; St. Thomas (native?); cultivated in Grenada,
and in St. Croix.
Britton: Stduies of West Indian Plants 23
8. Portlandia pendula C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 126.
1866
Pendent on limestone cliffs, Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
A beautiful species, the pendent habit unusual, the branches
sometimes drooping to a length of 2 meters or more; the flowers
are fragrant.
9. Portlandia coccinea Sw. Fl. Ind. Occ. 1: 384. 1797
P. coriacea Sw. ; Spreng. Syst. 1: 708. 1825.
Thickets and hillsides at lower elevations in dry districts,
southern side of Jamaica.
10. Portlandia Lindeniana (A. Rich.) Britton, nom. nov.
Gonianthes Lindeniana A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11 : 10. pi. 49
bis. 1850.
Portlandia gypsophila Macf. Fl. Jam. 2: 216; Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I.
324. 1861.
A tree, up to 8 meters high. Leaves chartaceous, oblong-
lanceolate, pinnately veined, sharply acuminate at the apex,
narrowed at the base, 12-20 cm. long, the petioles about 8 mm.
long; flowers solitary in the axils; peduncles about 2 cm. long;
calyx-teeth narrowly linear, 2.5-3.5 cm- l°ng; corolla white, 2-2.5
dm. long, the narrowly campanulate limb much longer than the
nearly cylindric tube; capsule oblong-obovoid, 4-5 cm. long,
15-18 mm. thick, smooth, not angled.
Wooded river and stream-banks at lower elevations, province
of Oriente, Cuba; Jamaica? Cultivated in Martinique.
11. Portlandia daphnoides R. Graham, Edinb. N. Phil. Jour.
1840-41: 206
Gonianthes Sagraeana A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11: II. 1850.
Portlandia longiflora Meisn.; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 126. 1866.
A shrub, about 1.3 meters high. Leaves thin, oblong, narrowed
at both ends, rather dull green, pinnately veined, 7-13 cm. long,
the petioles 1 cm. long or less; flowers solitary in the axils;
peduncles 1-3 cm. long; calyx-lobes linear, 1.5-2 cm. long; corolla
yellowish, about 2 dm. long, the campanulate limb about as long
as the slender tube; capsule obpyriform, angled, truncate, 2.5-3
cm. long, slender-peduncled.
24 Britton: Studies of West Indian Plants
On rocks, especially along rivers and brooks, at lower and middle
elevations, provinces of Oriente, Matanzas, and Pinar del Rio,
Cuba,
The use of the name P. daphnoides for this species is taken from
Graham's description, which does not agree with our specimens in
all respects. I have not seen the type specimen. The shrub is
abundant in the limestone hills of Pinar del Rio.
12. Portlandia domingensis sp. nov.
Foliage similar to that of the preceding species, but the petioles
shorter, about 2 mm. long; flowers unknown; capsules short-
peduncled, oblong, 5-angled, apparently somewhat fleshy, 4-4.5
cm. long, narrowed at both ends; calyx lobes linear, somewhat
broadened at the base, about 1.5 cm. long.
Near San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo, March 26, 1913
(Rose, Fitch & Russell 4176) .
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155. Polycodium, by C. B. Robinson.
156. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora — XXVIII, by P. A. Rydberg.
157. New Ferns from Tropical America — II, by Margaret Slosson.
158. Studies on the West Indian Vernonieae, with One New Species from Mexico
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159. A Case of Bud-Variation in Pelargonium, by A. B. Stout.
160. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— XXIX, by P. A. Rydberg.
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Bmonx Park, New York Oity
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 179
STUDIES OP WEST INDIAN PLANTS-VI
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1915
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of the Tobret Botanical Club
42: 365-392. July 29, 1915
[From the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 42 : 365-392. 27 Jy 1915.]
Studies of West Indian plants — VI
Nathaniel Lord Britton
35. THE GENUS COCCOLOBIS IN CUBA
6.
7-
C.
C.
A. Leaves 2-13 mm. long; inflorescence one- to three-flowered [Rhigia].
Leaves spinulose-mucronate.
Leaves emarginate at both ends.
B. Leaves 2 cm. long or longer; inflorescence many-flowered.
1. Leaves spinulosemucronate.
Racemes loosely flowered; leaves acute.
Racemes densely flowered; leaves acuminate.
2. Leaves not spinulose-mucronate.
Leaves very large, suborbicular, deeply cordate; fruit
large; halophytic tree or shrub.
Leaves smaller, rarely cordate; fruit small; mesophytes.
Pedicels filiform, in fruit 8-12 mm. long, as long as
the fruit or longer.
Leaves flat, their margins not revolute.
Leaves bullate, their margins strongly revolute.
Pedicels shorter than the fruit.
Rachis of the raceme glabrous.
Leaves almost veinless above, few-veined be-
neath, rounded, or emarginate.
Leaves reticulate-veined on both sides.
Fruiting pedicels 2.5-4 mm. long; fruit
8-12 mm. long.
Fruiting pedicels 1.5 mm. long or less;
fruit smaller.
Leaves obtuse or emarginate at apex,
obtuse at base.
Leaves acuminate or acute.
Leaves acuminate at both ends.
Leaves acute at apex, oblique at
base.
365
I.
C. armata.
2.
C. microphylla.
3-
C. pilonis.
4-
C. woodfredensis
5. C. Uvifera.
coriacea.
Cowellii.
8. C. nipensis.
9. C. laurifolia.
10. C.
11. C.
12. C.
niusa.
cubensis.
colomensis.
:;»;.;
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants
Rachis of the raceme puherulent or pubescent
(or glabrous in C. Wrightii ?).
Raceme stout, S-20cm.long; leaves 8-17 cm.
long; flowers sessile.
Leaves loosely reticulate-veined; flowers
white.
Leaves densely reticulate-veined; flowers
bright red.
Raceme slender, shorter; leaves smaller.
Leaves not reticulate-veined above.
Raceme geniculate.
Raceme not geniculate.
Fruiting pedicels less than 0.5 mm.
long.
Fruiting pedicels 1-2 mm. long.
Leaf-margins reflexed.
Leaf-margins not reflexed.
Leaves reticulate-veined above.
Leaves short-acuminate.
Leaves acute or obtuse.
Pedicels 0.8 mm. long or less.
Leaves coriaceous, oblong-
lanceolate, 5 cm. long or less.
Leaves chartaceous, ovate or
elliptic, larger.
Racemes as long as the
leaves or longer; petioles
5-10 mm. long.
Racemes shorter than the
leaves; petioles 3 mm.
long or less.
Fruiting pedicels 1.5-3 mm. long.
13. C. coslala.
14. C. Shaferi.
15. C. geniculata.
16. C. rufescens.
17. C. reflexa.
18. C. praecox.
19. C. benitensis.
20. C. pallida.
21. C. diversifolia.
22. C. brevipes.
23. C. Wrighlii.
I. C. armata C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 62, 283. 1866
Type locality: Near San Marco.
Distribution: Dry, rocky hills, Oriente, Santa Clara. En-
demic.
The plant becomes much larger than the original description
indicates; on the Rio San Juan, Santa Clara, it forms a tree 6 m.
high, and on the United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay,
Oriente, trees up to 10 m. high were observed.
2. C. microphylla C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 62. 1866
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 367
Distribution: Coastal thickets, Santa Clara, Pinar del Rio.
Endemic.
At Coloma, Pinar del Rio, forms a virgate tree 5 m. high.
3. C. pilonis Urban, Repert. 13: 445. 191 4
Type locality: Loma Pilon, near Holguin, Oriente.
Distribution: Barren rocky soil, Oriente, Santa Clara (?),
Endemic.
The Santa Clara specimens, collected near the city of Santa
Clara {Britton & Wilson 6i8g, Britton ef Cowell 13325), are in
foliage only and thus not determinable with certainty.
Both this species and the following one are related to C. flaves-
cens Jacq., of Hispaniola. The type is from a shrub 1.6 m. high,
4. Coccolobis woodfredensis sp. nov.
Similar to C. pilonis, and to C. flavescens Jacq. (of Hispaniola),
the leaves spinulose-mucronate. A shrub, 6 m. high, glabrous
throughout, the rather stout branches zig-zag; leaves coriaceous,
ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3-6 cm. long, shining above, dull be-
neath, inconspicuously veined, the under surface very finely
reticulated, the apex spinulose-mucronate, the base rounded,
obtuse or subcordate, the stout petioles scarcely 2 mm. long;
racemes very narrow, 3-4 cm. long, densely many-tlowered; fruit-
ing pedicels about 1 mm. long; old fruit ovoid, acutish, 4 mm.
long, 2 mm. thick.
Dry rocky hillside, between Piedra Gorda and Woodfred,
Sierra Nipe, Oriente, 400-500 m. alt. {Shafer 3180).
5. C. Uvifera (L.) Jacq. Enum. 19. 1760
Type locality: Shores of the Caribbean Sea.
Distribution: Coastal thickets, all provinces and Isle of
Pines; occasionally on hillsides back from the coasts: Florida;
West Indies; continental tropical America.
6. C. coriacea A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11 : 1S4. 1850
C. calobotrys Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14: 157. 1857.
Type locality: Vuelta de Abajo, Cuba.
Distribution: Pinar del Rio (?), Havana, mountains of
Oriente. Endemic.
368 Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants
Meisner cites Sagra's Nos. 290 and 544, on which he based
C. calobotrys, from the vicinity of Havana, but the plant is not
known to grow in Havana Province. I have not seen the type
specimens. A specimen from Ensenada de Mora, Oriente
(Britton, Cow ell & Shafer 13003), is from a slender tree 7 m. high.
7. Coccolobis Cowellii sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, 1.5 m. high, with few, stout, ascending
branches. Leaves thick-coriaceous, shining, deeply cordate at the
nearly sessile base, bullate, with strongly revolute margins, diversi-
form, some ovate to ovate-elliptic, 5-9 cm. long, rounded at the
apex, some elongated-lanceolate, attenuate-acuminate, 10-18 cm.
long; principal venation impressed above, prominent beneath;
ultimate venation obscure on both surfaces; racemes terminal,
nearly sessile, 1-3 dm. long, the rachis and pedicels glabrous;
pedicels filiform, 3-6 mm. long, spreading; bracts scarcely I
mm. long, ovate, acute, about as long as the nearly truncate
ochreolae; flowers bright red, 3 mm. long; perianth-lobes oblong,
obtuse; fruit ovoid, acute, 4 mm. long, crowned by the calyx-lobes.
Barren rocky soil, savannas near Camaguey {Britton &" Cowell
Z3I5I).
8. C. nipensis Urban, Repert. 13: 445. 1914
Type locality: Pine lands, 500-650 m. alt., Sierra Nipe,
near Wood f red, Oriente.
Distribution: Mountains of northern Oriente. Endemic.
This species is noted by Dr. Shafer as forming a tree up to
10 m. high.
9. C. laurifolia Jacq. Hort. Schoen. 3: 9. pi. 267. 1798
C.floridana Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14: 165. 1857.
Type locality : Caracas.
Distribution: Thickets and woodlands at lower elevations
near the coasts, Oriente, Camaguey, Matanzas, Isle of Pines:
Florida; Bahamas; Jamaica; Hispaniola to St. Croix; Venezuela.
10. C. retusa Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 61. 1866
C. leoganensis parvifolia Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 61. 1866.
Hyponym.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 369
Type locality: Eastern Cuba.
Distribution: Thickets and hillsides, Oriente, Santa Clara,
Pinar del Rio: Hispaniola (?).
II. C. CUBENSIS Meisn. in DC. Prodr. 14: 162. 1857
Type locality: Cuba [near Santiago].
Distribution: Oriente. Endemic.
Dr. Shafer's 422Q, from rich woods in the alluvial valley of
Rio Yamaniguey, northern Oriente, referred to this species from
description, is from a tree 5 m. high.
12. Coccolobis colomensis sp. no v.
A glabrous shrub, 2 m. high, with slender twigs. Leaves
chartaceous, ovate to elliptic, 4-10 cm. long, bluntly acute at the
apex, obliquely obtuse at the base, strongly reticulate-veined and
shining on both sides, the rather stout petioles 6-10 mm. long;
racemes glabrous, terminal, nodding, much shorter than the leaves,
5 cm. long or less; ochreolae less than 0.5 mm. long; pedicels
about 1.5 mm. long, spreading; flowers about 1 mm. long, the
ovate perianth-lobes as long as the tube; anthers not exserted;
young fruit ovoid, about 3.5 mm. long, short-coronate.
Marsh near Coloma, Pinar del Rio {Britton & Gager 7037).
13. C. costata C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 7: 343.
1870
C. leoganensis cordata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 61 . 1866. Hyponym.
Type locality: Cuba [C. Wright 1393, eastern Cuba].
Distribution: Mountains of Oriente; Porto Rico.
Dr. Shafer's 3084, which satisfactorily matches Wright
1393, is from a tree 8 m. high, at 400-500 m. alt. on the Sierra
Nipe, in dry rocky thickets; he noted the flowers as white and the
fruit red-black.
14. Coccolobis Shaferi sp. now
A shrub or small tree up to 4 m. high, the twigs and leaves
glabrous. Leaves coriaceous, ovate or ovate-elliptic to lanceolate,
12 cm. long or less, strongly and rather densely reticulate-veined
on both sides, obtuse, acute or acuminate at the apex, cordate at
the base, the stout petioles about 1 cm. long; spikes dense,
370 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
slender, 6-12 cm. long, the rachis, bracts and ochreolae puberulent;
flowers bright red, sessile, about 5 long, the short perianth-lobes
rounded.
Hillsides and thickets, northern Oriente.
Type, Shafer 4165, from between Camp Toa and Camp La
Barga, 400-450 m. alt.
15. C. geniculata Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. 13: 141. 1891
Type locality: Near Puerto Principe, Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Referred by Grisebach to C. punctata parvifolia Griseb.
16. C. rufescens C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 7:
343- 1870
C. punctata parvifolia Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 175. i860.
C. rufescens longifolia Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. 13: 143. 1891.
Type locality: Cuba.
Distribution: Mountains of Oriente. Endemic.
17. C. reflexa Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. 13: 141. 1891
Type locality: Cuba [Wright 2256}.
Distribution: Britton & Coivell 13 115, from a tree 6 m. high,
in savannas near Camaguey, appears to be the same as Wright 2256.
18. C. praecox C. Wright; Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. 13: 142. 1891
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type specimens {Wright
2253)-
19. Coccolobis benitensis sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, up to 2 m. high, the twigs more or
less tortuous, glabrous. Leaves coriaceous, ovate, or elliptic-
ovate, 1.5-7 cm- long, glabrous, punctate, short-acuminate at the
apex, rounded or obtuse at the base, densely prominently reticu-
late-veined on both sides, the primary veins prominent beneath,
the petioles 1.5-4.5 mm. long; spike-like racemes very slender,
short-stalked, 4 cm. long or less, the ochreae and rachis puberulent;
flowering pedicels scarcely longer than the ochreolae, 0.5 mm. long
or less; fruiting pedicels 1-1.5 mm. long; perianth (young) about
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants 37 J
0.5 mm. long; fruit ovate-ellipsoid, 5-6 mm. long, about 3 mm.
thick, dark red.
Wet mountains of northern Oriente. Type from vicinity of
Camp San Benito, 900 m. alt. (Shafer 4049).
20. C. pallida C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 61. 1866
Type locality: Western Cuba, near San Marco.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality [Wright
2254].
21. C. diversifolia Jacq. Enum. 19. 1760
Type locality: Caribbean Islands.
Distribution: Cuba, collected by Read, according to Lindau:
Bahamas; Jamaica; Hispaniola; Porto Rico; Vieques; St. Thomas;
St. Jan; St. Croix ; Saba ; Anguilla (?) ; Antigua; Montserrat ; Guade-
loupe; Dominica; Martinique; St. Lucia; Barbadoes; Bonaire;
Curacao; Aruba. Planted in Bermuda.
22. Coccolobis brevipes sp. now
Twigs slender, densely puberulent. Leaves chartaceous, ellip-
tic, 3-7 cm. long, bluntly acute at the apex, obliquely narrowed or
rounded at the base, shining above, glaucescent beneath, glabrous
and strongly reticulate-veined on both sides, the principal veins
prominent beneath ; petioles stout, 2-3 mm. long; racemes terminal,
about 5 cm. long, densely puberulent; bracts puberulent, acute,
scarcely 1 mm. long; ochreolae about as long as the bracts;
flowering pedicels 0.5-0.8 mm. long; flowers about 1.5 mm. long,
the perianth-lobes ovate.
Cuba {Wright 2257 in herbarium of the Missouri Botanical
Garden). Lindau, in Bot. Jahrb. 13: 152, cites this number as
part of C. Wrightii Lindau, but the specimen here described is
different from Wright 1395, the type of C. Wrightii.
C. brevipes is similar to C. rufescens C. Wright in leaf- form and
pubescence, but the venation is quite different.
23. C. Wrightii Lindau, Bot. Jahrb. 13: 151. 1891
Type locality: Near Monte Verde, Oriente.
Distribution: Mountains of northern Oriente.
Referred by Grisebach to C. ten it i folia L.
372 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
36. ADDITIONAL SPECIES OF TABEBUIA Gomez
The type species is Bignonia Tabebuya Veil., of Brazil, a
species with simple leaves. It is not possible to separate the
group into two genera, the one with simple, the other with com-
pound leaves, as has been proposed by several authors,* calling
the compound-leaved species Tecomas, and the true type of
Tecoma Juss. is Bignonia stans L. {Tecoma stans HBK., Steno-
lobinm stans Seem.). The two-lipped calyx of the type species of
Tabebuia is not constant through the group.
Tabebuia Brooksiana sp. nov.
A tree, up to 30 m. high. Leaves 4-7-foliolate; petioles 12 cm.
long or less; petioles slender, 1-4 cm. long; leaflets oblong, oblong-
lanceolate or oblong-oblanceolate, chartaceous, 5-12 cm. long, 4
cm. wide or less, faintly shining above with the veins impressed,
dull, mostly finely reticulate-veined when mature, and lepidote
beneath, with the midvein and lateral veins prominent, obtuse,
acute or retuse at the apex, the base obtuse or acutish; flowers
clustered; calyx 2-lipped, 10-15 mm- long; corolla pink, 5-6 cm.
long, the tube about 5 mm. long, the narrowly campanulate
throat about 3.5 cm. long, the limb about 1.5 cm. long, its un-
dulate lobes ciliolate.
Woodlands, provinces of Oriente and Camaguey, Cuba, from
sea-level up to 350 m. altitude. Type from Ensenada de Mora,
Oriente {Britton, Cowell & Shafer 12985). Referred by Grisebach
to Tecoma Leacoxylon Mart, and to T. Leucoxylon reticularis
Griseb. The species is named in honor of Mr. Theodore Brooks
of Guantanamo, who has rendered important aid to scientific
exploration. Tecoma heptaphylla A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub.
11: 106 (not Martius), described as with 7-foliolate leaves from
Vuelta de Abajo (Pinar del Rio), Cuba, is not known to me; I
have seen no species with 7-foliolate leaves from western Cuba.
Tabebuia Shaferi sp. nov.
A tree, up to 10 m. high. Larger leaves 6-8-foliolate ; petioles
3-4 cm. long; petiolules 2 cm. long or less; leaflets ovate-oblong to
suborbicular, chartaceous, the larger 6 cm. long, 3-5 cm. wide,
dark green above, paler beneath, minutely and densely reticulated
* See Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 377.
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 373
on both sides, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath,
the apex rounded or obtuse, the base subcordate; "flowers
pinkish"; capsule 12 cm. long; seeds 5 mm. long, 7 mm. wide, the
wings 5 mm. wide.
Along a small stream in the Pinales southeast of Paso Estancia,
Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 1710a). Apparently the same as C. Wright
3043, referred by Grisebach to Tecoma Leucoxylon Mart., forma
foliolis latioribus.
Tabebuia pachyphylla sp. now
A tree, up to 12 m. high. Petioles stout, 6-8 cm. long; petiololes
stout, 4 cm. long or less; leaflets 5-7, oblong to ovate-oblong,
coriaceous, 5-12 cm. long, 2.5-6 cm. wide, lustrous above, dull
and densely minutely reticulate-veined beneath, the midvein
prominent, the lateral veins slender, the apex bluntly acute, the
base rounded or subcordate; flowers pink, clustered; calyx 15 mm.
long, bluntly lobed; corolla pink, glabrous, about 5 cm. long, its
narrow throat about twice as long as the limb, its lobes rounded.
Mountains of northeastern Cuba. Type specimen collected
at Arroyo del Medio, Sierra Nipe, Oriente, Cuba, 450-550 m.
alt. (Shafer 364s).
Tabebuia trinitensis sp. nov.
A tree up to 10 m. high. Leaves 4-foliolate or 5-foliolate;
petioles slender, 8-1 1 cm. long; petiolules slender, 4 cm. long or less;
leaflets thin-chartaceous, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, dark green
above, paler and lepidote beneath, the larger ones 11-15 cm. long,
3-4 cm. wide, bluntly acute or acuminate at the apex, obtuse at
the base, finely reticulate-veined and the primary venation rather
prominent on both sides.
Hanabanilla Falls, Trinidad Mountains, province of Santa
Clara, Cuba (Britton, Earle &■ Wilson 4866).
The description is from leaf-specimens only but these indicate
that the tree is a species distinct from all others of Cuba. The
ultimate venation and texture of the leaflets differentiate it from
T. Brooksiana Britton.
Tabebuia calcicola sp. nov.
A slender tree, up to 6 m. high. Leaves 2-5-foliolate; petioles
stout, lepidote, 4-5 cm. long; petiolules lepidote, 1.5 cm. long or
less; leaflets coriaceous, light green, ovate to ovate-oblong, 3.5-8
374 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
cm. long, 5 cm. wide or less, acute or bluntish at the apex, rounded
at the base, finely reticulate veined and densely lepidote on both
sides, the primary venation impressed above, prominent beneath;
flowers clustered; pedicels stout; calyx 12-14 mm. long, shortly
2-lipped; corolla about 5 cm. long, the tube about 5 mm. long,
the campanulate white throat 3 cm. long, the pink limb about
1.5 cm. long, the undulate lobes ciliolate; capsule 10-14 cm- long-
Limestone rocks and cliffs, province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
Type collected near Guane {Britton & Cowell 9772).
Tabebuia moaensis sp. nov.
A shrub, about 1 m. high. Leaves 3-5-foliolate; petioles stout,
2 cm. long or less; petiolules rather stout, 4-15 mm. long; leaflets
elliptic to obovate, coriaceous, 3-5 cm. long, 1-2 cm. wide, lustrous
above, dull and minutely reticulate-veined beneath, the primary
venation not very prominent; calyx 10 mm. long, 2-lipped;
corolla pink, about 4 cm. long, its rounded lobes ciliolate.
Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente, Cuba (Shafer
8264). This is, apparently, the same as C. Wright 3047 , referred
by Grisebach to Tecoma haemantha.
Tabebuia pinetorum sp. nov.
A shrub, about 2.6 m. high. Leaves 3-foliolate or 4-foliolate;
petioles very stout, only 3 cm. long or less, petiolules stout, 3-8
mm. long; leaflets elliptic or ovate-elliptic, coriaceous, 5-14 cm.
long, 2.5-8 cm. wide, shining above, obtuse, rounded or bluntly
short-pointed at the apex, obliquely cordate at the base, dull,
lepidote and finely reticulate-veined beneath, the primary venation
impressed above, prominent beneath; peduncles stout; calyx 12
mm. long, somewhat 2-lipped; "flowers lilac"; pod 11 cm. long,
about 1 cm. thick.
Pine woods, Baracoa, Oriente, Cuba ( Underwood & Earle 1362).
Tabebuia arimaoensis sp. nov.
A small tree with slender, whitish twigs. Leaves 3-foliolate;
petioles slender, 1-2.5 cm. long; leaflets subcoriaceous, shining
above, with the midvein impressed dull beneath with the mid-
vein prominent, lepidote on both sides, acute, the terminal one
with a petiolule2-5 mm. long, cuneate-oblanceolate, 4-5 cm. long,
8-12 mm. wide, the lateral ones sessile, narrowly oblong, inequi-
lateral, obliquely narrowed at the base. Flowers and fruit
unknown.
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 375
Rocky hillside, Rio Arimao, province of Santa Clara, Cuba
(Britton & Wilson S797)-
Tabebuia arenicola sp. nor.
A tree 7 m. high. Leaves 3-foliolate; petioles slender, 1-2.5
cm. long; leaflets subcoriaceous, shining, sparingly lepidote, and
obscurely veined above, dull, closely lepidote and with prominent
midvein and slender lateral veins beneath, inconspicuously
reticulate-veined, obtuse or emarginate at the apex, the terminal
one oblanceolate, 6-7 cm. long, 1.2-2 cm. wide, acute at the base,
with a petiolule 4-6 mm. long, the lateral ones oblong, 4-6 cm.
long, sessile by a very oblique base.
Sandy plain, Conde Beach, Guantanamo Bay, Oriente, Cuba
(Britton 2142) .
Tabebuia geronensis sp. nov.
Twigs stout. Leaves 1-3-foliolate; petioles slender, 1 cm.
long or less; in 3-foliolate leaves, the lateral leaflets sessile, the
terminal one short-stalked; leaflets oblong to ovate-elliptic or
ovate-oblong, subcoriaceous, 3.5-7 cm. long, 3 cm. wide or less,
obtuse and rounded or apiculate at the apex, rounded, subcordate,
or lateral ones obliquely narrowed at the base, dull on both sides,
lepidote above, finely and strongly reticulate-veined and densely
lepidote beneath; fruiting calyx densely lepidote, 1 cm. long;
capsule 8-9 cm. long, about 8 mm. thick, with a slender tip 6 mm.
long.
Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, Cuba (A. H. Curtiss, May, 1904).
Tabebuia Curtissii sp. nov.
Young twigs, leaves, pedicels and calyx densely lepidote-
scurfy. Leaves 3-foliolate, or the upper and lower i-foliolate;
leaflets coriaceous, those of i-foliolate leaves elliptic, 3-6 cm. long,
obtuse at both ends, those of 3-foliolate leaves obovate or oblong-
obovate, 8 cm. long or. less, abruptly acute at the apex, narrowed
at the base, the terminal one short-stalked, the lateral ones sessile,
all smooth and shining above, dull, reticulate-veined and densely
lepidote beneath; flowers in terminal clusters; pedicels 2 cm.
long or less; calyx narrowly campanulate, 1.5 em. long, its teeth
triangular, acute; corolla 5 cm. long, its lobes broad and rounded.
Nueva Gerona, Isle of Pines, Cuba (A. II. Curtiss, May, 1904
316 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Tabebuia crassifolia sp. nov.
A tree, 5 m. high. Leaves simple, oblong-elliptic, coriaceous,
6-12 cm. long, 4.5 cm. wide or less, obtuse or emarginate at the
apex, somewhat narrowed at the base, when young densely
lepidote and dark green above, pale and more densely lepidote
beneath ; when old strongly shining, elepidote and with impressed
midvein above, remaining densely lustrous-lepidote and with very
prominent midvein beneath, the secondary venation slender,
neither surface reticulate-veined, the stout lepidote petioles 10-14
mm. long; flower solitary in an upper axil, its slender peduncle 3
cm. long, bearing a linear bractlet 2 mm. long below the middle;
calyx densely lepidote, 1 cm. long, lobed but scarcely two-lipped;
corolla light purple, about 5 cm. long.
By a spring, barren savannas southeast of Holguin, Oriente,
Cuba (Shafer 1285).
Tabebuia angustata sp. nov.
A tree up to 12 m. high. Leaflets 3-7-foliolate; petioles slender,
5-13 cm. long; petiolules slender, 5 cm. long or less; leaflets
chartaceous, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 5-18 cm. long, 9 cm.
wide or less; dull on both sides, more or less lepidote, at least
when young, densely and finely reticulate-veined beneath with a
prominent midvein and slender lateral veins, the apex bluntly
acuminate or acute, the base obtuse or acute; flowers clustered;
calyx 2-lipped, 12-16 mm. long; corolla rosy-white, 5-6 cm. long,
its narrow throat somewhat longer than the limb, its lobes ciliate;
capsule 10-25 cm. long.
Woodlands and along streams at lower and middle elevations
in wet or moist parts of Jamaica. Type collected on the south-
western slope of Dolphin Head {Harris Q253). This tree has
been referred to Tecoma platyantha Griseb.
Tabebuia jamaicensis sp. nov.
A tree up to 12 m. high. Leaves 5-foliolate; petioles stout,
15 cm. long; petiolules stout, 2-9 cm. long; leaflets chartaceous,
the three upper obovate, 18-23 cm- l°ng> 9-12 cm. wide, somewhat
narrowed at the base, the two lower ovate-elliptic, about 10 cm.
long and 6 cm. wide, rounded or subtruncate at the base, all
abruptly acuminate at the apex, finely reticulate-veined and loosely
lepidote on both sides, the midvein and lateral veins prominent
beneath; corolla whitish, glabrous, 5 cm. long, its cylindric tube
about 8 mm. long, its campanulate throat 2.5 cm. long, its spread-
ing limb about 1.5 cm. long, its lobes erose.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 377
Hillside, Negril, Jamaica (Britton 2020). The description is
based on one leaf and one flower.
Tabebuia actinophylla (Griseb.)
Tecoma actinophylla Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 194. 1866.
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Distribution: Limestone cliffs, province of Pinar del Rio,
Cuba.
Tabebuia Sauvallei nom. nov.
Tecoma sanguinea C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana
6: 320. 1870. Not Tabebuia sanguinea DC.
Type locality: Border of Rio Carbuni, Manacal, near
Trinidad, Cuba.
Distribution: Hillsides and river banks, near Trinidad,
province of Santa Clara, Cuba.
Tabebuia Buchii (Urban)
Tecoma Buchii Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 375. I9°3-
Known only from the type locality, dry calcareous mountains,
Morne La Pierre, Haiti.
Tabebuia lepidota (HBK.)
Bignonia lepidota HBK. Nov. Gen. 3: 139. 1818.
Tecoma lepidota DC. Prodr. 9: 220. 1844.
Type locality: Havana, Cuba.
Distribution: Barren soil, provinces of Camaguey, Santa
Clara, Matanzas and Havana, Cuba; Bahamas.
Referred by Grisebach to Tecoma lepidophylla and to Tecoma
Leucoxylon and by Combs to Tabebuia lepidophylla.
The species consists, apparently, of many races, differing in
size, number and form of leaflets and size of flowers.
Tabebuia Berterii (DC.)
Tecoma Berterii DC. Prodr. 9: 220. 1845.
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Hispaniola, ascending to 1,200 m. altitude.
378 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Tabebuia domingensis (Urban)
Teconia domingensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 376. 1912.
Type locality: Near Barahona, Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Tabebuia revoluta (Urban)
Tecoma revoluta Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 539. 1913-
Type locality: Between La Vega and Jarabacoa, Santo
Domingo, at 700 m. alt.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Tabebuia acrophylla (Urban)
Tecoma acrophylla Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 374. 1903-
Type locality : Mountains near Bilboro, Haiti, at 600 m. alt.
Distribution : Known only from the type locality.
Tabebuia bibracteolata (Griseb.)
Tecoma bibracteolata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 193. 1866.
Type locality: Eastern Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type specimens.
Tabebuia heterophylla (DC.) Britton, Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 2:
48. 1915
Rapuntia (?) heterophylla DC. Mem. Mus. Paris 9: 153. 1822.
Tabebuia triphylla DC. Prodr. 9: 214. 1845. Not Bignonia
triphylla L.
Sandy soil and rocky hillsides, Mona, Porto Rico, Vieques,
Culebra, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Jan, Virgin Gorda, Anagada;
recorded from St. Barts and Barbadoes.
Referred by Grisebach to Tecoma Berterii DC, and by Urban
to Tecoma Leucoxylon (L.) Mart.; this is not Tabebuia leucoxyla
DC. Prodr. 9: 212.
Tabebuia myrtifolia (Griseb.)
Tecoma myrtifolia Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 524. 1862.
Tecoma lepidota myrtifolia Maza, Anal. Hist. Nat. Madrid 19:
265. 1890.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 379
? Bignonia microphylla A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. n: 104.
1850. Not Lam.
Type locality: Matanzas, Cuba.
Distribution: Coastal thickets, vicinity of Matanzas, Cuba.
Tabebuia platyantha (Griseb.)
Tecoma platyantha Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 447. 1864.
Tecoma Brittonii Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 496. 1908.
Tecoma Brittonii decussata Urban, loc. cit. 497. 1908.
Type locality: On rocks, St. James, Jamaica.
Distribution: Rocky woodlands, central parishes of Jamaica.
Tabebuia bahamensis (Northrop)
Bignonia pentaphylla L. Sp. PI., ed. 2, 870. 1763 (as to the
Bahama plant of Catesby). Not Tabebuia pentaphylla (Juss.)
Hemsl.
Tecoma bahamensis Northrop, Mem. Torr. Club 12: 65. pi. 15.
1902.
Type locality: Near Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas,
Distribution: Bahamas; Cuba.
37. THE GENUS ANASTRAPHIA D. Don
Type species: Anastraphia ilicifolia D. Don.
Founded on a specimen in the Lambertian Herbarium said
to have come from South America; the plant was correctly
attributed to Cuba by De Candolle (Prodr. 7: 26. 1838).
1. Involucral bracts straight, erect or nearly so.
Involucre 2.5-3 cm. long.
At least some of the leaves spinulose-dentate.
Involucre campanulate.
All the involucral bracts lanate. 1. A. ilicifolia.
Only the outer bracts lanate, the inner glabrous.
Leaves distinctly reticulate-veined above.
All the involucral bracts linear-lanceo-
late, acuminate and erect. 2. A. mantuensis.
Outer involucral bracts lanceolate,
merely acute, all somewhat spreading. 3. A. monlana.
Leaves very indistinctly reticulate-veined
above, but wrinkled; outer bracts ovate. 4. -4. Cowellii.
Involucre long-attenuate at base, all its many
bracts lanate. z. A. altenuala.
380
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
None of the leaves spinulosc-dentate.
Involucral bracts tomentose.
Inner involucral bracts glabrous.
Involucre 2 cm. long or less.
Involucre 1.5-2 cm. long.
Leaves or some of them 1.5-2 cm. long.
Inner involucral bracts obtusish or short-
pointed.
Inner involucral bracts acuminate.
Leaves 12 mm. long or less.
Leaves strongly spinulose-dentate.
Leaves repand-denticulate.
Involucre 1.5 cm. long or less.
Leaves 2—3 times as long as wide.
Leaves spinulose-denticulate.
Leaves strongly reticulated beneath.
Leaves not reticulated beneath, or faintly
reticulated.
Achenes short-tomentose; leaves reticu-
late-veined above.
Achenes villous; leaves smooth above.
Leaves entire-margined.
Leaves not longer than wide, or but little longer.
Leaves obtuse or truncate at base.
Involucre 6 mm. long.
Involucre 10 mm. long.
Leaves cuneate at base.
2. Involucral bracts recurved, or with recurved tips.
Involucral bracts arachnoid.
Involucral bracts villous.
3. Involucre known only in a young condition; leaves oblong,
4 cm. long, 1.8 cm. wide, entire-margined or with a
tooth near the apex.
6. A. Picardae.
7. A. crassi folia.
8. A. oligantha.
9. A. bahamensis.
10. A. calcicola.
11. A. parvifolia.
12. A. Wilsoni.
13. A. intertexta.
14. A. Shaferi.
15. A. obtusifolia.
16. A. microcephala.
17. A. Rosei.
18. A. Buchii.
19. A. Northropiana.
20. A. recurva.
21. A. lomensis.
i. Anastraphia ilicifolia D. Don, Trans. Linn. Soc. 16: 296.
1830
Gochnatia ilicifolia Less. Linnaea 5: 261. 1830 (attributed to
Guiana doubtfully).
Type locality: South America [in error].
Distribution: Limestone cliffs and river-gorges, provinces of
Matanzas and Havana, Cuba. A shrub 2-3 m. high, the leaves
shining above.
A specimen in Kew Herbarium from rocks on the Rio Canimar,
Cuba, 1823, bears the label Staehelina ilicifolia Mutis., but that
species is a South American Gynoxys.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 381
Anastraphia mantuensis C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub.
158. 1866
Type locality: Pine lands near Mantua, Cuba.
Distribution: Pine lands and rocky hillsides, near Mantua.
Province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
3. Anastraphia montana sp. nov,
A depressed, spreading or prostrate shrub, the young twigs
white-floccose. Leaves oblong, or oblong-oblanceolate, 2-4 cm.
long, 8-16 mm. wide, coriaceous, sharply spinulose-dentate all
around, dark green, shining and densely reticulate-veined above,
white-floccose beneath, obtuse or acutish at the apex, the floccose
petioles 1-2 mm. long; heads solitary at the ends of branches;
involucre campanulate about 2.5 cm. high, its bracts rigid,
somewhat spreading, in about 8 series, the outer ovate to lanceo-
late, slightly lanate, acute, the inner linear-lanceolate, acuminate
glabrous achenes linear, narrowed at base, densely appressed-
pubescent, 6 mm. long; pappus light brown, spreading, about
twice as long as the achene.
Top of Sierra Caliente, south of Sumidero, Pinar del Rio,
Cuba, August, 1912 (Shafer 13781).
1
4. Anastraphia Cowellii sp. nov.
A shrub, 2 m. high, the young twigs lanate-puberulent.
Leaves oblong, 1.5-3.5 cm. long, 6-15 mm. wide, coriaceous,
sharply spinulose-dentate, green, glabrous, shining and indistinctly
veined, but wrinkled above, brownish-floccose beneath, mostly
obtuse at the apex, obtuse or narrowed at the base, the petioles
1-4 mm. long; heads solitary or rarely 2 together; involucre
narrowly campanulate, about 3 cm high, its bracts in 7 or 8
series, the outermost ovate, lanate, the middle ones lanceolate, the
inner linear-lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous; corollas orange, 2
cm. long; achenes linear, 6-7 mm long, densely pubescent; pappus
brownish, spreading, about 3 times as long as the achene.
Rocky hills, palm barren, city of Santa Clara, Cuba (Britton
& Cozvell, 10183, type); same locality (Britton & Wilson 6073);
rocky places in savanna, Queen City to Minas, Camaguey, Cuba
{Shafer 2Q27) ; savanna near Camaguey (Britton & c 'owell 132 f8 .
5. Anastraphia attenuata sp. nov.
A shrub about 2.5 cm. high, the young twigs densely lanate.
Leaves oblong to oblanceolate, 1.5-5 cm' l°ng> 8-17 mm. wide,
;><s- Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
coriaceous, entire or some of them remotely spinulose-dentate,
green, glabrous and reticulate-veined above, whitish-lanate be-
neath, obtuse or acute at the apex, narrowed at the base, the
petioles 1-2.5 mm. long; heads solitary at the ends of branches;
involucre obconic, long-attenuate at the base, 3-3.5 cm. long, its
bracts lanate, imbricated in about 14 series, the lower ovate, the
upper lanceolate; corolla yellow, about I cm. long; achenes linear,
densely pubescent, 6 mm. long; pappus tawny, a little longer
than the achene.
Moist thickets, Sierra Nipe, Oriente, Cuba, between Piedra
Gorda and Woodfred, at 400-500 meters elevation (Shafer 3 113).
6. Anastraphia Picardae Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 414. 1903
Type locality: Near Cadets, Haiti, at 1200 m. alt.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
7. Anastraphia crassifolia sp. nov.
A shrub about 1.6 m. high, the young twigs densely tomentose.
Leaves oblong, or oblong-oblanceolate, coriaceous, 4-7 cm. long,
1-2 cm. wide, entire-margined, green, shining, and with impressed
veins above, lanate-tomentose and with prominent veins beneath;
involucre campanulate, nearly 3 cm. high, its bracts in 7 or 8
series, the outer ovate, lanate, the inner linear-lanceolate, glabrous,
long-attenuate.
Near mangroves, mouth of Rio Yamaniguey, Oriente, Cuba
(Shafer 4261). Only one old involucre was collected.
8. Anastraphia oligantha Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 417. 1903
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Santo Domingo. Known only from the type
specimens collected by Wright, Parry and Brummell in 1871,
and from plate 123, f. 2, of Plumier, with which they were identified
by Professor Urban. Referred to by Hitchcock (Rep. Mo. Bot.
Gard. 4: 102) as A. pauciflosculosa C. Wright, an unpublished
species.
9. Anastraphia bahamensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 415. 1903
Anastraphia pauciflosculosa Hitchc. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 4: 102.
pi. 12. 1893. Hyponym.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 383
Anastraphia cuneifolia Grecr.m. Bull. X. Y. Bot. Card. 4: 126.
1905.
Type locality: Andros Island, Bahamas.
Distribution: Andros, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Fortune Island,
Crooked Island, Acklin's Island, Great Exuma, Caicos Islands,
Mariguana, Dellis Cay, Inagua.
I cannot distinguish, specifically, from this species, a plant of
the Sierra Nipe, Oriente, Cuba {Shafer 3185).
10. Anastraphia calcicola sp. now
A shrub, 1— 1 .5 m. high, the young twigs lanate, the branches
stiff. Leaves cuneate-obovate or nearly elliptic, small, 5-10 mm.
long, nearly as wide as long, sharply 1-3-toothed on each margin,
coriaceous, obtuse or subtruncate at the apex, glabrous and densely
reticulate-veined above, white-lanate beneath, the petioles about
1 mm. long; heads solitary on short branchlets; involucre 1.5-2
cm. high, its bracts in about 4 series, loosely and sparingly lanate,
the outer ovate, acute, the inner narrowly lanceolate, acuminate;
achenes linear, 4 mm. long, densely pubescent; pappus yellowish-
brown, about 3 times as long as the achene.
Coral rock hillsides and coastal cliffs, United States Naval
Station, Guantanamo Bay, Oriente, Cuba {Britton 2042, type;
2220) .
11. Anastraphia parvifolia sp. nov.
An upright shrub, 2 m. high, the young twigs lanate. Leaves
oblong to oblong-obovate, small, 5-10 mm. long, 4-6 mm. wide,
coriaceous, obtuse at the apex, obtuse or narrowed at the base,
dark green, smooth and shining above, white-lanate beneath, the
margin repand-denticulate, the slender petiole 1-3 mm. long;
involucre about 2.4 cm. long, its bracts in 5 or 6 series, the outer
ovate to ovate-lanceolate, loosely lanate, acute, the inner linear-
lanceolate, acuminate, with lanate tips; corolla orange-yellow,
18 mm. long; achenes linear, densely pubescent, about 3 mm.
long; pappus yellowish-brown, about 5 times as long as the achene.
Dense thickets in barren savannas southeast of Holguin,
Oriente, Cuba {Shafer 2Qj8).
12. Anastraphia Wilsoni sp. now
An intricately branched shrub 2 m. high, the young twigs
somewhat lanate. Leaves oblong to oblong-obovate, subcoria-
384 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
ceous, 1-2.5 cm- long, 1 cm. wide or less, obtuse or acute at the
apex, narrowed at the base, green, shining, and densely finely
reticulate-veined above, brownish-tomentulose and prominently
veined beneath, the margins strongly spinulose-dentate, the slender
petioles 1.5-3 mm. long; heads solitary on short branchlets;
involucre 1— 1.5 cm. high, its bracts in about 8 series, the outer
ovate, acute, densely lanate, the inner lanceolate to linear-lanceo-
late, attenuate, nearly glabrous; corolla 1.5 cm. long; achenes
densely pubescent, 5 mm. long; pappus tawny, 3 times as long
as the achene.
Rocky bank, Rio Toyaba, near Trinidad, province of Santa
Clara, Cuba {Britton & Wilson $573) •
13. Anastraphia intertexta C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub.
158. 1866
Type locality: Near San Marcos, district of Bahia Honda,
Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
Distribution: Mountain sides, Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
14. Anastraphia Shaferi sp. nov.
An intricately branched shrub 2-2.5 m- high- the young twigs
lanate. Leaves oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, 10-18 mm. long,
8 mm. wide or less, coriaceous, sharply spinulose-dentate, obtuse at
the apex, narrowed at the base, green, glabrous and smooth above,
whitish-lanate and rather prominently veined beneath, the petioles
about 1.5 mm. long; heads solitary or sometimes 2 together at the
ends of branchlets; involucre about 1 cm. long, its villous-lanate
bracts in about 5 series, the outer ovate, the inner lanceolate,
acuminate; corolla "whitish," about 11 mm. long; achenes vil-
lous-pubescent, 3 mm. long; pappus tawny, 2-3 times as long
as the achene.
Dry cliff, below the falls of Rio Naranja, Oriente, Cuba, 450-
550 m. elevation (Shafer 3865).
15. Anastraphia obtusifolia sp. nov.
An intricately branched shrub, the young twigs lanate-
tomentulose. Leaves oblong to oblanceolate, 2.5 cm. long or less,
4-10 mm. wide, coriaceous, entire-margined, dark green and
finely densely reticulate-veined above, white-lanate and incon-
spicuously veined beneath, obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the
base, the petioles 1-1.5 mm. long; head (only one old one seen
Britton: Studies of West Ixdiax plan i 385
attached) sessile, lateral; involucre 9-10 mm. long, its bracts
in 5 or 6 series, the outer ovate, acute; the inner linear-lanceolate,
acuminate.
Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente, Cuba (Shafer
8189).
16. Axastraphia microcephala Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 158. 1866
Type locality: Eastern Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type specimens collected
by Wright.
17. Anastraphia Rosei sp. no v.
A shrub with tortuous branches, the young twigs floccose.
Leaves broadly elliptic, elliptic-obovate or suborbicular, 10-15
mm. long, 8-13 mm. wide, obtuse or nearly truncate at the apex,
obtuse or subtruncate at the base, dark green, loosely floccose or
becoming glabrate, and finely reticulate-veined above, densely
white-tomentulose and with few rather prominent veins beneath,
spiny- toothed, with 2 or 3 teeth on each side, the slender tomentu-
lose petioles 3-5 mm. long; heads solitary and sessile on short
spurs, about 10-flowered; involucre narrowly obconic, 10-11 mm.
long, its bracts in about 5 series, all appressed-villous, acute, the
outer ovate, the inner linear-lanceolate; achenes densely silky,
4 mm. long; pappus yellow-brown, 8 mm. long.
Hillside, Azua, Santo Domingo, March 18, 1913 (Rose, Fitch
& Russell 4023). Related to A. Bachii Urban, of Haiti, which
has leaves cuneate at base, smaller heads and less hairy involucre-
bracts.
18. Axastraphia Buchii Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 527. 1908
Type locality: Dry woods, Poste Coudau, Haiti, at 100 m.
elevation.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
19. Axastraphia Northropiaxa Greenm.; Combs, Trans. Acad.
Sci. St. Louis 7: 435. pi. 36. 1897
Anastraphia Northropiana Comhsii Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 417.
1903.
Type locality: Fresh Creek, Andros, Bahamas.
Bahama Islaxds: Andros, New Providence, Cat Island.
•386 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Cuba: On rocky coastal hills, Pimta Piedra, Nipe Bay,
Oriente {Britton & Cowell 12450); harbor of Santiago, Orientc
(Britton 1877) ; near Nuevitas, Camaguey (Shafer 8jq) ; Calicita,
Santa Clara (Combs 521); Rio San Juan, Santa Clara (Britton,
Earle cf Wilson 5839, 5864); apparently the same species,
collected in foliage only, on Cayo Ratones, Bay of Mariel, Pinar
del Rio (Britton & Gager 7678). I cannot specifically distinguish
the Cuban plant from the Bahamian; on the southern coast of
Santa Clara Province it forms a tree up to 10 m. high with a
trunk 2 dm. in diameter; its bark is very rough.
20. Anastraphia recurva sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub up to about 3 m. high, the young
twigs tomentulose. Leaves oblong to elliptic or oblanceolate,
coriaceous, 4 cm. long or less, 8-15 mm. wide, green and smooth
or somewhat reticulate-veined above, lanate beneath, obtuse or
acute at the apex, cuneate-narrowed, acute or obtuse at the base,
spinulose-dentate or entire, the petioles 1.5-3 mm. long; heads
solitary at the ends of branchlets; involucre broadly campanulate,
1. 5-1. 8 cm. high, its bracts densely villous, imbricated in 6 or 7
series, recurved-spreading, linear-lanceolate, acuminate; corolla
yellow or yellowish, about I cm. long; achenes densely whitish-
pubescent, about 4 mm. long; pappus tawny, 2-3 times as long
as the achene.
Serpentine hills near mouth of Rio Yamaniguey, Oriente, Cuba
(Shafer 4257; type) ; between Rio Yamaniguey and Camp Toa,
400 m. alt. (Shafer 4011) ; vicinity of Camp San Benito, 900 m.
alt. (Shafer 4177) ; Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa (Shafer
8187, 8266) ; between Camp La Barga and Camp San Benito
(Shafer 4120).
A species which has wide variation in leaf-forms; the involucre
in all specimens seen appears to be the same.
21. Anastraphia (?) lomensis sp. nov.
A shrub about 2.5 m. high, the twigs tomentulose. Leaves
oblong, coriaceous, about 4 cm. long and 1.8 cm. wide, entire-
margined, or rarely with a spinulose tooth near the apex, spinulose-
tipped and acute, or rounded at the apex, narrowed or obtuse at
the base, faintly reticulate-veined, green and glabrous above,
lanate and rather prominently veined beneath, the petioles 2-3.5
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants 387
mm. long; heads solitary or sometimes 2 together at the ends of
twigs; young involucre 1 cm. long, its floccose bracts in about 5
series, acute, the outer ovate, the inner lanceolate.
Rocky mountain side, Loma Mensura, about 800 m. alt.,
Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 3811).
The leaves are similar to those of A. Picardae Urban, of Haiti.
38. UNDESCRIBED WEST INDIAN SPECIES
Cyperus calcicola sp. now
Perennial by short rootstocks; culms slender, tufted, smooth,
1-2.5 dm. high. Leaves shorter than the culm, 0.5-1 mm. wide;
bracts of the involucre 2 or 3, the longer sometimes 4 cm. long,
similar to the leaves; head globose, solitary, 5-7 mm. in diameter;
spikelets about 3-flowered, 3.5-4.5 mm. long; scales dark brown,
the lowest empty ones persistent on the axis after the fall of the
rest of the spikelet, lanceolate, the others ovate to ovate-lanceolate,
acute, faintly striate-nerved.
Limestone rocks, Cayo Muertos, Porto Rico {Britton, Cornell
& Br own 4976).
Related to C. fuligineus Chapm., in which the scales of the
spikelet are more numerous, strongly striate-nerved and mucro-
nate.
Psilocarya portoricensis sp. nov.
Annual, with fibrous roots; culm rather slender, about 4 dm.
high. Leaves shorter than the culm, 2-3 mm. wide ; umbels several,
slender-stalked; spikelets 3-5 in the umbels, ovoid, acutish, 4-6
mm. long, 2 mm. thick; scales ovate, dark brown, sharply acute;
style rather deeply 2-cleft; achene oblong, 1 mm. long, trans-
versely wrinkled ; tubercle triangular, acute, one third to one half
as long as the achene, and distinctly decurrent upon it.
Shore of Laguna Tortuguero, Porto Rico {Britton, Cowell &
Brown 3850).
Nearest to P. nitens (Vahl) A. Wood, of eastern continental
North America, the achene of which is smaller, suborbicular and
the tubercle scarcely decurrent.
Rynchospora borinquensis sp. nov.
Perennial by short rootstocks; culms slender, trigonous, about
6 dm. high. Leaves flat, about 2 mm. wide, shorter than the culm;
388 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
corymbs 2 or 3, distant, filiform-stalked, compound, narrow, 2-7
cm. long; spikelcts clustered, fusiform, 5 mm. long, narrowed at
both ends, bearing only 1 achene; scales lanceolate or oblong-
lanceolate, dark brown, acute; bristles about 6, upwardly barbed,
longer than the achene and tubercle; style-branches about one-
third as long as the undivided part; achene oblong-obovate, faintly
transversely wrinkled, 1.5 mm. long, a little longer than the
smooth, conic, acute tubercle.
Open wet places in the forest, Rio Icaco and adjacent hills,
Sierra de Naguabo, Porto Rico, 465-720 m. alt. {Shafer 3515, type) ;
Sierra Nipe, Oriente, Cuba {Shafer 3453, 3638).
Apparently nearest R. glauca Vahl, which has shorter, ovoid
spikelcts, and a shorter tubercle.
Cassia clarendonensis sp. now
A finely pubescent shrub about 1.3 m. high. Leaves linear in
outline, 10-15 cm- l°ng> bearing an obtusely conic gland I mm. high
between the lowest pair of leaflets, the slender, pubescent rachis
angular; leaflets 10-15 pairs, thin, pubescent on both sides, with
very short pubescent petiolules, apiculate, inequilateral, the upper
2 or 3 pairs oblong, 1.5-2 cm. long, 6-7 mm. wide, the others
elliptic to obovate-elliptic, shorter and slightly broader; flowers
in several short pubescent panicles in the upper axils; pedicels
2-4 mm. long; sepals obliquely elliptic, obtuse, pubescent, 5-6
mm. long; petals yellow, obovate, veiny, about 9 mm. long, rather
abruptly short-clawed; sepals 7; larger anthers curved, 7-8 mm.
long, the smaller nearly straight, about 5 mm. long; style curved,
about 11 mm. long; pods short-stalked in the calyx, linear, many-
seeded, densely puberulent, 7-10 cm. long, 6 mm. wide, flat,
impressed between the seeds, the margins scarcely thickened;
seeds oblong, transverse, pubescent, about 4 mm. long.
Inverness, Clarendon, Jamaica {Harris 11693).
Purdiaea velutina Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 3 m. tall, or a small tree ; twigs villous. Leaves obovate,
4-10 cm. long, 2-3.3 cm- broad, rounded and emarginate or
mucronate at the apex, gradually tapering to a rather broad
sessile base, 5-7-ribbed, reticulate-veined, glabrous; bracts oblong1
obovate or obovate, 15-24 mm. long, 6-9 mm. broad, velutinous on
the back, glabrous within above the middle, below clothed with
rather short, appressed silky hairs; peduncles and pedicels villous;
one ciliate, the three outer ones unequal, ovate, 9-12 cm. long,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 389
4-6 mm. broad, rounded or acutish and apiculate at the apex,
papery, several nerved, the two inner sepals lanceolate, 5-6 mm.
long, acuminate; petals lanceolate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate,
5.5-6 mm. long, 2-2.5 mm. broad, acute, glabrous; filaments
subulate, glabrous; anthers oblong; ovary subglobose, villous.
Type collected along trail, Rio Yamaniguey to Camp Toa,
Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 4474) ; also collected in the vicinity of Camp
San Benito, Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 40Q2).
Purdiaea Shaferi Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 2 or 3 m. tall; twigs glabrous or nearly so. Leaves
broadly elliptic-obovate, 4.5-9.5 cm. long, 2.5-4.5 cm- broad,
rounded and emarginate or mucronate at the apex, sessile, 7-9-
ribbed, rather faintly and coarsely reticulate-veined, glabrous;
bracts obovate, 12-14 mm. long, 7-8 mm. broad, papillose;
peduncles and pedicels villous; sepals 5, ciliate, the three outer
sepals very unequal, broadly ovate to ovate-oval, 8-12 mm. long,
4-8 mm. broad, rounded or acute and apiculate at the apex,
papery, clothed mostly toward the base with appressed, silky
hairs, several-nerved, the two inner sepals lanceolate, 5-6 mm.
long, 2 mm. broad, acuminate; petals elliptic, 5 mm. long, 2.5-
3.2 mm. broad, mucronate, glabrous; filaments subulate, glabrous;
anthers oblong; ovary globose-ovoid, hirsute; style subulate.
Type collected in pinelands, vicinity of Baracoa, Oriente,
Cuba (Shafer 4285) .
Purdiaea microphylla Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub I or 2 m. tall; young twigs and branches of the
inflorescence more or less hirsute. Leaves oblanceolate to obovate,
10-15 mm. long, 5-7 mm. broad, acute at the apex, cuneate at the
base, sessile, rigid, faintly 3-ribbed, glabrous; sepals unequal,
rigid, the three outer ones ovate to oval, 4 mm. long, 3 mm. broad,
acute, the two inner sepals ovate, 3 mm. long, 1.2-1.5 mm. broad,
apiculate, ciliate; fruit 5-lobed, the angles keeled, 5-celled, glab-
rous; style subulate, persistent.
Type collected at Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa,
Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 826 5).
Piriqueta cubensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 1-3 m. tall, the young twigs grooved, velvety-ferrugi-
nous with stellate hairs. Leaves oblanceolate or obovate, 4-8 cm.
390 Brixton: Studies of Wesi Indian plants
long, 1-2.2 cm. broad, obtuse or acutish at the apex, cuneate at the
base, petioled, above clothed with scattered stellate hairs, beneath
velvety ferruginous with stellate hairs and reticulate-veined, the
midvein and lateral nerves obscure or impressed above, prominent
beneath; calyx-lobes oblong-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.2-1.6
cm. long, 6-8 mm. broad, velvety-ferruginous; petals elliptic to
somewhat oblanceolate, 1.6-1.8 cm. long, 5-6 mm. broad, glandu-
lar-ciliate; filaments filiform, glabrous; anthers oblong-lanceo-
late; ovary narrowly ovoid, tomentose; styles filiform, 2.5-2.7
cm. long, glabrous; capsule velvety-ferruginous, the valves ovate;
seeds pyriform.
Type collected along trail, Rio Yamaniguey to Camp Toa
(400 m. alt.), Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 4190); also collected on the
Sierra Nipe, Oriente {Shafer 3109).
Rheedia Hessii sp. nov.
Young branches angled, slender, the older ones terete. Leaves
opposite, coriaceous, clustered on short lateral twigs, narrowdy
lanceolate, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 6 mm. wide or less, narrowed at the
base into stout petioles 2-3 mm. long, spinulose-acuminate at the
apex, the midvein prominent beneath, very indistinct above, the
lateral venation wholly obscure, the margins thickened; staminate
flowers solitary in upper axils on pedicels about 4 mm. long;
sepals suborbicular, about 3 mm. broad; petals obovate-elliptic,
rounded at the apex, 5 mm. long; stamens numerous, the stout
filaments 2-2.5 mm. long; anthers less than 0.5 mm. broad.
Indiera Fria, near Maricao, Porto Rico (F. L. Stevens & W. E.
Hess 3333). In habit and in leaf-form this somewhat resembles
R. fruticosa C. Wright, of Cuba.
Mayepea cubensis P. Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 6 m. tall, the young twigs glabrous or nearly so. Leaves
oblong-oblanceolate, 6-9 cm. long, 1.5-2 cm. broad, rounded and
often emarginate at the apex, cuneate at the base, petioled,
glabrous, impressed punctate, rigid ; midrib more or less impressed
above, prominent beneath, the primary veins few and rather
inconspicuous; panicles terminal, shorter than the leaves, the
branches glabrous; bracts oblong-lanceolate or narrowly lanceo-
late, hirsutulous; pedicels about 2 mm. long; calyx-lobes tri-
angular, obtuse or acutish, sparingly hirsutulous on the outside,
hirsutulous within mostly at or near the apex; petals oblong or
somewhat oblong-lanceolate, 5.5-6.5 mm. long, 1.2-2 mm. broad,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 391
glabrous, obtuse, several-nerved; stamens shorter than the petals;
filaments I mm. long; anthers elliptic-ovate to broadly elliptic;
ovary ovoid, glabrous; stigma subsessile, globose-ovoid or sub-
globose, sometimes slightly emarginate.
Type collected at mouth of the Rio Yamaniguey, Oriente, Cuba
{Shafer 4253).
Agalinis albida Britton & Pennell, sp. nov.
Annual; plant green, tending to blacken in drying. Stem
4-6 dm. tall, slender, with virgately ascending branches, obscurely
striate-4-angled, glabrous; leaves opposite, or somewhat sub-
opposite above, ascending or recurved-spreading, linear-subulate
below to linear and longer above, entire, acute, those of the stem
1-2.5 cm. long, 0.5-1 mm. wide; bracts gradually much reduced;
leaves thickened, minutely scabrous to scabro-roughened above,
axillary fascicles none; racemes elongated, 2-16-flowered; pedi-
cels ascending, slender, clavate, glabrous, in flower 0.5-1 mm. long,
in fruit 2-3 mm. long, much shorter than the bracts; calyx-tube
2-2.5 mm. long, depressed-hemispheric, obscurely veined, 1/3-2/5
the length of the capsule, somewhat truncate, its lobes 0.7-1 mm.
long, broadly triangular to ovate-triangular, acute to acuminate;
apex of tube and lobes within sparingly puberulent; corolla 10-
15 mm. long, spreading, 7-10 mm. wide, membranous, its tube
8-12 mm. long, straight to slightly upcurved, its lobes 2-3 mm.
long, rounded to truncate, all somewhat spreading, without
minutely pubescent, within slightly pubescent about the bases of
the filaments, pubescent below sinus and over most of basal
portions of posterior lobes; lobes all ciliate, white, at times shaded
with violet; posterior filaments 2.5-3.5 mm. long, anterior
5-6.5 mm. long, all somewhat lanose; anther-sacs I— 1.5 mm. long,
oblong-lanceolate, acute to mucronate at base, lanose-pubescent
with white hairs on the valvular surface, glabrous on the sides;.
style 4-5 mm. long, filiform, glabrous; stigma 2.5 mm. long;
capsule 4 mm. long, depressed-globose, dark-brown; seeds 0.6-
0.8 mm. long, lunate-triangular to narrowly quadrangular, slightly
less than one-half as broad as long, irregular; testa pale, with reticu-
lations delicate, brown, enclosing elongated angular spaces; intra-
reticular lines very fine, forming a network.
Wet, grassy pineland, western Cuba, Isle of Pines, and in
Jamaica.
Type, Colpothrinax savanna, vicinity of Herradura, province
of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, collected in flower and fruit August 26-
30, 1910 {Britton, Earle & Gager 6475).
392 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Cuba. Pinar del Rio: Guane (Shafer 10662); Herradura
(nermann 2QI,$65)\ Laguna Jovero (Shafer 10037); Laguna los
Indios (Shafer 10801 1 ; Pinar del Rio {Wright 2Q01 p.p.) ; San Cristo-
bal {Wright 2001 p>-f-]. Santa Clara: Cieneguita (Combs 443),
Isle of Pines: Managua Palmer & Riley 1102).
J \m\k \. Shooter'- Savanna (Harris 11160); Upper Clarendon
(Harris 11 100).
Differs from other species of AgaUnis bearing short-pedicelled
flowers, spreading corolla-lobes and dark brown seeds (A. purpurea
and near allies 1 by its leaves strongly ascending, but 1-2.5 cm.
long, its corolla much paler, nearly or quite white, and relatively
small, and by its seeds which are less than one-half as broad as long.
Jacaranda Cowellii Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub I.5-2 m. tall, the young twigs, pedicels, calyx and
corolla more or less glandular-pubescent; leaves once-pinnate,
2.5-6 cm. long, occasionally longer; petioles and rachis narrowly
grooved; leaflets 8-15 pairs or more, opposite or subopposite,
elliptic to oval or orbicular, 2-5 mm. long, 1.5-3 rnm. broad, sessile,
rigid, green and lustrous above, paler beneath, the margin strongly
involute, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath; bracts
of the inflorescence oblong; calyx-lobes triangular-ovate or ovate,
acutish, 2 mm. long; corolla-tube 2-2.5 cm- l°ng* the lobes
orbicular; filaments of the fertile stamens subulate, glabrous, the
filament of the sterile stamen flattened, bearded below the middle,
glabrous above, densely bearded at the apex; anthers oblong-
elliptic; ovary ovoid, glabrous; style subulate; fruit elliptic or
oblong-elliptic, the apex rounded, or abruptly short-acuminate
with the tip acutish or obtuse.
Type collected in palm barrens in the vicinity of the city of
Santa Clara, Cuba (Britton er Cornell 13316) ; also collected at the
same locality (Britton & Wilson 6071; Britton & Cowell 10174);
dry hill, Holguin, Oriente (Shafer 12434); barren savanna south-
east of Holguin, Oriente (Shafer 2040).
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 183
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS-VII
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1915
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of the Tobrby Botanical Club
42: 487-517. November 5, 1915
From the Biim.biin of the Tukkby Botanical Club, 42: 487-517. 6 N 1915.]
Studies of West Indian plants —
Nathaniel Lord Britton
1. S. setacea.
2. 5. lacustris.
39. THE GENUS SCLERIA Berg. IN CUBA
The last previous treatment of the Cuban species is that of
Mr. C. B. Clarke in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 8-169. 1900.
A. Hypogynium present.
1. Hypogynium not covered with a white rough crust.
a. Margin of the hypogynium neither ciliate nor fim-
briate [see S. cubensis].
* Roots fibrous; rootstocks none or very short.
Achene reticulated or irregularly ridged;
plants slender.
Achene smooth; plants stout.
** Perennials, with rootstocks. [Rootstock in S.
setuloso-ciliata short, or perhaps none.]
Achene smooth.
Ligule large, its margin scarious or callous.
Climbing; branched; pilose.
Erect; simple; glabrous.
Ligule short, small ; culms erect or spreading.
Culms slender; leaves relatively smooth.
Panicle red-purple; achene purple to
white.
Panicle brown-green; achene white.
Achene depressed-globose.
Achene longer than thick.
Leaves 2-4 mm. wide.
Leaves 8-15 mm. wide.
Culms stout; leaves very rough.
Achene verrucose, reticulated or papillose.
Achene papillose.
487
3. 5. secans.
4. 5. calalinac.
5. 5. -Melaleuca.
6. S. pterota.
7. 5. Wrightiana.
8. 5. setuloso-ciliata.
9. 5. sciiidcus.
10. S. ciliata.
•iss
Brixton : Studies of West Indian plants
Achene verrucose or reticulated.
Achcne reticulated; hypogynium sup-
porting 3 deeply 3-lobed tubercles.
Achene verrucose-reticulated ; hypogy-
nium 3-lobed.
Glabrous or nearly so.
Leaves and sheaths densely pilose-
pubescent.
b. Margin of the hypogynium ciliate, ciliolate or
fimbriate [nearly or quite eciliate in S. cubensis].
Margin of the hypogynium ciliate or ciliolate.
Achene 2 mm. long or less.
Achene 2.5-3 mm- long.
Style-base black, persistent; achene ellip-
soid.
Style-base pale, deciduous; achene sub-
globose.
Leaves about 3 mm. wide.
Leaves 8-16 mm. wide.
Margin of the hypogynium ciliolate
or eciliate.
Margin of the hypogynium densely
long-ciliate.
Margin of the hypogynium 3-lobed, the lobes
laciniate or fimbriate.
2. Hypogynium covered with a white rough crust.
B. Hypogynium none, or obsolete.
Annuals with fibrous roots; inflorescence glomerate-
spicate.
Achene smooth.
Achene verrucose, reticulated or cancellate.
Bracts strongly ciliate; achene cancellate.
Bracts glabrous; achene verrucose or verrucose-
reticulated.
Inflorescence simply glomerate-spicate.
Inflorescence branched.
Perennial by rootstocks.
Inflorescence glomerate-spicate; achene smooth.
Inflorescence not glomerate-spicate.
Panicle loose.
Inflorescence subcapitate.
Achene 2-3 mm. long, with 2 pits on each side
of the 3-angled base.
Achene 4 mm. long, without pits.
11. 5. Curlissii.
12. 5. stereorrkiza.
13. 5. pilosissima.
14. 5. microcarpa.
15. 5. mitis.
16. 5. phylloplera.
17. 5. cubensis.
18. S. Grisebachii.
19. S. porphyrorrhiza.
20. 5. havanensis.
21. 5. distans.
22. 5. pinelorum.
23. S. verlicillata.
24. S. Liebmanni.
25. 5. hirtella.
26. S. lithosperma.
27. 5. gracilis.
28. S. Baldwinii.
I. Scleria setacea Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 7: 4.
Scleria hemitaphra Steud. Syn. PI. Cyp. 169. 1855.
Scleria Torreyana Walp. Ann. 3: 696. 1853.
1806
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 489
Scleria dictyocarpa Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 259. 1866.
Scleria debilis C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 8: 154.
1872.
S. reticularis pubescens Britton, Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3: 232. 1885.
Savannas and along streams, Pinar del Rio: — southern United
States; Porto Rico; tropical continental America.
2. Scleria lacustris C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana
8: 152. 1872
Lagoons near Pinar del Rio. Recorded by Clarke from French
Guiana and from Java.
3. Scleria secans (L.) Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 169. 1900
Schoenus secans L. Syst. ed. 10, 865. 1759.
Scleria reflexa HBK. Nov. Gen. 1; 232. 1815.
Mountain woodlands, Oriente: — Haiti to Martinique and Trini-
dad; Jamaica; tropical continental America.
My examination of the type specimen of Schoenus secans L.,
in the herbarium of the British Museum of Natural History,
some years ago, showed that it was the same as Scleria reflexa
HBK., and not the same as Scleria Flagellum-nigroriim Berg.
4. Scleria catalinae sp. now
Perennial by thick rootstocks; culm stout, sharply 3-angled,
roughish on the angles, glabrous, about 1.3 m. high. Leaves
glabrous, slightly roughish-margined, 3-5 dm. long, 1-2.3 cm.
wide, 3-nerved, attenuate-acuminate, the ligule triangular-ovate
to triangular-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, many-striate, nar-
rowly callous-margined, 2 cm. long or less; panicle about 5 dm.
long, of few, distant, slender branches, the staminate and pistillate
spikelets intermixed; staminate spikelets oblong, 3-4 mm. long;
achene ovoid, purplish, smooth, shining, acute, 2 mm. long, the
style-base persistent ; hypogynium obconic, I mm. long, glabrous,
its base rounded, its 3 rounded lobes appressed.
Santa Catalina, Pinar del Rio {Van Hermann 3272).
By its very large ligule related to S. arundinacea Kunth, but
the achene and inflorescence are quite different, resembling those
of S. cubensis Boeckl.
490 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
5. Scleria Melaleuca Schl. & Cham. Linnaea 6: 29. 1831
Savannas and banks, Camaguey; Havana; Pinar del Rio: —
Jamaica; Porto Rico; St. Vincent to Trinidad; continental tropical
America. The West Indian specimens here referred are not very
different from the following species.
6. Scleria pterota Presl in Oken, Isis 21: 268. 1828
Scleria pratensis Nees in Mart. Fl. Bras. 21: 179. 1843.
Scleria Ottonis Boeckl. Linnaea 38: 490. 1874.
Woodlands and banks, Santa Clara; Havana; Pinar del Rio;
Isle of Pines: — Haiti to St. Thomas and Barbadoes; Jamaica;
continental tropical America.
7. Scleria Wrightiana Boeckl. Flora 64: 79. 1881
Scleria elata C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 8: 153.
1872. Not Thwaites.
Pine-lands and savannas, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines.
Endemic.
8. Scleria setuloso-ciliata Boeckl. Flora 65: 30. 1882
Wet situations, Matanzas; Havana; Isle of Pines : — Guatemala.
9. Scleria scindens Nees, Linnaea 9: 303. 1834
Mountain woodlands, Oriente: — Tortola; St. Kitts to St.
Vincent.
10. Scleria ciliata Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 167. 1803
Scleria Elliottii Chapm. Fl. S. U. S. 531. i860.
Barrens and pinelands, Santa Clara; Matanzas; Pinar del Rio;
Isle of Pines: — southeastern United States; Santo Domingo.
11. Scleria Curtissii Britton; Small, Fl. S. E. U. S. 200, 1328.
1903
? Scleria pauciflora effusa Clarke in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 143.
1900.
Savannas, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines: — Florida. Referred
by Wright, by Clarke and formerly by me to S. pauciflora Muhl.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 491
12. Scleria stereorrhiza C. Wright; Clarke in Urban, Symb.
Ant. 2: 147. 1900
Scleria bracteata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 249. 1866. Not Cav.
Scleria bracteata angustata Griseb. loc. cit. 1866.
Scleria stereorrhiza major Clarke in Urban, loc. cit. 1900.
Along streams and on hillsides, Santa Clara; Havana; Pinar
del Rio. Endemic.
13. Scleria pilosissima sp. no v.
Perennial by short, branched rootstocks; culms rather slender,
but stiff, sharply 3-angled, loosely pilose, simple, 3-4 dm. high.
Leaves roughish-margined, 1-2 dm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, acu-
minate, stiff, densely pilose, the midvein prominent beneath;
clusters of spikelets 1 or 2, pilose, 2-4 cm. long, the staminate and
pistillate spikelets intermixed ; scales lanceolate, acute, pubescent ;
achene subglobose, 2-2.5 mm. in diameter, transversely verrucose,
pubescent, obtuse, abruptly apiculate; hypogynium with 3
rounded, appressed lobes.
Sunny hillsides among rocks, between Punta Gorda and Wood-
fred, Oriente, Cuba, 400-500 m. alt. (Shafer 3099).
Related to S. stereorrhiza C. Wright.
14. Scleria microcarpa Nees, Linnaea 9: 302. 1834
Scleria j olio sa C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 8: 154.
1872. Not A. Rich.
Scleria microcarpa $ olio sa Clarke in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 149.
1900.
River banks, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines: — Porto Rico;
Guadaloupe; Jamaica; Trinidad; continental tropical America.
15. Scleria mitis Berg. Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockh. 26: 145.
1865
Scleria Eggersiana Boeckl. Cyp. Nov. 2: 41. 1890.
Pinal de Sta. Ana collected by Eggers, according to Clarke: —
Porto Rico; Guadeloupe; Martinique; St. Vincent; Trinidad:
continental tropical America.
16. Scleria phylloptera C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 248.
1866
Scleria microcarpa angustifolia Boeckl. Flora 64: 79. 1881.
492 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Moist savannas and borders of lagoons, Santa Clara; Pinar del
Rio. Endemic.
17. Scleria cubensis Boeckl. Cyp. Nov. 2: 42. 1890
Scleria microcarpa subeciliata Clarke in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2:
149. 1900
Banks and woodlands, mountains of Oriente and Santa Clara :■ — ■
Hispaniola; Porto Rico; Jamaica.
18. Scleria Grisebachii Clarke in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 150.
1900
Bogs, Santa Clara; Havana: — Hispaniola; Antigua; Dominica;
Martinique; Jamaica.
19. Scleria porphyrorrhiza C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana 8: 155. 1872
Pinelands, Pinar del Rio. Recorded by Clarke from Brazil.
20. Scleria havanensis sp. nov.
Rootstocks stout, horizontal, 3-4 cm. long, about 6 mm. thick.
Culms many, slender, trigonous, nearly smooth, about 5 dm.
long; leaves nearly smooth, narrow, I— 1.5 mm. wide; inflorescence
a single small cluster of intermixed staminate and pistillate spike-
lets; achene white, ridged-reticulated, globose-oblong, rounded,
2 mm. long; hypogynium low, obscurely 3-lobed, covered with a
rough whitish crust.
Coca Hill, Campo Florida, province of Havana (Brother Leon
473 1)-
21. Scleria distans Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 7: 4. 1806
Scleria tenella Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 249, in part. 1866. Not
Kunth.
? 5. hirtella pauciliata Britton, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 3 : 236. 1885.
Cuba, collected by Wright : — Hispaniola; Porto Rico; St.
Thomas; Guadeloupe.
22. Scleria pinetorum sp. nov.
Annual, with many finely fibrous roots; culms slender, erect,
2-4 dm. high. Leaves grass-like, pubescent with spreading hairs,
1-2 mm. wide; inflorescence glomerate-spicate, 5-8 cm. long;
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 493
bracts linear-lanceolate, ciliate, 6 mm. long or less; achene
globular, white, deeply reticulated, about 1.5 mm. in diameter,
with a row of pits at its base, the short base 3-angled.
Pine-lands and savannas, Pinar del Rio. Type collected be-
tween Candelaria and Artemisa {Wilson 1724).
Previously referred by me (Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 3: 236) to
S. intermpta A. Rich., of Guiana, which now seems to me to be
distinct.
23. SCLERIA VERTICILLATA Muhl.; Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 3 1 7. 1805
Pinelands, Pinar del Rio; Isle of Pines: — eastern United States;
New Providence, Bahamas.
24. Scleria Liebmanni Steud. Syn. PI. Cyp. 179. 1855
Scleria tenella Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 249, in part. 1866. Not
Kunth.
Scleria luzulaeformis C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana
8: 156. 1872.
Savannas near San Juan de Buena Vista, jurisdiction of
Bayamo, according to Sauvalle (Wright 3418, in part); Mexico
to Brazil.
25. Scleria hirtella Sw. Prodr. 19. 1788
Scleria nutans Kunth, Enum. 2: 352. 1837.
Moist grounds, Oriente; Santa Clara; Pinar del Rio; Isle of
Pines, — southern United States; Haiti; Porto Rico; Jamaica;
Trinidad; continental tropical America; tropical Africa.
26. Scleria lithosperma (L.) Sw. Prodr. 18. 1788
Scirpus lithospermus L. Sp. PI. 51. 1753.
Scleria filiformis Sw. Prodr. 19. 1788.
S. lithosperma filiformis Britton, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 3: 231.
1885.
Woodlands and thickets, all provinces: — Florida; Bahamas;
West Indies; tropical continental America; Old World tropics.
27. Scleria gracilis Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 2: 571. 1824
Moist savannas, Pinar del Rio: — southeastern United States.
494 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
28. Scleria Baldwinii (Torr.) Stcud. Syn. PI. Cyp. 175. 1855
Hypo po rum Baldwinii Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3: 382. 1836.
Border of lagoon, Laguna Santa Maria, Pinar del Rio: — south-
eastern United States.
FURTHER STUDIES OF BADIERA DC.
Since the publication of my former paper on this genus (Bull.
Torrey Club 37: 360-363. 1910), additional specimens which
have come to hand afford the following notes and descriptions.
1. Badiera Penaea (L.) DC.
Professor Urban has informed me that my opinion that this
is identical with Badiera domingensis (Jacq.) DC. is correct,
although he has distributed Santo Domingo specimens under the
name B. domingensis.
la. Badiera portoricensis sp. nov.
A tree up to 6 m. high, the trunk sometimes 1.5 m. in diameter,
the slender branches ascending, the young twigs appressed-
pubescent. Leaves subcoriaceous, obovate, 3 cm. long or less,
7-15 mm. wide, bright green and shining above, paler and rather
dull green beneath, both surfaces with short, scattered hairs when
young, becoming glabrate above, the midvein slightly impressed
above, rather prominent beneath, the lateral veins few, distant,
obscure, the apex rounded or obtuse, the base narrowed or cuneate,
the pubescent petioles 1-2.5 mm. long; inflorescence few-several-
flowered, 4-6 mm. long; bracts ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acute,
pubescent, 0.5 mm. long; pedicels appressed-pubescent, 1.5-2.5
mm. long; sepals broadly ovate, obtuse, ciliolate, the larger about
1 mm. long; petals white; keel appressed-pubescent, 2 mm. long,
narrowed below; fruit about 6 mm. wide, about 5 mm. high,
finely pubescent, narrowly margined, notched at the apex, sub-
truncate at the base, its stipe about 0.6 mm. long.
Rocky slopes and hillsides, western Porto Rico, especially
on serpentine, from sea-level to 700 m. altitude. Type collected
at Guanajibo, near Mayaguez (Britton, Cornell & Brown 4349).
Recorded by Bello from my type locality as B. domingensis DC.
[Polygala domingensis Jacq.; B. Penaea (L.) DC] of Hispaniola,
to which species it is nearest related, but which differs in pilose-
pubescent twigs, rather densely pubescent leaves, and much more
pubescent, shorter-pedicelled flowers.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 495
2. Badiera virgata Britton
The specimen referred to by me under B. oblongata Britton
{Britton & Wilson 6066) from Santa Clara, Cuba, is now, in the
light of additional material, put with B. virgata, as a broad-leaved
race.
4. Badiera diversifolia (L.) DC.
This, the only Jamaican species of the genus, forms a tree
up to 6 m. high, as at St. Ann's Bay {Britton 24Q8).
5. Badiera cubensis Britton
In the original description of this species (Bull. Torrey Club
37: 362), I included too many citations of specimens. C.
Wright's Cuban 1913 consists, apparently, of three species; it is
to the specimen with abruptly acuminate leaves cuneate-narrowed
at the base, 4-6 cm. long, that the name should be restricted. As
shown by specimens from Bahia Honda, Pinar del Rio (P. Wilson
9429) the leaves vary to obovate. The fruit is glabrous when
mature, its slender stipe 2 mm. long.
5a. Badiera Fuertesii Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 244. 1912
A tree of the mountains of Santo Domingo, with glabrous
leaves, strongly reticulate-veined on the upper surface.
6. Badiera Montana Britton
Described from fruiting specimens collected in the Trinidad
Mountains, Santa Clara, Cuba. Flowering specimens with ap-
parently the same foliage and pubescence come from limestone
hills in the vicinity of Sumidero, Pinar del Rio {Shafer 13819), but
flowers from the Trinidad Mountain tree are needed to make the
identity wholly satisfactory.
8. Badiera propinqua sp. nov.
Twigs slender, densely appressed-pubescent. Leaves ovate to
ovate-elliptic, 2-4.5 cm- l°ng. 8-25 mm. wide, bluntly acute or
obtuse and emarginate at the apex, narrowed or obtuse at the
base, sparingly short-pubescent on both sides or becoming glab-
rous, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath, the slender
lateral veins 6 to 8 on each side of the midvein, the appressed-
pubescent petioles 1.5-3 mm. long; inflorescence few-flowered,
49G Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
4-5 mm. long; bracts ovate, densely pubescent, scarcely 0.5 mm.
long; pedicels slender, apprcssed-pubescent, 1.5-2.5 mm. long;
sepals suborbicular, rounded, pubescent, the larger about 1.3 mm.
long; petals white; keel pubescent on the sides, about 2.5 mm.
long; fruit (from Wright 1913, in part) 10 mm. wide, 7 mm. long,
deeply notched, scarcely margined, glabrous, decurrent on its
stipe, which is about 2 mm. long.
Cuba. Type collected between Los Palacios and San Juan
de Zayas, Pinar del Rio (Shafer 118 18). The description is
drawn to include the part of Wright 191 3, and Wright 3496, pre-
viously referred by me to B. cubensis. The part of Wright 115,
included by me in the original description of B. cubensis, is perhaps
referable here also.
9. Badiera punctata sp. nov.
A shrub about 1 m. high, with slender, ascending, or nearly
erect branches, the twigs densely appressed-pubescent with short
hairs. Leaves ovate to ovate-elliptic, firm in texture, 1.5-2.5 cm.
long, 12 mm. wide or less, obtuse or emarginate at the apex, obtuse
at the base, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath,
the lateral veins 3 or 4 on each side, the upper surface strongly
punctate, shining and glabrous or nearly so, the under surface
dull, the petioles about 1.5 mm. long; inflorescence few-flowered;
bracts scarcely 0.5 mm. long; fruiting pedicels slender, nearly
glabrous, 2-2.5 mm. long; sepals ovate, obtuse, ciliate, about 1
mm. long; fruit (not quite mature) "green and red," 7 mm. wide,
about as long as wide, shallowly notched at the apex, obliquely
subtruncate at the base, narrowly margined, slightly pubescent,
its stipe 1-1.5 mm. long.
Near a stream, Arroyo del Medio above the falls, Oriente, Cuba
(Shafer 3644). The leaves droop at night, a phenomenon also
observed in B. virgata.
10. Badiera heterophylla sp. nov.
An upright shrub 6 dm. high, the twigs short-pubescent with
somewhat spreading hairs. Leaves of two quite different forms,
(1) narrowly ovate, 3-4 cm. long, 12-18 mm. wide, bluntly acute
at the apex, (2) elliptic, 2-2.5 cm- l°ng. 12-14 mm. wide, rounded
or obtuse at the apex; both forms emarginate at the apex, nar-
rowed or obtuse at the base, sparingly short-pubescent and dull
on both sides, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath,
the slender lateral veins only 2 or 3 on each side of the midvein,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
497
the appressed-pubescent petioles about 2 mm. long; inflorescence
about 5 mm. long; bracts about 0.5 mm. long; pedicels pubescent,
2 mm. long or less; sepals rounded, pubescent, the larger about
1 mm. long; "flowers yellow"; petals slightly pubescent in the
bud; fruit 7-8 mm. wide, about 5 mm. high, margined, rather
deeply notched, sparingly pubescent when young, glabrous when
mature, slightly decurrent on its stipe which is about 1.5 mm. long.
Deciduous woods, Sierra Nipe, near Woodfred, Oriente, at
450-550 m. altitude (Shafer 3070).
.40. THE GENUS TRICERA Sw. IN CUBA
1. Styles coherent, at least at the base.
Leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 2-3 cm. wide; styles
coherent below.
Leaves broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5 cm. wide or
less; styles coherent nearly throughout.
2. Styles separate and distinct.
* Leaves 4-10 cm. long.
Venation of the leaves manifest.
Leaves broadly ovate, subcordate.
Leaves lanceolate to elliptic or obovate, narrowed
at the base.
Capsule globose-ellipsoid.
Capsule ovoid, acute.
Venation of the leaves obsolete or indistinct.
Petioles very stout, 10 mm. long or less; leaves very
thick.
Petioles slender, 2-6 mm. long; leaves firm, but not
very thick.
Twigs yellow.
Twigs green.
Capsule-lobes semiovate.
Capsule-lobes linear-spatulate.
* * Leaves 1-3.5 cm- long.
Leaves suborbicular to obovate or elliptic, not more
than twice as long as wide.
Inflorescence and capsule glabrous.
Inflorescence and capsule pubescent.
Leaves oblong to linear-oblanceolate, 2-5 times as long
as wide.
Leaves oblong, 2-3 times as long as wide.
Leaves densely imbricated, less than 1 cm. long,
the internodes very short.
Leaves not densely imbricated, 1.5-3.5 cm. long.
Staminate flowers sessile or very nearly so.
Staminate flowers manifestly pedicelled.
Leaves 2-3.5 cm. long, the lateral venation
obsolete.
I. T. Mnelleriana.
2. T. marginalis.
3. T. cubana.
4. T. acuminata.
5. T. brevipes.
6. T. crassifolia.
7. T. fiaviramea.
8. T. retusa.
9. T. gonoclada.
10. T. rotundifolia.
11. T. Shaferi.
12. T. vaccinoides.
13. T. glomerata.
14. T. bahamensis.
49S Brittox: Sti dies of West Indian plants
Leaves 1-1.5 cm. long, the lateral vena-
tion wholly obscure. 15- T. microphylla.
Leaves linear-oblanceolate or linear-oblong, 4-5
times as long as wide.
Capsule glabrous. 16. T. Leoni.
Capsule pubescent.
Leaves strongly revolute-margined, abruptly
mucronate. 17. T. revoluta.
Leaves scarcely revolute-margined, acute or
obtuse. 18. T. foliosa.
i. Tricera Muelleriana (Urban)
Buxus Muelleriana Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 400. 1908.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type specimens (C
Wright IQ26).
Referred by Grisebach to Tricera laevigata Sw., of Jamaica,
and by Mueller to Buxus subcolumnaris Muell. Arg. = Tricera
subcolumnaris (Muell. Arg.) Britton, of Martinique.
2. Tricera marginalis sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub about 3 m. high. Leaves broadly ovate to
ovate-lanceolate, subcoriaceous, 4-8 cm. long, 2-5 cm. wide,
reticulate-veined on both sides, with 2 distinct veins 1.5-3 mm.
from the margins, the midvein impressed above, prominent be-
neath, the apex acute, the base obtuse or subtruncate, the rather
slender petioles 1 cm. long or less; cymes several -flowered, longer
than the petioles, glabrous; bracts ovate-lanceolate, acute, 1.5
mm. long; pedicels of the staminate flowers about 4 mm. long,
the white calyx about 3 mm. long, its segments oblong, obtuse;
stamens about as long as the calyx, the filaments about twice as
long as the anthers; ovary ovoid; united styles somewhat longer
than the ovary; stigmas recurved, about one-third as long as the
styles.
Alluvial valley of Rio Yamaniguey, Oriente (Shafer 4226) .
3. Tricera cubaxa A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11: 217. pi. 71.
1845
Buxus cubana Baill. Mon. Bux. 71. 1859.
Type locality: Monte Libau, Oriente.
Illustration: A. Rich. loc. cit.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 499
4. Tricera acuminata Griseb. Nachr. Gesell. Wiss. Goetting. 1865:
162. 1865
Buxus acuminata Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 161: 15. 1869.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type specimens (C.
Wright 191 9, in part).
5. Tricera brevipes (Muell. Arg.)
Buxus citrifolia brevipes Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 161: 15. 1869.
Buxus brevipes Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 400. 1908.
Type locality: Cuba (C. Wright 1919, in part).
Distribution: the label with Wright 191 9 in the herbarium of
the New York Botanical Garden gives the locality as San Diego
de Tapis; the following specimens appear to agree with it: upper
valley of the Rio Navas, Oriente (Shafer 4402) ; Rio San Miguel
below Mai Paso, Pinar del Rio (P. Wilson 9309).
Referred by Grisebach to T. fasciculata Griseb., of Jamaica.
I am not confident that the species is distinct from T. acuminata.
6. Tricera (?) crassifolia sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub about 3 m. high, the twigs stout. Leaves
elliptic-obovate, 6-10 cm. long, 2.5-4 cm- wide, very thick, obtuse
or emarginate and mucronulate at the apex, narrowed at the base,
the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath, the lateral
venation faint and obscure, the stout petioles about 1 cm. long;
young inflorescence axillary, about as long as the petioles, both
staminate and pistillate flowers apparently sessile, the staminate
about 2 mm. long.
Between Camp Toa and Camp La Barga, 400-450 m. alt.,
mountains of northern Oriente {Shafer 4163).
7. Tricera flaviramea sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, 1 m. high, the young twigs and leaves yellow-
ish green, the branches slender, somewhat ridged. Leaves elliptic
or elliptic-obovate, coriaceous, revolute-margined, 3-5 cm. long,
1-2 cm. wide, rounded and minutely apiculate or emarginate at
the apex, narrowed at the base, the midvein impressed above,
rather prominent beneath, the lateral venation obsolete, or faintly
discernible on the upper surface, the petioles 1.5-3 mm. long;
inflorescence glabrous, about 1 cm. long; bracts ovate, acute, 1.5
500 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
mm. long; young staminate flowers about 2 mm. long, on pedicels
about as long; capsule ovoid, obtuse, glabrous, 7-8 mm. long,
5-6 mm. thick, the persistent styles somewhat recurved, linear,
5 mm. long, separated from each other about 1 mm. at the base.
Palm-barren, Santa Clara City, Santa Clara {Britton & Cowell
13324, type; Britton & Wilson 6211).
8. Tricera retusa Griseb. Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Goetting. 1865:
163. 1865
Buxus retusa Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 161: 17. 1869.
Type locality: Monte Verde, Oriente.
Distribution: Mountains of northern Oriente.
9. Tricera gonoclada C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 282.
1866
Buxus gonoclada Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 161: 16. 1869.
Type locality: Savanna near Guamacaro, western Cuba.
Distribution : Known only from the type locality.
10. Tricera rotundifolia sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, 6 dm. high, much branched, the internodes
mostly shorter than the leaves. Leaves suborbicular to obovate,
coriaceous, 2 cm. long or less, rounded and mucronulate or
slightly emarginate at the apex, narrowed at the base, the margins
thickened and somewhat revolute, the midvein rather prominent
beneath, the lateral venation obsolete, the petioles 1.5-2 mm.
long; inflorescence glabrous, few-flowered, in the uppermost axils;
pedicels of the staminate flowers about 3 mm. long; bracts ovate,
acute, 1 mm. long; staminate flowers 1.5 mm. long, their segments
oblong-lanceolate, acute; capsule ovoid, about 6 mm. long, glabrous,
the persistent styles contiguous, about 2 mm. long.
Between Camp La Barga and Camp San Benito, about 1,000
m. alt., northern Oriente (Shafer 41 14).
1 1 . Tricera Shaferi sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub up to 3 m. high, the twigs slender,
glabrous, the internodes shorter than the leaves. Leaves obovate to
elliptic, coriaceous, 1.5-3.5 cm- l°ng> rounded or retuse at the
apex and minutely mucronulate, narrowed or obtuse at the base,
the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath, the lateral
venation wholly obscure, the upper surface shining, dark green,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 501
the under surface dull and pale, the petioles 1-3 mm. long; inflores-
cence axillary, puberulent, short-stalked, much shorter than the
leaves; bracts ovate, acute, about 0.5 mm. long; pedicels of the
staminate flowers rather stout, 2-3 mm. long; staminate flowers
about 1.5 mm. long; capsule subglobose, densely puberulent,
about 4 mm. in diameter, the separated persistent styles about
2 mm. long.
*»■
Wet mountains of northern Oriente. Type collected between
Camp Toa and Camp La Barga, 400-450 m. alt. (Shafer 4167).
12. Tricera vaccinioides sp. nov.
A low, glabrous, much-branched shrub, 3-6 dm. high, the
branches stout, the twigs erect-ascending, densely leafy, the inter-
nodes 3-6 mm. long. Leaves oblong to oblong-obovate, 5-8 mm.
long, about twice as long as wide, coriaceous, faintly 3-veined, the
secondary venation almost wholly obscure, the apex acute and
mucronate, the base narrowed, the stout petioles scarcely 1 mm.
long; inflorescence terminal, glabrous, few-several-flowered; pedi-
cels of the staminate flowers rather stout, rigid, about 2 mm. long;
bracts lanceolate; staminate flowers about 1 mm. long; capsule
globose-ovoid, glabrous, dull, about 6 mm. long, about three times
as long as the persistent styles.
Stony pass, between Camp La Barga and Camp San Benito,
mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba, about 1000 m. alt. (Shafer
4122) .
13. Tricera glomerata Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 157.
i860
Buxus glomerata Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 161: 17. 1869.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Dry rocky hillsides, Oriente; Santa Clara.
This is a shrub up to 3 m. high, abundant near the mouth of
Cienfuegos Bay; I am indebted to Professor Fernald for a com-
parison of a specimen collected there, at Castillo de Jagua (Britton,
Wilson & Earle 4597), with the specimen of C. Wright in the
Gray Herbarium; he pronounced it "a perfect match."
14. Tricera bahamensis (Baker) Britton, Bull. N. Y. Bot.
Gard. 4: 139. 1906
Buxus bahamensis Baker in Hook. Ic. PI. pi. 1806. 1889.
Type locality: Long Cay, Bahamas.
502 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Distribution: Cayo Romano, Camaguey: — Bahamas Jamaica.
Closely related to Tricera Vahlii (Baill.) Britton [Buxus Vahlii
Baill.] of Porto Rico and St. Croix.
15. Tricera microphylla Griseb. Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Goetting.
1865: 163. 1865
Buxus Wrightii Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 611: 17. 1869.
Type locality : Western Cuba.
Distribution : Known only from the type specimens collected
by Wright.
16. Tricera Leoni sp. nov.
A shrub, or small tree, up to 4 m. high, glabrous throughout,
the slender twigs densely leafy. Leaves linear to linear-oblong,
coriaceous, shining, 2 cm. long or less, 2-4 mm. wide, spinulose-
acute at the apex, narrowed at the base, the midvein faintly dis-
tinguishable above, rather prominent beneath, the lateral vena-
tion wholly obscure, the petioles I— 1.5 mm. long; inflorescence
terminal, short-stalked; bracts ovate, acute, about 1 mm. long;
pedicels of the staminate flowers 1.5-2 mm. long; staminate
perianth-segments oblong-lanceolate, acute, 2-2.5 mm. long,
filaments a little longer than the anthers; capsule globose-oblong;
glabrous, 3 mm. long, the separated, persistent styles 2 mm. long.
Hill north of Monte Catalina, northeast of San Diego de los
Banos, Pinar del Rio {Brothers Leon & Charles 4874, type) ;
barren specimens from the southern slope of Monte Cajalbana,
Pinar del Rio (Brothers Leon & Charles 4943), with narrower
leaves than the type, are provisionally referred to the same species.
17. Tricera revoluta sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, 3-10 dm. high, the twigs densely
leafy, the internodes only 1-2 mm. long. Leaves linear-oblanceo-
late, coriaceous, 12-20 mm. long, 3-5 mm. wide, strongly revolute-
margined, sharply cuspidate-mucronate at the apex, attenuate
at the base, the midvein elevated beneath, the venation otherwise
wholly obscure, the petioles about 2 mm. long; inflorescence few-
flowered in the upper axils, pubescent; staminate flowers nearly
2 mm. long, and nearly as long as their stout pedicels; capsule
subglobose, 5-6 mm. long, pubescent, shorter than the persistent,
separated styles.
Dry, rocky situations, serpentine hills near mouth of Rio
Yamaniguey, Oriente (Shafer 4247, type); between Camp La
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
503
Barga and Camp San Benito, about 1,000 m. alt., Oriente (Shafer
4472).
18. Tricera foliosa sp. nov.
A low, much-branched shrub, the slender twigs densely leafy.
Leaves linear-oblanceolate, subcoriaceous, glabrous, 10-15 mm.
long, 2 mm. wide or less, obtuse and often minutely mucronulate
at the apex, long-attenuate to the base, the midvein impressed
above, slightly elevated and channeled beneath, the lateral vena-
tion wholly obscure, the margins slightly or scarcely revolute, the
petioles 1-2 mm. long; inflorescence axillary, shorter than the
leaves; staminate flowers white, about 1.5 mm. long, as long or
longer than their pubescent petioles; bracts lanceolate, about 1
mm. long; capsule subglobose, densely and finely pubescent,
about 3 mm. in diameter, the separated persistent styles about
2 mm. long.
Among rocks near water, Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra
Moa, Oriente (Shafer 8256, type) ; on rocks, vicinity of Camp San
Benito, Oriente (Shafer 4073).
41. THE GENUS PLUMIERA L. IN
Leaves narrowly linear, 1.7 mm. wide or less.
Leaves oblong to elliptic-oblanceolate or obovate, 1-8 cm. wide.
Leaves densely lanate or pubescent beneath.
Corolla-lobes narrowly obovate.
Corolla-lobes broadly elliptic-obovate.
Leaves glabrous, or sparingly pubescent beneath.
Petioles short, 1 cm. long or less.
Leaves obovate or oblanceolate, the lateral venation
obscure.
Leaves narrowly oblong, the lateral venation promi-
nent.
Petioles slender, mostly 2-4 cm. long.
Leaves glabrous beneath, their margins not involute.
Corolla-lobes 2.5-3.5 cm. long, 1-1.5 cm. wide;
venation widely spreading.
Corolla-lobes 1.5-2.5 cm. long.
Venation of the leaves ascending, not prominent
beneath; corolla-lobes obovate.
Venation of the leaves widely spreading, promi-
nent beneath; corolla-lobes oblong-oblanceo-
late.
Leaves pubescent on the veins beneath, their margins
involute.
CUBA
I. P. filifolia.
2. P. sericifolia.
3. P. lanata.
4. P. clusioides.
5. P. nipensis.
6. P. emarginata.
7. P. obtusa.
8. P. venosa.
9. P. trinitensis.
504 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
i. Plumiera filifolia Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 519.
1862
River cliffs, foothills of the Sierra Maestra, Nouvelle Sophie
and Ensenada de Mora, Oriente. Endemic.
2. Plumiera sericifolia C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PL Cub. 171.
1866
P. emarginata sericifolia Maza, Anales Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 23:
273. 1894.
Coastal thickets, Oriente; Matanzas; Havana; Pinar del Rio:
— Inagua.
Perhaps, as suggested by Professor Gomez de la Maza, a
pubescent race of P. emarginata Griseb., which has a similar dis-
tribution in western Cuba, although I have not seen the two
growing in close proximity.
3. Plumiera lanata sp. nov.
A shrub or small tree up to 3.3 m. high. Leaves broadly
elliptic to elliptic-obovate, firm in texture, 10-18 cm. long, 5-9
cm. wide, rounded, emarginate or subtruncate at the apex,
narrowed or subtruncate at the base, dark green and glabrous
above, densely white-lanate beneath, the midvein channeled
above, prominent beneath, the lateral veins widely spreading,
averaging 6 or 7 mm. apart, united close to the margin, the stout,
somewhat pubescent petioles 1-2.5 cm. long; peduncle 3-1 1 cm.
long, glabrous; cymes many-flowered, dense; pedicels 10 mm.
long or less, glabrous or pubescent; calyx subtruncate, 2-3 mm.
long; corolla-tube about 1.5 cm. long; corolla-lobes broadly
elliptic-obovate, white, rounded, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 1.2-2 cm. wide;
follicles 8-10 cm. long, about I cm. thick, short-pointed.
Coastal rocks, vicinity of Baracoa, Oriente {Underwood &
Earle 1442).
4. Plumiera clusioides Griseb. Cat. PL Cub. 171. 1866
?P. obtnsa parvifolia Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 519. 1862.
? P. clusioides parvifolia Maza, Anales Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 23 :
273. 1894.
Rocky hillsides and palm-barrens, Oriente; Camaguey; Santa
Clara, Havana. Endemic.
Fruiting specimens collected by Dr. Shafer in the gorge of the
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 505
Rio Yamuri, Oriente {7800), tentatively referred to this species,
have spatulate leaves 12 cm. long.
5. Plumiera nipensis sp. nov.
A slender tree, up to about 6 m. in height. Leaves narrowly
oblong, 9-12 cm. long, 1.5-2.3 cm. wide, obtuse at the apex,
narrowed at the base, glabrous on both sides, shining above, dull
beneath, the midvein channeled above, prominent beneath, the
lateral venation widely spreading, impressed, but distinct, above,
the rather slender petioles 1 cm. long or less; peduncle stout, 6 cm.
long; follicles 13-15 cm. long, about 2 cm. thick, acutish; seeds
10 mm. long, 6-7 mm. wide, the wing about 15 mm. long, 8-9
mm. wide.
Rocky thicket, between Piedra Gorda and Woodfred, Sierra
Nipe, Oriente, at 500 m. alt. (Shafer 3089). Perhaps the same as
P. obtusa laevis Griseb. (Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 519) from Monte
Verde, Oriente.
6. Plumiera emarginata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 171. 1866
Rocky cliffs and hillsides, Matanzas; Pinar del Rio; Isle of
Pines. Endemic.
7. Plumiera obtusa L. Sp. PI. 210. 1753
Coastal hills, keys and thickets, Oriente; Camaguey; Santa
Clara : — Bahamas ; Hispaniola ; Mona. Attributed to Jamaica, but
some specimens which have been so referred represent a distinct
species.*
* Plumiera confusa sp. nov.
A tree, up to 6 m. high, little branched, glabrous throughout. Leaves narrowly
elliptic or oblong, shining, 1-3 dm. long, 7 cm. wide or less, obtuse, emarginate or
acute at the apex, narrowed at the base, the midvein channeled above, prominent
beneath, the lateral venation widely spreading, the stout petioles 4-8 cm. long;
peduncles stout, 7-15 cm. long; cymes large, many-flowered; pedicels rather stunt,
thickened upward, 9-12 mm. long; calyx nearly truncate, about 3 mm. long; corolla
white with a pale yellow eye, its tube 12-15 mm. long, its lobes broadly oblong,
rounded, 2.5-3 cm. long, about 1 cm. wide; follicles 8-12 cm. long, 10-12 mm. thick.
Rocky situations, southern side of Jamaica. Type collected on Great Goat
Island {Harris Q309) ;
The species more resembles P. emarginata than P. obtusa. I am unable to deter-
mine, from the material available at this time, whether P. obtusa occurs on Jamaica or
not. Other specimens referable to P. confusa are: Healthshire Hills near Salt Island
(Britton 3061); base of Healthshire Hills near Salt Ponds (Britton 3036); Great Goat
Island (Harris 10 168; Britton 1874).
The Plumiera of Pedro Bluff, a locality about thirty miles west of Great Goat
Island, but still within the xerophytic region, may be P. obtusa, but the specimen
506 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
8. Plumiera venosa sp. nov.
A tree up to 6 m. high, glabrous throughout. Leaves oblong-
oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, 7-15 cm. long, 3 cm. wide or
less, obtuse or emarginate at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at
the base, the midvein impressed above, prominent beneath, the
lateral veins numerous, widely spreading, united near the margin,
2-3 mm. apart, prominent beneath; petioles slender, 2-3 cm. long;
cymes several-many-flowered; peduncles 6-10 cm. long; pedicels
8-15 mm. long, upwardly somewhat thickened; calyx about 3
mm. long, its teeth very broad and short; corolla-tube about 1.5
cm. long; corolla-lobes narrowly oblong-oblanceolate, 2-2.7 cm-
long; follicles 10-15 cm. long, about 12 mm. thick; seed nearly
1 cm. long, its wing about 1.5 cm. long.
Coastal cliffs and hillsides near the coast, southern Oriente.
Type collected in the basin of Rio Guama, Sevilla Estate near
Santiago {Taylor 03).
Shoots from cut stumps bear nearly linear leaves up to 2 dm.
long, 10-15 mm. wide, as seen by me in a coastal thicket near the
mouth of Santiago Harbor {Britton & Cowell 12632).
9. Plumiera trinitensis sp. nov.
A tree 5 m. high. Leaves oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, 11
cm. long or less, 1.5-3.5 cm- wide, obtuse or emarginate at the
apex, gradually narrowed to the base, glabrous above, pubescent
on the veins beneath, the midvein broad, channeled above,
prominent beneath, the lateral veins rather widely spreading,
2-4 mm. apart, united near the revolute margins; petioles 1.5-2.5
cm. long; follicle slightly curved, pointed, 18 cm. long, about
1.5 cm. thick.
Dry hillside, La Vigia, Trinidad, Santa Clara {Britton & Wilson
5514). Similar to P. jamaicensis Britton, which is a glabrous
species up to 10 m. high, with broader leaves.
{Harris 9996) is not complete. In 1895, E. Campbell collected a Plumiera at Con-
stant Spring {5073), which may be P. obtusa.
Growing with P. confusa on Great Goat Island there is a Plumiera which has
leaves over 3 dm. long, narrowly oblong to linear-oblong, some of them not more
than 3 cm. wide, and all long-acuminate at the apex (Britton 1870). It was not in
flower at the time of my visit, March 4, 1908, but I obtained its fruit, which is much
like that of P. confusa, and its leaf-venation resembles that of P. confusa also; it
may be that P. confusa is sufficiently heterophyllous to have these narrow, elongated,
long-pointed leaves.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
507
CUBA
G. Echinodendron.
G. Coxiana.
G. cueroensis.
42. THE GENUS GUETTARDA L. IX
A. Leaves minute, nearly sessile, 6 mm. long or less. 1,
B. Leaves larger, 1.5 cm. long or more.
a. Leaves spinulose-tipped.
Leaves ovate to elliptic, strongly reticulate-veined
beneath. 2.
Leaves oblong, scarcely reticulate-veined beneath. 3,
b. Leaves not spinulose-tipped.
* Leaves small, 3.5 cm. long or less; flowers axillary,
mostly solitary.
Leaves densely silvery-silky beneath. 4. G. rigida.
Leaves glabrous or somewhat pubescent beneath.
Flowers sessile or nearly so; leaves ovate or
oblong.
Venation inconspicuous on upper leaf-
surfaces.
Corolla nearly 2 cm. long; calyx
spathaceous.
Corolla I— 1.5 cm. long.
Calyx spathaceous; corolla- tube
little longer than the limb.
Calyx truncate or oblique; corolla-
tube 3—4 times as long as the limb.
Venation prominent on upper leaf-surfaces.
Peduncles nearly as long as the fruits; leaves
obovate.
* * Leaves larger, 3.5-15 cm. long.
t Inflorescence capitate or clustered or flowers
solitary at the ends of twigs, or some flowers
also peduncled in the upper axils.
Inflorescence capitate-clustered.
Leaves densely pubescent or puberulent
beneath.
Leaves densely puberulent beneath.
Leaves villous beneath, at least on the
veins.
Fruit 2-3 cm. in diameter.
Fruit 6—15 mm. in diameter.
Fruit 10-15 mm. in diameter,
densely puberulent; leaves
densely villous beneath.
Fruit about 6 mm. in diameter,
villous; leaves villous on the
veins beneath.
Leaves pubescent only on the veins be-
neath. 14.
Flowers solitary or sometimes 2. 15.
ft Inflorescence axillary, peduncled.
X Inflorescence i-several-flowered.
5. G. camagueyensis.
6. G. clarensis.
7. G. undulata.
8. G. xanthocarpa.
9. G. sciaphila.
10. G. densiflora.
11. G. macrocarpa.
12. G. ferruginea.
13. G. lanuginosa.
G. crassipes.
G. zygophlebia.
-,iis
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Leaves cordate at the base; corolla 3-4 cm.
long.
Leaves not cordate; corolla much smaller.
Leaves glabrous on both sides, cori-
aceous.
Peduncles short, 3-15 mm. long,
1-2-flowered.
Peduncles long, 3-8 cm. long, few-
several-flowered.
Leaves thin, pubescent beneath, at least
on the veins.
Leaves appressed-silky beneath,
long-acuminate at the apex.
Pubescence not silky; leaves obtuse
to acute or short-acuminate.
Fruit oblong.
Fruit subglobose.
Leaves prominently reticu-
late-veined beneath.
Leaves setulose above.
Leaves not setulose above.
Leaves not prominently re-
ticulate-veined beneath.
1 1 Inflorescence several-many-flowered.
Leaves thick, scabrous above.
Leaves thin, smooth above.
C. Species known to me only from the description.
16. G. calyplrala.
17. G. monocarpa.
18. G. V alenzuelana.
19. G. calcicola.
20. G. Lindeniana.
21. G. brevinodis.
22. G. inaequipes.
23. G. elliptica.
24. G. scabra.
25. G. Combsii.
26. G. retusa.
1. Guettarda Echinodendron C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales
Acad. Habana 6: 124. 1869
Stenostomum microphylliim Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 133. 1866.
Not Guettarda micro phylla Bartl.
Type locality: Near San Marcos, western Cuba.
Distribution : Known only from the type locality.
2. Guettarda Coxiana sp. nov.
A shrub, 2.5 m. high, with short, slender, densely pubescent
twigs, the leaf-scars long-persistent. Stipules ovate, acuminate,
2-3 mm. long; leaves ovate or ovate-elliptic, 2 cm. long or less,
coriaceous, rigid, the apex acute and spinulose-tipped, the base
obtuse, the upper surface smooth, with indistinct venation, the
under surface very prominently reticulate-veined and densely
pubescent, the stout pubescent petiole 1-2 mm. long; peduncles
axillary, i-flowered or 2-flowered, pubescent, 2.5-3 mm. long;
bractlets subulate, 1 mm. long; calyx obconic, truncate, densely
puberulent, 2 mm. long; corolla yellowish, densely puberulent,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 509
about 3 mm. long; young fruit narrowly obovoid, puberulent,
faintly ribbed, 4 mm. long, the persistent calyx-limb about 1.5
mm. long.
Rocky coastal hill, Daiquiri, Oriente {Britton & Cowell 12685).
Named in memory of the late Jennings S. Cox, who, as manager
of the Spanish American Iron Company, greatly facilitated
scientific investigation in eastern Cuba.
3. Guettarda cueroensis sp. nov.
A tree 5 m. high, with slender branches, the young twigs
appressed-pubescent. Stipules ovate, acute, pubescent, 2-3 mm.
long; leaves clustered at the ends of short spurs, oblong to oblong-
lanceolate, 3 cm. long or less, 6-12 mm. wide, coriaceous, acute
and spinulose-tipped at the apex, obtuse or subtruncate at the
base, loosely reticulate-veined on both sides, glabrous and
shining above, puberulent beneath, the finely pubescent petiole
1.5-2 mm. long; flowers solitary in the axils; peduncles pubescent,
stout, 2 mm. long or less; calyx subspathaceous, densely pubescent,
about 3 mm. long; corolla whitish, densely pubescent, about 8
mm. long, the slender tube about 3 times as long as the limb;
fruit subglobose, or globose-obovoid, densely puberulent, 8-10
mm. in diameter.
Hill, 150 m. alt., El Cuero, Oriente {Britton & Cowell 12733).
4. Guettarda rigida A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11 : 20. 1850
G. holocarpa Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 6: 123.
1869.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Thickets and hillsides, near Regla and Guana-
bacoa, Havana. Endemic.
I have not seen an authentic specimen of G. rigida, and am
referring G. holocarpa to it from the description. It is the only
small-leaved species with silky pubescence on the under side of
the leaf known to me from Cuba.
5. Guettarda camagueyensis sp. nov.
A shrub, 1 m. high, with terete, widely spreading branches,
the young twigs brownish-pubescent with appressed hairs. Stip-
ules pubescent, ovate, sharply acute, 3-4 mm. long; leaves ovate,
rigid, coriaceous, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 10-18 mm. wide, rounded and
obtuse at the apex, cordate or subcordate at the base, ciliate, at
510 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
least when young, smooth, glabrous and inconspicuously veined
above, densely reticulate-veined and pubescent beneath the
stout petioles about I nun. long; flowers solitary and nearly
sessile in the axils; calyx spathaceous, appressed-pubescent, 5-6
mm. long, its lobes acute; corolla white, appressed-pubescent
with long hairs, about 1.7 cm. long, the limb about one-third as
long as the slender tube; fruit nearly sessile, globose, densely
brownish-puberulent, about 12 mm. in diameter.
Palm-barren between Camaguey and Santayana {Britton 2409,
type); Corojo, Camaguey {Brother Leon 3725).
6. Guettarda clarensis sp. nov.
A shrub with terete branches, the young twigs densely pubes-
cent with long brown, somewhat spreading hairs. Stipules ovate,
acute, pubescent, 5 mm. long, deciduous; leaves ovate-oblong,
2.5 cm. long or less, 8-14 mm. wide, obtuse at the apex, subcordate
at the base, loosely pubescent with spreading brown hairs and
inconspicuously veined above, prominently and densely reticulate-
veined and pubescent beneath, the elevated midrib bearing long
brown hairs; petioles stout, villous, scarcely I mm. long; flowers
sessile and solitary in the axils; calyx spathaceous, appressed-
pubescent, about 5 mm. long, its broad lobes acutish; corolla
about 1 cm. long, its stout tube densely clothed with long
appressed, white hairs.
Palm-barren, city of Santa Clara {Britton & Wilson 6176).
7. Guettarda undulata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 131. 1866
Type locality: Rocky situations near Matanzas.
Distribution : Known only from the type locality [near Punta
Brava].
8. Guettarda xanthocarpa sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, 1.5 m. high, the short, spur-like
twigs terete, leaf-bearing at the ends. Stipules ovate, puberulent,
about 1.5 mm. long; leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate or elliptic,
2 cm. long or less, 6-12 mm. wide, coriaceous, glabrous or nearly so,
acute or obtuse at the apex, subcordate at base, loosely and rather
prominently reticulate-veined above, densely and finely reticulate-
veined beneath, the puberulent, stout petiole 1-1.5 mm. long;
fruit subglobose, yellow, densely puberulent, 6-8 mm. in diameter.
Coastal cliffs, near El Morro, Santiago Bay, Oriente {Britton
& Cowell 12538, type); eastern Cuba {Wright 2705).
Grisebach referred Wright's 2705 to G. undulata Griseb.,
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 511
from which it differs in leaf-venation and pubescence; it also
differs from our 12538 by shorter, broader and obtuse leaves,
but is otherwise similar; when flowers are obtained it may,
perhaps, be shown that they are distinct species.
9. Guettarda sciaphila Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 409. 1912
Type locality : Near the base of Loma Mensura, Oriente.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
10. Guettarda densiflora Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 407. 1912
Type locality: Pine-lands near Paso Estancia, Oriente.
Distribution: Pine-lands, hillsides and savannas, northern
Oriente.
Dr. Shafer's 3794, collected on Loma Mensura, shows its fruit
to be subglobose, puberulent, and about 12 mm. in diameter.
11. Guettarda macrocarpa Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 507.
1862
Type locality: Near Monte Verde, Oriente.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
12. Guettarda ferruginea Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 131. 1866
G. calyptrata ferruginea C. \\ right; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana
6: 123. 1869.
Type locality: Pine-lands near Mayari, western Cuba.
Distribution : Type locality, and in the mountains of northern
Oriente. Endemic.
13. Guettarda lanuginosa Urban & Britton; Urban, Symb.
Ant. 7: 407. 1912
Type locality: Cayo Romano, Camaguey.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
14. Guettarda crassipes sp. nov.
A shrub 1-1.6 m. high, with stout twigs, the young ones
densely appressed-pubescent. Stipules ovate, densely pubescent,
about 7 mm. long, deciduous; leaves ovate to ovate-elliptic, 6-9
cm. long, 4-7 cm. wide, coriaceous, shining, glabrous and with
impressed primary venation above, dull, with elevated primary
venation, and very finely reticulate-veined beneath, sparingly
512 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
pubescent on the stronger veins, obtuse at the apex, cordate at
the base, the stout, brown petioles I cm. long, densely appressed-
pubescent; inflorescence terminal, subcapitate, about 9-flowered;
bracts lanceolate, densely pubescent; flowers nearly sessile; calyx
subtruncate, densely appressed-pubescent, 4 mm. long; corolla
white, densely villous-pubescent, in bud about 15 mm. long.
Between Rio Yamaniguey and Camp Toa, northern Oriente,
at 400 m. alt. (Shafer 4193).
15. Guettarda zygophlebia C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana 6: 124. 1869
Type locality: Arroyo in the Cafetal Potosi, Monte Toro,
Oriente.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
16. Guettarda calyptrata A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11 : 21.
1850
Type locality: Near CanasI, Cuba.
Distribution: Woods and thickets, Santa Clara, Matanzas,
Havana, Pinar del Rio, Isle of Pines. Endemic.
Illustration: A. Rich, in Sagra, loc. cit., pi. 46.
17. Guettarda monocarpa Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 410. 1912
Type locality: Pine-lands, Sierra Nipe near Woodfred,
northern Oriente.
Distribution: Woods and thickets, mountains of northern
Oriente. Endemic.
18. Guettarda Valenzuelana A Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11:
20. 1850
Guettarda bracteata Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 506. 1862.
Type locality: Vuelta de Abajo (Pinar del Rio), Cuba.
Distribution: Mountains of Pinar del Rio and of northern
Oriente. Endemic.
I am referring Grisebach's species to that of A. Richard with
some hesitation, as did Grisebach himself (Cat. PI. Cub. 131.
1866), but specimens from Bahia Honda, Pinar del Rio (P. Wilson
9441) do not appear different from several from Oriente, including
a co-type (Wright 261) from Monte Verde.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 513
19. Guettarda calcicola sp. nov.
A tree up to 5 m. high, with slender branches, the young twigs
densely appressed-pubescent. Stipules ovate, appresscd-pubes-
cent with long hairs, about 4 mm. long; leaves oblong-elliptic to
ovate-lanceolate, membranous, 4-8 cm. long, 3.5 cm. long or less,
acuminate at the apex, acute or acuminate at the base, shining,
prominently pinnately veined, with slender, ascending veins,
loosely reticulate-veined and sparingly appressed-pubescent on
the veins above, appressed-silky beneath, the slender petioles
3-8 mm. long; inflorescence axillary; peduncles slender, as long
as the leaves or shorter, several-flowered; calyx subtruncate,
appressed-pubescent, about 1.5 mm. long; young fruit oblong to
oblong-obovoid, densely finely appressed-pubescent, about 5 mm.
long, crowned by the calyx-limb.
Limestone rocks, near Sumidero, Pinar del Rio (Shafer 13454,
type) .
In leaf-venation and pubescence similar to the Haitian G.
multinervis Urban, which has globose fruit.
20. Guettarda Lindeniana A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11:
20. 1850
Type locality: Near Santiago, Cuba.
Distribution: Lower and middle elevations, Oriente. En-
demic.
21. Guettarda brevinodis Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 404. 1912
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Rocky limestone hills, Pinar del Rio. Endemic.
This does not appear to me to be certainly distinct from the
following.
22. Guettarda inaequipes Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 405. 1912
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type specimens {Wright
2702, in part), their exact station not recorded. This and the
preceding species were referred by Grisebach to G. membranacea
Sw., of Hispaniola, and by Wright to G. Lindeniana A. Rich.
23. Guettarda elliptica Sw. Prodr. 59. 1788
G. reticulata Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 506. 1862.
Type locality : Jamaica.
514 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Distribution: Thickets at low elevations near the coasts,
Oriente; Camaguey; Santa Clara; Matanzas; Havana: — Florida;
Bahamas; Jamaica; Hispaniola; Porto Rico; Mexico. Referred
by A. Richard and by Grisebach to G. odorata Lam.
Illustration: Sargent, Sylva N. A. pi. 22g; Man. Trees /.
617; Britton & Shafer, N. A. Trees/. 768.
24. Guettarda scabra (L.) Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 2: 218. 1793
Matthiola scabra L. Sp. PI. 1192. 1753.
G. rugosa Sw. Prodr. 59. 1788.
G. havanensis DC. Prodr. 4: 455. 1830.
G. ambigna A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11 : 20. 1850. Not DC.
Type locality: "In America."
Distribution: Thickets and woodlands at lower elevations,
Oriente; Camaguey; Santa Clara; Matanzas: — Florida; Bahamas;
Hispaniola to Tortola, Anguilla, Grenada and Margarita; Central
America; recorded from Jamaica.
25. Guettarda Combsii Urban, Symb. Ant. 6: 48. 1909
Type locality: Near Cieneguita, Santa Clara, Cuba.
Distribution: Savannas and woodlands at lower elevations,
Santa Clara; Matanzas; Pinar del Rio. Endemic.
Referred by Grisebach to G. longiflora Griseb. of Jamaica.
26. Guettarda retusa C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana 6: 124. 1869
Type locality: La Loma Pelada, Palacios, Pinar del Rio.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality and to me
only from the description, which is insufficient to enable me to
group the species.
43. UNDESCRIBED WEST INDIAN SPECIES
Coccolobis rumicifolia sp. nov.
A shrub, 3 m. high, with slender branches. Leaves elliptic-
lanceolate, membranous, glabrous, 15 cm. long or less, 3-7 cm.
wide, acutish to acuminate at the apex, obtuse, subcordate or
acute at the base, the midvein nearly flat above, prominent be-
neath, the primary lateral veins about 12 on each side of the mid-
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 515
vein, faint above, rather prominent beneath, the ultimate venation
coarsely reticulated, the petioles about i cm. long, the ochreae
4-5 mm. long; racemes slender, simple, minutely puberulent,
6-12 cm. long; ochreolae subtruncate, 0.5 mm. long, about as
long as the bracts; flowering pedicels spreading, 1-3 at each
ochreola, I mm. long; perianth about 1.5 mm. long, its lobes
obtuse.
Wooded hillside, Tea Gully near Newmarket, Jamaica (Britton
IS92).
Portulaca caulerpoides Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Perennial, prostrate, forming tufts 8-12 cm. in diameter;
stems slender, branched, hairy in the axils. Leaves obovoid,
3-5 mm. long, 2-3 mm. broad, not at all flattened, rounded at the
apex, narrowed at the base, subsessile, glabrous, shining, with
labyrinthine or tortuous mottling; flowers terminal, solitary,
sessile; sepals oval; petals pale yellowish-white, broadly obovate,
2.5-3 mm. long, 2-2.5 mm. broad, notched at the apex; seeds
reniform, black, 0.5 mm. broad, rugulose.
Limestone rocks, Cayo Muertos, Porto Rico (Britton, Cowell &
Brown 4990).
The aspect of this species is similar to that of the green alga
Caulerpa clavifera, which occurs in the adjacent sea.
Chamaecrista jamaicensis sp. nov.
A shrub up to 1.3 m. high, the slender branches appressed-
pubescent. Stipules lance-subulate, acuminate, striate, 2-4 mm.
long; petioles 6 mm. long or less, bearing a nearly cylindric gland
1-1.5 mm. long near the lowest pair of leaflets; rachis pubescent;
leaflets 4-8 pairs, dull, coriaceous, sessile, glabrous, oblong, or
the two upper ones oblong-obovate, 13-22 mm. long, 8 mm. wide
or less, prominently many- reined, obtuse and mucronate at the
apex, rounded at the base, inequilateral; peduncles bracted,
pubescent, I -flowered, shorter than the leaves; bracts lanceolate,
long-acuminate, striate, about 4 mm. long; sepals lanceolate,
acuminate, about 1 cm. long, broadly scarious-margincd, pubescent
on the back with scattered, appressed hairs; petals obovate,
short-clawed, somewhat unequal, about as long as the sepals;
longer anthers 9 mm. long; pod obliquely linear, 3-4 cm. long,
about 6 mm. wide, pubescent with scattered hairs.
Dry soil near the southern coast of Jamaica. Type from the
south slope of Long Mountain (Britton 811).
Referred by Grisebach to Cassia polyadena DC., originally from
516 Britton: Sim. us of West Indiw plants
Guadaloupe; I studied the type specimen of C. polyadena in the
Candollean herbarium at Geneva a number of years ago; it is,
in my opinion, specifically distinct from the Jamaica plant.
Rhamnidium ellipticum Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous tree 8 m. high; leaves narrowly to broadly elliptic,
occasionally somewhat obovate, 3.5-6.5 cm. long, 1.3-3 cm- broad,
obtuse or rounded and usually emarginate at the apex, rounded
or obtuse at the base, coriaceous, entire, above lustrous, the mid-
vein and primary veins indistinct, pale beneath, the mid vein and
primary veins prominent; margin revolute; petioles 5-6 mm. long,
channeled; peduncles 1.5-3 cm- l°ng> few-flowered; pedicels 5
mm. long; calyx-lobes triangular-ovate; fruit obovoid, 1 cm. long,
6 mm. broad, glabrous.
Rocky hillside along trail, Rio Yamaniguey to Camp Toa,
Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 4005).
Rhamnidium Shaferi Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous tree 3 m. high; leaves oblong-oval to oval, occa-
sionally ovate-oval, 5-6.5 cm. long, 3-3.8 cm. broad, rounded and
emarginate at the apex, cordate at the base, lustrous above and
indistinctly reticulate-veined, beneath paler, the midvein and
primary veins prominent; petioles 9-15 mm. long, narrowly
grooved; peduncles 7-10 mm. long, few-flowered; pedicels 3 mm.
long; buds ovoid.
Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente, Cuba (Shafer
8192).
Rhamnidium (?) cubensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 3 m. tall, with grayish bark and puberulent twigs.
Leaves oblong-elliptic to narrowly oblong-ovate or oblong-obovate,
2-4 cm. long, 1-1.6 cm. broad, rounded and emarginate at the
apex, obtuse at the base, entire, lustrous above, the primary veins
prominent, reticulate-veined and paler beneath, rigid, glabrous,
black-dotted, the petioles 2-3.5 mm. long, puberulent above and
shallowly channeled; flower-clusters lateral, axillary; sepals tri-
angular-ovate, acuminate, glabrous, with a conspicuous row of
black glands paralleling the margin; petals hooded, broadly
triangular-obovate ; filaments subulate, glabrous; anthers ovate;
ovary ovoid, glabrous; ovules one in each cavity.
Rocky coastal hills, vicinity of El Morro, Santiago Bay,
Oriente, Cuba (Britton ef Cowell 12554).
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 517
Nashia cayensis sp. nov.
A densely branched, aromatic shrub, the slender pendent
branches finely rough-pubescent. Leaves ovate to elliptic, 15
mm. long or less, 5-9 mm. wide, obtuse or acutish at the apex,
mostly rounded at the base, scabrous above, pubescent and
glandular beneath, strongly few-veined with the venation im-
pressed above, prominent beneath, the petioles about 1 mm.
long; heads solitary in the axils, nearly sessile, globular and about
5 mm. in diameter when in flower, oblong-cylindric and 10-15
mm. long in fruit, densely many-flowered; bracts broadly ovate
to obovate, pubescent and ciliate, about 3 mm. long; calyx of
2 narrowly spatulate sepals nearly as long as the corolla; corolla
greenish, scarcely longer than the bracts, the somewhat irregular
limb about as long as the campanulate tube; filaments very short;
fruit orange-red, about 2 mm. in diameter.
Near Pueblo Romano, Cayo Romano, Camaguey, Cuba
(Shafer 2456). Similar to Lippia myrtifolia Griseb., and clearly
congeneric with the generic type, N. inaguensis Millsp.
Exostema stenophyllum sp. nov.
A shrub, up to 2 m. high, glabrous throughout, the slender
twigs rather densely leafy. Leaves linear to linear-oblanceolate,
6 cm. long or less, 4-6 mm. wide, subcoriaceous, obtusish or acute
at the apex, narrowed to the sessile base, revolute-margined, the
midvein impressed above, prominent beneath, the lateral vena-
tion wholly obscure; stipules semicircular or short-ovate, obtuse,
mucronulate, about 2 mm. long; flowers terminal, solitary;
peduncle 1-1.5 cm. long; calyx narrowly campanulate, 8-10 mm.
long, its ovate-lanceolate acute teeth about one-third as long as
the tube; corolla white; corolla-tube about 14 cm. long, 1.5 mm.
thick; lobes of the corolla-limb linear, 2-3 cm. long; anthers
narrowly linear, about 18 mm. long and about as long as the
filaments; capsule oblong, 1.5-2.2 cm. long, about 8 mm. in
diameter.
Among rocks at the water's edge, Rio Guayabo above the falls,
450-550 m. alt., Oriente {Shafer 3623).
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177. Mosses of Bermuda, by Elizabeth G. Britton.
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 192
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS-VIII
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1916
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of the Torrhy Botanical Club
43: 441-469. September 30, 1916
[From the Bulletin of the Tokrhy Botanical Club, 43: 441-469. 10 S 1916.]
Studies of West Indian plants — VIII
Nathaniel Lord Brittox
44. FURTHER RECORDS OF JAMAICA SEDGES*
Cyperus fugax Liebm. Vid. Selks. Skr. V. 2: 196. 1851
Savanna, Belle Vue, near Spanish Town (Harris 12183).
Distribution: Mexico and Guatemala.
Cyperus cyperoides (L.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 32: 333. 1898
Scirpus cyperoides L. Mant. 181. 1771.
Meniscus Sieberianus Nees, Linnaea 9: 286. 183 1.
Maviscus cyperoides Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 164. 1900. Not M.
cyperoides A. Dietr.
Belle Vue, near Spanish Town, in wet hollows in pastures
(Harris 12045) ; previously collected in Jamaica by Hart and by
Wullschlaegel.
Distribution: Trinidad. Native of the Old World tropics.
Cyperus nanus Willd.
In Bull. Dept. Agric. Jamaica 5 : Suppl. 1 , 9, 1 noted Mr. C. B.
Clarke's record of this species from Jamaica, as based on the same
specimen (March 13) as his record of Mariscus gracilis Vahl
(Cyperus granulans [Desf.] Britton), and I subsequently ascer-
tained that this specimen preserved in the Kew herbarium is
* Bull. Dept. Agric. Jamaica 5: Suppl. I. 1907. Bull. Torrey Club 35: 568,569.
1909. Ibid. 41: 1, 2. 1914.
441
442 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
C. granulans. It would therefore appear that C. nanus was
entered as Jamaican by Mr. Clarke in error. C. granulans on
the other hand is now known to me to inhabit dry soil at Long
Acre Point near Black River (Britton 1383).
Cyperus ignotus sp. nov.
Perennial, glabrous; culm rather stout, smooth, bluntly 3-
angled, about 5 dm. high. Basal leaves as long as the culm or
longer, smooth, 2.5-4 mm. wide, those of the involucre similar,
much longer than the inflorescence, sometimes 3 dm. long; umbel
compound, its primary rays 8 cm. long or less; spikelets compressed,
capitate, 6-8-flowered, the heads numerous, 8-10 mm. in diameter;
rachis wingless; scales ovate-lanceolate, mucronulate, very faintly
nerved, closely appressed and overlapping, 2 mm. long; style 3-
cleft; achene oblong, trigonous, 1.3 mm. long, about twice as long
as thick, narrowed at both ends.
In damp, shaded places, near Vinegar Hill, St. George, at about
1,100 m. alt. {Harris 12350). Plant with the habit of C. elegans
L., but with flat leaves and quite different spikelets.
Eleocharis nodulosa (Roth) Schultes; R. & S. Mant. 2: 87.
1824
Scirpus nodulosus Roth, Nov. PI. Sp. 29. 1821.
Swamp, Belle Vue near Spanish Town {Harris 12179).
Distribution: Southern United States; Cuba; Hispaniola;
Porto Rico; Antigua; Guadeloupe; continental tropical America.
Eleocharis microcarpa Torr. (E. minima Kunth), was re-
corded by Mr. Clarke as collected in Jamaica by Purdie, but his
determination of the specimen from the interior of Manchester
preserved in the Kew herbarium was subsequently doubted by
Mr. Clarke, and we have no other knowledge of the existence of
this species in Jamaica.
Stenophyllus junciformis (HBK.)
I sol epis junciformis HBK. Nov. Gen. 1: 222. 1815.
Scirpus juncoides Willd.; Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 572. 1864.
Summit of Bull Head Mountain (Underwood 3364); Liguanea
Ridge, St. Andrew (Harris 12219, I2345)-
Distribution: Cuba; South America.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 443
Owing to two different species having been distributed as
Scirpus juncoides under C. Wright's Cuban No. 1533, I formerly
misidentified Professor Underwood's No. 3364 and recorded it*
as Stenophyllus subaphyllus (Clarke) Britton, a species apparently
restricted to eastern Cuba.
Fimbristylis miliacea (L.) Vahl, Enum. 2: 287. 1806
Savannas and swamps, Belle Vue, near Spanish Town (Harris
12182, 1 2 188).
Distribution: Southern United States; Cuba; Porto Rico;,
continental tropical America and Old World tropics.
Rynchospora oligantha A. Gray, Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3 : 212. 1835,
Hollis savanna, Upper Clarendon (Harris 12240).
Distribution: Southeastern United States. Not yet de-
tected in Cuban savannas.
Rynchospora pusilla Chapm.; Curtis, Am. Jour. Sci. II. 7:
409. 1849
Rynchospora intermixta C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana
8: 88. 1872
Bull Head Mountain, along roadside in wet places (Harris:
1 226 1).
Distribution: Southeastern United States; Santa Clarav
Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba.
Scleria gracilis Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 2: 571. 1824
Bull Head Mountain, 800-900 m. alt., forming small patches
on exposed hillside (Harris 12262).
Distribution: Southeastern United States; Pinar del Rio and
Isle of Pines, Cuba.
45. STENOPHYLLUS Raf. IN THE WEST INDIES
Type species: Scirpus Stenophyllus Ell. The generic name
dates from 1825 (Neog. 4). The name Bulbostylis, taken up by
Mr. C. B.Clarke for the genus in 1893 (Hook. f. Fl. Brit. India)
and subsequently, was first published by Kunth, under Isolepis,
in 1837 (Enum. 2: 205).
* Bull. Dept. Agric. Jamaica 5: Suppl. 1, 12. 1907.
444
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Spikelet solitary.
Spikelet terminal, not subtended by a bract.
Caudex stout, 2-15 cm. high, densely clothed with
persistent leaf-bases.
Caudex none.
Leaves elongated; spikelet straw-color.
Leaves short; spikelet dark brown.
Spikelet apparently lateral, subtended by a bract.
Achene smooth.
Achene papillose-reticulated.
Achene twice as long as thick.
Achene scarcely longer than thick.
Spikelets (except in depauperate plants) several or nu-
merous.
a. Spikelets in a single capitate cluster.
Plants leafless or nearly so, or leaves 1-3 cm. long.
Spikelets few, 6 mm. long or less.
Leaf-blade 6 mm. long or less.
Leaf-blade 1-3 cm. long.
Spikelets several, 6-20 mm. long.
Scales loosely pubescent.
Scales glabrous or ciliolate.
Leaves about one half as long as the culm.
b. Spikelets in a simple or compound umbel, or sometimes
compact or capitate.
Spikelets clustered in umbelled heads or spikes, or head
sometimes solitary.
Culm pilose above.
Culm glabrous.
Scales mucronate by the excurrent midvein.
Scales acute, the midvein not excurrent; achene
papillose.
Spikelets not clustered in the umbels, or somewhat
clustered.
Achene 0.5 mm. long, gray, densely pitted; scales
suborbicular.
Achene 0.7-1 mm. long, white, transversely undu-
late; scales ovate.
1. 5. paradoxus.
2. S. leucoslachys.
3. S. conifera.
4. 5. floccosus.
5. 5. porloricensis.
6. 5. curassavicus.
7. 5. subaphyllus.
8. 5. alpestris.
9. 5. Wilsoni.
10. 5. Tuerckheimii.
11. S. fimbriatus.
12. S. veslitus.
13. S. junciformis.
14. 5. anlillanus.
15. 5. coarctatus.
16. 5. capillaris.
I. Stenophyllus paradoxus (Spreng.) Standley, Contr. U. S.
Nat. Herb. 18: 88. 1916
Schoenus paradoxus Spreng. Syst. 1: 190. 1825.
Bulbostylis paradoxa Linden; Regnell, Cyp. 17. 1900.
Type locality: Mt. Silla de Cacares, near El Pexual, Venezu-
ela.
Distribution: Isle of Pines, Cuba: continental tropical
America.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 445
One of the noteworthy elements in the vegetation of sandy
pine-lands on the Isle of Pines, sometimes occupying areas many
acres in extent.
2. Stenophyllus leucostachyus (HBK.)
Isolepis leucostachya HBK. Nov. Gen. i: 220. 1815.
Bulbostylis leucostachya Kunth; Clarke in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2:
85. 1900.
Type locality: Wet woods of the Orinoco at Maypuri.
Distribution: West Indies (Swartz, according to Clarke):
northern South America. Unknown to me from the West Indies.
3. Stenophyllus coniferus (Kunth)
Isolepis conifera Kunth, Enum. 2: 206. 1837.
Type locality: Surinam.
Distribution: Recorded by Clarke as doubtfully collected by
Mayerhoff in Hispaniola: northern South America.
4. Stenophyllus floccosus (Griseb.) Britton, Torreya 13:
216. 1913
Scirpus floccosus Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 241. 1866.
Bulbostylis floccosa Clarke; Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 86. 1900.
Type locality: Eastern Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
5. Stenophyllus portoricensis Britton, Torreya 13: 216.
1913
Type locality: Rocky coastal thicket near Guanica, Porto
Rico.
Distribution: Coastal thickets, southwestern Porto Rico.
6. Stenophyllus curassavicus Britton, nom. nov.
Bulbostylis floccosa var.(?) pumilio Clarke; Urban, Symb. Ant. 5:
290. 1907.
Type locality: Curacao.
Distribution: Banks and limestone rocks, Bonaire and
Curacao.
The spikelets of this species are much compressed. The
I lii Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
varietal name published by Mr. Clarke is not taken "up because the
plant attains a greater size than his description indicates. The
plant is abundant about Willamsted, Curacao {Britton & Shafer
2946).
7. Stenophyllus subaphyllus (Clarke) Britton, Bull. Dept.
Agric. Jamaica 5: Suppl. 1, 12. 1907
Bulbostylis subaphylla Clarke; Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 86. 1900.
Type locality: Eastern Cuba.
Distribution: Eastern Cuba; formerly erroneously attributed
by me (loc. cit.) to Jamaica (see page 443).
8. Stenophyllus alpestris (Urban)
Bulbostylis alpestris Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 168. 1912.
Type locality : Near Constanza, Santo Domingo, in pine-lands,
2,500 m. alt.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
9. Stenophyllus Wilsoni Britton, Torreya 13: 215. 1913
Type locality: Castle Island, Bahamas.
Distribution: Castle Island and Little Inagua, Bahamas.
10. Stenophyllus Tuerckheimii (Urban)
Bulbostylis Tuerckheimii Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 169. 1912.
Type locality: Near Constanza, Santo Domingo, in pine-
lands, 1,250 m. alt.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
1 1 . Stenophyllus fimbriatus (Nees)
Oncostylis fimbriates. Nees; Martius, Fl. Bras. 2: 88, 1843.
Scirpus Dussii Boeckl. Cyp. Nov. 2: 38. 1890.
Bulbostylis jimbriata Clarke; Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 87. 1900.
Type locality: River-banks at Villa Rica, Brazil.
Distribution: Martinique; Peru; Brazil.
12. Stenophyllus vestitus (Kunth)
Isolepis vestita Kunth, Enum. 2: 210. 1837.
Oncostylis vestita Nees; Martius, Fl. Bras. 2: 88. 1843.
Scirpus hirtus Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 241. 1866.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 11,
Type locality: Surinam.
Distribution: Province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba; western Porto
Rico: continental tropical America. The Porto Rico plant was
referred by Clarke to Bidbostylis Langsdorffiana.
13. Stenophyllus junciformis (HBK.) Britton, Bull. Torrey
Club 43: 442. 1916
Isolepis junciformis HBK. Nov. Gen. 1: 222. 1815.
Scirpus juncoides Willd.; Griseb. Fl. Br. W. I. 572. 1864.
Type locality: Near the Guachari cavern, 500 feet alt.
Distribution: Savannas and pine-lands, province of Pinar del
Rio, Cuba; Hispaniola; Jamaica; Trinidad: continental tropical
America.
14. Stenophyllus antillanus sp. no v.
Culms tufted, nearly filiform, 2-4.5 dm. long, minutely rough-
ciliolate or smooth. Leaves filiform, similar to the culm and one
half to two thirds its length, rough-ciliolate or smooth, their
sheaths pilose. Umbel compact or subcapitate; spikelets few or
several, linear, 6-12 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, 8-12-flowered;
scales ovate, known with a strong, whitish keel, acute, 1.5 mm.
long; achene obovoid, nearly white, sharply trigonous, 0.7 mm.
long, papillose, tipped by a minute, conic tubercle.
Dominica and Martinique. Type from Grand Savanna,
Dominica (F. E. Lloyd 822).
Referred by Clarke (in Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 89. 1900) to
S. capillar is.
15. Stenophyllus coarctatus (Ell.) Britton; Small, Fl. SE.
U. S. 189. 1903
Scirpus coarctatus Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 83. 1816.
Type locality: Beaufort, South Carolina.
Distribution: On a sand pile in Santiago Harbor, Oriente,
Cuba, March, 1909; southeastern United States.
16. Stenophyllus capillaris (L.) Britton, Bull. Torrey Club
21: 30. 1894
Scirpus capillaris L. Sp. PI. 49. 1753.
Bidbostylis capillaris Clarke; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. India 6: 652.
1893.
Type locality: Virginia.
■lis
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants
2. G. mintitifolia.
Distribution: Sandy and rocky soil, provinces of Oriente and
Pinar del Rio and on the Isle of Pines, Cuba; pinelands at high
elevations in Santo Domingo; Jamaica (not recently collected):
continental North America; temperate South America.
Stenophyllus tenuifolius (Rudge).
Scirpus tenuifolius Rudge, PI. Guian. i8, pi. 22. 1805.
Scirpus bufonius Poir. Encycl. Suppl. 5: 105. 1817.
Bulbostylis capillaris lenuifolia Clarke; Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 89. 1900.
Recorded by Clarke as collected by C. Wright in Cuba (Wright 3382), but our
specimens of that number are not essentially different from 5. capillaris. The species
inhabits tropical South America.
46. GALACTIA P.Br. IN CUBA
Type species: Glycine Galactia L.
A. Corolla 2-2.5 cm. long, the standard parallel with the wings and keel.
1. G. rudolphioides.
B. Corolla not more than 1.7 cm. long, the standard erect, not
parallel with the wings and keel.
a. Twining or trailing vines.
Corolla about 1.7 cm. long; leaflets 8 mm. long or less;
peduncle i-flowered.
Corolla less than 1.5 mm. long; leaflets 1-6 cm. long;
peduncles mostly few- to several-flowered .
Terminal leaflet (when 3) long-stalked.
Calyx-lobes longer than the tube.
Inflorescence short, 1- to few-flowered.
Branches prostrate; calyx loosely pubes-
cent.
Leaflets 3 or 1, oblong to narrowly
linear, 2-10 mm. wide.
Leaflet only 1, ovate or elliptic, 10-18
mm. wide.
Branches suberect; calyx densely villous.
Inflorescence elongated, several- to many-
flowered.
Leaflets membranous or chartaceous, flat,
dull; standard 9-1 1 mm. long.
Leaflets oblong to obovate-oblong.
Leaflets ovate to elliptic or ovate-
lanceolate.
Leaflets membranous; raceme usu-
ally long-peduncled.
Leaflets chartaceous; raceme short-
peduncled or sessile.
Leaflets subcoriaceous, revolute-mar-
gined, shining; standard 7 mm. long.
3. G. parvifolia.
4. G. monophylla.
5. G. suberecla.
6. G. Combsii.
7. G. striata.
8. G. spiciformis.
9. G. Earlei.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 449
Calyx-lobes shorter than the tube. 10. G. brachyodon.
Leaflets nearly equally short-stalked.
Leaflets densely or loosely pubescent beneath.
Leaflets obovate, strongly reticulate-veined,
loosely pubescent on both sides. n. G. Jenningsii.
Leaflets linear-oblong, narrowed at both
ends, densely silky beneath. 12. G. revoluta.
Leaflets glabrous, or with only some scattered
hairs beneath.
Flowering pedicels 1-2 mm. long; pod short-
pilose, its pedicel 3 mm. long. 13. G. galadioides.
Flowering pedicels 0.5 mm. long; pod long-
pilose, its pedicel 1.5 mm. long or less. 14. G. savannarum.
b. Erect shrub; leaflets 3. 15. G. Jussiaeana.
1. Galactia rudolphioides (Griseb.) Benth. & Hook. ; Sauvalle,
Anales Acad. Habana 5: 337. 1869
Dioclea rudolphioides Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 178. i860.
Galactia Odonia Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 75. 1866.
Pinelands, thickets and hillsides, Oriente, Matanzas: Bahamas.
2. Galactia minutifolia Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 325. 1900
Dry soil, Oriente. Endemic. Referred by Grisebach to
G. parvifolia A. Rich.
3. Galactia parvifolia A. Rich. Ess. Fl. Cub. 414. 1845
Galactia stenophylla Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 313. 1900. Not H. &
A.
Galactia parvifolia triphylla Urban, loc. cit. 314. 1900.
Galactia parvifolia heterophylla Urban, loc. cit. 315. 1900.
Galactia parvifolia monophylla Urban, loc. cit. 315. 1900.
Galactia Grisebachii Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 372. 1908.
Grassy fields and banks at lower elevations, all provinces and
Isle of Pines: South Florida; Hispaniola. Consists of races differ-
ing in number, form and size of leaflets.
4. Galactia monophylla Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 75. 1866
Grassy places, Oriente, Havana; Bahamas.
450 Britton: Studij:-> of West Indian plants
5. Galactia suberecta sp. nov.
A somewhat woody trailing vine, with slender, villous, erect
or ascending branches 1-2.5 dm. high. Stipules lanceolate, acute,
2-3 mm. long; petioles slender, villous, 1-2 cm. long; leaflets 3,
oblong to oblong-oblanceolate or oval, 1-3 cm. long, mostly obtuse
or rounded at the apex, appressed-pubescent on both sides,
strongly reticulate-veined beneath, the lateral ones nearly sessile,
obtuse or rounded at the base, the terminal one narrowed at the
base, on a petiolule 3-4 mm. long; peduncles i-flowered, shorter
than the petioles; calyx villous, 6 mm. long, its lanceolate lobes
longer than the tube; corolla purple, 1 cm. long.
Savanna near San Juan, Isle of Pines, Cuba (Britton & Wilson
14973)-
6. Galactia Combsii Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 219. 1900
Grassy places, Santa Clara, Pinar del Rio. Endemic. Re-
ferred by Combs to G. angustifolia HBK.
7. Galactia striata (Jacq.) Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 320. 1900
Glycine striata Jacq. Hort. Vind. 1: 32. pi. 76. 1770.
Galactia cubensis HBK. Nov. Gen. 6: 429. 1823.
Galactia Berteriana DC. Prodr. 2: 238. 1825.
Galactia striata cubensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 322. 1900.
Galactia striata Berteriana Urban, loc. cit. 1900.
Thickets and hillsides at lower elevations, all provinces and
Isle of Pines: Jamaica; Hispaniola; Porto Rico; continental
tropical America. Recorded by Grisebach and by Wright as
G. filiformis Benth. Some Cuban specimens with short-peduncled
inflorescence are only with difficulty separable from the follow-
ing species. Races differ in pubescence.
8. Galactia spiciformis T. & G. Fl. N. A. 1: 288. 1838
Thickets, Cays of Camaguey: southern Florida; Bahamas.
9. Galactia Earlei sp. nov.
Stem slender, somewhat woody, twining, finely appressed-
pubescent 5 dm. long or longer. Stipules lanceolate-subulate,
about 2 mm. long; petioles slender, sparingly pubescent, 3 cm.
long or less; leaflets 3, oblong or elliptic, 1.5-3 cm- l°ng» 8-15 mm.
wide, glabrous and shining with the midvein impressed above,
Brtttox: Studies of West Indian* plants 45]
sparingly appressed-pubescent beneath, revolute-margined, obtuse
or slightly emarginate at the apex, rounded at the base, the ter-
minal one with a petiolule 4-8 mm. long, the lateral ones nearly
sessile; inflorescence stalked, slender, many-flowered, 6-12 cm.
long, densely brownish-pubescent; flowers clustered, almost sessile;
calyx 6-7 mm. long, densely brownish appressed-pubescent, its
teeth longer than the tube, the upper one ovate, the others lan-
ceolate; standard clawed, nearly orbicular, 7 mm. long.
Pine woods, Baracoa, Oriente {Underwood & Earle 1342).
11. Galactia Jenningsii sp. no v.
A very slender, slightly woody vine, the branches 1.5-3.5 dm.
long, loosely pilose or glabrate. Stipules subulate, striate, about
1 mm. long; petioles slender, pilose, 3-10 mm. long; leaflets 3,
nearly equally short-petioluled, obovate, oblong or oblong-obovate,
subchartaceous, 6-20 mm. long, rounded or emarginate at the
apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, pubescent on both sides,
strongly reticulate-veined above; peduncles axillary, 1- to few-
flowered, as long as the petioles or shorter; calyx pilose, about
6 mm. long, its lanceolate acuminate lobes about as long as the
tube or a little longer; flowers purple; standard suborbicular,
clawed, 7-8 mm. long; wings narrowly oblong, about as long as
the standard; pod linear, short-beaked, appressed-pubescent,
sessile in the calyx, 2.5 cm. long, 5 mm. wide.
White-sand pine-barrens, Isle of Pines, scarce and local
{Britton & Wilson 14,186, type; 0. E. Jennings 350).
10. Galactia brachyodon Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 178.
i860
Near Monte Verde, Oriente. Endemic.
12. Galactia re voluta Urban, Symb. Ant. 2: 333. 1900
Dry hillsides, northern Oriente. Endemic.
13. Galactia galactioides (Griseb.) Hitchc. Rep. Mo. Bot.
Gard. 4: 77. 1893
Dioclea galactioides Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 76. 1866.
Galactia impressa C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 5:
337. 1869. .
Near Bahia Honda, Pinar del Rio, collected only by Wright.
Endemic. Erroneously recorded from the Bahamas.
152 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
14. Galactia savannarum sp. nov.
A slender, somewhat woody vine, 6 dm. long or longer, rather
densely pubescent with brownish reflexed hairs, or the older parts
glabrate. Stipules lanceolate, acuminate, 1-2 mm. long; petioles
slender, 5-10 mm. long; leaflets I or 3, oblong, oblong-lanceolate,
or the terminal one oblong-oblanceolate, subcoriaceous, revolute-
margined, 1-3 cm. long, 6-12 mm. wide, glabrous on both sides
or with some scattered hairs beneath, obtuse or emarginate at
the apex, rounded at the base, the pubescent petiolules equal,
about 1.5 mm. long; inflorescence interruptedly spicate, slender,
5-12 cm. long, densely appressed-pubescent; flowering pedicels
0.5 mm. long or less; calyx 4-5 mm. long, appressed-pubescent, its
lobes about equalling the tube; flowers blue-purple, about 8 mm.
long; standard suborbicular, clawed, about 6.5 mm. broad; wings
and keel nearly equal in length; pod borne on a pedicel about 1.5
mm. long, linear, acute, densely villous, 2.5-3 cm. long, 7 mm. wide.
Barren savannas, Oriente, Camaguey, Santa Clara. Type
from savanna southeast of Holguin, Oriente (Shafer 1237).
15. Galactia Jussiaeana Kunth, Mimos. 196. 1824
Clitoria glomerata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 74. 1866.
Pine-lands and plains, Pinardel Rio and Isle of Pines: Jamaica;
Hispaniola; tropical South America. Common in pine-lands on
the Isle of Pines, attaining a height of 6 dm.
47. THE GENUS MACHAONIA H. & B. IN CUBA
Type species: Machaonia acuminata H. & B.
Fruit essentially glabrous.
Fruit constricted below the middle. i. M. pauciflora.
Fruit gradually narrowed to the base. 2. M. littoralis.
Fruit pubescent.
Fruit sparingly pubescent, the persistent calyx-lobes long. 3. M. trifurcata.
Fruit densely pubescent, the persistent calyx-lobes short.
Fruit broadly obpyramidal, 2.5 mm. long. 4. M. micro phylln.
Fruit narrowly obpyramidal, 3-4 mm. long. 5. M. calcicola.
I. Machaonia pauciflora Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 512. 1908
The species is based on part of C. Wright's 433, collected, pre-
sumably, in Oriente, and has not been found by us.
2. Machaonia littoralis sp. nov.
A shrub, about 2 m. high, with slender branches, the young
twigs short-pilose, leafy to their tips. Leaves rhombic-ovate to
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 453
elliptic, 6-10 mm. long, subcoriaceous, entire, 7 mm. wide or less,
abruptly acute, obtuse, or some of them rounded at the apex,
narrowed at the base, glabrous, pinnately few-veined, the gla-
brous or somewhat pubescent petioles 0.5-1 mm. long ; inflorescence
corymbose-cymose, several-flowered; pedicels very slender, spar-
ingly pubescent, 1-2 mm. long; fruit narrowly obpyramidal,
sparingly papillose or glabrous, 2 mm. long, I mm. thick at the
top, evenly gradually narrowed to the rounded base, the per-
sistent calyx-lobes ovate or ovate-lanceolate, about 0.5 mm. long.
Coastal thickets, vicinity of Siguanea, Isle of Pines, Cuba
(Britton & Wilson 14942.)
3. Machaonia trifurcata Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 512. 1908
Cuba (C. Wright 2760). Referred by Grisebach to the
Jamaican M. cymosa Griseb., but clearly different from that
species. Not found by us. A part of C. Wright 433 in the her-
barium of the New York Botanical Garden has the characters of
this species.
1
4. Machaonia microphylla Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8:
510. 1862
Rocky hills at lower elevations in dry districts, province of
Oriente.
A barren specimen, collected in the palm barren near the city
of Santa Clara, Santa Clara province (Britton & Wilson 6130) is
doubtfully referred to this species.
5. Machaonia calcicola sp. no v.
?Spermacoce spinosa Jacq. Stirp. Am. 21. 1763. Not L. 1762.
Not Machaeonia spinosa C. & S.
?Spermacoce havanensis Jacq.; Gmel. Syst. 234. 1796.
A much-branched shrub or small tree up to 3 m. high, the
slender twigs densely puberulent, bristle-tipped. Leaves ovate or
rhombic-ovate to elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 6-15 mm. long,
acute, short-acuminate, or some of them obtuse at the apex, nar-
rowed or obtuse at the base, glabrous, pinnately few- veined, the
short petioles puberulent; inflorescence corymbose-cymose. several-
to many-flowered ; pedicels slender, pubescent, 1-2 mm. long, calyx
densely pubescent, its ovate or ovate-lanceolate lobes as long as
the tube or somewhat shorter; corolla white or yellowish, about
1 mm. long, its ovate-oblong obtuse lobes about as long as the
454 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
tube; stamens shorter than the corolla; fruit obpyramidal, 3-4 mm,
long, 1.5 mm. thiek at the top, tapering gradually to the base,
densely pubescent, the persistent calyx-lobes about 0.5 mm. long.
Limestone rocks, northern parts of Havanna and Pinar de.
Rio. Type from coastal hillside, Bay of Mariel, Pinar del Rio
(Britton & Earle 7619).
A barren specimen from limestone rocks at Cape Corrientes
(Britton & Cowell 9894) is doubtfully referred to this species.
48. THE GENUS HEPTANTHUS Griseb.
A Cuban genus, of which three species were described at the
place of original publication (Cat. PI. Cub. 148. 1866); all were
from western Cuba, H. cochlearifolius Griseb. being typical, and
none have since been added to the genus. I now propose three
others, all from eastern Cuba.
Leaf-blades glabrous above or merely puberulent.
Peduncles longer than the leaves. 1. H. cochlearifolius.
Peduncles shorter than the leaves.
Leaf-blades orbicular-ovate, 1-2 cm. long; petioles
densely villous. 2. H. cordifolius.
Leaf-blades triangular- ovate, 4-6 mm. long; petioles
sparingly villous. 3- H. Shaferi.
Leaf-blades pubescent on both surfaces.
Leaf-blades repand-dentate; peduncles much shorter than
the petioles. 4- H. brevipes.
Leaf blades incised-serrate or lobed; peduncles as long as
the leaves or longer.
Leaf-blades 12 mm. long or less, incised-serrate. 5. H. ranunculoides.
Leaf-blades 1-2.5 cm- long, deeply 3-lobed, the lobes
coarsely few-toothed. 6. H. lobaius.
I. Heptanthus cochlearifolius Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 148.
1866
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Distribution: Pine-lands and savannas, Pinar del Rio.
The upper leaf-surfaces are glabrous or nearly so.
A plant related in leaf-form, but with the upper leaf-surfaces
densely puberulent is common in pine-lands and white sand in the
central districts of the Isle of Pines, but could not be found in
flower during our visit to this region in February and March, 1916
(Britton & Wilson 14163) ; it is therefore referred to this species,
with doubt.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 155
2. Heptanthus cordifolius sp. now
In habit and aspect similar to H. cochlearifolius , forming cushion-
like tufts 1-1.5 dm. broad. Petioles densely villous, 8 cm. long or
less; leaf-blades orbicular-ovate, 1-2 cm. long, nearly or quite as
wide as long, repand-dentate, rounded or obtuse at the apex,
cordate at the base, distinctly punctate, glabrous above, villous
on the few veins beneath; peduncles filiform, sparingly villous,
shorter than the petioles; involucre campanulate, about 5-flowered ;
flowers white.
In damp soil among stones at edge of low thicket in deciduous
woods near the base of Loma Mensura, Oriente, about 680 m.
alt. (Shafer 3786).
3. Heptanthus Shaferi sp. nov.
Forming small tufts 4-6 cm. broad. Petioles filiform, loosely
villous, 4 cm. long or less; leaf-blades triangular ovate, 4-6 mm.
long, rather sharply few-dentate, bluntly acute at the apex, cordate
at the base, distinctly punctate, glabrous on both sides or with
a few hairs on the veins beneath; peduncle filiform, loosely vdllous,
about 2.5 cm. long; involucre narrowly companulate, 4-flowered,
about 1.5 mm. long.
On bank of a stream, Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa,
Oriente (Shafer 8217).
4. Heptanthus brevipes Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 148. 1866
Type locality: Low riparian woods near Toscano [Pinar del
Rio].
Distribution: Known only from the type locality and from
the original collection {Wright 2821).
5. Heptanthus ranunculoides Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 148.
1866
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the original specimens
(Wright 2820).
6. Heptanthus lobatus sp. nov.
Densely tufted, the tufts 1-1.5 dm. broad. Petioles densely
villous, 7.5 cm. long or less; leaf-blades broadly ovate or orbicular-
ovate in outline, pubescent with long hairs on both surfaces,
1-2.5 cm- long, deeply 3-lobed, the lobes coarsely few-toothed, the
middle one obovate-cuneate, obtuse; peduncles filiform, loosely
456 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
villous, as long as the petioles or longer; involucre narrowly cam-
panulate, about 3 mm. long, several-flowered; flowers white.
Sandy bank, alluvial valley of Rio Yamaniguey, Oriente
{Shafer 4201).
49. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM PORTO RICO
Malpighia Shaferi Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 2-2.5 m- tall, with grayish-brown twigs. Leaves
oblong-elliptic to elliptic or somewhat oblong-lanceolate, 13-17
cm. long, 4.5-8.5 cm. broad, acute, or rounded and mucronate, or
occasionally retuse at the apex, more or less inequilateral and acute
or rounded at the base, reticulate-veined above, armed beneath
with closely-appressed stinging hairs, the margin somewhat re-
volute; petioles stout, 8-12 mm. long; cymes nearly sessile; pedi-
cels 8-18 mm. long; sepals elliptic to broadly ovate, 2-3 mm.
long, 1. 2-1. 5 mm. broad; glands fully one half the length of the
sepals; larger petals 10-11 mm. long, the blades 6 mm. broad, pink,
prominently keeled on the back; stamens unequal; anthers
cordate; styles unequal, the anterior one slightly shorter than the
posterior ones; fruit red.
Type collected in the vicinity of Isabel Segunda, Vieques
Island {Shafer 2448).
Byrsonima ophiticola Small, sp. nov.
Tree up to 8 m. tall, the twigs with dark gray bark, the young
tips with dark red pubescence. Leaves clustered at the ends of the
twigs, 3-6.5 cm. long, the blades spatulate to narrowly obovate,
rounded or obtuse at the apex, closely and finely pubescent when
young, sparingly pubescent when full-grown, dull, paler green
beneath than above, acute or acuminate at the base, rather long-
petioled; panicles 5-9 cm. long, the bracts less than 3 mm. long;
pedicels closely pubescent, at least in an thesis; sepals ovate or
oblong-ovate, 2.5-3 mm. long, obtuse or acutish, the glands mostly
less than one half as long as the sepal-body; petals yellow, turning
to scarlet, 8-10 mm. long, the blade broadly reniform or orbicular-
reniform, 7-8 mm. wide, the claw shorter than the blades;
drupes not seen.
Serpentine slopes, Guanajibo near Mayaguez {Britton, Cowell,
& Brown 4350). Related to Byrsonima lucida DC, from which it
differs in the longer petioles, larger panicles, and larger flowers.
The petals besides unfolding yellow and turning scarlet, have
relatively shorter claws and more broadly reniform blades than
in B. lucida, and are of very firm texture and more persistent.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 457
Chamaesyce Cowellii Millspaugh, sp. nov.
A small, prostrate, glabrous annual, many-stemmed from the
rootstalk; stems short; branches filiform, 2-3 cm. long; nodes
swollen and prominent. Inflorescence solitary in the upper axils.
Leaves thick, sarcous, ovate, entire, blunt, 2-3.5X1.5-2 mm.,
strongly inequilateral at the oblique and but slightly cordate
base, petiolate; stipules various, those of the upper surface mostly
quadrilateral and often bilobed, others triangular, all lacerate;
those of the under surface of the branches formless in laceration.
Involucres turbinate, short-pedunculate, glabrous without, densely
woolly within; lobes triangular, aristate, densely ciliate; sulcus
shallow, inconspicuous, flanked by two minute lobes similar in
form to the others; glands green, flattened parallel to the walls of
the involucre; appendages narrow, greenish, crenate, about half
the width of the glands. Capsule glabrous, deeply sulcate; seeds
pink, ovate-quadrangular, the dorsal angle most prominent,
1X0.6 mm., the facets finely and anastomosely transverse-ridged
in a central longitudinal line. Allied to Chamaesyce serpens
(HBK.) Small.
Collected from the crevices of limestone rocks at Cayo Muertos
{Britton, Cowell & Brown 5007). Type, sheet No. 427101, in
the herbarium of the Field Columbian Museum.
Sebesten brachycalyx (Urban)
Cordia Sebestena brachycalyx Urban, Symb. Ant. 1: 389. 1899.
This tree, first made known from the southern and eastern
coasts of Porto Rico, appears to differ specifically from the related
Sebesten Sebestena (L.) Britton {Cordia Sebestena L.) of wide dis-
tribution in the West Indies, Florida and tropical continental
America, and there much planted for ornament. S. brachycalyx
has much rougher upper leaf-surfaces and a much smoother calyx
than S. Sebestena (often glabrous), and its yellow or orange fruit
is shorter-beaked than the white fruit of that species; the corolla of
S. brachycalyx has a narrower limb than that of S. Sebestena. The
species inhabits Porto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, and Buck Island,
St. Thomas.
Crescentia portoricensis sp. nov.
A vine-like, glabrous shrub, with long, slender branches, the
bark light gray. Leaves elliptic-obovate, fascicled at the nodes,
15 cm. long or less, 2-8 cm. wide, coriaceous, shining above, dull
beneath, strongly reticulate-veined on both sides, abruptly short-
458 Brixton: Sti dies of West Indian plants
acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, the slender petioles
6-12 mm. long; peduncle 1-2 cm. long, slender in flower, much
thickened in fruit; calyx 2 cm. long, deeply 2-lobed; corolla sub-
campanulate, 4 cm. long, yellowish white, reticulate- veined, its
broadly ovate, entire, acute or blunt lobes about one fourth as
long as the tube; fruit narrowly oblong, 10 cm. long, 3.5 cm. in
diameter, terete, pointed at the apex, truncate at the base.
River-valley forests, mountains of western Porto Rico. Type
from Rio de Maricao, 500-600 m. alt. (Britton, Stevens & Hess
2455)-
Mikania Stevensiana sp. nov.
Climbing to a height of 5 m., the branches glabrous, striate
nearly terete, the twigs angular, sparingly pubescent. Leaves
triangular-ovate in outline, firm in texture, brittle when dry, 5 cm.
long or less, very scabrous and sparingly short-hispid above,
pubescent on the elevated veins beneath, 5-nerved, sharply 3-lobed,
the middle lobe triangular-lanceolate, long-acuminate, dentate, 3
or 4 times as long as the acute, entire or sparingly toothed, lateral
ones; petioles sparingly pubescent, 1-2 cm. long; inflorescence
corymbose-paniculate; heads peduncled; bracts of the involucre
linear, acute, 7 mm. long; achenes angled, glabrous, 5 mm. long;
pappus-bristles about 40; corolla 7 mm. long, as long as the pappus,
its lobes acute.
Wooded valley, Maricao River, above Maricao {Britton &
Cowell 4225, type; Britton, Stevens & Hess 243Q).
50. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM CUBA
Schoepfia cubensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A slender, glabrous shrub, 2.5-4 m- tall, the young twigs com-
pressed, longitudinally ridged, often flexuose, glabrous. Leaves
elliptic to oval, 2-3.4 cm' l°ng> 1.5-2.8 cm. broad, short-petioled,
entire, glabrous, rounded at the apex, equilateral and rounded or
occasionally subcordate at the base, lustrous and rather indistinctly
veined on both surfaces; principal veins 5 or 6 on each side of the
midvein, strongly divergent; peduncles 0.8-1.2 cm. long; fruit
sessile, ellipsoid, 8 mm. long, 7 mm. wide.
Camp La Gloria, Oriente (Shafer 8278).
Cassia scleroxyla sp. nov.
A slender tree, about 8 m. high, with smooth bark and exceed-
ingly hard wood, the young twigs loosely appressed-pubescent.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 459
Leaves glandular, 8-10 cm. long; petiole and rachis grooved above,
sparingly appressed-pubescent; petiole 1-2 cm. long; leaflets
6-8 pairs, linear-lanceolate, chartaceous, 2-4 cm. long, acute and
mucronate at the apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, rather
dark green and glabrous above, pale green and sparingly pubescent
beneath, the pubescent petiolules about 2 mm. long; flowers loosely
corymbose; pedicels slender, puberulent, about I cm. long; sepals
very unequal, sparingly pubescent, ciliate, the larger ones 4-5 mm.
long; petals bright yellow, the larger 6-7 mm. long; perfect an-
thers 7, about 3 mm. long; pod linear, glabrous, 3-4.5 cm. long,
6-7 mm. wide, reticulate-veined, abruptly acute, septate between
the seeds.
Hillside, Berraco, near Daiquiri, Oriente {Britton & Cowell
12664) ■
Among West Indian species, perhaps most nearly related to C.
domingensis Spreng.
Cassia Shaferi Britton & Wilson, sp. now
Shrub 1 m. tall; twigs, petioles, rachis, and branches of the
inflorescence hirsutulous. Leaves 6.5-10 cm. long, glandular, the
gland slender, 1.5-2 mm. high, acutish or obtuse, situated either
between the leaflets of the lowest pair or below on the petiole;
petioles and rachis grooved; stipules narrowly oblong-lanceolate,
6-7 mm. long, acuminate; leaflets 4-6 pairs, oblong to elliptic,
1.5-3 cm- long, 7-12 mm. broad, rounded and mucronulate at the
apex, rounded and very inequilateral at the base, sparingly hir-
sutulous on the midrib above, hirsutulous beneath, the hairs
scattered and mostly appressed, short-petioluled; margin thick-
ened, ciliate; pedicels hirsutulous; buds subglobose; sepals densely
hirsutulous; pod flat, 11 cm. long, 9 mm. broad; seeds 3.5-4.5
mm. long.
Pine-lands near the base of Loma Mensura, Oriente {Shafer
377°) ; also collected in open places at base of Loma Mensura
{Shafer 3803).
Apparently closely related to Cassia bahamensis Mill.
Pachyanthus reticulatus Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 1-1.5 m. tall; young twigs compressed, more or less
grooved, ferruginous, stellately scabrous-puberulent. Leaves
ovate, 9-12 cm. long, 5-7 cm. broad, obtuse at the apex, cordate
at the base, above densely ferruginously stellate-puberulent when
young, glabrescent, lustrous and dark green in age, the venation
strongly impressed, below pale brown, reticulate-veined and
460 Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants
densely stellate-canescent, prominently 5-nerved; petioles 1.5-2.5
cm. long; flowers sessile, calyx campanulate, densely stellate-
tomentulose, the lobes 5, deltoid at the base, linear above, 5-6
mm. long.
Low dry thickets, pine-lands, Sierra Nipe, near Woodfred,
Oriente (Shafer 2g6y).
Labatia aristata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, 2-3 m. high, the branches rigid, gray,
the young twigs appressed-pubescent. Leaves broadly ovate to
suborbicular, 2-3.5 cm- l°ng> coriaceous, glabrous, strongly pin-
nately and reticulate-veined, dark green and shining above, dull
green beneath, aristate at the apex, rounded or subcordate at the
base, the yellowish green, rather stout petioles 5-10 mm. long;
pedicels solitary or several together, slender, glabrous, 5-8 mm. long;
calyx sparingly pubescent, 2.5-3 nam. long, deeply 4- to 5-lobed,
the lobes lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acutish, scarcely im-
bricated; corolla green, about 2.5 mm. long, 4-5-lobed to about the
middle, the lobes rounded, slightly imbricated; anthers oblong, a
little longer than the filaments; staminodia obovate, somewhat
longer than the filaments; drupe oval, dark purple, 2.5 cm. long,
its flesh very thin; seeds 2, oblong.
Coastal hills and thickets, provinces of Oriente, Santa Clara
and Havana, Cuba; type collected between the Rio Chorrera
and Marianao, Havana (Brother Leon 62J0).
Tournefortia Earlei sp. nov.
A shrub, 1-2 m. high, with long, slender branches, or vine-like
and 3 m. long, the branches densely pubescent with short, soft,
appressed hairs. Leaves narrowly linear, or linear-lanceolate,
3-7 cm. long, 2-6 mm. wide, acute or bluntish at the apex, densely
appressed-pubescent above, densely white-tomentulose beneath,
the petioles 1.5-3 mm. long; cymes short-peduncled, their few,
very slender branches 2-4 cm. long; calyx 1 mm. long, appressed-
pubescent, its lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate lobes acute; corolla-
tube about 2 mm. long, the narrowly lanceolate lobes about as
long; fruit depressed, 4 mm. broad, about one half as high as
broad, glabrous.
Hillsides, Guantanamo Bay and Santiago Bay, Oriente. Type
from Guantanamo Bay (F. S. Earle 82). Related to T. incana
Lam. and T. stenophylla Urban.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 461
Cestrum pinetorum sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, about I m. high, with slender branches.
Leaves narrowly oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 7 cm. long or less,
6-16 mm. wide, rather thin in texture, faintly shining, bluntly
acute at the apex, narrowed at the base, the midvein slender above,
prominent beneath, the lateral veins few, obscure, the slender peti-
oles 3-5 mm. long; clusters axillary, few- to several-flowered; fruit-
ing pedicels very short; fruiting calyx obconic-campanulate, about
5 mm. long, its triangular-ovate teeth acutish, about one third as
long as the tube; berry globose-ovoid, purplish, about 7 mm. long.
Open pine-woods Sierra Nipe near Woodfred, Oriente, 500-650
m. alt. {Shafer 3031, type; 3591).
Casasia parvifolia sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, about 2 m. high, the twigs slender,
puberulent when young. Stipules lanceolate, acute, about 3 mm.
long. Leaves glabrous, oblong-spatulate, 3 cm. long or less, 5-8
mm. wide, obtuse or acutish at the apex, narrowed or cuneate at the
base, coriaceous, clustered at the ends of the twigs, pinnately
few-veined, shining and with impressed midvein above, the mid-
vein very prominent beneath, the petioles about 1 mm. long;
fruit terminal, solitary, sessile, globose, warty, about 10 mm. in
diameter.
Rocky river-banks, mountains of northern Oriente; type col-
lected between Camp La Barga and Camp San Benito, 450-900 nu
alt. {Shafer 4100).
Baccharis Shaferi sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, 6 dm. high or less, with slender ascending
branches, the twigs angled. Leaves triangular-cuneate, 6-12 mm.
long, 7 mm. wide or less at the truncate or sub truncate apex,
bright green and shining above, dull and whitish-papillose beneath,
the slender midvein slightly elevated on both sides, the lateral
veins 1-3 ; heads sessile, solitary or 2 or 3 together at the ends of
short twigs, or in the axils; young involucres about 4 mm. long, the
ovate, acute bracts imbricated in about 4 series.
Dry pine woods, Arroyo del Medio above the falls, 450-550 m.
alt., Oriente {Shafer 323/, type); specimens from Camp La
Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente {Shafer 8213), have longer
leaves than the type specimens.
462 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
51. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM THE ISLE OF PINES,
CUBA
Zamia silicea sp. nov.
Caudex slender, completely buried in sand, 2 dm. long or
longer. Basal scales lanceolate, villous, 1-2 cm. long; leaves
glabrous or the base of the petiole villous, spreading or ascending,
1-4 dm. long; leaflets 30 or fewer, coriaceous, shining, many-
veined, obovate-oblanceolate, 3-6 cm. long, 2 cm. wide or less,
rounded or obliquely subtruncate and callously denticulate at the
apex, narrowed at the base; peduncles densely short-pubescent,
2-4 cm. long; male cone cylindric, about 3 cm. long and 1.3 cm.
thick, its scales densely pubescent, hexagonal, the upper and lower
ones about as wide as high, the middle ones nearly twice as wide
as high; ripe pistillate cones ellipsoid, short-tipped, 5-6 cm. long,
about 2.5 cm. thick, the hexagonal scales puberulent, seeds red,
about 12 mm. long, broadly grooved on the inner side, rounded
on the back, obliquely and obtusely umbonate at the apex.
Frequent in pine-lands and in white silicious sand. Type from
near Los Indios (Britton & Wilson 14166).
Cyperus pinetorum sp. nov.
Perennial by short rootstocks; culms tufted, stiff and wiry,
compressed, 1.5-2.5 cm. high. Basal sheaths striate-veined,
acute, 2-4 cm. long; involucral leaves 1 or 2, nearly subulate, 0.5-3
cm. long; spikelets linear, 10-22 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, digitate,
one cluster subtended by the involucral leaves with usually a
similar one on a slender ray 4 cm. long or less ; scales elliptic, obtuse,
mucronulate, yellowish-brown, 1.5 mm. long; achene sharply
trigonous, about 0.6 mm. long, nearly as thick as long, often per-
sistent on the rachis after the scales have fallen away.
White sand pine barrens. Type from the vicinity of Los
Indios [Britton and Wilson 14170).
Related to C. Has pan L., differing in broader spikelets, broader
scales and proliferous inflorescence.
Xyris longibracteata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Annual (?); leaves erect, linear, 8-10 cm. long, 1-1.5 mm. broad,
occasionally somewhat spirally twisted, the margin rough; scapes
several, erect, glabrous, 15-18 cm. tall, terete or nearly so; in-
volucre subtending the spike composed of several bracts of unequal
length, each tapering abruptly into a long, linear tip, the longest
bract often exceeding the spike; spikes ellipsoid to ovoid, 7-9 mm.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants Hi:;
long, 4-6 mm. broad; bracts ovate to orbicular-ovate, 4-5 mm.
long, 3.5-4 mm. broad, acute at the apex; lateral sepals included;
keel toothed from the apex to below the middle; petals broadly
obovate, 5 mm. long, 3.5-4 mm. broad.
White sand, vicinity of Los Indios, Isle of Pines (Britton,
Britton & Wilson 14215).
Chamaecrista micrantha sp. nov.
Stems several from a woody root, ascending or suberect, few-
branched or simple, slender, villous, 2-3 dm. long. Stipules
lanceolate acuminate, 2.5-4 mm. long; leaves 8-18 mm. long;
petiolar gland short-stalked; rachis villous; leaflets 10-24, oblong,
villous, 3-3.5 mm. long, mucronulate, the midvein very excentric;
peduncles very slender, villous, 6-15 mm. long; sepals lanceolate,
acute, villous, about 4 mm. long; petals rounded, 5 mm. long;
pod linear, finely pubescent, 2-3 cm. long, 3-4 mm. wide.
Pine-lands and savannas, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba.
Type collected near San Pedro, Isle of Pines (Britton & Wilso?i
142Q4). Referred by Grisebach to Cassia pygmaea DC, and taken
up by Bentham under Cassia procumbens L., but the type of C. pro-
cumbens is the same as C. nictitans L.
Chamaecrista savannarum sp. nov.
Stems several from a deep woody root, slender, ascending or
erect, short-pubescent, 2-4 dm. high, simple or little-branched.
Stipules lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 2-4 mm. long, acuminate,
strongly veined; leaves 2.5 cm. long or less, the rachis pubescent;
petioles 2-4 mm. long, bearing a scutellate, sessile or very short-
stalked gland; leaflets 3-13 pairs, appressed-pubescent or glabrate,
oblong or linear-oblong, 3-7 mm. long, somewhat oblique, aristu-
late, the midvein very excentric; peduncles slender or nearly fili-
form, 8-20 mm. long; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, slightly pu-
bescent, 4-5 mm. long; petals 7-8 mm. long; pod linear, sparingly
pubescent, 3-4 cm. long, 4 mm. wide.
Savannas and pine-lands, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba.
Type collected near Siguanea, Isle of Pines (Britton & Wilson
14379)-
Bauhinia Jenningsii P. Wilson, sp. nov.
A slender shrub or tree, sometimes 5 m. high; young twigs,
branches of the inflorescence, under surface of the leaves and pods
finely puberulent with minute, mostly appressed hairs; petioles
464 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
1.5-2 cm. long; leaves lanceolate-ovate to oblong-ovate or ovate,
7-14 cm. long, 2.5-5 cm- broad, acute at the apex, subtruncate or
rounded at the base, 5-nerved, finely reticulate-veined and gla-
brous above, reticulate-veined and minutely papillose beneath;
inflorescence corymbose; flowers long-pedicelled ; calyx scarlet,
puberulent with appressed hairs; petals lanceolate or occasionally
somewhat oblanceolate, 1.2-1.6 cm. long, 2-2.7 mm. broad; sterile
stamens 9, half as long as the fertile stamen; ovary stipitate; pods
oblong, 5-9 cm. long, 0.8-1.5 cm. broad, brown; seeds oblong-
elliptic to elliptic, 7-8 mm. long, 5-5.5 mm. broad, brownish black.
Wooded limestone plain, Coe's Camp, Ensenada de Siguanea
{Britton & Wilson 14851, type); coastal plain, San Juan {Britton &
Wilson 15544); coral soil, north of Caleta Grande {0. E. Jennings
480).
Savia perlucens sp. nov.
A shrub, about 2 m. high, the slender branches terete, grey.
Stipules ovate, acute; leaves obovate or elliptic-obovate, coriaceous
entire, 9 cm. long or less, acute or acuminate at the apex, obtuse
or acute at the base, bright green and strongly shining above, dull
green beneath, the midvein prominent above and beneath, both
surfaces reticulate-veined ; flower-clusters supra-axillary, depressed,
about 3 mm. broad, puberulent.
Limestone plain, Caleta Grande {Britton, Wilson & Leon
Phyllanthus nanus Millspaugh, sp. nov.
A low, spreading, glabrous perennial, about 5 cm. in extent,
with thick, strongly imbricated leaves. Root thick, branching,
giving off a mass of thread-like rootlets. Stems many, springing
from the rootstalk, very short (1-1.5 cm.); branches diffuse,
rather thick and striate, 1-2 cm. long. Inflorescence dioecious,
biflorate, in the axils of the apical leaves of the short branchlets.
Leaves thick, glabrous, ovate, cordate, acute, entire, 1.3X1-
2.3x1.75 mm.; petioles very short; stipules entire, aristate from
a deltoid base, the upper half withered to a dark brown color.
Flowers sessile or nearly so; sepals 5, equal, ovate, acute, strongly
striate-keeled ; glands 5, verrucoid, minute; staminal column twice
the length of the anthers; anthers 2, transversely connate in an
apical ring; female calyx as in the male but nearly twice the size;
ovary 3-carpelled, 6-celled, nearly sessile; styles 3, short, bifid to
half their length, the stigmatic apices cleaveate; capsule depressed-
globose, glabrous; seeds dark brown, sharply angled, 0.9X0.75 mm.
dorsal facet minutely and closely transverse anastomose-wrinkled.
In white sand in the vicinity of Los Indios {Britton & Wilson
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 465
141Q2). Type sheet in the herbarium of the Field Columbian
Museum.
Chamaesyce Jenningsii Millspaugh, sp. nov.
Prostrate, spreading from a low rootstock; stems many, di-
varicately branching, internodes about 1.5-3 cm.; branches 2 to
many at each swollen node, wiry, divergently forking; leaves
oval to ovate, 5X3-8X4 mm., glabrous above, finely long silvery-
pubescent beneath, obliquely cordate, blunt, shallowlybut sharply
serrate throughout the margins. Inflorescence solitary in the
terminal forks and axils; involucres long-turbinate, glabrous with-
out, hairy within; pedicels about twice the length of the tube;
lobes triangular; sulcus large, deep, triangular, the fundus un-
occupied; glands nearly circular, flattened to the walls of the in-
volucre; appendages none, or rarely merely a marginal line of the
same color and texture as the glands; bracteoles as many as the
stamens, ligulate, transparent. Capsule glabrous, ovoid; carpels
strongly keeled; seeds ovate-quadrangular, 1.2X1 mm., angles
sharp, facets sharply and anastomosely transverse ridged including
deep, quadrangular pits.
Vivijagua {0. E. Jennings 621); type in the herbarium of the
Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also in coastal
sands at the same place {Britton & Wilson 14690).
Tapura obovata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A tree 10 m. tall; young twigs and petioles minutely strigillose;
leaves obovate, 3.5-7 cm. long, 1.5-4.4 cm. broad, rounded at the
apex, cuneate to rounded-cuneate at the base, dull above, lustrous
beneath and reticulate-veined, glabrous, short-petioled ; flowers
short-pedicelled ; calyx-lobes 5, cilia te, sparingly appressed-pilose
on the outside, the two outer lobes smaller than the three inner
ones, broadly oblong-elliptic to oval, 2.5-3.2 mm. long, 2-2.2 mm.
broad, the three inner lobes oval to suborbicular, 3.4-3.8 mm. long,
3-3.3 mm. broad; corolla-lobes 5, unequal, the three smaller lobes
spatulate-obovate, 4-4.6 mm. long, 1.2 mm. broad, the two larger
lobes spatulate, 4.6-5 mm. long, 2.2-2.5 mm- broad; filaments
lanceolate-oblong to oblong; ovary pilose; style filiform, pilose,
3-lobed.
Savanna, Vivijagua {Britton & Wilson 15607, type) ; coastal
plain, San Juan {Britton & Wilson 15524).
Calyptranthes pinetorum Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A depressed, glabrous, much-branched shrub 6 dm. high or less,
3-10 dm. broad, the twigs stout, gray, terete or nearly so. Leaves
466 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
*
opposite, thick-coriaceous, ovate to orbicular, flat, 1-3.5 cm- long,
rounded or obtuse at the apex, cordate or subcordate at the base,
bright green and shining above, pale green and dull beneath,
densely punctate, the midvein prominent, the lateral veins faint,
the stout petioles 1-2 mm. long; peduncles rather stout, somewhat
longer than the leases; inflorescence cymose, few- to several-flow-
ered; young fruit sessile, subglobose, 2 mm. in diameter, the calyx-
limb 2 mm. broad.
Pine-lands, central districts. Type from north of Los Indios
(0. E. Jennings 3 go).
Related to C. nummularia Berg, of Hispaniola, C. Maxoni
Britton & Urban of Jamaica, and C. Boldinghi Urban of St. Martin.
Evolvulus arenicola Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A diminutive perennial, with a slender, woody root, the few or
solitary, simple or few-branched stems slender, appressed-pu-
bescent, 2-5 cm. long, ascending or nearly prostrate. Leaves
ovate to elliptic, 9-15 mm. long, puberulent or glabrate above,
appressed-pubescent beneath, mostly obtuse or rounded at both
ends, the midvein faint, the lateral veins wholly obscure, the pu-
bescent petioles 1-2 mm. long; flowers 1 or 2 at the ends of the
stems or branches; pedicels 5-8 mm. long, pubescent; sepals linear-
lanceolate, acuminate, villous, 5 mm. long; corolla white, rotate,
9-12 mm. broad; obscurely lobed; stamens about one-half as long
as the corolla; styles deeply 2-cleft; capsule subglobose, shorter
than the sepals.
White sand, vicinity of Los Indios (Britton cV Wilson 14190).
Gerardia pinetorum Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Acaulescent; leaves elliptic-ovate to elliptic, 1.5-2 cm. long,
5-8 mm. broad, rounded at the apex, cuneate or somewhat rounded
at the base, hispidulous above and below with jointed hairs;
petioles 1-1.5 cm. long, densely hispidulous; scape erect, 4-8 cm.
high, more or less hispidulous with jointed hairs, the spikes few-
flowered, 1-2 cm. high, the bracts lanceolate, 4-5 mm. long,
ciliolate, long-acuminate; calyx-lobes subequal, narrowly lanceo-
late, 4-4.5 mm. long, 0.5-0.8 mm. broad, ciliolate; corolla rose-
pink, glabrous, the tube cylindric, 5-5.5 mm. long, the limb
subequally 5-lobed, the lobes broadly obovate to somewhat oval-
obovate, 4.5-8 mm. long, 2.5-5 mm- broad.
Along the Los Indios River above Los Indios (0. E. Jennings
456)*
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 467
Rondeletia calcicola sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub about 2 m. high, the twigs slender. Leaves
coriaceous, narrowly oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, 5-13 cm.
long, 8-18 mm. wide, shining above, dull beneath, acute at the
apex, attenuate at the base into petioles about 1 cm. long or less,
loosely reticulate- veined with the mid vein prominent on the under
surface; inflorescence terminal, few-flowered; fruiting pedicels
rather stout, 3-7 mm. long; capsule oblong or oblong-obovoid,
glabrous, 1 cm. long, about twice as long as thick; fruiting calyx-
lobes ovate-lanceolate, acute, 1-1.5 mm. long.
Wooded limestone plain, Coe's Camp, Ensenada de Siguanea
{Britton & Wilson 14842).
Diodia ciliata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Stems perennial, prostrate, 4-6 dm. or more in length, rooting
and partly buried in sand, densely pilose with whitish hairs on the
younger growth; leaves elliptic to somewhat elliptic-obovate, 1.5-3
cm. long, 7-14 mm. broad, acute at the apex, cuneate to broadly
cuneate at the base, the margin conspicuously and densely ciliate
with rather stiff white hairs, yellowish green and glabrous above,
the midvein and lateral veins inconspicuous, whitish-pilose beneath,
especially on the midvein, sessile; stipules ciliate; ovary 2-celled;
fruit elliptic-obovoid, 3 mm. high, glabrous, or with few scattered
appressed hairs on the back.
In white sand, vicinity of Los Indios (Britton & Wilson 15347).
Diodia arenicola Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Perennial; stems ascending, 1-1.5 dm. high, glabrous; leaves
lanceolate, 6-14 mm. long, 2-3 mm. broad, acute at the apex,
rounded or somewhat acutish at the base, glabrous or with few,
stout, scattered, mostly appressed hairs above, glabrous beneath,
sessile; stipules linear-lanceolate, 2 mm. long; calyx lobes triangular-
ovate, ciliate; corolla 5 mm. high, the lobes ovate, obtuse; anthers
ovate-lanceolate; style 3-lobed; fruit ellipsoid, 2.5 mm. high, 1.2
mm. broad, glabrous.
Along arroyo, Los Indios, Isle of Pines (0. E. Jennings 355 in
part, type); vicinity of Los Indios (Britton & Wilson 15812).
Mitracarpum depauperatum Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A diminutive, woody perennial, 2-5 cm. high, forming small
tufts, the stems few-branched or simple, the internodes very short.
Leaves narrowly linear, 6-15 mm. long, less than 1 mm. wide,
46S Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
densely clustered, acute, sessile, glabrous; stipules deeply laciniate,
about one-third as long as the leaves; calyx very small; corolla
salverform, white, its tube cylindric, 2.5 cm. long, its limb spread-
ing, 4-lobed, the lobes ovate, acute, nearly 1 mm. long.
Dry white sand, central districts; type from near Los Indios
(Britton & Wilson 14197).
Palicourea elongata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 2 m. or more high; twigs, branches of the inflorescence,
and pedicels minutely hispidulous with brownish hairs; leaves in
whorls of threes, lanceolate or occasionally broadly oblanceolate,
12-19 cm. long, 4-6 cm. broad, acuminate at the apex, cuneate to
somewhat rounded cuneate at the base, puberulent above on the
midvein when young, puberulentbeneath, especially on the midvein
and lateral veins; stipules linear-lanceolate, 8-12 mm. long, ciliate;
panicle elongate, 7-19 cm. high; calyx-lobes deltoid-ovate, ciliate;
corolla puberulent, 7-10 mm. long, the lobes triangular-ovate;
fruit broadly ovoid, 4-5 mm. long, 4-4.5 mm. broad, flattened.
Arroyo, Las Tunas (Britton & Wilson 14749, type) ; Arroyo,
vicinity of San Pedro (Britton & Wilson 15785); Los Indios
(0. E. Jennings 332) .
Elephantopus arenarius Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Plant 6-8 cm. high, the stem branching from the base; leaves
cauline, linear, 2-4 cm. long, 1 mm. broad, involute, conspicuously
ciliate at the broadened, clasping base with long hairs, entire;
peduncles loosely hirsutulous, 2-3.5 cm- long; glomerules 5-6 mm.
high ; bracts broadly ovate to ovate-orbicular, cordate at the base
with a linear, ligulate tip, 0.5-1 cm. long, reticulate- veined on
the back, glabrous; scales acuminate, glabrous; achenes (immature)
2 mm. long; pappus-scales triangular to lanceolate, ciliate.
White sand, vicinity of Los Indios (Britton & Wilson 14206).
Closely related to Elephantopus pratensis C. Wright, but dif-
fering in the narrow involute leaves and linear ligulate tipped
bracts.
Erigeron purpuripes Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A low, scapose perennial. Leaves tufted, erect, the blades
elliptic to oblong-obovate, 1-2 cm. long, pinnately few-veined,
obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base, ciliolate, puberulent or
glabrate; petioles very slender, purple, 2 to 4 times as long as the
blades; scapes nearly filiform, erect, appressed -pubescent, about
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 469
twice as long as the leaves; involucre 4 mm. high, subcylindric, its
bracts in 2 or 3 series, linear, puberulent, the outer shorter than
the inner; ligules white; disk-flowers tubular, 5-lobed, the lobes
obtuse; achenes flattened, oblong or somewhat oblong-elliptic,
minutely hispidulous; pappus-bristles in 1 series, barbellate.
In white sand, vicinity of Los Indios (Britton & Wilson 14207).
Helenium scaposum sp. nov.
A low, pubescent, scapose perennial. Leaves several or many,
densely tufted, short-petioled, oblong to spatulate, punctate, 1.5-3
cm. long, 6-10 mm. wide, rather strongly 5- to 7-nerved, entire or
repand-dentate, obtuse or acute at the apex, narrowed or cuneate
at the base; scapes rather stout, 5-1 1 cm. high; involucre about 5
mm. high; its bracts ovate-lanceolate, acute, appressed or little
spreading; rays 10 to 12, brightyellow, obovate, 3-toothed, 5-8 mm.
long; disk yellowish, depressed-globose, 8-12 mm. in diameter, its
corollas 5-lobed, the lobes triangular-ovate; pappus scales of ray-
flowers and disk-flowers alike, elliptic to obovate, lacerate, not
aristate.
White sand pine-lands, west-central districts. Type from near
Siguanea (Britton & Wilson 14346).
A plant with quite the floral structure of Helenium, but its
scapose habit is aberrant, resembling that of some Tetranenris
species.
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New York Botanical Garden
b«»onx park, Hew Yomk Oitv
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 195
STUDIES OP WEST INDIAN PLANTS-IX
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1917
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of thi Torhkt Botanical Club
44: 1-37. February 12, 1917.
[From the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 44: 1-37. 10 F 1917.]
Studies of West Indian plants — IX
Nathaniel Lord Britton
52. CLEOME PROCUMBENS Jacq. AND ITS RELATIVES
The small, simple-leaved Cleomes of the West Indies, form an
interesting and peculiar group of the genus, very different in
habit and aspect from the large, typical, compound-leaved ones.
Seven species appear to be represented.
Annuals or biennials.
Pedicels filiform.
Leaves linear-oblong; pod subterete. 1. C. Sloanei.
Leaves filiform; pod compressed. 2. C. guianensis.
Pedicels very short; leaves very narrowly linear. 3. C. stenophylla.
Perennials with woody roots.
Pod acute or acuminate; leaves linear to oblong, acute or
acuminate.
Leaves acuminate; pedicels half as long as the pods. 4. C. procumbens.
Leaves acute; pedicels as long as the pods or longer.
Petals about 4 mm. long; leaves oblong to oblong-
lanceolate. 5. C. Wrightii.
Petals 8-10 mm. long; leaves narrowly linear. 6. C.macrorhiza.
Pod obtuse; leaves ovate or elliptic, obtuse or rounded. 7. C. obticsa.
I. Cleome Sloanei Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 347. 1907
Grassy and sandy places, at low elevations, southern side of
Jamaica.
This species is referred by Fawcett and Rendle, as previously
by other authors, to C. procumbens Jacq., which is, apparently,
confined to Hispaniola.
1
2 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
2. Cleome guianensis Aubl. PI. Guian. 2: 675. 1775
Sandy pine lands, Pinar del Rio, Cuba; northern South
America.
3. Cleome stenophylla Klotzsch; Urban, Symb. Ant. 4: 251.
1905
Plains at low elevations, southern and southwestern Porto
Rico; St. Bart's; Bonaire; hillsides, Curacao; Guiana.
4. Cleome procumbens Jacq. Stirp. Am. 189. pi. 120. 1763
Hispaniola. Erroneously recorded from Cuba, and, appar-
ently also erroneously referred to Jamaica, as Jacquin's figure of
the type would seem to represent a well-marked species, not
collected since its original discovery.
5. Cleome Wrightii Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 346. 1907
Sandy soil, Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba.
6. Cleome macrorhiza Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana 5: 199. 1868
Pine-lands, Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
7. Cleome obtusa sp. nov.
Perennial by a slender woody root, glabrous; stems numerous,
prostrate, simple or few-branched, slender, 5-15 cm. long. Leaves
ovate or elliptic, 4-6 mm. long, rounded or obtuse at the apex,
rounded at the base, the midvein prominent, the lateral venation
obscure, the petioles 1-2 mm. long; peduncles slender or filiform,
4-8 mm. long; sepals obtuse, 2-2.5 mm. long; petals yellow,
oblong or oblong-obovate, obtuse or acutish, 3-4 mm. long;
stamens about two-thirds as long as the petals; filaments filiform;
style about 1 mm. long; capsule elliptic, elliptic-obovate or oblong,
compressed, 3-6 mm. long, 2-2.5 mm- wide, obtuse at the apex,
somewhat narrowed at the base, few-several-seeded.
Dry and rocky soil in palm-barrens and savannas, Camaguey
and Santa Clara, and in sand on Cayo Guayaba, Cuba. Type
from savannas near Camaguey {Britton & Cowell 13165). Hither-
to included in C. Wrightii Urban.
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants
53. CHAMAECRISTA Moench IN THE WEST INDIES
Type species: Chamaecrista nictitans (L.) Moench.
A. Sepals rigid, scarious, many-nerved (Diphyllae).
B. Sepals membranous, scarcely nerved.
a. Prostrate herbs, the flowers on filiform peduncles.
Leaflets only 1 pair, obovate; stipules cordate (Rotundi-
foliae).
Leaflets 3-7 pairs, oblong to obovate; stipules lanceolate
(Pilosae).
Stems pilose.
Stems appressed-pubescent.
b. Erect, ascending or rarely prostrate herbs or shrubs.
1. Midvein of the leaflet central or excentric, not
marginal.
* Shrubs, with coriaceous or subcoriaceous leaves,
f Leaflets many, 20-50 pairs, linear; stipules
large; stem flexuous (Flexuosae).
tt Leaflets fewer, 2-12 pairs, oblong or obovate;
stipules small; stem not flexuous (Linea-
tae).
J Foliage densely pubescent.
JJ Foliage glabrous or puberulent.
§ Leaflets dull.
Leaflets obovate or oblanceolate.
Leaflets 2 or 3 pairs, 5 mm. long or
less.
Leaflets 3-1 1 pairs, 7-15 mm. long.
Gland sessile.
Gland stalked.
Leaflets oblong.
Leaflets acute, cuspidate.
Leaflets rounded and mucronulate
at apex.
§§ Leaflets shining.
Leaflets oblong, or the upper obovate,
1.5 cm. long or less, strongly
callous-margined.
Leaflets glabrous; gland large,
nearly sessile.
Leaflets ciliate; gland small, stalked.
Leaflets elliptic to ovate to obovate,
1.5-3 cm. long, not callous-
margined.
Leaflets elliptic, acute.
Leaflets ovate to obovate, obtuse,
retuse, or mucronate.
Leaflets 1-3 pairs, obovate,
mostly retuse.
1. C. diphylla.
2. C. rotundifolia.
3- C.
4. c.
pilosa.
serpens.
C. flexuosa.
6. C. grammica.
7. C. obcordala.
C.
C.
lineata.
granulala.
10. C. pineloriim.
11. C. jamaicensis.
12.
13-
C.
C.
portoricensis.
Tuerckheimii.
14. C. caribaea.
15. C. inoguensis.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Leaflets 4-9 pairs, ovate to
ovate-oblong, mostly obtuse. 16. C. lucayana.
** Herbs or shrubs, with membranous leaves
(Glandulosae).
t Flowers large, 2-4 cm. broad.
Leaflets villous or pubescent beneath.
Glands elongated, petiolar and also often
between the leaflets; midvein of leaflets
nearly central, the lateral veins many. 17. C. glandulosa.
Glands short, sessile, petiolar only; mid-
vein of leaflets excentric, the lateral
veins few. 18. C. Dussii.
Leaflets glabrous beneath.
Leaflets oblong to linear; gland stipitate. 19. C. Swartzii.
Leaflets obovate or oblong; gland sessile
or stout-stipitate. 20. C. polyadena.
tt Flowers small, seldom over 1 cm. broad.
X Petiolar glands sessile, or very short-
stalked.
Prostrate; leaflets 4-6 pairs. 21. C. pygmaea.
Erect or ascending; leaflets 8 pairs or more.
Plant densely hirsute all over. 22. C. patellaria.
Plants glabrate or more or less villous.
Pod black-banded and black-mar-
gined. 23. C. fasciata.
Pod not black-banded.
Leaflets 10-15 mm. long, the
midvein little excentric. 24. C. aeschinomenc.
Leaflets 5-8 mm. long, the mid-
vein very excentric.
Petals 6 mm. long; plant
sparingly short-pubescent. 25. C. savannarum.
Petals 3 mm. long; plant
villous. 26. C. micrantha.
XX Petiolar glands distinctly stalked.
Pod 3.5-4 mm. broad; pubescence widely
spreading. 27. C. riparia.
Pod 3 mm. broad or less.
Petiolar glands often 2 ; leaflets oblong;
plant glabrous, or pubescent only
above. 28. C. mirabilis.
Petiolar gland 1; leaflets linear or
linear-oblong; plant pubescent or
villous. 29. C. Ghamaecristo.
2. Midvein of the leaflet approximate to its upper
margin (Strigillosae).
Petiolar gland small, subsessile.
Leaves sparingly pubescent. 30. C. strigillosa.
Leaves densely pilose. 31. C. adenosperma.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 5
Petiolar gland stalked.
Pod glabrous or nearly so. 32. C. pedicellaris.
Pod short-pilose. 33- C. Buchii.
i. Chamaecrista diphylla (L.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 28. 1899
Cassia diphylla L. Sp. PI. 376. 1753-
Type locality: "In India."
Distribution: Provinces of Santa Clara, Pinar del Rio and
on Isle of Pines, Cuba; Hispaniola; Porto Rico; recorded by
Grisebach from St. Kitts and St. Vincent; continental tropical
America.
2. Chamaecrista rotundifolia (Pers.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 31.
1899
Cassia rotundifolia Pers. Syn. 1: 456. 1805.
Cassia bifoliata DC; Collad. Cass. 120. 1816.
Type locality : South America.
Distribution: Provinces of Santa Clara and Pinar del Rio
and on Isle of Pines, Cuba; Jamaica; continental tropical
America.
Illustration: Collad. Cass. pi. 9.
3. Chamaecrista pilosa (L.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 28. 1899
Cassia pilosa L. Syst. Ed. 10, 1017. 1759-
Cassia Milleri Collad. Cass. 132. 1816.
Type locality: Jamaica (Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 540).
Distribution: Province of Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines,
Cuba; Jamaica; northern South America.
4. Chamaecrista serpens (L.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 29. 1899.
Cassia serpensL. Syst. Ed. 10, 1018. 1759-
Type locality: Jamaica (Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 541).
Distribution: Provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio, Cuba;
Jamaica; northern South America.
5. Chamaecrista flexuosa (L.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 27. 1899
Cassia flexuosa L. Sp. PI. 379. 1753-
Chamaecrista amplistipulata Rose, Contr. Nat. Herb. 12: 267.
1909.
6 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Type locality: Brazil.
Distribution: Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines, Cuba; con-
tinental tropical America.
Illustration: Breyn, pi. 23.
6. Chamaecrista grammica (Spreng.) Pollard, Field Col. Mus.
Bot. 2: 47. 1900
Cassia grammica Spreng. Neue Entd. 3: 55. 1822.
Cassia lineata brachyloba Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 179.
i860.
Type locality: Maritime regions, Cuba and Hispaniola.
Distribution: Cuba (according to Sprengel) and collected
by Wright in Oriente; Hispaniola; Porto Rico; Little St. James
Island, St. Jan.
The plant of southern Florida, referred to this species by Chap-
man and by Small, is distinct, according to the studies of Dr.
Pennell.
7. Chamaecrista obcordata (Sw.).
Cassia obcordata Sw.; Wikstr. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 1825: 429.
1826.
Type locality: St. Bart's.
Distribution: St. Bart's; I refer, with doubt, Dr. Boldinghs'
No. 5288B from St. Martin to this species, which he recorded as
Cassia polyadena DC. (Fl. Nederl. West Ind. 211); the St. Martin
plant is more nearly related to C. lineata than to C. polyadena.
Bentham indicates the same affinity for the plant of St. Bart's
(Trans. Linn. Soc. 27: 572). No modern collections have been
made on St. Bart's; it lies close to St. Martin.
8. Chamaecrista lineata (Sw.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 31. 1899
Cassia lineata Sw. Prodr. 66. 1788.
Cassia cuneata Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 80. 1866. Not C. cuneata
DC.
Type locality: Jamaica.
Distribution: Jamaica; Cuban provinces of Oriente, Cam-
aguey and Santa Clara, and Isle of Pines; Hispaniola; Bahamas.
Specimens from the south coast of Santa Clara, Cuba, have
puberulent foliage.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 7
9. Chamaecrista granulata (Urban) Britton, Ann. Missouri
Bot. Gard. 2: 41. 1915
Cassia portoricensis granulata Urban, Symb. Ant. 1: 318, 1899.
Chamaecrista portoricensis granulata Cook & Collins, Contr. Nat.
Herb. 8: 113. 1903.
Type locality: Near Salinas de Cabo Rojo, Porto Rico.
Distribution: Southwestern Porto Rico; Mona.
10. Chamaecrista pinetorum sp. now
Shrubby, 4 dm. high, or higher, the branches slender, densely
appressed-pubescent with brownish hairs. Stipules linear-lanceo-
late, striate, long-acuminate, 4-6 mm. long; leaves 3-5 cm. long,
the rachis appressed-pubescent; leaflets 9 pairs or fewer, sub-
coriaceous, linear to linear-oblong, 10-15 mm- l°ng. 2~4 rnm. wide,
glabrous on both sides, dull, acute and cuspidate at the apex,
obliquely rounded at the base, closely pinnately veined, the
prominent midvein nearly central, the petiolar gland slender-
stalked; peduncles filiform, appressed-pubescent, 2-bracted, about
3 cm. long; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, 10-12 mm. long; petals
obovate, somewhat shorter than the sepals or as long; ovary
appressed-pubescent.
Pine woods, near Constanza, Santo Domingo, at 1,200 m. alt.
(Tuerckheim 2887).
11. Chamaecrista jamaicensis Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 42:
515- 1915
Type locality: South slope of Long Mountain, Jamaica.
Distribution: Southern side of Jamaica.
12. Chamaecrista portoricensis (Urban) Cook & Collins, Contr.
Nat. Herb. 8: 113. 1903
Cassia portoricensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 1: 317. 1899.
Cassia portoricensis callosa Urban, Symb. Ant. 1: 317. 1899.
Chamaecrista portoricensis callosa Cook & Collins, Contr. Nat.
Herb. 8: 113. 1903.
Type locality: Near Guayanilla, Porto Rico.
Distribution: Southern and western Porto Rico.
8 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
13. Chamaecrista Tuerckheimii sp. nov.
Shrubby, with a deep woody root; stems slender, villous-
pubescent, 8-10 cm. long. Stipules obliquely ovate-lanceolate,
acuminate, striate, 2-3 mm. long; leaves 2-2.5 cm. long, the
rachis villous-pubescent; leaflets 6 or 7 pairs, linear-oblong, to
oblong-oblanceolate, 6-8 mm. long, about 2 mm. wide, ciliate,
shining, rounded or subtruncate and mucronulate at the apex,
obliquely rounded at the base, pinnately veined with the promi-
nent midvein somewhat excentric, the petiolar gland short-
stalked; peduncles slender, villous, about 2 cm. long; sepals
lanceolate, acuminate, villous, 7-8 mm. long; petals obovate,
about twice as long as the sepals ; legume linear, narrowed at both
ends, nearly glabrous, 1.8 cm. long.
Near Maniel de Ocoa, Santo Domingo, in fields, 300 m. alt.
(Tuerckheim j68g).
14. Chamaecrista caribaea (Northrop)
Cassia caribaea Northrop, Mem. Torrey Club 12: 39. 1902.
Type locality: Fresh Creek, Andros, Bahamas.
Distribution: Andros, New Providence and Cat Island,
Bahamas.
Illustration: Northrop, loc. cit. pi. 6.
15. Chamaecrista inaguensis comb. nov.
Cassia inaguensis Britton, Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 3: 443. 1905-
Type locality: Inagua, Bahamas.
Distribution: Inagua, South Caicos, Grand Turk, and
Ambergris Cay, Bahamas.
16. Chamaecrista lucayana comb. nov.
Cassia lucayana Britton, Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 4: 138. 1906.
Type locality: Cay north of Wide Opening, Exuma Chain,
Bahamas.
Distribution: Great Bahama, Cat Island, Conception, Rum
Cay, and Exuma Chain, Bahamas.
17. Chamaecrista glandulosa (L.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 28. 1899
Cassia glandulosa L. Syst. Ed. 10, 1017. 1759-
Cassia virgata Sw. Prodr. 66. 1788.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 9
?Cassia stricta Schrank, Hort. Monac. i: pi. 34. 1819.
Chamaecrista virgata Greene, Pittonia 4:31. 1899.
Type locality : Jamaica.
Distribution: Jamaica.
Illustrations: Bot. Mag. pi. 3435; Schrank, loc. cit.
Linnaeus included, in his citations of synonyms of this species,
several others, but his description of it, together with his having
received a Jamaica specimen from the collection of Patrick Browne,
prior to his publication, as I am informed by Dr. B. Daydon
Jackson, Secretary of the Linnaean Society of London, show that
the name is to be restricted to the Jamaica plant. Subsequent
authors have confused it with species from other islands and from
continental tropical America. The identity of Cassia virgata Sw.
was established for me by Mr. William Fawcett at the British
Museum of Natural History. Cassia stricta Schrank, from the
illustration and the Jamaica habitat, appears referable here, but
Schrank's description of the plant is not altogether conclusive;
he says the root is annual.
18. Chamaecrista Dussii sp. nov.
Perennial, villous-pubescent, erect, simple, 5-9 dm. high, some-
what woody. Stipules narrowly lanceolate, strongly striate, 10-
12 mm. long; leaves 5-7 cm. long; petiolar gland close to the
lowest leaflets, scutelliform, sessile, slightly concave, nearly 1 mm.
in diameter; leaflets about 17 pairs, linear, pubescent on both
sides, 10-18 mm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, obtuse, mucronate, in-
equilateral, the mid vein excentric, the lateral veins few and
distant; peduncles 4-6 mm. long; sepals lanceolate, acuminate,
pubescent, about 7 mm. long; petals obovate, 8-10 mm. long;
pod linear, slightly curved, villous-pubescent, obliquely short-
tipped, 3 cm. long, 5 mm. wide.
Guadeloupe and Martinique. Type from Trou-Vaillant, Par-
nasse, Martinique (Pere Duss 1121).
19. Chamaecrista Swartzii (Wickstr.)
Cassia Swartzii Wikstr. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 1825: 430. 1826.
Chamaecrista complexa Pollard, Field Col. Mus. Bot. 2: 47. 1900.
Type locality: St. Bart's.
Distribution: Porto Rico; Vieques; Culebra; St. Thomas;
St. Jan; Tortola; St. Croix; Saba; St. Bart's; St. Kitt's; Dominica;
Guadeloupe; Grenada.
10 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
The species has been much confused with the Jamaican C.
glandulosa.
20. Chamaecrista polyadena (DC.)
Cassia polyadena DC. Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Gen. 2: 132. 1824.
Type locality : Guadeloupe.
Distribution: Guadaloupe; Dominica; Martinique; Barba-
does.
My identification of this species is based on my examination of
the type, some years ago, in the Candollean herbarium at Geneva,
Switzerland. Notwithstanding the usually sessile petiolar gland
and the relatively broader leaflets, I am not confident that this
species is distinct from the preceding one.
21. Chamaecrista pygmaea (DC.)
Cassia pygmaea DC. Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Gen. 2: 131. 1824.
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Hispaniola.
Referred by Bentham to Cassia procumbens L., which is a
synonym of C. nictitans L. of continental North America, as
previously indicated by me (Bull. Torrey Club 43: 463).
22. Chamaecrista patellaria (DC.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 32.
1899
Cassia patellaria DC; Collad. Cass. 125. 1816.
Type locality : Cayenne.
Distribution: Jamaica; all provinces of Cuba and on the Isle
of Pines; continental tropical America.
Illustration: Collad. Cass. pi. 16.
23. Chamaecrista fasciata Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 37: 352.
1910
Type locality: Between Bath and Cuna-Cuna Gap, Jamaica.
Distribution: Jamaica; Cuban provinces of Oriente, Cam-
aguey, Santa Clara and Havana.
24. Chamaecrista aeschinomene (DC.) Greene, Pittonia 4: 32.
1899
Cassia aeschinomene DC; Collad. Cass. 127. 1816.
Chamaecrista Millspaughii Pollard, Field Col. Mus. Bot. 2: 47.
1900.
Brixton: Studies of West Indian plants 11
Cassia mimosoides aeschynomene Benth. Trans. Linn. Soc. 27: 579.
1871.
Type locality : Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Jamaica; all provinces of Cuba; Hispaniola;
Porto Rico.
Illustration: Collad. Cass. pi. 17.
25. Chamaecrista savannarum Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 43:
463. 1916
Type locality: Near Siguanea, Isle of Pines, Cuba.
Distribution: Savannas and pine-lands, Pinar del Rio and
Isle of Pines, Cuba.
26. Chamaecrista micrantha Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 43:
463. 1916
Type locality: Near San Pedro, Isle of Pines, Cuba.
Distribution: Pine-lands and savannas, Pinar del Rio and
Isle of Pines, Cuba. Referred by Grisebach to Cassia pygmaea
DC.
27. Chamaecrista riparia (HBK.)
Cassia riparia HBK. Nov. Gen. 6: 369. 1824.
Type locality: Banks of the Magdelena River near Mompox.
Distribution: Jamaica; province of Havana, Cuba; Grand
Cayman; Andros, New Providence and Eleuthera, Bahamas;
northern South America and recorded from Central America.
The plant of the Bahamas was referred by me with some doubt
(Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 3: 443) to Cassia aspera Muhl., which it
closely resembles, except in the petiolar gland. Cuban and
Jamaican specimens differ from the Bahaman in having the "gland
somewhat longer-stalked.
I have not been able to study an authentic specimen of C.
riparia. Bentham's record of it as West Indian was based upon
a plant collected in Cuba by Liebmann, preserved in the Kew
herbarium.
28. Chamaecrista mirabilis Pollard, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 15:
19. 1902
Cassia mirabilis Urban, Symb. Ant. 4: 276. 1905.
Type locality: Rio Piedras, Porto Rico.
Distribution: Northern coastal plain of Porto Rico.
12 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
29. Chamaecrista Chamaecrista (L.)
Cassia Chamaecrista L. Sp. PI. 379. 1753.
Cassia diffusa DC. Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Gen. 2: 130. 1824.
Cassia smaragdina Macf. Fl. Jam. 1: 347. 1837.
Chamaecrista diffusa Britton, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 2: 41.
I9I5-
Type locality : Curacao.
Distribution: Bahamas; Jamaica; Cuba; ? Hispaniola; Porto
Rico; St. Jan; St. Croix; St. Kitts; Guadeloupe; Grenada; Curacao;
Margarita.
Illustrations: Breyn, pi. 24; Schrank, Hort. Monac. pi. 33.
The species has been much confused with the annual C.
nictitans of eastern continental North America.
The recognition of the plant of Curacao as typical Cassia
Chamaecrista brings C. diffusa into its synonymy.
30. Chamaecrista strigillosa (Benth.)
Cassia strigillosa Benth. Trans. Linn. Soc. 27: 581. 1871.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Province of Oriente, Cuba; Santo Domingo
(according to Bentham). Referred by Grisebach to Cassia
serpens L.
31. Chamaecrista adenosperma (Urban)
Cassia adenosperma Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 362. 1908.
Type locality: Sierra del Palo Quemado, Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality, and, to
me, only from the description.
32. Chamaecrista pedicellaris (DC.)
Cassia pedicellaris DC. Prodr. 2: 504. 1825.
Type locality : Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Hispaniola.
33. Chamaecrista Buchii (Urban)
Cassia Buchii Urban, Symb. Ant. 5: 361. 1908.
Type locality: Near Gonaives, Haiti.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality and, to me,
only from the description.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 13
54. THE GENUS LEUCOCROTON Griseb.
A Cuban genus, of which four species have been described.
L. Wrightii Griseb. is the type species.
A. Leaves pinnately veined.
Leaves chartaceous.
Pistillate inflorescence i -flowered at the summit; stami-
nate flowers racemose. I. L. Wrightii.
Pistillate flowers racemose, the staminate glomerate-
spicate. 2. L. flavicans.
Leaves coriaceous, linear-oblong or linear.
Leaves densely whitish-scurfy beneath.
Leaves strongly revolute-margined, not reticulate-
veined beneath, coarsely reticulate-veined above. 3. L revolulus.
Leaves slightly revolute-margined, strongly reticulate-
veined beneath, finely reticulate- veined above. 4. L. saxicola.
Leaves glabrous on both sides.
Leaves mostly rounded and mucronulate at the apex,
dull, 6-IO mm. wide. 5- L. angustifolius.
Leaves emarginate, shining, 3-5 mm. wide. 6. L. linear if olius.
B. Leaves palmately 5-veined. 7. L. virens.
i. Leucocroton Wrightii Griseb. Abh. Kon. Gesell. Wiss.
Gotting. 9: 21. i860
Woodlands and banks of streams, Oriente; Pinar del Rio.
2. Leucocroton flavicans Muell. Arg. in DC. Prodr. 152: 757.
1866
L. flavicans latif olius Muell. Arg. loc. cit. 1866.
L. flavicans angustifolius Muell. Arg. loc. cit. 1866.
Serpentine hillsides, Matanzas, Havana. The locality of C.
Wright's no. 1994 is not recorded.
3. Leucocroton revolutus Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana 7: 154. 1870
Known only from the type locality between La Mulata and
La Palme, Pinar del Rio.
4. Leucocroton saxicola sp. nov.
A shrub, 1-3.3 m- high, much branched, the twigs short and
stout. Leaves coriaceous or subcoriaceous, narrowly oblong or
oblanceolate, 3-1 1 cm. long, 2 cm. wide or less, rounded or emar-
ginate and apiculate at the apex, narrowed at the base, finely
14 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
reticulate-veined, glabrous, and with impressed midvein above,
strongly reticulate-veinedj minutely scurfy and with prominent
midvein beneath, the petioles 3-6 mm. long; staminate flowers
racemose-spicate in the upper axils, the inflorescence 2-3 cm. long;
bracts lanceolate, acute, about 1.5 mm. long; pedicels 1-2 mm.
long; buds subglobose, lepidote, 1 mm. in diameter.
Rocky banks and hillsides, mountains of northern Oriente.
Type collected at Arroyo del Medio, above the falls, 450-550 m.
alt. {Shafer 3466).
Similar to L. revolutus, but the venation of the leaves is quite
different. In L. revolutus only the pistillate inflorescence is
known ; in L. saxicola only the staminate.
5. Leucocroton angustifolius sp. nov.
A much-branched, spreading shrub, about 6 dm. high, the
twigs bearing distant leaf-scars. Leaves scattered, coriaceous,
glabrous, linear or linear-oblong, 5-10 cm. long, 13 mm. wide or
less, revolute-margined, rounded and mucronulate or emarginate
at the apex, narrowed at the base, the midvein impressed above,
prominent beneath, the primary lateral veins numerous, diverging
at nearly right angles from the midvein, both surfaces reticulate-
veined, the petioles 4-6 mm. long; pistillate flowers solitary at
the ends of clustered, terminal, slender, scaly, bracted peduncles
2-3 cm. long; bracts lanceolate, numerous, acute, ascending, 1.5
mm. long; calyx-segments lanceolate, similar to the bracts; ovary
depressed-globose, obtusely 3-lobed, lepidote; styles stout, re-
curved.
Rio Guayabo, above the falls, Oriente, 450-550 m. alt. {Shafer
3626).
6. Leucocroton (?) linearifolius sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub about 6 dm. high, the twigs short,
stiff, covered by leaf-scars. Leaves densely clustered at the ends
of the twigs, coriaceous, glabrous, linear, 3-6 cm. long, 3-5 mm.
wide, shining on both sides, emarginate at the apex, gradually
narrowed to the base, short-petioled, the midvein impressed
above, prominent beneath, the lateral veins very numerous and
close together, prominent on both surfaces, diverging nearly at
right angles to the midvein, simple, or forked; staminate flowers
few, in short, solitary slender-peduncled racemes shorter than
the leaves, the pedicels filiform, 2 mm. long, the bractlets linear-
lanceolate; bud of the staminate flower globose, I mm. in diameter.
Rocky bank of river at Camp La Barga, Oriente, 450 m.
alt. {Shafer 4144).
Britton.: Studies of West Indtan plants 15
7. Leucocroton virens Griseb. Nachr. Gesell. Wiss. Gotting.
1865: 175
Mountain woodlands, Oriente. The foliage of this species is
very different from that of the others.
55. PASSIFLORA IN CUBA
Type species: Passiflora incarnata L.
A. Flowers subtended by 3 large foliaceous bracts [Grana-
dilla].
Bracts united below the middle; leaves ovate, entire,
membranous. 1. P. maliformis.
Bracts distinct to the base.
Branches sharply 4-angled; leaves ovate, entire,
membranous. 2. P. quadrangular is.
Branches not 4-angled.
Leaves entire, subcoriaceous, glabrous. 3. P. laurifolia.
Leaves lobed or parted.
Leaves pedately parted, membranous, pubes-
cent, the segments serrate. 4. P. pedala.
Leaves obtusely 3-lobed, glabrous, the lobes
entire. 5. P. pollens.
B. Flowers subtended by small or pectinate-pinnatifid bracts,
or bractless.
1. Flower-tube cylindric or cylindric-campanulate; corona
not plicate [Murucuja].
Leaves entire, ovate to elliptic. 6. P. cuprea.
Leaves lobed or subtruncate.
Leaves 2-lobed or subtruncate.
Leaves membranous, not reticulate-veined,
deeply 2-lobed, the lobes acute. 7. P. nipensis.
Leaves coriaceous, reticulate- veined, the lobes
obtuse or rounded, or apex subtruncate. 8. P. cubensis.
Leaves 3-lobed at the apex. 9. P. Shaferi.
2. Flower-tube short or none; corona longitudinally
plicate [Plectrostemma].
A. Petals none.
Leaves 3-divided, the segments stalked, 3-cleft. 10. P. Betleriana.
Leaves lobed or entire. 11. P. pallida.
B. Petals present.
a. Flowers subtended by pinnntisect bracts.
Leaves membranous, flaccid. 12. P.foetida.
Leaves chartaceous.
Plant densely velvety-pubescent. 13. P. gossypifolia.
Plants glabrous, usually with some stalked glands. 14. P. pseudociliata.
b. Bracts small, not pectinate-pinnatifid.
* Peduncles elongated, i-flowered, longer than the
leaves. 15. P. p en d id i flora.
1G Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
** Peduncles much shorter than the leaves.
Leaves 2-lobed, mostly broader than long.
Flowers solitary, slender-peduncled, 3-4 cm.
broad; fruit 3-5 cm. in diameter. 16. P. rubra.
Flowers clustered in the axils, 1.5-2 cm. broad,
very short-peduncled, the pedicels slender;
fruit about 8 mm. in diameter. 17. P. sexflora.
Leaves entire or bluntly 3-lobed, longer than broad.
Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, entire,
rounded at the base. 18. P. multiflora.
Leaves broadly ovate, obtusely 3-lobed, mostly
cordate at the base. 19. P . holosericea.
C. Published species not grouped.
Leaves ovate to elliptic, dentate. 20. P. dasyadenia.
D. Known only from foliage. Leaves deeply 3-lobed, the
lobes dentate. 21. A plant of the Isle
of Pines.
i. Passiflora maliformis L. Sp. PI. 956. 1753
Type locality: Near Port de Paix, Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Oriente, collected by Wright: — Hispaniola to
Barbadoes; Jamaica; South America. Perhaps not indigenous
in Cuba.
2. Passiflora quadrangularis L. Syst. Ed. 10, 1248. 1759
Type locality: Jamaica.
Distribution: Uncommon at Santiago de las Vegas {Van
Hermann 616) : — Native of Nicaragua; widely cultivated in tropical
America, and locally spontaneous.
3. Passiflora laurifolia L. Sp. PI. 956. 1753
Type locality: Surinam.
Distribution: Thicket, upper valley of the Rio Navas,
Oriente (Shafer 4411) : — native from St. Thomas and St. Jan to
Trinidad and South America. Spontaneous after cultivation in
Hispaniola and Jamaica.
4. Passiflora pedata L. Sp. PI. 960. 1753
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Woods and thickets, Santa Clara, Pinar del
Rio: — Hispaniola; northern South America.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 17
5. Passiflora pallens Poepp.; Masters in Mart. Fl. Bras. 131:
567. pi. 128, f. 4. 1872
Type locality: Cuba.
Distribution: Thickets, Havana, Pinar del Rio: — Florida;
Venezuela.
Recorded by Grisebach and by Sauvalle as P. stipulata Aubl.
6. Passiflora cuprea L. Sp. PI. 955. 1753
Type locality: New Providence, Bahamas.
Distribution: Near Baracoa, Oriente; cays of northern
Camaguey : — Bahamas.
7. Passiflora nipensis sp. nov.
Glabrous, glandless, slender, 8 dm. long or longer. Leaves
cuneate, 2-lobed to the middle or beyond, 1.5-3 cm« long, rather
strongly 3-nerved, the nerves impressed above, prominent be-
neath, excurrent, the secondary venation sparse and slender, the
lobes lanceolate, acute, the slender petioles 2.5-5 mm- long;
tendrils filiform, 2-4 cm. long; peduncles solitary or geminate in
the axils, 10-14 mm. long; fruit globose, dark blue, about 1.5 cm.
in diameter; seeds oblong, transversely ridged, about 3 mm. long.
Open dry situations in pine lands, Sierra Nipe near Woodfred,
Oriente, 500-650 m. alt. (Shafer 3554).
8. Passiflora cubensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 326. 1902
Passiflora coriacea A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 10: 288. 1845.
Not Juss.
Type locality : Cuba.
Distribution: Serpentine barrens, savannas and coastal
thickets, Oriente, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Havana. Endemic.
Referred by Grisebach to P. murucuja L. and to P. oblongata
Sw. The species is variable in leaf- form.
9. Passiflora Shaferi sp. nov.
A glabrous vine, about 2 m. long. Leaves thin, elliptic-
obovate, 4-5 cm. long, bluntly and shallowly 3-lobed at the apex,
rounded or obtuse at the base, strongly 3-nerved, each nerve
extending to a lobe and scarcely, if at all, excurrent, with 2 weaker
short basal nerves, both surfaces reticulate-veined, the upper
18 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
surface somewhat shining, the lower dull, the glandless petioles
4-7 mm. long; peduncles mostly 2 together in the axils, 1-2 cm.
long; bractlets subulate, 1.5-2 mm. long; flowers about 3 cm.
long, red, the tube cylindric, 1-1.5 cm. long; fruit subglobose,
about 1 cm. in diameter.
Between Navas and Camp Buena Vista, Oriente, at 650 m.
alt. (Shafer 4466).
10. Passiflora Berteriana Balb.; DC. Prodr. 3: 325. 1828
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Recorded by Grisebach as collected in Cuba
by Wright: — Santo Domingo.
11. Passiflora pallida L. Sp. PI. 955. 1753
Passiflora minima L. Sp. PI. 959. 1753.
Passiflora suberosa L. Sp. PI: 958. 1753.
Passiflora hirsuta L. Sp. PI. 958. 1753.
Passiflora angustifolia Sw. Prodr. 97. 1788.
Passiflora hederacea Cav. Diss. 10: 448. 1790.
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Banks, thickets and hillsides, all provinces
and Isle of Pines: — Florida; Bermuda; West Indies and tropical
continental America. The many races differ in leaf-form and
pubescence.
12. Passiflora foetida L. Sp. PI. 959. 1753
Type locality: Dominica.
Distribution: Thickets and roadsides, Oriente, Havana,
Pinar del Rio, Isle of Pines: — West Indies; continental tropical
America; Old World tropics.
13. Passiflora gossypifolia Desv. in Hamilt. Prodr. PI. Ind.
Occ. 48: 1825
P. foetida gossypifolia Masters in Mart. Fl. Bras. 131: 582. 1872.
Type locality: Not cited, presumably West Indian.
Distribution: Dry hillsides, southern Oriente: — continental
tropical America.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 19
14. Passiflora pseudociliata sp. nov.
? Pas si 'flora ciliata polyadena Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 285. 1866.
Herbaceous, glabrous, 2 rn. long or less. Leaves membranous,
but not flaccid, variously 3-lobed, or sometimes 5-lobed, 2-8 cm.
broad, bearing few or many slender-stalked glands, or glandless,
the lobes oblong, acute or obtuse, few-toothed or entire, the
slender petioles 1-5 cm. long; peduncles solitary in the axils,
longer than the petioles, sometimes nearly as long as the leaves;
bracts pectinate-pinnatifid ; flowers blue, 4-6 cm. broad; petals
narrowly oblong, blunt; crown-processes filiform, much shorter
than the petals; fruit inflated, bladdery, ellipsoid or subglobose,
red, 3-6 cm. long, short-stipitate, longer than the bracts.
Barren hillsides and coastal thickets, Camaguey, Santa Clara,
Matanzas, Havana, Pinar del Rio.
Type from rocky soil in savanna near Camaguey {Britton &
Cowell 13155).
Referred by Grisebach to P. ciliata Ait., and by Combs to
P. foetida L.
Specimens from the Sierra Nipe, Oriente, with large leaves and
fruit (Shafer 3081, 3618) are doubtfully referred to P. ciliata Ait.,
but they do not show the bracts, which, in P. ciliata of Jamaica,
are as long as the fruit or longer.
15. Passiflora penduliflora Bert.; DC. Prodr. 3: 326. 1828
* Type locality: Jamaica.
Distribution: Coastal woods and thickets, Oriente, Cam-
aguey : — Jamaica.
16. Passiflora rubra L. Sp. PI. 956. 1753
Type locality: Martinique.
Distribution : Banks and thickets at lower and middle eleva-
tions, Oriente, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Matanzas, Havana: — ■
West Indies; continental tropical America.
The Passiflora pubescens HBK., recorded as Cuban by A.
Richard, is, presumably, this species.
17. Passiflora sexflora Juss. Ann. Mus. Paris 6: no. pi. 37,
/• 1. 1805
Type locality: Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Thickets and hillsides, Oriente, Santa Clara: —
20 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Florida; Jamaica; Hispaniola; Porto Rico; recorded from St. Kitts;
Mexico and Central America.
1 8. Passiflora multiflora L. Sp. PI. 956. 1753
Type locality: Near Port de Paix, Santo Domingo.
Distribution: Rocky banks and coastal thickets, Oriente,
Camaguey, Santa Clara, Pinar del Rio, Isle of Pines: — Florida,
Bahamas; Hispaniola to Tortola; recorded from Costa Rica.
19. Passiflora holosericea L. Sp. PI. 958. 1753
Passiflora reticulata C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 6:
96. 1869.
Type locality: Vera Cruz [Mexico].
Distribution: Rocky hillsides and coastal thickets, Matan-
zas, Pinar del Rio: — Mexico.
20. Passiflora dasyadenia Urban, Symb. Ant. 3: 328. 1902
Type locality: Near El Aji [Oriente].
Distribution: Type locality and collected also on the Sierra
de Anafe, Pinar del Rio {Wilson & Leon 11534); flowers of both
the Oriente and the Pinar del Rio plant are unknown.
2 1 . Passiflora
A high climbing, sparingly pubescent vine. Petioles slender,
2-4 cm. long, bearing 2 small glands below the middle; leaves
subchartaceous, deeply 3-lobed, subtruncate at base, 10 cm. long
or less, the oblong lobes 1-3 cm. wide, acute, dentate, loosely
reticulate- veined .
Coastal plain, San Juan, Isle of Pines (Britton & Wilson 15476).
Passiflora incarnata L. of eastern continental North America
is recorded by A. Richard (Sagra, Hist. Cub. 10: 289) as having
been found in Cuba, but I have no other evidence of its occurrence
there.
56. RONDELETIA IN CUBA
Type species: Rondeletia americana L.
A. Capsule globose to globose- pyriform.
1. Inflorescence terminal or terminal and axillary.
a. Twigs strigose.
Cymes several-many-flowered; leaves elliptic to
ovate-elliptic, 3-8 cm. long. 1. R. odorata.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
21
Peduncles 1-3 -flowered; leaves oblong, 5-20 mm.
long.
b. Twigs glabrous or puberulent.
* Pedicels very slender or filiform.
t Leaves small, 1-2.5 cm. long; peduncles
1- to few-flowered.
Calyx-lobes dilated above.
Leaves ovate, rounded or subcordate at
the base; calyx-lobes little dilated.
Leaves oblong, oval or obovate, nar-
rowed or obtuse at the base;
calyx-lobes much dilated.
Wholly glabrous; petioles 1-2 mm.
long.
Petioles ciliate, 4-7 mm. long.
Calyx-lobes linear or subulate, not dilated.
Foliage puberulent.
Foliage glabrous,
tt Leaves up to 7 cm. long; inflorescence
several- to many-flowered.
** Pedicels stout, short.
t Leaves petioled.
Capsule subglobose or short-pyriform.
Corolla densely silky-pubescent.
Corolla glabrous or with a few scattered
hairs.
Calyx-teeth deltoid, minute.
Calyx-teeth ovate or oblong.
Petioles slender; capsule sub-
globose.
Petioles stout; capsule subpyri-
form.
Capsule oblong, about twice as long as
thick; leaves elongated, petioled.
tt Leaves sessile, oblong-oblanceolate; capsule
short-pyriform.
Inflorescence axillary or lateral.
a. Peduncles elongated, often as long as the leaves or
longer.
Leaves sessile, cordate, 5-8 cm. long.
Leaves petioled, 3-5 cm. long.
Petioles about 2 mm. long.
Petioles 8-12 mm. long.
Stipules triangular, obtuse; leaves obtuse
or rounded at the base.
Stipules linear-subulate, broadened below;
leaves rounded at the base.
b. Peduncles short, much shorter than the leaves.
* Leaves membranous to chartaceous; inflor-
escence mostly few- to several-flowered,
rarely i-flowered.
2. R. micro phylla.
3. R. Shaferi.
4.
R.
peduncularis,
5.
R.
pachyphylla.
6.
R.
pedicellaris.
7-
R.
alaternoides.
S.
R.
subglabra.
9. R. brachycarpa.
10. R. siellata.
11. R. angustata.
12. R. canellaefolia.
13. R. calcicola.
14. R. yamuriensis.
15. R. correifolia.
16. R. Lindeniana.
17. R. nimanimae.
18. R. Leoni.
22
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
19
20.
23-
24.
t Leaves faintly reticulate-veined beneath or
not reticulate-veined.
Leaves glabrous, or merely puberulent, the
venation obscure.
Leaves densely strigose-pubescent beneath,
pinnately veined,
ft Leaves strongly reticulate-veined beneath.
X Leaves ovate to elliptic.
Leaves rounded at the apex.
Calyx-lobes triangular; leaves 4 cm.
long or less, the petioles stout.
Calyx-lobes ovate-oblong; leaves 2
cm. long or less, the petioles
slender.
Leaves acute or acutish at the apex;
inflorescence subcapitate.
Inflorescence subsessile.
Inflorescence manifestly peduncled.
XX Leaves oblong.
Calyx-lobes linear, linear-lanceolate or
ovate, acute or acutish.
Leaves 1 cm. long or less.
Leaves 1.5-6 cm. long.
Calyx-lobes broadly ovate, rounded or
obtuse.
Leaves tomentulose beneath.
Leaves strigose on the veins beneath.
** Leaves coriaceous, mostly small; peduncles
mostly 1 -flowered.
Leaves elliptic to orbicular, obtuse or rounded.
Leaves silvery-puberulent beneath.
Leaves tomentose beneath.
Leaves elliptic, 1.5-2 cm. long; calyx-
lobes linear-lanceolate, acuminate.
Leaves oval or orbicular, 5-15 mm.
long; calyx-lobes oblong, obtuse.
Leaves oblong, acute or acutish.
Leaves glabrous, green both sides.
Leaves white-tomentulose beneath, dark
green and glabrous above.
B. Capsule linear-oblong, 2 cm. long; inflorescence terminal. 34.
C. Species not grouped. 35.
R. chamaebuxifolia.
R. intermixla.
21. R. lomensis.
22. R. baracoensis.
R. rigida.
R. nipensis.
25-
R.
Rugelii.
26.
R.
Combsii.
27.
R.
camarioca.
28.
R.
insularis.
29. R. savannarum.
30. R. venosa.
3i.
32.
33-
R. hypoleuca.
R. vacciniifolia.
R. blcolor.
R. tinifolia.
R. camagueyensis.
I. Rondeletia odorata Jacq. Enum. PI. Carib. 16. 1760
R. speciosa Lodd. Bot. Cab. 19: pi. 1893. 1832.
Type locality: Coastal thickets, Havana [Jacquin, Sel. Stirp.
59].
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 23
Distribution: Hillsides and thickets at lower and middle
elevations, Santa Clara, Matanzas, Havana, Pinar del Rio.
Recorded by Richard from Oriente. Recorded from Mexico,
Cultivated for ornament.
2. Rondeletia microphylla Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 127. 1866
Type locality : Western Cuba.
Distribution: River-banks, Pinar del Rio. Endemic.
The leaves are sometimes larger than those of the type speci-
mens, attaining a length of 3 cm.
3. Rondeletia Shaferi Urban & Britton; Urban, Symb. Ant. 7:
398. 1912
Type locality: Barren savannas near Holguin, Oriente.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Dr. Shafer's notes indicate that the plant grows along water-
courses.
4. Rondeletia peduncularis A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11:
14. 1850
Type locality: Vuelta de Abajo.
Distribution: Rocky banks and beds of streams, Oriente,
Pinar del Rio. Endemic.
5. Rondeletia pachyphylla Krug & Urban; Urban, Symb.
Ant. 1: 419. 1899
Type locality: Cuba.
Distribution: Rocky stream-beds, mountains of northern
Oriente. Endemic.
Recorded by Grisebach as R. alaternoides A. Rich. The
inflorescence is both terminal and axillary.
6. Rondeletia pedicellaris C.Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana6: 102, 121. 1869
Type locality: Vicinity of Trinidad.
Distribution: Cliffs and rocky hillsides, southern Santa
Clara. Endemic.
24 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
7. Rondeletia alaternoides A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. II:
13. 1850
Type locality: Mountains near Santiago [Oriente].
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
Urban states (Symb. Ant. 1: 419) that the inflorescence of
this species is terminal, not axillary as first described.
8. Rondeletia subglabra Krug & Urban; Urban, Symb. Ant.
1: 418. 1899
Type locality: Near Santiago, at 1,400 m. elevation [Oriente].
Distribution: Mountains of Oriente. Endemic.
9. Rondeletia brachycarpa (Griseb.) C. Wright; Sauvalle,
Anales Acad. Habana 6: 122. 1869
Ferdinandea brachycarpa Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 505.
1862.
Type locality: Thickets near Santa Catalina [Oriente].
Distribution: Thickets and hillsides, Oriente, Camaguey,
Santa Clara, Havana, Pinar del Rio: — Hispaniola.
Referred by Combs to R. trifolia Jacq.
10. Rondeletia stellata (Griseb.) C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales
Acad. Habana. 6: 122. 1869
Ferdinandea stellata Griseb. Mem. Am. Acad. II. 8: 505. 1862.
Type locality: Pine-lands near Monte Verde [Oriente].
Distribution: Mountains of northern Oriente. Endemic.
11. Rondeletia angustata C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad.
Habana 6: 122. 1869
Ferdinandea angustata C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 127.
1866.
Type locality: In bogs near Toscano.
Distribution: Arroyos and barrens, Santa Clara, Matanzas,
Pinar del Rio. Endemic.
12. Rondeletia canellaefolia sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub about 2.5 m. high, the twigs rather stout.
Leaves coriaceous, elliptic-obovate or elliptic-oblanceolate, oppo-
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 25
site or verticellate, 10 cm. long or less, 1.5-3 cm. wide, dark green,
shining above, dull beneath, obtuse or acute at the apex, cuneate
at the base, the midvein prominent, the lateral veins few, distant,
slender, the petioles 5-15 mm. long; inflorescence terminal and
in the upper axils, few-several-flowered; peduncles 1.5-5 cm- l°ng;
pedicels short and stout; bracts triangular, minute; calyx 3-4
mm. long, its lobes foliaceous, ovate, obtuse, 1-1.5 mm. long;
corolla glabrous, about 4 mm. long (immature) ; capsule pyriform,
1-1.5 cm. long.
Woods and on cliffs, Sierra Nipe, near Woodfred, Oriente,
450-55° m- alt. Type, Shafer 3297. In foliage and capsules
similar to R. stellata, but that has minute calyx-lobes.
13. Rondeletia calcicola Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 43: 467.
1916
Type locality: Coe's Camp, Ensenada de Siguanea, Isle of
Pines.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
14. Rondeletia yamuriensis sp. nov.
A small tree, about 4 m. high, glabrous throughout. Leaves
coriaceous, narrowly oblong-oblanceolate, 6-9 cm. long, 1-2 cm.
wide, sessile, acute or obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base,
opposite or verticillate in 3's, the midvein rather prominent,
the lateral veins few and slender; inflorescence terminal and also
in the uppermost axils; peduncles rather slender, 6 cm. long or
less; fruiting pedicels 5-10 mm. long; capsule globose-pyriform,
about 1 cm. long.
Between Yamuri Arriba and Bermejal, Oriente {Shafer 8439).
15. Rondeletia correifolia Griseb. Cat. PL Cub. 129. 1866
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Distribution: Pine-lands and savannas, Pinar del Rio and
Isle of Pines. Endemic. A virgate shrub, up to 2 m. high, the
large white flowers fragrant.
16. Rondeletia Lindeniana A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cub. 11:
13. 1850
Type locality: Mountains near Santiago [Oriente].
Distribution: Mountains of Oriente. Endemic. Recorded
by Grisebach as R. buxifolia Vahl, and, doubtfully, by Sauvalle, as
R. umbellulata Sw.
26 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
17. Rondeletia nimanimae Krug & Urban; Urban, Symb. Ant.
1: 418. 1899
Type locality: Near Nimanima, at 800 m. alt. [Oriente].
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
18. Rondeletia Leoni sp. nov.
A shrub or small tree up to 3 m. high, the slender young twigs,
the petioles and the inflorescence appressed-pubescent with short,
whitish hairs. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 3-8 cm. long, sub-
coriaceous, acute, short-acuminate, or some of them obtuse at the
apex, narrowed or cuneate at the base, flat, or the margins some-
what revolute when old, densely pubescent with appressed hairs
when young, glabrous, or sparingly pubescent on the veins beneath
when old, inconspicuously reticulate- veined, the slender petioles
12 mm. long or less; stipules linear-subulate with a broadened
base, pubescent, 3-4 mm. long; inflorescence axillary or lateral,
4-6 cm. long, 1 -few- flowered, sometimes with a pair of small,
leaf-like bracts; pedicels nearly filiform, 1-2 cm. long; bractlets
linear-subulate; calyx ovoid-campanulate, densely canescent, its
lobes linear or linear-spatulate, 3-4 mm. long; corolla densely
white-pubescent without, its tube slender, 10-12 mm. long,
cylindric, slightly expanded above, its lobes oblong-orbicular,
rounded, deep purple above, 2.5-3 mm. long; capsule subglobose,
4-5 mm. in diameter.
Sancti Spiritus Mountains, Santa Clara; type from Sierra del
Caballete {Leon & Clement 6560).
19. Rondeletia chamaebuxifolta Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 128.
1866
Rondeletia avenia C. Wright; Sauvalle, Anales Acad. Habana 6:
121. 1869.
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Distribution: Known only from the type locality, this not
definitely recorded.
20. Rondeletia intermixta sp. nov.
A shrub, 1.6 m. high, the young twigs densely strigose-pubes-
cent. Stipules triangular-ovate, pubescent, acute, persistent,
spreading, about 2 mm. long; leaves oblong, chartaceous. 3-6 cm.
long, acute at both ends, dark green and glabrous above, pale
green and densely pubescent beneath, the midvein rather promi-
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 27
nent, the lateral veins few, the slender petioles 8-15 mm.
long; inflorescence axillary, short-ped uncled, few-several-flowered,
densely pubescent; bractlets ovate, acute, about 1 mm. long;
calyx-teeth ovate, short; capsule globose, about 3 mm. in diameter,
pubescent.
Gran Piedra, Oriente, at about 1,500 m. alt. (Shafer QOjg).
Apparently the same as a part of C. Wright 1266, recorded by
Griesbach as Rondeletia Poitaei Griseb., but that name (Griseb.
Fl. Br. W. I. 328) is a synonym of Stevensia buxifolia Poit., a plant
known only from Hispaniola.
21. Rondeletia lomensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 394. 19 12
Type locality: Dry serpentine hill, Loma Santa Teresa,
near El Yunque, Oriente.
Distribution : Known only from the type locality.
Dr. Shafer's notes describe this as a shrub about 2.6 m. high
with white flowers; the corollas are not shown in the specimens.
22. Rondeletia baracoensis sp. nov.
Twigs slender, densely whitish-pubescent when young. Stip-
ules triangular-ovate, acute, pubescent, about 2 mm. long; leaves
chartaceous, elliptic, 2 cm long or less, rounded or obtuse at the
apex, narrowed or obtuse at the base, glabrous and obscurely
veined above, whitish-tomentulose and reticulate-veined beneath
with the primary venation prominent, the petioles 3-5 mm. long;
peduncles opposite, rather stout, 1-3-flowered, 3-13 mm. long;
bractlets lanceolate, pubescent, somewhat shorter than the calyx;
calyx 3 mm. long, its lobes ovate or ovate-oblong, obtuse, one half
as long as the tube; corolla-bud densely white-pubescent.
Vicinity of Baracoa (Pollard, Palmer & Palmer 245).
23. Rondeletia rigida Griseb. Mem. Am Acad. II. 8; 505.
1862
Type locality: La Madelina [Oriente].
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
24. Rondeletia nipensis Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 393. 1912.
Type locality: Sierra Nipe, near Woodfred, Oriente, in pine-
lands, 500-650 m. alt.
Distribution: Pine-lands and deciduous woods of the Sierra
Nipe, Oriente.
28 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Dr. Shafer's notes show this to be a shrub about 1.3 m. high,
with white flowers.
25. Rondeletia Rugelii Urban, Symb. Ant. 7: 397. 1912
Rondeletia Poitaei microphylla Griseb. Cat. PL Cub. 128. 1866.
Type locality : near Matanzas.
Distribution: Known definitely only from the type locality.
Rugel's label indicates that this is a shrub growing in rocks.
The species is related to the following one. Grisebach considered
the plant to be the same as R. Berteriana A. Rich, (not DC),
which was collected at La Cabana, Havana. R. Berteriana DC,
of Hispaniola, is clearly different.
26. Rondeletia Combsii Greenm. Trans. Acad. St. Louis 7: 427,
pi. 34- 1897
Type locality: Calicita [Santa Clara].
Distribution: Hillsides, cliffs and rocky shores, Santa Clara;
Havana. Endemic.
Plants with identical foliage have calyx-lobes ovate or lanceo-
late; Dr. Greenman's original description indicates that they
may even be linear. A fruiting specimen from Bahia Honda,
Pinar del Rio {Wilson 9409), is doubtfully referred to this species.
27. Rondeletia camarioca C Wright; Sauvalle, Anales. Acad.
Habana6: 102. 1869
Type locality: Savannas of Camarioca [Matanzas].
Distribution: Serpentine barrens and savannas, in dry soil,
Camaguey; Santa Clara; Matanzas. Endemic.
28. Rondeletia insularis sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, about 2 m. high, the twigs densely
appressed-pubescent. Stipules triangular-ovate, connate, pubes-
cent, persistent, 2-3 mm. long; leaves gray-green, oblong or ob-
long-obovate, chartaceous, 3 cm. long or less, 7-10 mm. wide,
glabrous and very obscurely veined above, delicately reticulate-
veined and strigillose beneath, the stout petioles about 1.5 mm.
long; peduncles solitary in the axils, stout, about as long as the
petioles, i-flowered, pubescent; bractlets ovate, acute, 1 mm. long;
capsule globose, densely puberulent, 4-5 mm. in diameter; calyx-
lobes ovate-oblong, obtuse, 1 mm. long.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 29
Vicinity of Pueblo Romano, Cayo Romano, Camaguey
{Shafer 2444).
29. Rondeletia savannarum sp. nov.
A shrub, about 2 m. high, the twigs densely appressed-pubes-
cent. Stipules triangular, acute, finely pubescent, 1-1 .5 mm. long;
leaves oblong to oblong-elliptic, 2 cm. long or less, 6-10 mm. wide,
coriaceous, obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base, glabrous,
dark green and obscurely veined above, silvery-puberulent beneath
with the few veins rather prominent, the petioles about 1.5 mm.
long; flowers solitary in the axils; peduncles stout, 2-3 mm.
long; calyx- teeth linear with the base broadened, 3 mm. long,
about as long as the calyx-tube; corolla-bud densely pubescent;
capsule globose, densely puberulent, 4 mm. in diameter.
Barren savannas, southeast of Holguin, Oriente {Shafer 1230,
type; 2933).
30. Rondeletia venosa Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 128. 1866
Type locality: Near San Marcos, Bahia Honda [Pinar del
Rio].
Distribution: Known only from the type locality.
31. Rondeletia hypoleuca Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 128. 1866
Type locality: Eastern Cuba, near Baracoa.
Distribution: Rocky situations, Oriente. Endemic.
A plant with orbicular leaves 5-7 mm. long, collected in a
rocky thicket between Camp La Barga and Camp San Benito at
about 1,000 m. alt. {Shafer 4121), is referred to this species
with hesitation.
32. Rondeletia vacciniifolia sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub 0.3-1.3 m. high, the young twigs
densely appressed-pubescent. Stipules triangular, acute, con-
nate, pubescent, 1.5-2 mm. long; leaves oblong, coriaceous,
6-12 mm. long, acute at both ends, or the apex obtuse and mucro-
nate, glabrous on both sides or sparingly pubescent on the midvein
beneath, the lateral venation obscure, the stout, pubescent
petioles 1.5-3 mm. long; flowers solitary in the upper axils, the
stout, pubescent peduncles about as long as the petioles; bractlets
triangular-ovate, acute; calyx- teeth linear, 2-3 mm. long; capsule
globose, pubescent, 5 mm. in diameter, reddish.
30 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
Rocky situations, mountains of northern Oriente. Type from
rocky bank of river, vicinity of Camp San Benito at 900 m.
alt. (Shafer 40 go).
33. Rondeletia bicolor sp. nov.
A shrub about 1.7 m. high, the twigs ascending, slender,
densely short-pubescent when young. Stipules triangular-lanceo-
late, rather abruptly attenuate from a broad base, short-pubescent,
about 3 mm. long; leaves oblong or oblong-oblanceolate, cori-
aceous, 2-3 cm. long, acute or some of them obtuse at the apex,
narrowed at the base, dark green, glabrous and very obscurely
veined above, white tomentulose and prominently veined beneath,
the pubescent petioles 2-4 mm. long; peduncles axillary, pubes-
gent, in fruit about 3 mm. long; fruits solitary, globose, pubescent,
about 3 mm. in diameter.
Loma de Ponciano, Sancti Spiritus Mountains, Santa Clara
(Leon and Clement 6717) .
34. Rondeletia (?) tinifolia Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub. 129. 1866
Type locality: Western Cuba.
Distribution: Sancti Spiritus Mountains, Santa Clara; pine-
lands and arroyos, Pinar del Rio. Endemic.
35. Rondeletia (?) camagueyensis sp. nov.
A shrub about 3 m. high, the young shoots densely appressed-
pubescent. Stipules triangular, acute, about 3 mm. long; leaves
ovate or elliptic-ovate, 3-4 cm. long, 3 cm. wide or less, membran-
ous, acute at the apex, narrowed or obtuse at the base, sparingly
short-pubescent and indistinctly veined above, loosely strigose-
pubescent, especially on the prominent veins beneath, the stout,
pubescent petioles 2-3 mm. long; capsule subglobose, 4-6 mm.
in diameter.
Arroyo, savanna near Camaguey (Britton & Cowell 13206).
Imperfect material only was collected at the time of our visit
to the locality in April, 1912.
Other species attributed to Cuba
Rondeletia microdon DC. Prodr. 4: 408. 1830
Havana, collected by Ossa, according to De Candolle. De-
scribed as a glabrous species, with oval-oblong, short-petioled
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 31
leaves acute at both ends, bipartite, persistent, obtuse stipules;
corymbose peduncled flowers, the calyx truncate, with five short
teeth. The genus of this plant was questioned by A. Richard
(in Sagra, Hist. Cub. n : 13), and I do not know any species which
answers to the description.
Rondeletia americana L. Sp. PI. 172. 1753
This, the type of the genus, is also recorded by De Candolle
as found at Havana by Ossa, and Grisebach (Fl. Br. W. I. 327)
mentions it as Cuban. I know the plant only from St. Vincent
and Jamaica.
Rondeletia laevigata Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, 1: 366. 18 10
De Candolle mentions this also as found at Havana, but no
species answering to the description is known to me from Cuba;
Grisebach (Fl. Br. W. I. 328) indicates that it is from the island
of Trinidad.
Rondeletia leptacantha DC. Prodr. 4: 410. 1830
Collected by Ossa, near Havana, according to De Candolle.
Described as a plant with opposite spines, broadly oval, subacute
leaves, the twigs and leaves subpilose when young, the slender
peduncle as long as the leaves or longer, three- to five-flowered at the
apex. No species of Rondeletia known to me answers the description.
Grisebach (Cat. PI. Cub. 133) refers the plant to Chomelia fascicu-
lata Sw. [Anisomeris fasciculata (Sw.) Schum.], but this disposal
of it is not satisfactory.
57. THREE ERIOCAULONS FROM THE ISLE OF PINES
Eriocaulon arenicola Britton & Small, sp. nov.
Plants 4-26 cm. tall, the scapes solitary or usually several
together; leaves ascending or spreading, 1—8 cm. long, linear-
attenuate, convex beneath, slightly concave above, glabrous;
scapes slender, mostly 6-angled, slightly spirally twisted, each
subtended by an obliquely opened sheath which is shorter than
the leaves; heads dense, at first depressed -globose, later sub-
globose or ovoid-globose, becoming about 5 mm. in diameter,
pubescent, whitish-gray; bracts of the involucre cuneate to obo-
vate, the outer ones about 1.5 mm. long; flowers numerous,
32 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
crowded; bracts very broadly cuneate, fully 1.5 mm. long, short-
hairy at and near the apex; sepals of the staminate flowers
concave, cuneate to obovate, about 1.5 mm. long, exceeding the
corolla, pubescent at the apex; corolla-lobes minute, ovate to
oblong-ovate, obtuse; anthers about 0.25 mm. long; sepals of the
pistillate flowers about 1.5 mm. long, boat-like, keeled, pubescent
near the top; petals oblong to oblong-spatulate, fully 1 mm. long;
capsule reniform-didymous, fully 0.5 mm. wide: seeds oval, barely
0.5 mm. long.
White sand, vicinity of Los Indios {Britton & Wilson 1417Q).
This plant is related to Eriocaulon sigmoideum C. Wright. It
differs from it in the larger size, the more compact heads, the more
copiously pale-pubescent and longer bracts, the smaller staminate
flowers, and the sepals of the pistillate flowers which are wider
below the middle, instead of at the top.
Eriocaulon fusiforme Britton & Small, sp. nov.
Plants 3-6.5 cm. tall, the scapes tufted, usually densely so;
leaves ascending or recurved, subulate-lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm. long,
thinnish, concave, glabrous; scapes relatively slender, spirally
twisted, prominently 5-angled, each subtended by an obliquely
opened sheath which is shorter than the longer leaves; heads
dense, fusiform, becoming 7-8.5 mm. long, acute, glabrous, brown-
ish; bracts of the involucre ovate to oblong, obtuse, chartaceous,
2-3 mm. long; flowers numerous; bracts rhombic-ovate or rhom-
bic-cuneate, mostly 2 mm. long, acute or short-acuminate, scarious,
glabrous, or obscurely fine-pubescent; sepals of the staminate
flowers spatulate to oblong-spatulate, about 1 mm. long, some-
times laciniate at the apex, about equalling the corolla or exceeding
it; corolla-lobes ovate; anthers about 0.15 mm. long; sepals of
the pistillate flowers about 1.5 mm. long, boat-shaped, strongly
keeled and crested above the middle, acuminate; petals linear-
elliptic to linear-spatulate, 1.5-2 mm. long; capsule suborbicular
or orbicular-ovoid, about 0.5 mm. wide: seeds narrowly oval,
about 0.5 mm. long.
Pinelands, Siguanea {Britton Sf Wilson 14Q51).
This differs from all described Cuban species of Eriocaulon.
Its short stiff scapes and fusiform glabrous or nearly glabrous
heads are particularly diagnostic.
Eriocaulon ovoideum Britton & Small, sp. nov.
Plants 6-1 1 cm. tall, the scapes tufted, usually densely so;
leaves erect or ascending, narrowly linear-lanceolate to linear-
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 33
attenuate, 1-3 cm. long, concave, thinnish, glabrous; scapes
stoutish, spirally- twisted, sharply 5-angled, each subtended by an
obliquely opened sheath which is as long as the leaves or shorter;
heads very dense, ovoid or globose-ovoid, becoming 6-8 mm. long,
obtuse, tan-colored; bracts of the involucre ovate to oblong, 1.5-3
mm. long, obtuse, glabrous, chartaceous; flowers numerous; bracts
subreniform, mostly wider than long, broadly rounded at the apex,
scarious, minutely pubescent; sepals of the staminate flowers
obovate to cuneate, concave, fully 1 mm. long, erose at the apex,
mostly exceeding the corolla; anthers ovoid, about 0.1 mm. long;
sepals of the pistillate flowers boat-shaped, fully 1 mm. long,
keel-winged and crested on the back, abruptly pointed: petals
spatulate, about 1.5 mm. long, often erose at the apex; capsule
reniform, about 1 mm. wide; seeds broadly oval, fully 0.5 mm.
long.
White sand, vicinity of Los Indios {Britton & Wilson 14226).
Related to Eriocaulon fusiforme, differing in stouter habit, the
short and broad heads, and in the broad and rounded bracts.
58. UNDESCRIBED CUBAN SPECIES
Dupatya montana sp. nov.
Stem simple, elongate, stout, densely leafy. Leaves broadly
linear, 8-14 cm. long, 6-15 mm. broad at the base, narrowed to
the acute apex, rigid, glabrous, striate-nerved; peduncles erect,
I5~3° cm- high, often numerous, axillary, loosely pubescent with
long, soft, white hairs, or glabrous; sheaths shorter than the
leaves, acuminate; heads solitary on the peduncles, hemispheric,
7-8 mm. broad; outer involucral bracts ovate, the inner ones
broadly oval to orbicular, rigid, acute, glabrous; receptacle pilose,
the bracts membranaceous, obovate-cuneate, 1.8-2 mm. long,
0.6-0.8 mm. broad, with a tuft of short hairs on the back at the
apex; staminate flowers dimerous; sepals spatulate-obovate,
about 1.9 mm. long, concave, ciliate at the apex; pistillate flowers
dimerous; sepals elliptic, concave; stigmas 2; ovary globose-
ovate.
Collected on compact red iron ore along trail from Rio
Yamaniguey to Camp Toa, Oriente, at 400 m. alt. (/. A.
Shafer 4473, type); also collected along trail from Camp La
Barga to Camp San Benito {Shafer 4104) and at Camp La
Gloria, south of Sierra Moa {Shafer 8045, 8251).
Apparently closely related to Dupatya pungens (Griseb.)
Britton {Paepalanthus pungens Griseb.), another Cuban species.
34 Britton; Studies of West Indian plants
Pilea Cowellii sp. nov.
Glabrous, perennial, monoecious, about 4 dm. tall; stem
becoming more or less grooved and compressed in drying, clothed
with numerous, small, elliptic raphides; leaves elliptic to ovate,
or the uppermost oblong-obovate, 1-3 cm. long, 0.7-1.1 cm. broad,
acute or obtuse at the apex, rounded and more or less cordate at
the base, 3-nerved, green and lustrous above, paler beneath, with
prominent, scattered, elevated callosites when fresh which become
depressed in drying, entire; raphides of the upper surface linear,
those of the lower surface punctiform; petioles 1-2 mm. long;
inflorescence axillary, 1-2 cm. long, equalling or shorter than the
leaves; staminate and pistillate flowers intermixed; staminate
flowers: pedicels 0.5 mm. long, perianth glabrous, 1 mm. long,
the lobes triangular-ovate; stamens 4; pistillate flowers short-
pedicelled or subsessile.
Type collected on cliffs, Ensenada de Mora, Oriente {Britton,
Cowell & Shafer 12977).
Ichthyomethia havanensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub 2 m. tall, with finely pubescent twigs; leaves odd-
pinnate, 1-1.4 dm. long, the petioles, rachis and petiolules velvety-
ferruginous when young; leaflets 9-13, elliptic to somewhat ellip-
tic-obovate, 2.3-4.5 cm. long, 1 .3-1.7 cm. broad, acute to rounded
and often apiculate at the apex, rounded at base, short-petioluled,
densely clothed with short, appressed, silky hairs when young,
in age glabrous or nearly so above, finely pubescent and reticulate-
veined beneath; calyx campanulate, pubescent with short,
appressed brownish hairs; pods broadly 4-winged, puberulent
with appressed hairs, 2-3.5 cm- l°ng> 2-2.8 cm. broad, stipitate,
the margin more or less undulate; seeds oblong, 5 mm. long, 2.5-3
mm. broad.
Related to I. piscipula (L.) A. S. Hitchc, but differing in the
much smaller and more coarsely reticulate leaflets, and smaller
fruit.
Thickets not far from Cojimar, Province of Havana (Brother
Leon & Father M. Roca 6194, type); also collected on a hill
west of Chorrera, Province of Havana {Brother Leon 5192).
Castelaria calcicola Britton & Small, sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub up to 2.5 m. tall, with stout thorns
which are branched when well developed, the twigs closely fine-
Britton: Studies of West Indian, plants 35
pubescent; leaf-blades obovate, varying to oval or ovate, mostly
1.5-4 cm- l°ng> rounded or retuse and mucronulate at the apex,
entire, slightly revolute and reticulate in age, bright green above,
paler beneath, somewhat shining, minutely pubescent, especially
on the midrib and veins beneath, short-petioled ; flowers several
in each cluster, short-pedicelled, the pedicels densely pubescent;
sepals triangular-ovate, about 1 mm. long, green, acutish, copiously
pubescent; petals ovate or oval, concave, cymbiform, 3.5-4 mm.
long, red, sparingly pubescent on the back; filaments subulate,
nearly 2 mm. long, villous- tomentose; anthers slightly longer than
the filaments, oblong, or nearly so; drupes flat, fully 1.5 cm. long,
nearly as wide, about 6 mm. thick, bright-red, the flesh thin, with
a fibrous-reticulate network which is impressed into the putamen.
Limestone hills, vicinity of Sumidero, Pinar del Rio (Shafer
13434)'
This shrub is related to Castelaria jacquinifolia. It differs
from that species in the pubescent leaves, the triangular-ovate
sepals, the pubescent petals, and the narrower and longer anthers.
Stenostomum obovatum sp. nov.
A straggling tree, the slender twigs glabrous. Leaves cori-
aceous, obovate, 6 cm. long or less, rounded at the apex, narrowed
at the base, revolute-margined, faintly shining, the midvein im-
pressed above, prominent beneath, the lateral venation slender
and obscure, the stout petioles 3-5 mm. long; inflorescence
terminal; fruits in pairs, sessile, oblong, black, fleshy, 10-12 mm.
long, 5-7 mm. thick.
Camp La Gloria, south of Sierra Moa, Oriente (Shafer 8i6g).
Stenostomum aristatum sp. nov.
A rough-barked tree about 6 m. high, with widely spreading
branches, the slender young twigs resinous. Stipules broadly
ovate, obtuse, 3 mm. long, caducous; leaves elliptic or ovate-
elliptic, coriaceous, 2.5 cm. long or less, acute and aristate at
the apex, mostly obtuse at the base, shining and strongly reticulate-
veined on both surfaces, especially above, the margins slightly
revolute, the petioles 1-2 mm. long; peduncles solitary in the up-
permost axils, about one-half as long as the leaves, 1- to 3-flowered
at the apex; flowers fragrant; calyx narrowly campanulate, 5 mm.
long, 5-lobed, the lobes oblong or oblong-obovate, 1.5-2 mm.
long, rounded; corolla white, its tube narrowly cylindric, about
2 cm. long, 1 mm. thick, its limb spreading, 5-lobed, about I cm.
36 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
broad, the lobes rounded; stamens 5; anthers linear, 2 mm. long;
ovary 6 -eel led.
Rocky hill, savanna near Camaguey (Britton & Cowell 132 41).
59. NOTES ON VARIOUS SPECIES
Evolvulus siliceus Britton & Wilson, nom. nov.
Evolvulus arenicola Britton & Wilson, Bull. Torrey Club 43: 466.
1916. Not E. arenicola Johnston, 1905.
Persicaria hirsuta (Walt.) Small
Marsh near Ferry River, Jamaica {Britton 394). Hitherto
unrecorded from Jamaica.
Phenax Sonneratii (Poir.) Wedd.
Gravelly soil, Jamaica (Alex. E. Wright 193). Hitherto un-
recorded from Jamaica.
Phyllanthus nummulariaefolius Poir.
Shady places, Hope Grounds, Jamaica (Harris 12123, 121 57,
12208). Hitherto unrecorded from Jamaica.
Veronica Tournefortii Gmelin
Waste and shaded grounds, near Mandeville (Crawford 683)
and near Cinchona, Jamaica (Harris 12417).
Jacquinia Keyensis Mez.
Northern coast of Camaguey and Matanzas provinces, Cuba
(Shqfer 689, 2593, 2712; Britton & Wilson 14043); Little Goat
Island, Jamaica (Britton 1852); Albion Mountain, Jamaica
(Harris 11678, 121 99). Heretofore recorded from the Bahamas
and Florida.
Cyrilla brevifolia N. E. Brown
Mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba (Shafer 4060, 4054,
4109, 4140, 4181, 8032). Apparently identical with the plant
of Mt. Roraima, British Guiana (Trans. Linn. Soc. II. 6: 22.
pi 1, f. 7-16).
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 37
Stemodia parviflora Ait.
Rio Piedras, Porto Rico {Stevenson 2178). Hitherto un-
recorded from Porto Rico.
Ditta myricoides Griseb.
Sierra de Naguabo, Porto Rico {Shafer 3603). Hitherto un-
recorded from Porto Rico.
Sida Eggersii E. G. Baker
Island of Culebra, Porto Rico, 1906 {Britton & Wheehr 178).
Hitherto known only from Tortola, where Dr. Shafer made a
second collection of it in 1913. A tree, 6-8 m. high, very different
from typical species of Sida.
OSSAEA DOMINGENSIS Cogn.
Alto de la Bandera, Porto Rico {F. L, Stevens 8717). Hitherto
known only from Santo Domingo.
Lescaillea equisetiformis Griseb.
This monotypic genus of Compositae was rediscovered on the
southern slope of Cajalbana in the province of Pinar del Rio,
Cuba, by Brothers Leon and Charles on April 6, 191 5. The
genus has hitherto been imperfectly known, as it was represented
in this country only by a fragment at the Gray Herbarium,
collected by Charles Wright in western Cuba. Lascaillea is a
woody vine related to Porophyllum. The leaves are reduced to
small scales, the plant resembling certain species of Ephedra
much more closely than it does any Eguisetum.
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK
BOTANICAL GARDEN— No. 236
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS -X
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1922
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical
Club 48: 327-343. February 28, 1922.
[From the P.ullbtin op the Torrey Botanical Club, 48: 327-343. 4 March, 1922.]
Studies of West Indian plants— X
Nathaniel Lord Britton
60. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM TRINIDAD
Eleocharis savannarum sp. nov.
Rootstocks very slender, elongated; culms filiform, weak,
smooth, 6-15 cm. long, the upper sheath membranous, its mouth
oblique; spikelet ovoid, 3-4 mm. long; scales oblong or ovate-
oblong, about 2 mm. long, obtuse, nearly white with a greenish
midvein; achene trigonous, obovoid, about 0.5 mm. long, truncate;
tubercle low, nearly flat, apiculate; bristles none.
Moist hole on the O'Meara Savanna, Trinidad (Britton 2491).
Eleocharis oropuchensis sp. nov.
Roots fibrous, finely filiform; culms finely filiform, densely
tufted, weak, 5 cm. long or less, the upper sheath membranous,
oblique at the summit. Spikelets terminating culms, and sessile
at the base of the plant; compressed, 2-3 mm. long, ovate, about 6-
flowered ; their scales ovate-oblong, pale or brown with pale mar-
gins and keel, subdistichous, blunt, 1.5 mm. long; style 3-cleft;
achene trigonous, smooth, pale, about 0.5 mm. long, about as long
as the 3 or 4 bristles; tubercle conic, one fourth as long as the
achene.
In mud in sunny, grassy situations, Trinidad; type from Oro-
puche Lagoon (Britton, Hazen and Freeman 11 55, March 29, 1920).
I am indebted to Mr. N. E. Brown for comparing this little
plant with West Indian and South American species in the Kew
Herbarium, where he was unable to match it. He remarks upon
its unusual character of having both terminal and basal spikelets,
and compares it with Chaetocyperus Jamesoni Steud. from Guaya-
quil, Ecuador (Jameson 360), pointing out important differences,
however.
Rynchospora aripoensis sp. nov.
Perennial by short horizontal rootstocks; culms filiform, tufted,
smooth, erect, 2-4 dm. high, longer than the filiform leaves.
Spikelets few, 2 mm. long, ovoid, acute, i-fruited, sessile in 1 or 2
small clusters subtended by a filiform bract 1-3 cm. long; scales
327
328 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
ovate, brown, acute; bristles nonejachene obovate-elliptic, i mm.
long, smooth, light brown; tubercle rompressed-conic, acute, one
third to one half as long as the achene.
Grassy plain, Aripo Savanna, Trinidad (Britton 2QJ4). Per-
haps most nearly related to R. Chapmani M. A. Curtis of the
eastern United States.
Bromelia aurea sp. nov.
Leaves numerous, rigid, linear, long-attenuate, 6-8 dm. long,
about 3 cm. wide, armed with distant curved prickles 4-5 mm.
long. Scape rather slender, shorter than the basal leaves, bearing
several prickle-armed small leaves; inflorescence brownish-floccose,
about 3 dm. long; bracts lanceolate, membranous, acuminate,
2-4 cm. long; bractlets ovate, membranous, strongly nerved,
mucronate, about 1 cm. long; flowers 2 to several together, the
clusters 2-3 cm. apart; sepals similar to the bractlets, about 1 cm.
long; petals linear, bright yellow, about 3 cm. long and 2 mm. wide.
Wooded hillside, near western end of Monos Island, Trinidad
(Britton, Button and Brown 2736). In flower Apiil 4, 1921.
Related to B. chrysantha Jacq. of Venezuela.
Aechmea porteoides sp. nov.
Leaves firm in texture, linear with a somewhat broadened
base, about 8 dm. long, 4-7 cm. wide, sharply acute, the margins
armed with very numerous, approximate, nearly black, slightly
curved spinules 4 mm. long or less; inflorescence paniculate, as
long as the leaves or longer, its ultimate branches spreading, about
6 cm. long, stellate-pubescent, slender, few-flowered; bracteoles
subulate-acicular, 4-6 mm. long; flowers blue, about 20 mm. long;
sepals striate, about 1 cm. long, with a terminal spinule 2-3 mm.
long; ovary about 1 cm. long, oblong.
On the ground in mountain forests, Trinidad. Type from
Mount Tocuche (Britton, Hazen and Mendelson 1342). In flower
April 5, 1920. Related to A. Fendleri of Venezuela.
Tillandsia viscidula sp. nov.
Basal leaves tufted, linear, 2.5-3.5 dm. long, flat, gradually
narrowed upward, abruptly contracted at the apex and short-
acuminate, the base expanded and dark-blotched. Stem 3-5
dm. high, erect, bearing leaves similar to the basal ones, but smaller,
the upper ones 7 cm. long or less; panicle 3-5 dm. long, few- to
several-branched, viscid; flowers yellow, distant, sessile, about 2
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 329
cm. long, at first appressed, later spreading, about as long as the
bracts.
On trees, Trinidad. Type from Moruga (Britton and Bioad-
way 24 jo). Related to T. aloifolia Hook.
Alpinia silvicola sp. nov.
Rootstocks rather stout, scaly. Sterile stem 2-3 m. high ;
leafy; leaves oblong, thin, glabrous, closely many-veined, 3-5 dm.
long, 6-10 cm. wide, the apex acuminate, the base narrowed, the
petioles 1-2.5 cm. long, the sheaths striate; lower leaves reduced
to thin sheathing scales. Fertile stems about 3 dm. high, pubes-
cent above, with a few, narrow scales 3-4 cm. long; spike dense,
several- to many-flowered, 7-10 cm. long; bracts 1- flowered,
shorter than the flowers; calyx about 1.5 mm. long, pubescent,
its lobes broad; corolla yellow, about 2 cm. long; fruit oblong,
about 3 cm. long, its juice blue-black.
Forests of the northern mountain range, Trinidad. Type from
Mount Tocuche (Britton, Hazen and Mendelson 1301).
Calathea trinitensis sp. nov.
Leaves erect, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, glabrous, the blade
up to 1 m. long and 3 dm. wide, rather shorter than the slender
petiole, rather abruptly narrowed at the base, the apex abruptly
tipped, the midvein prominent, the innumerable lateral veins close
together. Scape glabrous, about 7 dm. high; spike dense, about
2 dm. long; bracts oblique, many- veined, 3-4 cm. long, their
spreading tips acute; flowers yellow, about 3 cm. long, the seg-
ments linear, parallel-veined, acute.
Forest, heights of Aripo, Trinidad {Britton and Freeman 2360).
In flower March 16, 1921.
Ficus ierensis sp. nov.
A tree up to 10 m. high or higher, glabrous. Leaves broadly
elliptic or elliptic-orbicular, subcoriaceous, pinnately 5- to 9-veined
on each side of the rather prominent midvein, rounded at the
apex, cordate at the base, 10-20 cm. long, the stout petiole one
fourth to one third as long as the blade; fruiting peduncles
slender, about 1 cm. long; fruit globose, 12-18 mm. in diameter;
bracts 2 or 3, broad, rounded, nearly as long as the fruit; ostiolum
sunken, about 2 mm. in diameter.
Hillsides in relatively dry districts, Trinidad. Type from
North Post Road (Britton, Hazen and Mendelson 774). Similar
.">.'!() Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
to F. crassinervia of Hispaniola, to which species it has been
referred, and also related to F. Urbaniana Warburg, of the Lesser
Antilles.
Ficus arimensis sp. nov.
Twigs stout. Leaf-blades firm in texture, obovate, about 2
dm. long and twice as long as wide, distantly pinnately veined,
the base subcuneate, the apex rounded and short-cuspidate; fruit
subglobose, sessile, about 8 mm. in diameter (immature).
Arima, Trinidad (/. Dannouse). Collected in 1905.
Ficus Mendelsonii sp. nov.
A tree up to 16 m. high. Leaves elliptic to obovate-elliptic,
the blade thin, smooth, 10-15 cm. long, about twice as long as
wide, distantly pinnately veined, triple-veined just above the base,
the base rounded or obtuse, the apex abruptly short-acuminate;
petioles slender, 2-6 cm. long; peduncles slender, 1-2 cm. long;
fruit globose, pale, 10-15 mm- m diameter, the ostiolum deeply
concave; basal bracts 2, triangular-ovate, about 2 mm. long.
Forests in moist or wet districts, Trinidad. Type from the
northern hills between North Post and Maqueripe {Britton, Hazen
and Mendelson 879).
Phoradendron chaguaramasanum Trelease sp. nov.
Scarcely forked, the moderate branches with basal cataphyls
only, androgynous?. Internodes short (2 X 10-30 mm.), at first
papillately roughened, quadrangular and somewhat 4-winged, little
flattened. Cataphyls a single pair, nearly basal, deeply notched.
Leaves spatulate-oblong, obtuse to subtruncate, scarcely 1 X 2.5
cm., cuneately subpetioled for 5 mm., fleshy, drying yellow, 1- or
obscurely 3-nerved from the base. Spikes solitary, very short
(about 5 mm.), with 2 or 3 very short characteristically 4-flowered
joints; peduncle about I mm. long; scales ciliolate. Immature
fruit subglobose, scarcely 2 mm. in diameter, reddish, verrucose;
sepals yellow, erect, not meeting.
Chaguaramas, Trinidad {Britton 2718, the type, April 4, 1921).
Phoradendron caerulescens Trelease sp. nov.
Pseudodichotomous, the moderate branches with basal cata-
phyls only, androgynous?. Internodes short (2-3 X 10-20 mm.),
smooth, glossy, quadrate, the upper ancipitally dilated to a width
of 4 mm. below the nodes. Cataphyls a single pair, basal, glossy
brown, tubular-bifid. Leaves round-elliptical, submucronately
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 331
acuminate, 1.5 X 2-2.5 cm-> cuneately subpetioled for about 5
mm., cartilaginous-margined, about 5-nerved, at first delicately
blue-glaucous. Spikes solitary, short (scarcely 15 mm.) with 3 or
4 short 4-flowered joints; peduncle 1 mm. long; scales slightly
ciliolate. Fruit (immature) small, globose, deeply immersed, ver-
rucose: sepals inflexed.
Chacachacare Island, Trinidad {Britton and Hazen 1726, April
13, 1920), the type; also from the same, locality, on Capparis
{Britton, Freeman and Watts 2701, 2708, 192 1).
Of the Emarginatae, but with inflexed sepals, and in this, as
well as in its flattened twigs, related to P. Ottonis Eichler of Vene-
zuela.
Seguiera ierensis sp. nov.
A climber with slender twigs and branches, the prickles 2-25
mm. long. Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 6-16 cm. long,
acute or acuminate at the apex, narrowed or obtuse at the base,
or the upper ones smaller and obtuse, the petioles 2-7 mm. long;
panicles many- flowered, 5-9 cm. long, puberulent; pedicels 2-3
mm. long; perianth-segments unequal, elliptic to obovate, 3-3.6
mm. long, rounded, concave; stamens about 20 with filiform
filaments and linear anthers.
McBean Estate, Carapachaima, Trinidad, April 30, 1918
(type). Forest, Ortoire River, Guayaguayare Road {Britton,
Freeman and Nowell 2527, barren).
Seguiera cordata sp. nov.
Twigs slender; prickles stiff, nearly straight, about 8 mm.
long. Leaves broadly ovate, subcoriaceous, glabrous, 14 cm.
long or less, cordate or subcordate at the base, acute at the apex,
or small ones obtuse at both ends, the venation prominent beneath,
impressed above, the stout petioles 6-8 mm. long; panicles many-
flowered, about 6 cm. long; bractlets ovate, 1 mm. long, about as
long as the pedicels or a little shorter; sepals 1-1.5 mm. long.
Lobajos near Erin, Trinidad {Trinidad Herbarium 9122, W. E.
Broadway, May 14, 1920).
Chrysobalanus savannarum sp. nov.
An irregularly branching shrub 0.5-4 m- high) the glabrous twig?
stender. Leaves obovate to elliptic-obovate, 1.5-3.5 cm. long,
strongly reticulate-veined above, faintly veined beneath, obtuse
or acutish at the apex, narrowed at the base, the petioles 1.5-2
332 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
nun. long; flowers few, in small axillary clusters not longer than
the leaves, or these terminating short leafy twigs; pedicels short,
puberulent; calyx silky-pubescent, its lobes short, broad, obtuse;
petals cuneate-spatulate, rounded at the apex, 3-3.5 mm. long;
drupe oblong or narrowly oblong-obovoid, obtuse, about 8 mm.
long and 4 mm. in diameter.
Grassy plain, Aripo Savanna, Trinidad {Britton, Hazen and
Freeman 200$, April 21, 1920).
Acacia quadricostata sp. nov.
A woody vine, up to 8 m. long, the old stems 4-ribbed or 4-
flanged, about 8 cm. thick near the base, the twigs 4-angled, armed
with recurved prickles about 3 mm. long. Leaves 2-pinnate, 6-17
cm. long; stipules wanting; petiole slender, bearing a sessile,
circular gland; rachis glabrous, sometimes bearing a few minute
prickles; rachilla very slender, angular1; leaflets 35 pairs or fewer,
sessile, linear-lanceolate, acutish, 6-8 mm. long, about 1 mm.
wide, truncately inequilateral at the base, the midvein somewhat
eccentric, the lateral veins few, glabrous, except for a characteristic
line of yellowish hairs on the underside of the midvein near the
base; legume linear-oblong, flat, densely puberulent, 5-9 cm.
long, nearly 2 cm. wide, narrowed at the base with a short stipe,
acute and short-tipped; seeds orbicular, dark brown, about 7 mm.
in diameter.
Hillside, Chacachacare Island, Trinidad {Britton, Freeman and
Watts 2685), in fruit April 3, 1921. The prickles are persistent
upon the old stems and branches.
Erythrina pallida Britton and Rose sp. nov.
A small tree, 4 meters high; young growth puberulent; second
year growth glabrate with shining gray bark; spines at base of
leaves stout, reflexed, 6-8 mm. long; leaves large; rachis 2 cm.
long or more, glabrous; leaflets 3, broadly ovate, sometimes
obliquely so, acuminate, 12-15 cm. long, green above, very pale
beneath, glabrous on both sides at least when mature; inflores-
cence subsessile, paniculate, 1-2 dm. long; pedicels stout, about
1 cm. long; calyx 1.5 cm. long, nearly truncate, except a small
protuberance on the lower side; corolla salmon-colored, narrow,
7 cm. long; fruit with a long slender stipe 3 cm. long; tipped writh
a rigid persistent style, 2 cm. long, moniliform, 8-io-seeded; seed
8 mm. long, 6 mm. broad.
Hillsides and roadsides, Trinidad. Type from roadside near
Carenage {Britton 2656), April 4, 1921. Commonly planted as
a fence tree in Trinidad.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants :•>:>:■>
Elaphrium trinitensis Rose sp. nov.
A gnarled tree, 5 meters high, fragrant; branches glabrous,
often short and spur-like, with brownish bark; leaves simple,
borne at the end of stubby branches, the petiole not winged, 12
mm. long or less, the blade broadly ovate, 2.5 cm. long or less,
entire, glabrous; flowers solitary or in small panicles sometimes
only 3- or 4-flowered; pedicels 3 to 5 mm. long, glabrous; fruit
3-angled, glabrous, 8 to 10 mm. long; nutlet white, 3-angled.
Western end of Monos Island, Trinidad {Britton, Britton and
Brown 2?jq), April 4, 1921.
Phyllanthus graminicola sp. nov.
Annual, with fibrous roots, glabrous; stem slender, erect,
becoming much branched, 1-3 dm. high, the branches almost
filiform. Leaves oblong-elliptic, thin, faintly pinnately veined,
4-10 mm. long, the apex obtuse, the base more or less narrowed,
the petiole about I mm. long; stipules minute; flowers nearly ses-
sile; calyx of the pistillate flowers deeply 6-parted, the linear
segments at length about 1 mm. long; fruit depressed, 1.5 mm.
in diameter; seeds about 0.6 mm. long.
Moist grassy situations at low elevations, Trinidad. Type
from grassy roadside, Carenage (Britton and Hazen 12). In fruit
February 25, 1920. Related to P. carolinensis Walt, of the eastern
United States, which has larger fruit and seeds and broader
pistillate calyx-segments.
Clusia tocuchensis sp. nov.
A tree about 18 m. high, the twigs rather stout. Leaves
borne at the ends of the twigs, obovate, coriaceous, glabrous, about
10 cm. long, 4-5 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, cuneate at the
base, rather finely pinnately veined, the short stout petiole only
about 5 mm. long; fruit globose, 10-15 mm. in diameter; carpels
about 7; styles stout, 3-4 mm. long; stigmas flat, obliquely
oblong, the center depressed.
Forest, Mount Tocuche, Trinidad (Britton, Hazen and Mendel-
son 1247). In fruit April 3-5, 1920.
Terminalia nyssaefolia sp. nov.
A tree up to 20 m. high, the slender twigs glabrous. Leaves
chartaceous, obovate, 7-12 cm. long, 4-6 cm. wide, entire,
abruptly short-acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, strongly
334 Brtton: Sim. iis of West Indian plants
reticulate- veined, glabrous and bright green above, pale green,
dull and strigose-pubescenl on the veins beneath, the strigose and
eiliate petioles 5-10 mm. long; fruit compressed, 2-winged, broader
than long, 2-3.5 cm- broad, 1.5-2.5 cm. long, notched at the apex",
at base abruptly contracted into a stalk about 2 mm. long, the
thin striate wings about one half as wide as the seed-bearing part.
Coastal woods, Manzanilla, Trinidad (Britton 2177). In fruit
(fruit fallen) March 9, 192 1.
Combretum trinitense sp. nov.
Vine-like, woody, the stems up to 6 m. long, the branches long
and slender, the twigs glandular. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-
lanceolate, chartaceous, 8-12 cm. long, 5 cm. wide or less, the
midvein prominent beneath, impressed above, the lateral veins
about 7 on each side of the midvein, slender, curved upwardly,
the upper surface glabrous, reticulate-veined, the under surface
impressed-glandular, the glandular petioles 6-7 mm. long; fruiting
racemes 6-10 cm. long; fruit oblong, 10-15 mm. long, the four thin
wings glandular, the pedicels about 2 mm. long.
Hillside thicket, Chacachacare Island, Trinidad (Britton,
Freeman and Watts 26gg). In fruit April 3, 1921.
Myrcia arimensis sp. nov.
A small tree, the slender young twigs rather densely strigose.
Leaves elliptic to elliptic-ovate, chartaceous, 4-6 cm. long, reticu-
late-veined, punctate, dark green and shining above, pale green
beneath, the apex acute, the base narrowed, the strigose or glabrate
petioles 3-5 mm. long; panicles several- to many-flowered, 5-7 cm.
long, their slender branches spreading; flowers nearly or quite
sessile; calyx-lobes rounded; immature fruit globose, about 5 mm.
in diameter.
Arima, Trinidad (/. Dannouse, Feb. 10, 1905).
Eugenia Baileyi sp. nov.
A tree up to 12 m. high or higher, the twigs terete, rather
slender. Leaves coriaceous, glabrous, broadly elliptic, 12-16 cm.
long, 9-12 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, obtuse at the base,
strongly pinnately veined, abundantly punctate, the stout petioles
1-1.5 cm. long; fruit lateral, oblong or ovoid-oblong, about 2 cm.
long and 1 cm. thick, pale, puberulent, nearly sessile.
Forest, Morne Bleu, Trinidad (Britton, Freeman and Bailey
2246). In fruit March 13, 1921.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 335
Hydrocotyle Hazenii Rose sp. nov.
A delicate creeping plant, rooting at the nodes; petioles slender,
2 to 5 cm. long, pubescent and more pronounced just below the
blade; blade nearly orbicular, 2.5 cm. in diameter or less, glabrous
and paler beneath, somewhat hairy or glabrate above, the sinus
usually narrow, the margins doubly crenate, the crenations low
and broad; peduncle slender, hairy above, longer than the petiole;
flowers in a small compact umbel ; pedicels I to 2 mm. long.
Among wet rocks, Maracas Waterfall, Trinidad (Britton, Hazen
and Mendelson 1660, April 10, 1920).
Psammisia recurvata sp. nov.
Stems branched, about 5 m. long. Leaves coriaceous, glabrous,
elliptic-ovate, 10-20 cm. long, 7-10 cm. wide, pinnately 7-veined
from near the base, with numerous curved transverse veinlets, the
venation impressed above, prominent beneath, the apex acute,
the base narrowed, the stout petiole 1-2 cm. long; flowers several
in short axillary racemes; bractlets ovate, acute, about 2 mm. long;
pedicels stout, recurved, glabrous, 2-3 cm. long; ovary subglobose,
glabrous; calyx subcampanulate, persistent, about 6 mm. long in
fruit, its lobes rounded, apiculate, their margins thickened; corolla-
tube about 4 cm. long, red, the short limb white; fruit globose,
about 1 cm. in diameter, many-seeded.
Forest bank, near summit of Mount Tocuche, Trinidad
(Britton, Hazen and Mendelson 12Q4).
Specimens of this plant were mixed by Grisebach with those
of another and the complex described by him (Fl. Br. W. I. 143)
as Thibaudia latifolia Griseb., subsequently referred by Bentham
and Hooker to Vaccinium; it would appear that the name latifolia
should go with this other species, which, however, is not a good
Vaccinium.
Sophoclesia trinitensis sp. nov.
Pendent from forest trees; stem slender, sparingly branched,
short-villous when young, 1-4 m. long. Leaves subcoriaceous,
glabrous or nearly so, ovate or some of them ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-
3.5 cm. long, from about one half to two thirds as wide as long,
triplinerved with a pair of delicate veins at the base, this venation
rather distinct beneath, obscure above, the apex bluntly pointed,
the base rounded or subtruncate, the villous petiole about 2 mm.
long; peduncles filiform, glabrous, somewhat shorter than the
leaves; ovary globose, glabrous or with a few hairs; corolla white,
;;::ii Britton: Studies of West Indian plants
glabrous, about 5 mm. long; fruit blue or mauve, glabrous, about
5 mm. in diameter.
Forests, in wet districts, Trinidad. Type from Mount Tocuche
{Britton, Hazen and Mendelson 1316). In (lower and fruit April
3, 1920.
Sophoclesia major (Griseb.) Benth. & Hook., also of Trinidad,
differs in its ovate-orbicular rounded, subcordate leaves and
densely pilose ovary.
Cavendishia Urichiana sp. nov.
A much-branched, woody vine, up to 6 m. long, glabrous
throughout, the branches slender. Leaves oblong-lanceolate to
oblong-elliptic, somewhat fleshy, dark green above, bright green
beneath, chartaceous in drying, triple-nerved, 10-15 cm. long,
3-5 cm. wide, the nerves rather prominent beneath, slightly
impressed above, the apex acuminate, the base narrowed, the
petiole 8-10 mm. long, rather stout; flowers fascicled on the twigs
or in the leaf-axils, bracteolate, the bractlets ovate, acute, 2-3
mm. long; pedicels slender, 8-20 mm. long; calyx-limb with 5
short acute teeth, expanded above the ovary; corolla-tube sub-
cylindric, about 2 cm. long, scarlet, the limb 4 mm. long, white,
with 5 ovate-lanceolate teeth; stamens shorter than the corolla;
style slender, exserted; immature fruit subglobose, crowned by
the calyx-limb.
Climbing on forest trees, Heights of Aripo, Trinidad {Britton
and Freeman 2364, March 16, 192 1). Specimens were brought
from the same place a few days earlier by Mr. F. W. Urich, Ento-
mologist of the Trinidad Department of Agriculture, and he
guided us to it. The plant from which the type specimens were
taken is wonderfully elegant when in bloom, displaying long
wands of the scarlet, white-tipped flowers, and is locally called
"clove-plant."
Diospyros ierensis sp. nov.
A tree, 12 m. high or higher, the twigs and leaves glabrous.
Leaves chartaceous, oblong to elliptic, 10-15 cm. long, 7 cm. wide
or less, bluntly short-acuminate at the apex, narrowed or obtuse
at the base, reticulate-veined, the venation prominent beneath,
the stout petiole 10-14 mm. long; fruiting calyx 2-2.5 cm- broad,
nearly flat, wrinkled, 4-lobed, the lobes broad and short; fruit
subglobose, about 4 cm. in diameter (not quite mature); seeds
about 8.
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 337
Forest near the summit of Mount Tocuche, Trinidad (Britton,
Hazen and Mendelson 124J). In fruit April 5, 1920.
Specimens collected by J. Dannouse at Guanapo, Trinidad,
showing imperfect flowers about 1 cm. wide (Trinidad Herb. 6415)
are probably referable to this species.
Chrysoprryllum (?) minutiflorum sp. no v.
A tree about 15 m. high, the young leaf-buds puberulent,
otherwise glabrous. Leaves thin-chartaceous, oblong-lanceolate,
13 cm. long or less, 2.5-5 cm- wide, long-acuminate at the apex,
narrowed at the base, delicately pinnately and reticulate-veined,
the rather slender petioles 10-15 mm. long; flowers green, several
to many in sessile axillary fascicles; bractlets minute; pedicels
very slender, thickened upward, 5-8 mm. long; calyx about 1.5
mm. long, its 3 or 4 lobes rounded; corolla-segments 3 or 4,
minute; stamens 3 or 4.
Forest, Arima, Trinidad (Britton, Britton and Brown 2403).
In young flower March 18, 192 1.
The flowers are too young to enable the generic status of this
tree to be certainly determined. Mr. N. E. Brown has identified
specimens as the same as Crueger's no. 247 in the Kew Herbarium,
from Trinidad, which is a leafy branch and a detached fruit.
The leaves are also the same as those of Trinidad Herbarium
no. 1454. also leafy shoots with the remains of a fruit which was.
apparently, about 2 cm. long, attached, and with some flowers
even younger than those of our 2403.
Evolvulus bocasanus sp. nov.
Perennial, shrubby, branched, 3-4 dm. high, the branches
nearly erect or ascending, strigose. Leaves lanceolate to oblong,
2-5 cm. long, 5-15 mm. wide, strigose on both sides, acute or
obtuse at apex, obtuse at base, pinnately few-veined, the veins
nearly parallel, the petiole 1-2 mm. long; peduncles filiform,
axillary, 3 cm. long or less, 1 -few-flowered; bracts lanceolate,
acuminate, 2-3 mm. long; pedicels 2-10 mm. long; calyx strigose,
3-4 mm. long, 5-lobed to about the middle, the lobes lanceolate,
acute; corolla rotate, bright blue, 8-15 mm. broad.
Hillsides, Bocas Islands, Trinidad; type from Chacachacare
(Britton, Freeman and Watts 26/4). In flower April 3, 1921.
This is the species recorded from Trinidad by Grisebach as Evol-
vulus alsinoides L., at least in part.
33S Britton: Stidiks of Wkst Indian PLANTS
Solanum ierense sp. nov.
A .shrub about 2 m. high, the slender unarmed branches diver-
gent, glabrous, the young twigs stellate-pubescent. Leaves thin,
ovate or elliptic-ovate, 5 cm. long or less, delicately pinnately
few-veined, sparingly stellate-pubescent above, densely stellate-
pubescent beneath, the apex acute or obtuse, the base obtuse or
narrowed, the slender petioles 4-10 mm. long; flowers solitary or
geminate (rarely 3) in the axils on nearly filiform pubescent
peduncles 2.5 cm. long or less; calyx stellate-pubescent, 5-7-cleft,
the lobes linear-lanceolate, acuminate; corolla white, 5-6-cleft, its
lobes linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 10 mm. long; stamens 5 or 6,
all alike, the anthers somewhat attenuate, 8 mm. long, the fila-
ments 1-2 mm. long; immature berry globose, about 7 mm. in
diameter.
Hillside, Chacachacare, Trinidad {Britton, Freeman and Watts
2706). In flower and young fruit April 3, 1921.
Solanum Hazenii sp. nov.
A tree up to about 5 m. high with a woody trunk about 1.5
dm. in diameter. Leaves broadly elliptic, rather thin and flaccid,
10-20 cm. long, 8-15 cm. wide, strongly pinnately veined on the
under side, the apex short-acuminate, the base obtuse, the upper
surface finely stellate when young, glabrous when old, the under
surface persistently stellate-tomentulose, the stout, stellate- tomen-
tulose petioles 3 or 4 cm. long; inflorescence stalked, about
equalling the leaves, many-flowered, tomentulose; pedicels short;
flower-buds subglobose, rounded, tomentulose; calyx tomentulose,
deeply lobed, 5 mm. long, the lobes obtuse; corolla white, 20
mm. broad, 5-lobed to below the middle, the lobes broadly ovate,
acute; stamens all alike, the anthers 3 mm. long, about twice as
long as the filaments; berry globose, black, about 8 mm. in diam-
eter.
Hillsides, northwestern parts of Trinidad mainland and on the
adjacent Bocas Islands. Type from Saddle Road {Britton and
Hazen 156).
Solanum capillipes sp. nov
A shrub, about 2 m. high, the slender young branches pilose,
the older branches glabrous. Leaves oblong-elliptic to elliptic-
lanceolate, membranous, all alike, pinnately veined, glabrous,
somewhat darker green above than beneath, 10-15 cm. long,
3-6 cm. wide, acuminate, the slightly inequilateral base narrowed,
the petioles about 1 cm. long; racemes lateral, few-flowered,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants 339
glabrous; peduncles very slender, 2.5 cm. long or less; pedicels
filiform, spreading, 1-3 cm. long; calyx obconic, about 5 mm.
long; corolla white, deeply lobed, 5-6 mm. broad; stamens all
alike, the oblong anthers obtuse, 1.5 mm. long, nearly -essile;
fruit globose, 6-7 mm. in diameter.
Forests in wet districts, southern Trinidad. Type from foresl .
Ortoire River, Guayaguayare Road {Britton, Freeman & Nowell
2521).
Codonanthe (?) triplinervia sp. now
A somewhat fleshy, epiphytic woody vine, 1-2 m. long, the
young twigs sparingly pubescent. Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceo-
late, 8 cm. long or less, 2-3.5 cm- wide, glabrous, rather thin,
triplinerved, the apex acuminate,, the base narrowed or obtuse,
the slender, sparingly pubescent petioles 6-12 mm. long; flowers
solitary or 2-4 together at the nodes; bractlets linear, pubescent,
acute, 6 mm. long or less; pedicels slender, pubescent, about as
long as the bractlets; calyx 10-12 mm. long, sparingly pubescent
below, deeply cleft, its segments linear-oblong, acute; corolla
3-3.5 cm. long, white, the throat yellow within, its tube slightly
bent just above the gibbous base, about 1 cm. long, the subcam-
panulate throat about 1.5 cm. long, the somewhat spreading
limb with rounded, translucent lobes.
On forest trees, Trinidad; type from Ortoire River, Guaya-
guayare Road {Britton, Freeman and Nowell 23 4 j). In flower
March 25, 1921.
Sabicea trinitensis Standi, sp. nov.
Vine, the stems about 2 m. long, pubescent with dense
short ascending rufescent hairs; stipules 5-6 mm. long, rounded-
ovate, obtuse or subacute, finely ciliolate but otherwise glabrous;
petioles 8-14 mm. long, densely hirtellous with ascending hairs;
leaf-blades elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 9-10.5 cm. long, 4.5-6 cm.
wide, acute or subacute, abruptly contracted at base, hispidulous
above along the costa, elsewhere scaberulous, appressed-pilose be-
neath along the veins, glabrate elsewhere; flowers few, sessile in
the leaf-axils, subtended by two green bracts similar to the stip-
ules; hypanthium about 3 mm. long; glabrous or with a few up-
pressed white hairs; calyx-lobes linear, 2-3 mm. long, green,
plane, obscurely ciliolate; corolla appressed-hirsute, the tube 6-7
mm. long, the lobes lanceolate, acuminate, 3 mm. long.
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1,059,334, col-
lected in a thicket of the O'Meara Savanna, Trinidad, March 22,
1 92 1 {Britton 2489).
340 Britton: Studies of West Ixdiax plants
The proposed species is most nearly related to S. hirsnta ad-
pressa Wernham, which has been reported from Trinidad. It
differs essentially, however, in the short narrow calyx-lobes and
in the short scant pubescence of the upper leaf-surface.
61. UNDESC RIBED SPECIES FROM JAMAICA
Pilea Maxoni sp. nov.
Stem trailing, freely rooting at the nodes, 3-6 dm. long or
longer, rather densely pubescent, the pubescent branches erect,
6-12 cm. high or higher. Stipules ovate-orbicular, rounded, sub-
membranous, 3-6 mm. long, sometimes broader than long; leaf-
pairs nearly equal; leaves ovate, regularly crenate, 1-3 cm. long,
acute, acuminate, or some of the smaller ones obtuse at the apex,
obliquely obtuse or rounded at the base, 3-nerved from above the
base, sparingly pubescent and reticulate- veined beneath, the upper
surface nearly veinless, with long, flat scattered hairs and some
short ones, the linear glochides largely marginal only; petioles
slender, pubescent, as long as the blades or shorter; pistillate
inflorescence paniculate, slender-peduncled, about 6 cm. long, the
staminate shorter; sepals lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate.
Rocky woods in the Cockpit Country, Jamaica. Type, Maxon
& Killip 1555, from near Mocho, above Catadupa, April 3, 1920;
previously collected near Troy, June 28, 1904 {Maxon 2834), our
specimen of this number barren.
Zanthoxylum Harrisii P. Wilson sp. nov.
An unarmed tree 15-18 m. high, with grayish-brown branches.
Leaves equally pinnate, 2-3.5 dm. long, the petioles and rachis
terete, glabrous or nearly so; leaflets 8-12, alternate or sometimes
opposite, short-petioluled, elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic, 7-15 cm.
long, 4-5 cm. broad, coriaceous, acuminate at the apex, inequi-
lateral at the base, entire, lustrous above, the midvein impressed,
paler beneath, the midvein prominent; inflorescence terminal or
lateral in the axils of the upper leaves, the branches densely
puberulent; staminate flowers: calyx lobes 5, triangular-ovate;
petals 5, lanceolate, 3 mm. long, 1.5 mm. broad, stamens 5,
exserted.
St. George's, Portland, Jamaica, March 30, 191 8 (Harris
12878).
Salvia clarendonensis sp. nov.
A spreading shrub with weak stems and branches 2-3 m. long,
the twigs, petioles and inflorescence puberulent. Leaves slender-
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plants 341
petioled, membranous, oblong-lanceolate, serrulate, glabrous
above, puberulent beneath, acuminate at the apex, narrowed or
obtuse at the base, 5-15 cm. long; racemes slender, 7-10 cm. long;
bracts linear-lanceolate, the lower ones sometimes 1 cm. long;
pedicels very short; calyx about 5 mm. long, its ovate cuspidate
teeth shorter than the tube; corolla rose-purple, 1-1.2 cm. long.
Peckham woods, Upper Clarendon, Jamaica {Harris 12787).
Gesneria jamaicensis sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub,' up to 3.3 m. high, the young twigs and
leaves resiniferous, the branches terete. Leaves oblong to elliptic,
subcoriaceous, 7-12 cm. long, 2.5-5 cm- wide, acute or acuminate
at the apex, closely serrate except near the entire, acute or acutish
base, pinnately veined, the rather stout petioles 5-10 mm. long;
peduncles axillary, slender, 1 -flowered, about as long as the
leaves; calyx-tube obconic or turbinate, 6-8 mm. long; calyx-
lobes linear-lanceolate, bluntish, 8-10 mm. long, I mm. wide;
corolla crimson or rose-pink, its tube subcylindric, 8-10 mm. long,
its spreading lobes orbicular, strongly veined, erose, about 4 mm.
broad; stamens included; filaments distinct, about 8 mm. long;
anthers nodding; staminodium a little shorter than the filaments;
style glabrous, 2-lobed; capsule broadly turbinate, about 8 mm.
long.
Ipswich, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica {Harris 12509, type); Mul-
grave, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica {Harris 12374).
Nearest related to G. Harrisii Urban, which has a sulphur-
yellow corolla with oval lobes, the calyx-lobes filiform, the leaves
crenate-dentate.
62. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM CUBA
Scleria motemboensis sp. nov.
Annual with fibrous roots; culms solitary or few together,
slender, erect, villous, about 3 dm. high. Leaves narrowly linear,
villous, 1-1.5 mm. wide; inflorescence glomerate-spicate; glom-
erules of 2 or 3 sessile spikelets; bracts linear, long-ciliate, 3-4
mm. long; achene white, shining, 1.5 mm. in diameter, apiculate,
faintly longitudinally striate, with 4 pores at each side of the sub-
trigonous base.
Small lagoon, Sabana de Motembo, Santa Clara, Cuba {Leon
and Loustalot 9405). Nearest to 5. Lindleyana Clarke of South
America.
342 Brixton: Studies of Wesi [ndian plants
Ouratea savannarum Britton & Wilson sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub 5 m. high, the slender twigs grayish-brown,
often somewhat flexuose. Leaves coriaceous, elliptic-lanceolate
to elliptic-ovate, 4-8 cm. long, 2-3.8 cm. broad, acuminate at the
apex, rounded at the base, faintly pinnately nerved, the margin
spinose-serrate ; petioles short, stout, 3-4 mm. long; inflorescence
terminal, 6-1 1 cm. long; pedicels slender, 1-1.5 cm. long; buds
ovoid; sepals oblong-lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 7-7.5 mm. long,
3.2 3.5 mm. broad, obtuse at the apex; petals obovate, 9 mm.
long, 7 mm. broad, crenulate; anthers oblong-lanceolate or oblong,
2.5 mm. long, subsessile; style 6-7 mm. long; fruit unknown.
Sal »ana de San Marcos, Santa Clara, Cuba {Leon 9205).
Banara Brittonii Roig sp. nov.
A slender shrub about 4 m. high, the young twigs densely
pubescent. Leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceo-
late, 4-7 cm. long, 1.5-3 cm. wide, acute at the apex, more or less
inequilateral and rounded at the base, glabrous and shining above,
reticulate-veined and densely pubescent beneath with short,
whitish, mostly appressed hairs, the margin revolute, serrulate;
petioles 5-8 mm. long, slender, with one or two orbicular glands
at the summit; inflorescence terminal, inclined or pendulous, 5-7
cm. long, the branches puberulent, pedicels slender, 3-5 mm. long;
sepals oblong-elliptic to oblong-ovate, 2.5 mm. long, obtuse at
the apex, the margin ciliate; petals oval to suborbicular, about as
long as the sepals, yellow; stamens indefinite; anthers rounded;
style 1.5 mm. long; fruit globose (immature?), 4 mm. in diameter,
becoming black in drying.
Rocky limestone soil, Cayo Mono, inside the swamp near
San Pedro, Isle of Pines (M. Cremata, May 17, 1920).
Psidium Loustalotii Britton & Wilson sp. nov.
A small shrub, with short, grayish, often spine-like twigs.
Leaves elliptic to oval, 2-4 mm. long, 1.5-3 mm. broad, rounded
at both ends, dark green and more or less minutely hispidulous
above, paler and strigillose beneath, coriaceous, the short petiole
0.5 mm. long or less; pedicels axillary, solitary, 2 mm. long;
young fruit ellipsoid, 5 mm. long, 4 mm. in diameter, black.
Sabana de Motembo, Santa Clara, Cuba (Leon & Loiistalot
9394)-
Jacquinia Roigii P. Wilson sp. nov.
Shrub or tree?; twigs and branches glabrous. Leaves obovate,
4-8 cm. long, 1.4-2.7 cm. broad, strongly spine-tipped at the apex,
Brittox: Studies of West Indian plant- 343
cuneate at the base, 3-nerved, in whorls of 4 or more with distinct
internodes between the whorls; pedicels 3.5 cm. long; sepals
long-ciliate; fruit ellipsoid, 1.7 cm. long, 1.1 cm. broad.
Caiiete, Oriente, Cuba (/. T. Roig 69).
Tabebuia saxicola sp. no v.
A much-branched shrub, about 3 m. high, the short, stiff
twigs white-lepidote. Leaves simple, entire, oblong or oblong-
lanceolate, 2-4 cm. long, 5-1 1 mm. wide, acute at the apex, nar-
rowed at the base, the upper surface pale green, loosely lepidote
and with very obscure venation, the under-surface reticulate-
veined and densely white-lepidote, the petioles 1-3 mm. long;
flowers solitary or 2 together at the ends of short twigs; peduncles
1 cm. long or less; calyx narrowly campanulate, lepidote, persis-
tent, about 7 mm. long, irregularly toothed; corolla 2-2.5 cm-
long; capsule 4~5 cm. long, about 8 mm. thick.
Rocky top of highest mogote near Sagua la Grande, Santa
Clara, Cuba {Leon and Loustalot 94//). In both flower and fruit
August 12, 1920.
63. A NEW TOURNEFORTIA
Tournefortia barbadensis N. E. Brown
Stem probably scrambling, with the young parts minutely ad-
pressed-puberulous. Leaves very spreading; petiole about 3
lines long; blade lJ^-2% in. long and 6-10 lines broad, lanceo-
late, gradually tapering from about the middle to an acute apex,
subacute or slightly rounded at the base, glabrous above, thinly
and microscopically puberulous beneath. Cymes lateral below
the ends of the branches, 2-3^ in. in diameter, on peduncles 3-5
lines long, lax, with the primary and sometimes the secondary
forkings subhorizontally diverging, then branching in a zigzag
manner, minutely adpressed-puberulous; branches about 3 lines
apart and }/§ in. long, very slender, variously curved, with the
small slender flowers about 1 line apart. Pedicels ^4-J^ line
long. Calyx very small, about yi line long, lobed almost to the
base; lobes subulate or deltoid-subulate. Corolla minutely pu-
berulous outside, with a rather slender tube about iX nne long,
swollen at the upper part, and filiform lobes 1 line long. Ovary
and style glabrous.
Barbados: Middle School, Christ Church, Bovell & Freeman
404, and without precise locality, Lane 428 (in Herb. Kew), type
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK
BOTANICAL GARDEN— No. 238
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS-X1
NATHANIEL LORD BPITTON
NEW YORK
1923
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin of the Torres Botanical
Olcb 50: 35-56. January, 1923.
Studies of West Indian plants — XI
Nathaniel Lord Britton
64. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM CUBA
Juniperus saxicola Britton & Wilson, sp. now
A densely branched small tree, 3-8 m. high. Leaves all
subulate-acicular, subimbricate, somewhat spreading, 4-7 mm.
long, about 1 mm. broad at the base, lustrous; fruit blue, broadly
ellipsoid or subglobose, 5 mm. long, 3-4 mm. in diameter.
On rocks, crest of Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10798, type) ;
also collected on Farallones de Regino, Estribo Turquino {Leon
1 1024).
Myrica cacuminis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub, 3-4 m. high, much branched, the slender twigs
densely pilose. Leaves elliptic to suborbicular, 7-18 mm. long,
short-petioled, sharply few-toothed or entire, coriaceous, pin-
nately few-veined, pubescent on both sides, the apex rounded,
the base rounded or obtuse; flowers and fruit not seen.
Pico Turquino, Oriente {Leon 10973, type; Buclier 19).
Pilea ovalifolia Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Stems creeping, rather stout, rooting at the nodes. Leaves
chartaceous, elliptic, obtuse or rounded at the apex, rather
coarsely crenate, pinnately 3-nerved, glabrous, those of each
pair often unequal in size; larger leaves up to 5.5 cm. long, 3.4
cm. wide, with petioles 1.5-3 cm- long; smaller leaves 2.5-4 cm-
long, 1.5-2.6 cm. wide, the petioles 1-2 cm. long; upper leaf-
surface densely covered with minute linear raphides, the lower
surface papillose; pistillate inflorescence longer than the leaves,
peduncled, its branches spreading; achenes ovate, about 0.9
mm. long.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10767).
Pilea membranacea Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Stem slender, puberulent. Leaves membranous, lanceolate
to ovate, acuminate, coarsely toothed, 3-nerved, glabrous, those
of each pair unequal in size; larger leaves up to 5 cm. long, 1.8
cm. wide, with slender petioles 0.7-1 cm. long; smaller leaves
1-2 cm. long, 0.6-1 cm. wide, the petioles 2-4 mm. long; upper
leaf-surfaces covered with minute white linear raphids, those of
35
36 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
the lower surface rather inconspicuous; pistillate inflorescence
slender, longer than the leaves; achenes elliptic, I mm. long.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10815).
Pilea micromeriaefolia Britton c\ Wilson, sp. nov.
Steins elongate, woody, procumbent, I lie branches erect or
ascending, 4-angled, scaly encrusted. Leaves in whorls of 3's
or 4's, lanceolate, 0.8-1 cm. long, about 2 mm. wide, acute at
the apex, obtuse at the base, glabrous, the petioles 1 mm. long
or less; upper leaf-surfaces covered with linear raphides, those
on the lower surface coarser; inflorescence not seen.
Brecha de Regino, Estribo Turquino, Oriente {Leon 11008).
Pilea yarensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
An erect monoecious herb, 2-3.5 dm. high. Leaves mem-
branous, broadly elliptic, acuminate at the apex, acute at the
base, crenate-dentate, 3-nerved, glabrous above, often slightly
pubescent on the midvein beneath, those of each pair unequal in
size; larger leaves up to 15 cm. long, 6 cm. wide, with slender
petioles sometimes 3.5 cm. long; smaller leaves up to 11 cm.
long, 5 cm. wide, with petioles 1-2 cm. long; upper leaf-surface
papillose, densely covered with linear raphides, those of the
lower surface often indistinct; staminate inflorescence equalling
or longer than the leaves, the peduncles sometimes 1 dm. long,
the branches spreading, the perianth about 1.5 mm. long;
pistillate inflorescence equalling or shorter than the leaves;
achenes elliptic, 0.8 mm. long.
Bank of the Yara River, Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 107J6).
Pilea ermitensis Britton, sp. nov.
Stems slender, densely covered with linear raphides. Leaves
oblong, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, membranous, acute, entire,
3-nerved, glabrous, those of each pair unequal in size; larger
leaves up to 3 cm. long, 6-7 mm. wide, with petioles 3 mm. long;
smaller leaves 1-1.7 cm. long, 4-5 mm. wide, the petioles short;
raphides of the upper leaf-surface minute, linear-filiform, those
of the lower surface scattered, more conspicuous and stouter;
inflorescence often shorter than the petioles, the flowers borne
in globose heads 1.5-2 mm. in diameter; achenes elliptic-ovate,
about 0.5 mm. long.
La Ermita, Oriente {Hioram 4921).
Pilea crenata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Stem creeping, often rooting at the nodes, the branches erect
or ascending, pilose. Leaves chartaceous, oval to suborbicular,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 37
rounded at the apex, rounded or acute at the base, crenulate,
3-nerved, glabrous above, pilose on the nerves beneath, those of
each pair often unequal in size; larger leaves up to 3 cm. long,
2.5 cm. wide, with slender petioles 1.5-2 cm. long; smaller leaves
1-2 cm. long, 1-2 cm. wide, the petioles 0.7-1 cm. long; upper
and lower leaf-surfaces densely covered with linear raphides;
pistillate inflorescence as long as or shorter than the leaves;
achenes about 0.6 mm. long.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10/66, type; Leon, Clement and
Roca 9872).
Coccolobis monticola Britton, sp. nov.
Branches slender, glabrous; young twigs pubescent. Ocreae
cylindric, 1 cm. long or less; leaves coriaceous, light green,
3-6 cm. long, reticulate-veined on both sides, shining above,
dull and black-dotted beneath, the apex acute, the base obliquely
obtuse, the petioles about 2 mm. long; racemes very slender,
glabrous, densely many-flowered; ocreolae subtruncate, about
0.5 mm. long; pedicels glabrous, about 1 mm. long; calyx about
1 mm. long.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon iO/ij).
Coccolobis saxicola Britton, sp. nov.
A shrub about 3 m. high, glabrous throughout, the twigs
short, stout, more or less tortuous. Ocreae subtruncate, 4-6
mm. long; leaves coriaceous, elliptic to obovate, 9 cm. long or
less, the veins somewhat impressed above, prominent beneath,
reticulate-veined on both sides, the apex abruptly short-acu-
minate, the base narrowed or obtuse, the petioles 5-15 mm.
long; fruiting racemes slender, solitary, 6-9 cm. long; pedicels
numerous, about 1.5 mm. long; ocreolae truncate, less than 1
mm. long, subpapillose, the sepals ovate.
On rocky crest in woods, Loma del Gato, Cobre Range of
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon, Clement and Roca 10167).
Talauma (?) orbiculata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Tree 6-8 m. tall, with glabrous branches. Leaves orbicular,
8-12 cm. in diameter, rounded or subtruncate at the apex,
rounded or truncate at the base, glabrous and prominently
reticulate-veined on both sides, the midrib flat above, prominent
beneath, the petioles rather slender, 3-6 cm. long, flat or shal-
lowly grooved above, glabrous; sepals broadly elliptic, 2.6 cm.
long, 2-2.3 cm- broad; petals thick, oblong or elliptic, about 2
cm. long, 0.8-1 cm. wide; carpels tomentulose.
Loma de Quintin, Nagua, Oriente {Leon 10955).
38 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
Persea anomala Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shnil) or tree, sometimes 10 m. tall, with appressed-pubes-
cenl twigs. Leaves lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, 4-10 cm.
long or less, 1.8-5.5 cm- broad, rounded, obtuse, or acutish at
the apex, rounded or somewhat acutish at the base, glabrous and
reticulate-veined on both sides, the petioles slender, 1-1.8 cm.
long; branches of the inflorescence pubescent with appressed
hairs; calyx pubescent, greenish, its lobes unequal, the outer
broadly ovate, about 1 mm. long, 0.7 mm. broad, the inner
elliptic or broadly ovate, 1.7-2 mm. long, 1 .5-1.7 mm. broad;
berry subglobose, 11 mm. long, black.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10707, type; 10975; 10976;
10079; 1 1057).
Persea similis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Twigs appressed-pubescent. Leaves elliptic, 4-7 cm. long,
acute or short-acuminate at the apex, acute at the base, dark
green and glabrous above, the midvein impressed, paler beneath
and pubescent with short appressed hairs, the lateral veins
rather indistinct on both sides; petioles 3-4 mm. long; in-
florescence pubescent with appressed brownish hairs; calyx-
lobes elliptic to oval, 1.8 mm. long, about I mm. broad, ap-
pressed-pubescent.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 11058).
Nectandra reticularis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub with pubescent twigs. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate,
3.5-6.8 cm. long, 1-2.3 cm- broad, acute to acuminate at the
apex, acute at the base, glabrous, dark green, shining and
reticulate-veined above, paler and reticulate-veined beneath;
petioles 7 mm. long or less; inflorescence long-peduncled, the
peduncle puberulent; flowers short-pedicelled; calyx white, its
lobes elliptic, 1.5 mm. long, about 1 mm. broad, puberulent;
drupe ellipsoid, about 1.1 cm. long, 6 mm. in diameter.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10746, type; 10958).
Rubus turquinensis Rydberg, sp. nov.
Stem terete, 1-2 m. high, densely fuscous, villous-tomentose
and with numerous stalked glands, armed with somewhat com-
pressed curved pubescent prickles 4-8 mm. long; leaves of the
branches 3-foliolate, those of the main stem not seen; petiole and
ribs of the leaflets villous-tomentose, glandular, and slightly
prickly; petiolule of the terminal leaflet 7-15 mm. long, those of
the lateral leaflets 1-4 mm. long; leaflets lanceolate, long-acu-
minate, mostly rounded at the base, finely and closely serrate,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 39
3-10 cm. long, dark-green, sparingly pubescent and somewhat
glandular-granuliferous above, paler and somewhat fuscous and
densely short- villous, almost subvelutinous, beneath; racemes
3-6 cm. long, 5-10-flowered; peduncles and pedicels densely
pubescent and glandular, slightly prickly; sepals lanceolate,
acuminate, 5-6 mm. long, glandular and pubescent without,
grayish-tomentose within; berry about I cm. long and 7-9 mm.
thick; drupelets many, glabrous.
Type collected on the top of Pico Turquino, Oriente, Cuba,
July 23, 1922, Leon 10755 (New York Botanical Garden); also
at an altitude of 1600 m. on the same mountain, 10756.
R. turquinensis is a member of the Adenotrichi, differing from
R. costaricanus and R. adenotrichos in the narrower lanceolate
long-acuminate, instead of broadly ovate, abruptly acuminate
leaflets; from R. Vera-Crucis in the more dense pubescence and
the texture of the leaves. It is more closely related to R.
irasuensis and R. miser. In habit, leaf-form, and pubescence it
resembles the former, but the inflorescence is mostly simple, the
sepals narrower, and the drupelets perfectly glabrous; neither
have any 5-foliolate leaves been seen. From R. miser it differs
in the shorter sepals and the thicker leaflets, with shorter petioles,
more numerous and more prominent lateral veins, and much
closer serrations.
Poly gala scabridula Blake, sp. nov.
Virgate leafy shrub 2-3 m. high, the branches erect, his-
pidulous. Petioles hispidulous, 2 mm. long; leaf blades obo-
vate, 1. 3-1. 8 cm. long, 9-12 mm. wide, broadly rounded at apex,
rounded or cuneate-rounded at base, coriaceous, scabrid-his-
pidulous above with persistent ascending hairs, similarly pu-
bescent beneath; racemes axillary, the axis few-flowered, about
1 mm. long, the peduncle obsolescent; pedicels glabrous, 1.2
mm. long; flowers immature; sepals deltoid-ovate, ciliolate,
obtuse, 1.1 mm. long; wings similar, 1.4 mm. long and wide;
keel ciliate, otherwise subglabrous, 2.5 mm. long; capsule sub-
quadrate, rather broadly margined, slightly wider at the apex,
ciliolate, otherwise glabrous, 6 mm. long, 8.5 mm. wide, lobed
for about 1/3 its length; seed ellipsoid, sparsely pubescent, 4
mm. long; aril orange, 1.8 mm. deep, with repand lateral margin,
the dorsal lobe I mm. long.
Sabana de Motembo, Santa Clara, August 9-10, 1920 {Leon
and Loustalot QJJj).
This species is related to Polygala portoricensis (Britton)
Blake, of Porto Rico, which has larger emarginulate leaves,
and a smaller, less deeply lobed capsule.
40 Britton: Studies ok West Indian plants — XI
Poly gala rhynchosperma Blake, sp. nov.
Slender erect annual, 14-25 cm. high, simple or lew -branched
above, evenly but not densely puberulous with short, thickish,
incurved or subappressed eglandular hairs. Leaves alternate
except for 1 or 2 basal whorls, rather crowded, short-petioled,
the blades linear, 6 14 mm. long, 0.5-1.3 mm. wide, acute,
cuspidulate, 1 -nerved, sparsely puberulous like the stem, erect;
peduncles 5-15 mm. long; racemes slender, cylindric, gradually
narrowed to an obtuse apex, loose below, 2-9 cm. long, the axis
becoming 10.5 cm. long and more, puberulous like the stem;
bracts oval or obovate, caducous, 1.5 mm. long, puberulous at
base, with rather short abrupt caudate purplish tips; pedicels
glabrous, I mm. long, clavellate; sepals pinkish white with green-
ish center, glabrous, the upper oval-ovate, obtuse, 1.5 mm.
long, the 2 lower oblong, obtuse, 1.2— 1. 5 mm. long, sometimes
obscurely 1 -denticulate on each side near apex; wings pinkish
(when dried), obovate, 3 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, rounded or
obtuse, scarcely clawed, 3-nerved; upper petals slightly shorter
than keel, the free portion obliquely ovate, obtuse, 3-nerved;
keel 3-3.2 mm. long, slightly surpassing the wings, the crest on
each side of a deeply trifid lamella and a 2- or 3-fid or 2-parted
lobe with linear segments; capsule pendulous at maturity,
slightly surpassing the wings, elliptic-oblong, emarginate, 3.3
mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; seeds subcylindric, 2.2 mm. long,
densely short-pilose, distinctly rostrate at base (beak conic,
0.4 mm. long) ; aril fastened to upper half of beak, 0.7 mm.
long, the 2 lobes rhombic, acute or obtuse, appressed; stigma
with short blunt retrorse lower lobe and substipitate penicillate
upper lobe.
Sabana del Cerro, near Zarzal, Oriente, July, 1922 {Leon ioggo;
type No. 1,049,981, U. S. National Herbarium).
Among North American species Poly gala rhynchosperma is
nearest P. paniculata L., which is densely stipitate-glandular
and has shorter wings and an erostrate seed. The Venezuelan
P. Funkii Chod., known to me only from Chodat's description
and figures, is evidently closely related, having similar bracts,
seed, and stigma. It is. described as glabrous, with acute lance-
elliptic sepals, acute wings, and a crest composed on each side
of an acute triangular entire lamina and an undivided linear
lobe.
Polygala ambigens Blake, sp. nov.
Stems usually solitary from a slender but evidently perennial
root, simple or sparsely branched, 3.5-6 dm. high, very slender,
glabrous throughout or sparsely incurved-puberulous on the
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 41
younger parts; leaves alternate, linear or linear-filiform, 9-25
mm. long, 0.5-1.5 mm. wide, cuspidulate, short-petioled, 1-
nerved, the margins often inflexed; peduncles 5-10 mm. long;
racemes loosely many-flowered, the axis sometimes becoming
25 cm. long; bracts subulate, 1.5 mm. long, caducous; pedicels
glabrous, 1.5-2 mm. long; sepals bearing 3-6 pairs of stipitate
glands, sometimes also ciliolate with eglandular hairs toward
apex, the upper sepal 2 mm. long, the lower sepals (connate
nearly to apex) 1.5 mm. long; wings magenta-purple, broadly
and obliquely cuneate-obovate, 3.8-4.5 mm. long, 2.8-3.2 mm.
wide, subsessille or short-clawed, emarginate at apex, glabrous,
about 5-veined, the veins loosely anastomosing, not at all
prominulous; upper petals magenta-purple; keel yellow-tipped,
becoming 4 mm. long; capsule 3.8 mm. long, 2.4 mm. wide,
slightly shorter than the mature wings; seed densely pilose,
2.8 mm. long; aril sparsely pubescent on the sides, 0.8 mm. high.
Sabana del Cerro, near Cerro Pelado, between Zarzal and
Nagua, Oriente, July, 1922 {Leon 10860; type No. 1,049,889,
U. S. National Herbarium).
Nearly related to Poly gala cubensis Chod., which is an annual
with shorter sepals (1.1-1.3 mm. long), and somewhat smaller
wings shorter than the capsule. In its slender but evidently
perennial root resembling P. Wrightii Chod., which is densely
incurved-puberulous and has the sepals ciliate with eglandular
hairs. Much more material of the Cuban representatives of
this group (section Adenotricha of subgenus Hebeclada) must be
accumulated before the specific characters can be established
satisfactorily.
Maytenus saxicola Britton & Wilson, sp. now
A glabrous shrub, 4 m. high, with rather stiff, somewhat
flexuose twigs. Leaves elliptic to elliptic-ovate, rigid-coriaceous,
3-6 cm. long, 1.5-3.3 cm. broad, obtuse or rounded at the apex,
a cute at the base, dark green above, paler beneath, the midvein
elevated on both sides, the lateral veins often rather indistinct,
the margin minutely crenulate; petioles 5 mm. long or less;
pedicels slender, up to 7 mm. long; capsule globose-obovoid,
8 mm. long, 7-8 mm. in diameter.
On rocks, Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon, Clement and Roca
10221).
Rhamnidium bicolor Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub, with slender puberulent twigs. Leaves opposite, el-
liptic or ovate-elliptic, 8 cm. long or less, repand-crenate, mem-
42 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
branous, the apex acuminate, the base rounded or subtruncate,
the venation ascending, densely and finely reticulate-veined on
both sides, the upper surface green and glabrate, the under side
whitish puberulent, the petioles 6-10 mm. long; stipules obliquely
linear-lanceolate, nearly as long as the petioles; inflorescence
axillary, glabrous; peduncles nearly as long as the petioles;
flowers subglomerate ; pedicels very short ; sepals triangular-ovate,
2.5 mm. long, acute, glandular-dotted; petals orbicular-obovate,
1.5 mm. long, about 1.5 mm. broad.
High Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 11025). Other specimens
from the Sierra Maestra {Leon 10052), in foliage only, have
entire leaves, somewhat larger, and may represent another
species.
Ouratea xolismaefolia Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, with slender terete twigs. Leaves oblong,
elliptic, or elliptic-obovate, coriaceous, 3 cm. long or less, the
midvein prominent, the lateral venation delicate and nearly
obscure, the apex rounded or emarginate, the base narrowed or
cuneate, the petioles 1-2 mm. long; pedicels slender, 5-6 mm.
long, sepals elliptic to oval, 3 mm. long; petals obovate, 4-4.5
mm. long, 3 mm. broad, rounded or truncate at the apex; anthers
3 mm. long.
High Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon iogn).
Taonabo monticola Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, 1 m. or more tall, wTith light brown twigs.
Leaves elliptic-obovate, rigid-coriaceous, 2-5 cm. long, 1.3-2.5
cm. broad, rounded at the apex, acute at the base, indistinctly
veined, the midvein impressed above; petioles 4 mm. long;
peduncles 2-3 cm. long; sepals 5, the outer oval to suborbicular,
5.5-6 mm. long, 5-5.5 mm. broad, glandular-ciliate, the inner
4.5-5 mm. broad, rigidly and sharply acute, without marginal
cilia; fruit (immature?) ovoid, 9.5 mm. in diameter.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon io8jq, type; 10837; 11 103).
Taonabo Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, with light-gray twigs. Leaves obovate,
2.5-5 cm- l°ng» 1.4-2.7 cm. broad, rounded or truncate and
often slightly emarginate at the apex, acute at the base, indis-
tinctly veined, dark green above, paler beneath, the petioles 2-3
mm. long; peduncles 3-7 mm. long, reflexed; sepals 5, the outer
oval, 4.7-5 mm. long, 4 mm. broad, rounded at the apex, glandu-
lar-ciliate, the inner elliptic, 3-3.5 mm. long, acute, without
glandular cilia.
Vicinity of Pico Turquino, Oriente {Leon iogio).
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 43
Haemocharis angustifolia Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A tree 20-30 m. tall, with slender grayish brown twigs, pu-
bescent with strigillose hairs. Leaves oblong or oblong-obovate,
2-5.5 cm- l°ng. O.5-I.3 cm. broad, obtuse or rounded at the
apex, acute at the base, light green and glabrous above, paler
beneath and pubescent; flowers about 3 cm. in diameter; sepals
oval or suborbicular, 4.5-6 mm. long, 4-6 mm. broad, pubescent
on the back with appressed hairs; petals obovate, 1.2-1.3 cm.
long, 6-7 mm. broad, rounded at the apex, pubescent; filaments
filiform, glabrous; ovary villous.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon, 11072).
Begonia lomensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Suffruticose, the stems 3-4.5 dm. high, rusty pilose. Leaves
obliquely cordate-ovate to obliquely suborbicular, 1.5-4 cm-
long, 1-2.7 cm. wide, acute, glabrous above at maturity, rusty
pilose or nearly glabrous beneath, coarsely toothed, the petioles
4-20 mm. long, pilose; stipules lanceolate, acuminate, entire,
4-6 mm. long, 1.5-2 mm. broad; inflorescence long-peduncled;
staminate flowers; pedicels slender, up to 7.5 mm. long, glabrous;
sepals 2, orbicular, 7-8 mm. long, 8-9 mm. wide; petals 2, obo-
vate, 4 mm. long, 3 mm. wide; stamens 20 or more; capsule
long-pedicelled, the body 8-9 mm. long, 5-6 mm. wide, the
wing about 9 mm. broad, obtuse or acutish.
Farallones de la Loma Regino, Oriente {Leon io/ji).
Ginoria montana Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous unarmed shrub, with slender ascending branches.
Leaves lanceolate, coriaceous, 2.5-4.3 cm. long, 0.7-1.7 cm.
broad, obtuse at the apex, acute at the base, faintly reticulate-
veined; petioles slender, 2 mm. long; cymes sessile or nearly so;
flowers immature, long-pedicelled; calyx-lobes spreading, appen-
daged below the sinuses; stamens about 20.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon iioog).
Psidium (?) cacuminis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Glabrous, with straight slender twigs. Leaves oblong, thick-
coriaceous, 4-7 cm. long, reticulate-veined, sparingly punctate,
bright green and shining above, pale green beneath, the apex
rounded or obtuse, the base narrowed, the stout petioles about
6 mm. long; fruit oblong, solitary and nearly sessile in upper
axils, nearly 2 cm. long.
Pico Turquino, Oriente {Leon 1074c/).
44 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
Calyptranthes montana Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A much-branched shrub, with slender glabrous branches, the
twigs rusty-brown and somewhat pubescent when young.
Leaves lanceolate, coriaceous, 9-30 mm. long, 6-1 1 mm. broad,
obtusely acuminate at the apex, acute at the base, rusty brown
and pubescent when young, glabrous at maturity, the lateral
veins rather prominent on both sides; petioles 0.9 mm. long or
less; inflorescence 1-3-flowered, the peduncles filiform, 7 mm.
long or less; buds globose-ovoid, 1.5 mm. in diameter.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10805).
Eugenia cati Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub or small tree, the twigs slender. Leaves
elliptic to elliptic-obovate, chartaceous, 7 cm. long or less,
rather sparingly punctate, dark green above, pale beneath, not
very conspicuously veined, the apex rounded or obtuse, the base
mostly narrowed, the petioles 3-7 mm. long; flowers glomerate
in the axils; calyx-lobes suborbicular, about 3 mm. broad.
In woods, Loma del Gato, Cobre Range of Sierra Maestra,
Oriente {Leon, Clement arid Roca 10045, type; 10588).
Eugenia ginoriaefolia Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Glabrous; twigs slender. Leaves ovate to elliptic, char-
taceous, 3-7 cm. long, dark green and shining above, rather
prominently veined, pale beneath, densely punctate, the apex
obtuse, the base obtuse or narrowed, the petioles only 3 mm.
long or less; flowers glomerate at the nodes of twigs, sessile;
calyx-lobes about 2 mm. broad, densely glandular, glabrous;
petals elliptic to oval, about 3 mm. long, 1.8-2.2 mm. broad,
obtuse or acutish at the apex; filaments filiform, glabrous, the
anthers elliptic.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10812).
Eugenia lomensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub 2-3 m. high, with slender pubescent twigs. Leaves
lanceolate or elliptic, coriaceous, 3.5-7 cm. long, 1.7-3 cm-
broad, acuminate at the apex, acute at the base, glabrous or
nearly so above, the midrib and lateral veins impressed, pubes-
cent beneath, the midvein prominent; petio'es 2.5 mm. long or
ess ; fruit subglobose, 9 mm. in diameter, black, slender-peduncled,
solitary or clustered in the axils of the leaves.
Foothills of the Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10JQ4, type;
1 0062).
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 45
Eugenia brevipetiolata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, with rather thick brownish gray twigs.
Leaves oval to suborbicular, 5-8 cm. long, 4-6.5 cm. broad,
rounded at both ends, dark yellowish green above, paler beneath,
the midrib impressed above, prominent beneath, the lateral
veins slender, slightly elevated on both surfaces; petioles stout,
2-3 mm. long; buds subglobose, 6 mm. in diameter, solitary or
few together in the axils of the leaves, glabrous.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 11046).
Eugenia rigidula Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub 1 m. tall, with slender brownish pubescent twigs.
Leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, rigid-coriaceous, 1-2.8
cm. long, 4-1 1 mm. broad, acute at the apex, rounded at the
base, sparingly pubescent on both sides when young, glabrous at
maturity, the petioles 1 mm. long or less ; young fruits subglobose,
4-5 mm. in diameter, pubescent with appressed whitish hairs.
Edge of woods, Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon, Clement and
Roca 10634).
Anamomis reticulata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub or tree, the young twigs slender, brown, pulverulent,
the branches gray. Leaves obovate, coriaceous, 3-4.5 cm. long,
1-2.5 cm- broad, rounded at the apex, cuneate at the base,
yellowish-green above, paler beneath, sparingly pubescent on
both sides when young with short appressed hairs, glabrous at
maturity, reticulate-veined; branches of the inflorescence ap-
pressed-pubescent ; flowers undeveloped.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon ioq68).
Graffenrieda rufescens Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub 3 m. tall, the branches, twigs, calyx and under surface
of the leaves densely scurfy with brownish scales. Leaves
elliptic, 4.5-10 cm. long, 2.4-4 cm. wide, acuminate at the apex,
acute at the base, 3-nerved, dark green and glabrous above, the
petioles 1-2 cm. long; inflorescence much-branched; flowers
short-pedicelled ; calyx-tube 3-3.5 mm. long, 8-ribbed, its lobes
semiorbicular, 1 mm. long or less; petals suborbicular or orbicu-
ular-obovoid, 3.5 mm. long, 3-3.5 mm. wide, yellow.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 11047).
Miconia plumieriaefolia Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub, the twigs, petioles and branches of the inflorescence
clothed with a dense brownish white stellate scurf. Leaves
46 Britton: Sti i>ii:s of West Indian plants — XI
3-nerved, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, coriaceous, 1 0.5-1 5 cm.
long, 2.5-3.8 cm. broad, green and glabrous or nearly so above,
densely ferruginous-pubescent beneath with short stellate hairs,
reticulate-veined, the lateral veins 2-3 mm. distant, nearly at
right angles to the midrib, the petioles 1.5-2 cm. long; branches
of the inflorescence loosely articulate; pedicels 2-4.5 mm. long;
flowers undeveloped; calyx-lobes shortly triangular-ovate.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10Q25).
Rapanea microphylla Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A glabrous shrub, with short and slender twigs. Leaves
obovate or oblong-obovate, coriaceous, 8-20 mm. long, pin-
nately few-veined, punctate, the apex rounded, the base connate,
the petioles 2-3 mm. long; fruits nearly sessile, subglobose,
shining, about 3 mm. in diameter.
Pico Turquino, Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10714).
Symplocos Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub, the twigs dark brown, strigillose. Leaves elliptic,
subcoriaceous, 4-8.5 cm. long, 2-4 cm. broad, rounded or ob-
tusely acute at the apex, acute at the base, dark green, glabrous
and indistinctly reticulate-veined above, the midrib impressed,
paler, reticulate-veined and pubescent with appressed hairs
especially on the mid vein beneath, or nearly glabrous; petioles
about 5 mm. long; inflorescence pubescent with ferruginous hairs;
calyx-lobes elliptic, 1 .4 mm. long, 0.9 mm. broad ; petals 5, broad-
ly oval, 3-3.5 mm. long, 2.5 mm. broad, glabrous; filaments dis-
tinct nearly to the base; fruit ellipsoid, 8.5 mm. long, 5.5 mm. in
diameter, pubescent with scattered appressed hairs.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10738, type; iogoy).
Plumiera montana Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A tree up to 10 m. high or higher, glabrous throughout.
Leaves oblanceolate, 15 cm. long or less, membranous when dry,
the lateral venation rather widely spreading, the apex rounded,
the base cuneate, the slender petioles 1-3 cm. long; flowers
several or numerous; pedicels rather stout, 1.5 cm. long or less;
calyx about 5 mm. long; corolla (white?) its slender tube about
2 cm. long, about one-half as long as the narrowly oblanceolate,
rounded lobes; pod about 12 cm. long.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente. Type from banks of Yara River
{Leon 1 1060).
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 47
Marsdenia bicolor Britton & Wilson, sp. now
A slender vine, with puberulent stems. Leaves oblong-
elliptic to elliptic, 5-6.5 cm. long, 1 .5-3.2 cm. broad, green above,
whitish beneath, glabrous on both surfaces, the lateral veins
indistinct; calyx-lobes ovate, 4 mm. long, about 2 mm. broad,
acute or acuminate, slightly pubescent; corolla 1.5 cm. long,
1. 5-1. 8 cm. wide, glabrous, its lobes triangular, 6 mm. long,
5.5-6 mm. wide.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10787, type; 10788).
Sebesten Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A tree up to 15 m. high, the young twigs sparingly pubescent,
soon glabrous and gray. Leaves thick-coriaceous, glabrous or
the short and stout petioles sparingly pubescent, shining, elliptic,
oblong or obovate-elliptic, 5-9 cm. long, the venation impressed
above, prominent beneath, the apex rounded, the base obtuse or
rounded, the petioles only 8 mm. long or less, the upper surface
dark green, the under surface light green; flowers several in
terminal clusters; calyx subcylindric, nearly 2 cm. long, densely
puberulent, its teeth very short and broad; corolla funnelform,
its tube about 3 cm. long, enlarged upward, the widely spreading
limb about 4 cm. broad, about 6-lobed; fruit ovoid, about 2 cm.
long, its summit beaked.
Loma de Naranjo, Sierra Maestra, Oriente, at 600 m. elevation
{Leon 11021).
Varronia longipedunculata Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub with slender branches, the young twigs puberulent.
Leaves elliptic or oblong, chartaceous, 7 cm. long or less, scabrate
above, puberulent on the veins beneath, entire or sparingly
repand, the apex obtuse or acute, the base mostly narrowed, the
puberulent petioles 6-12 mm. long; peduncles solitary, slender,
puberulent, longer than the leaves; flowers several in a terminal
globose head about 1.5 cm. in diameter; calyx-lobes triangular,
1.5 mm. long, acute; corolla-lobes broadly obovate, 7.5 mm.
long, 4.5 mm. broad.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10Q64).
Salvia scopulorum Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub, about 3 m. high, the branches densely pubescent with
short spreading hairs. Leaves ovate, coriaceous, crenulate, 3-5
cm. long, 1.5-3 cm. broad, acute to abruptly short-acuminate at
the apex, rounded and often more or less subcordate at the base,
dark green above, paler beneath, pubescent on both sides, the
48 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
petioles 12 mm. long or less; calyx 10-11 mm. long, finely pu-
bescent; corolla red, 1.8 cm. long or more, pubescent.
Farallones de Regino, Estribo Turqnino, Oriente, 1600 m. alt.
{Leon 1 1 010).
Rondeletia naguensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub about 2 m. high, the young twigs and inflorescence
densely strigose. Leaves elliptic, subcoriaceous, 4-10 cm. long,
sparingly strigose on the veins beneath when young, soon
glabrous, the apex obtuse or acute, the base obtuse or narrowed,
the venation inconspicuous, the strigose petioles 6-12 mm. long;
flowers in peduncled heads, the peduncles 2-4 cm. long; bractlets
obovate, about 3 mm. long; calyx-lobes oblanceolate, 3.5-4 mm.
long, densely pubescent with appressed hairs ; capsule subglobose,
5.5 mm. in diameter, appressed-pilose.
Banks of a stream, Loma de Quintin, Nagua, Oriente {Leon
10971).
Rondeletia calophylla Standley, sp. nov.
Branchlets slender, pilose-strigose; stipules deltoid-acuminate,
1.5 to 2.5 mm. long, erect, persistent; petioles stout, 2 mm. long,
strigillose; leaf blades ovate, sometimes broadly so, 2 to 3.5 cm.
long, 1 to 2.5 cm. wide, acute or sometimes obtuse, broadly round-
ed or subcordate at base, thick-coriaceous, dark green above,
lustrous, scaberulous or glabrate, the venation prominulous-
reticulate, much paler beneath and brownish, glabrate or
scaberulous along the nerves, the costa prominent, the lateral
nerves few and distant; inflorescence terminal on the main
branches and on leafy lateral twigs, few-flowered, lax, the
flowers pedicellate; calyx globose, densely whitish-strigillose;
calyx lobes 5, oblong or linear-oblong, 2 mm. long, obtuse, gla-
brate, suberect; corolla densely white-strigillose outside, the
tube 4 mm. long, the 5 lobes rounded, 2 mm. long; capsule
subglobose, 3-4 mm. broad, glabrate; seeds broadly winged.
Type (in the U. S. National Herbarium) collected in the Sierra
Maestra, Oriente, July, 1922, {Leon 10741).
In the key to the species of Rondeletia in the North American
Flora, this plant runs at once to the group Odoratae, but it is
not closely related to any of the species placed there, or to any
other Cuban species previously known to the writer.
Guettarda cryptantha Standley, sp. nov.
Shrub, the branches grayish, the branchlets slender, densely
pilose with subappressed fulvous hairs; stipules 8-10 mm. long,
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 49
oblong-lanceolate, long-acuminate, appressed-pilose; leaves op-
posite, the petioles stout, 2-3 mm. long, appressed-pilose, the
blades elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 2.5-6 cm. long, 1.2-3 cm. wide,
rounded at base, obtuse or rounded at apex, coriaceous, dark-
green above, lustrous, at first pilose with very slender whitish
appressed hairs but later glabrate, the venation depressed, paler
and brownish beneath, thinly scaberulous-pilosulous and with
longer subappressed hairs along the veins, the costa stout and
prominent, the lateral veins 5-7 pairs, subarcuate,anastamosing,
remote from the revolute margin; inflorescence few-flowered,
closely sessile, terminal and axillary, subtended by large, densely
pilose, oval bracts; hypanthium densely sericeous-pilose with
long whitish hairs, the calyx 5-7 mm. long, cleft into 3 or 4
spatulate-obovate, obtuse, densely sericeous lobes; corolla
brownish-red, the tube stout, 10-12 mm. long, densely pilose
with long whitish ascending hairs, the 4 lobes rounded-oval, 4
mm. long, glabrous within.
Type collected on Loma del Gato, Cobre Range of Sierra
Maestra, Oriente, altitude 900-1000 meters {Leon, Clement and
Roca 10301; herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden).
Guettarda cobrensis Standley, sp. nov.
Shirub 3 meters high, the branches dark reddish brown, the
branchlets thick, densely covered with minute appressed fulvous
hairs, the internodes short; stipules oblong-ovate, 4 mm. long
or more, acuminate, thin, brown, pubescent like the branchlets
and with few long subappressed hairs; leaves opposite, the
petioles stout, 4-6 mm. long, minutely and densely appressed-
pilose, the blades oval or broadly oval, 3-6 cm. long, 2-4.5 cm-
wide, rounded at apex, deeply cordate at base, thick-coriaceous,
yellowish-green, concolorous, often somewhat bullate, glabrous
above, the venation depressed, beneath bearing a few short
appressed hairs along the coarse prominent costa, but elsewhere
glabrous, the lateral veins stout and prominent, 5 or 6 on each
side, subarcuate, ascending at an angle of 45-600, the intermediate
veins inconspicuous, the margin subrevolute; peduncles about 1
cm. long, pubescent like the branchlets, the flowers usually 3,
sessile; fruit globose, 1 cm. in diameter, minutely tomentulose.
Type collected at edge of woods, Loma del Gato, Cobre Range
of Sierra Maestra, Oriente, altitude 800 meters {Leon, Clement
and Roca 102J1; herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden).
Related to G. crassipes Britton, in which the leaves arc densely
long-pilose beneath along the costa.
50 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants— XI
Stenostomum apiculatum Britton & Standley, sj>. nov.
Branchlets thick, resinous, densely leafy, sericeous-strigose ;
stipules united, persistent, the sheath 5 nun. long, densely stri-
gose; petioles stout, 5-12 mm. long, densely strigillose; leaf
blades elliptic, 4.5 7 cm. long, 2.5-4 cm- wide, obtuse or acute at
base, obtuse at apex and apiculate-acuminate, coriaceous, green
above, lustrous, glabrous, the costa depressed, paler beneath
and brownish, sparsely strigillose, the veins prominent, the
lateral ones about 9 pairs, arcuate, distant, the margin plane or
subrevolute; peduncles slender, about 3 cm. long, the 2 branches
2-2.5 cm. long, 1 0-12 -flowered; calyx and hypanthium 1-1.5
mm. long, glabrate, the calyx with very short, obtuse teeth;
corolla 7 mm. long, densely strigillose outside; filaments very
short, the anthers oblong-linear, equaling the corolla tube;
stigma 4-lobate.
Type (in the U. S. National Herbarium) collected in the Sierra
Maestra, Oriente, July, 1922 (Leon, 10806.)
Psychotria Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub, the twigs and branches of the inflorescence puberulent.
Leaves elliptic to oval, 3-5 cm. long, 1.5-3 cm. broad, acute to
short-acuminate at the apex, acute at the base, glabrous above,
pubescent beneath when young with short appressed hairs, the
primary veins indistinct above, prominent beneath; petioles
1. 3-1. 5 cm. long, puberulent; panicles few-flowered; calyx
funnel-shaped, shallowly toothed, the teeth triangular, acute;
buds narrowly ellipsoid, puberulent; mature flowers and fruits
not seen.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente (Leon ioy8g).
Lobelia cacuminis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Suffrutescent, the stems 3-4 m. high, nearly glabrous. Leaves
chartaceous, oblanceolate, 7-13 cm. long, 2.5-4.5 cm. wide,
acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, rather coarsely
dentate, the petioles 1 .5-3 cm. long; midrib flat above, prominent
beneath, the lateral veins ascending ; inflorescence many-flowered ;
pedicels slender, 10-12 mm. long, pubescent; calyx-lobes nar-
rowly lanceolate, 3-4 mm. long; mature corolla not seen; young
fruits 1 cm. in diameter.
Pico Turquino, Oriente (Leon 10862).
Senecio Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
Vine, the slender stems glabrous. Leaves ovate, triangular-
ovate or occasionally lanceolate, 1.5-4.5 cm- l°ngi 0.9-2.7 cm.
wide, often with one or more prominent teeth at or above the
Britton: Studies of West Indies plants — XI 51
base, palmately-veined, glabrous on both sides; petioles 0.5-1.5
cm. long; heads long-peduncled, the peduncles pubescent;
involucre subcylindric-campanulate, 5-6 mm. high, its bracts
oblong, glabrous, their tips acute or acuminate; pappus white,
4 mm. long; achene about I mm. long.
Climbing on shrubs, Loma del Sabicu, Oriente (Leon 10751).
Chaptalia montana Britton, sp. now
Leaves oblanceolate-spatulate, thin, 4-7 cm. long, lyrate-
pinnatifid, the terminal lobe large, elliptic-obovate, obtuse,
apiculate, the lateral ones few, small, rounded, the upper surface
green and glabrate, the under grayish-lanate; scape filiform,
1.5-2.5 dm. long; head erect; involucre subcampanulate, its
bracts linear, acuminate, lanate below, the inner ones about
7 mm. long; achenes fusiform, 5.5-6 mm. long, the slender beak
longer than the body; pappus white.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon 10802).
65. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM TRINIDAD
Bactris savannarum Britton, sp. nov.
Trunk slender, up to 10 m. high, erect, copiously armed, like
the leaf-rachis, with nearly white, defiexed spines 1-5 cm. long,
which turn darker in age. Leaves about I m. long or longer,
petioled, the numerous, unarmed segments 2-4 dm. long, about
4 cm. wide or less, light green, paler beneath than above, the
base attenuate, the apex acuminate or acute, some of the upper
ones of young leaves confluent; spathe narrowly oblong, 2-3
dm. long-acuminate, densely appressed-bristly, the bristles
rather soft; inflorescence about as long as the spathe, its axis and
slender branches densely brown-villous; flowers numerous, nearly
white, about 4 mm. long; fruit orange, depressed-globose, small
for the genus, about 8 mm. in diameter, vertically striate;
fruiting calyx nearly flat, about 5 mm. broad, its lobes rounded,
striate.
Aripo Savanna and its forest borders, Trinidad {Britton,
Broadway and Hazen 260, type; Trinidad Herbarium 9850,
Broadway); Professor L. H. Bailey has kindly sent us two
photographs of this palm taken by him in 1921.
Pilea aripoensis Britton, sp. nov.
Stems filiform, 4-7 cm. long. Leaves membranous, spatulate,
entire, i-nerved, 12 mm. long or less, the apex rounded, the base
cuneate, the filiform petiole somewhat shorter than the blade,
52 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
the raphides linear, undulate, transverse, prominent upon the
upper surface.
Hanging from wet dark banks, Heights of Aripo, Trinidad
(Trinidad Herbarium 10,008, Broadway).
Inga ierensis Britton, sp. nov.
A tree up to 16 m. high, the petioles, leaf-surfaces and ped-
uncles strigillose. Petioles slender, 2-3 cm. long; rachis-glands
suborbicular, semiglobose; leaflets in 2 pairs, ovate-elliptic, char-
taceous, shining, 7-10 cm. long, pinnately veined, the apex
rather abruptly short-acuminate, the oblique base narrowed
or obtuse, the strigulose petiolules 2-3 mm. long; peduncles
about 6 cm. long or less; legume broadly linear, compressed,
glabrous, shining, up to 10 cm. long, about 2 cm. wide, finely
striate, abruptly short-tipped, the margins continuous or deeply
constricted.
Forests, northern mountain range, Trinidad. Type from the
Maracas Valley {Britton and Hazen 1627). In fruit April 10,
1920.
Serjania ierensis Britton, sp. nov.
A vine up to 7 m. long, the branches slender, glabrous. Leaves
about 6 cm. long, biternate, the short, slender petioles 1.5 cm.
long or less, sparingly pubescent; leaflets coriaceous, glabrous,
4 cm. long or less, serrate, finely reticulate-veined, shining,
those of the terminal segment acute or acuminate, those of the
lateral segments rounded or obtuse; peduncles about as ong as
the leaves, glabrous; tendrils very slender, 2-4 cm. long; panicles
puberulent nearly as long as the peduncles; samaras glabrous,
about 15 mm. long, the wing finely reticulate-veined, about 4
times as long as the body and only partially enclosing it.
Dry thickets, Trinidad. Type from Palo Seco (Britton and
Hazen 1172). In fruit March 30, 1920.
Clusia intertexta Britton, sp. nov.
Forming impenetrable masses with interlocking aerial roots.
Leaves orbicular-obovate, 10-14 cm- l°ng> thick-coriaceous,
rounded, the base subcuneate, the lateral veins many, about 4
mm. apart, prominent on the upper surface, the very stout
petioles 1 cm. long or less; inflorescence several-flowered, its
branches stout; bracts 2-3 cm. long; buds globose, glabrous;
fruit (immature) oblong-ovoid, beaked, about 2.5 cm. long;
stigmas 6.
Forest, Heights of Aripo, Trinidad (Trinidad Herbarium Qj86t
Broadway), January 10-26, 1922.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 53
Clusia aripoensis Britton, sp. nov.
A tree, with slender twigs. Leaves narrowly obovate, sub-
coriaceous, 7-8 cm. long, the apex obtuse, the base cuneate, the
rather closely pinnate venation prominent on the under side,
almost wholly obscure above, the rather slender petioles 1-2
cm. long, stigmas 5; young fruit obovoid, 2.8 cm. long, 2 cm. in
diameter.
Forest, Heights of Aripo Trinidad (Trinidad Herbarium 9785,
Broadway), January 10-26, 1922.
Stylogyne tenuifolia Britton, sp. nov.
A tree up to about 10 m. in height. Leaves elliptic, mem-
branous, 8-20 cm. long, glabrous, the base narrowed, the apex
rather abruptly acuminate, the midvein impressed above, prom-
inent beneath, the stout petioles 5-12 mm. long; inflorescence
lateral and terminal, 5 cm. long or less, short-paniculate; bract-
lets oblong-lanceolate, 2-3 mm. long, deciduous; pedicels nearly
filiform, 5-10 mm. long; calyx-segments broadly ovate, rounded,
about 2 mm. long; corolla about twice as long as the calyx; fruit
globular, white, 6-7 mm. in diamater.
Forests at higher elevations in the northern mountain range,
Trinidad. Type from Mt. Tocuche {Britton, Hazen and Mendle-
son 1341); collected also by Mr. Broadway on the Heights of
Aripo (Trinidad Herbarium, 9837, 9840).
Prestonia Fendleri N. E. Brown, sp. nov.
Stem climbing, the flowering parts with internodes 4.5-12 cm.
long, 1-2 mm. thick, thinly puberulous with minute curved hairs
on the youngest parts, becoming glabrous and brown with age.
Leaves with petioles 6-15 mm. long and blades 5-10 cm. long
and 3-7 cm. broad, elliptic, subequally and broadly rounded at
both ends, with a small abrupt point 1-2 mm. long at the apex,
with about 5 ascending curved primary veins on each side of the
midrib, inarching at their tips and forming loops near the
margin. Racemes axillary, the axis 1-2 cm. long in the example
seen, bearing 15 or more flowers on the upper half, flowerless
below, thinly and minutely puberulous. Bracts minute, less
than 1 mm. long. Pedicels 12-15 mm- long, slender, puberulous.
Sepals 5 mm. long and 1.5-2 mm. broad, lanceolate, acute, thinly
puberulous. Corolla pubescent at the top of the tube inside,
otherwise glabrous; tube 15-17 mm. long and about 4 mm. in
diameter, cylindric, with the mouth, where the lobes pass trom
it, raised into an erect ring 1 mm. high; inside this ring arise 5
linear erect exserted processes (coronal-lobes) 4 mm. long; lobes
54 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
about 12 mm. long and 7 mm. broad, somewhat rhomboid, or
obliquely subtruncate. Stamens inserted near the top of the
tube, glabrous; filaments 2 mm. long; anthers sagittate, 4.5 mm.
long, exserted. Ovary surrounded by an obtusely 5-lobed fleshy
disk.
Trinidad, without precise locality, Fendler 628.
Cordia ierensis Britton, sp. nov.
A tree up to 10 m. high, with slender, finely appressed-pu-
bescent twigs. Leaf-blades elliptic to ovate, thin, 2 dm. long
or less, scabrate-puberulent, the apex abruptly acuminate, the
base obliquely obtuse or narrowed, the petioles 2 cm. long or
less; panicle about 8 cm. broad, broader than long, many-
flowered, its branches slender, densely appressed-pubescent;
flowers sessile, the buds obovoid, rounded, densely appressed-
pubescent, about 2 mm. long.
Forests, Trinidad. Type from Morne Bleu (Britton, Freeman
and Bailey, 2277). In bud March 13, 192 1. This is, as deter-
mined by Mr. N. E. Brown at Kew, the Cordia panicularis of
Grisebach, not of Rudge.
Aegiphila trinitensis Britton, sp. nov.
A shrub, with slender, glabrous branches, the bark nearly
white, the young shoots brown, short, minutely puberulent.
Leaves short-petioled, the blades ovate, thin, small for the genus,
4 cm. long or less, the apex acute or acuminate, the base nar-
rowed; panicles small, short-peduncled, strigose, several many-
flowered, 2-3 cm. broad; calyx obconic, truncate, puberulent;
corolla white, about 8 mm. long.
Hillsides and thickets in moist districts, Trinidad. Type
from St. Ann's {Mrs. W. E. Broadivay). In flower May 10, 1919.
This is the species recorded by Grisebach from Trinidad, as
Aegiphila laevis.
Anguria elliptica Britton, sp. nov.
A slender, glabrous, high-climbing vine, with very slender
tendrils 15 cm. long or less. Petioles about 2 cm. long; leaf-
blades simple, oblong-elliptic, thin, entire, about 8 cm. long,
pinnately veined, the apex abruptly acute, the base obtuse;
peduncles slender, longer than the leaves; staminate flowers
scarlet, spicate; spikes about 3 cm. long; calyx-lobes subulate,
1 mm. long; corolla-lobes spatulate-obovate or obovate, 4 mm.
long, 2-2.6 mm. broad, rounded or subtruncate and mucronate
at the apex, the margin minutely ciliate; anthers 4.5 mm. long,
straight.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI 55
Forests in wet or moist districts, Trinidad; type from Arima
{Britton 2084). In flower March 4, 192 1.
66. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM PORTO RICO
Scleria doradoensis Britton, sp. nov.
Perennial? Culms slender, rather stiff, glabrous, erect, tufted,
3-4 dm. high. Leaves glabrous, scabrate, shorter than the culm,
about 2 mm. wide, the apex attenuate; inflorescence terminal,
glomerate-spicate, 5-7 cm. long; glomerules 6-8, few-flowered,
not nodding; bracts about 3 mm. long, brown-ciliate ; achene
white, subglobose-obovoid, very obtusely trigonous, verrucose-
tuberculate, 1.5 mm. long, 12-porose underneath just above the
trigonous base; hypogynium none.
White sand near Dorado {Britton, Britton and Brown 7064).
Scleria Stevensiana Britton, sp. nov.
Perennial? rootstocks short or none; culms very slender,
tufted, slightly scabrous above, weak, 4-5 dm. long. Leaves
soft, scabrous-margined, 4 mm. wide or less, panicles 2 or 3,
axillary, the lower stalked, the upper one nearly sessile, about
3 cm. long; bracts narrowly linear-subulate, 2.5 cm. long or less;
spikelets several or numerous; achene depressed-globose, about
1.5 mm. in diameter, apiculate, glabrous, shining, faintly re-
ticulated, nearly white, with 3 vertical brown bands; hypogynium
lobes lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous.
Lares {Stevens and Hess 4944).
Lagenocarpus portoricensis Britton, sp. nov.
Culm stout, erect, trigonous, glabrous, about 8 dm. high.
Leaves 8-12 mm. wide, nearly as long as the culm, smooth,
long-attenuate, with numerous transverse veinlets; panicle
narrow, puberulent, about 3 dm. long and 5 cm. thick, the lower
half of staminate spikelets on nearly erect branches, the upper
half of pistillate; bractlets aristate; staminate spikelets about 4
mm. long, short-stalked; scales subtending the achene obovate,
subtruncate, ciliolate, mucronate; achene, with its beak, ovoid,
3 mm. long, brown with three darker blotches, the beak about
as long as the body.
Wet sandy situations between Manati and Yega Baja {Under-
wood and Griggs 946, type); collected also by Sintenis near
Dorado. Recorded by C. B. Clarke and by Urban as L. tremulus
Nees.
56 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XI
Rynchospora Blauneri Britton, sp. nov.
Perennal by short rootstocks; culms filiform, weak, clustered,
glabrous, 3-5 dm. long; leaves filiform, glabrous, shorter than
the culms; spikelets narrowly oblong, 3 mm. long, few together
in 2 or 3 distant compact clusters subtended by a filiform bract
3-5 cm. long; scales ovate-oblong, acute, light brown; bristles
none; achene obovate, light brown with darker brown margins,
smooth, about 1 mm. long; tubercle conic, acute, about one-
third as long as the achene.
Sierra de Luqiullo (Blauner 247, in herbarium of Columbia
University, collected in 1852-53). Referred by Clarke to R.
divergens.
Rynchospora luquillensis Britton, sp. nov.
Perennial by rootstocks; culms very slender, smooth, erect,
about 2 dm. high. Leaves narrowly linear, about 1 mm. wide,
flat, smooth, shorter than the culm; inflorescence a small ter-
minal cluster of few spikelets; spikelets narrowly oblong, about
4 mm. long; scales oblong, brownish, acute; bristles about 6,
retrorsely barbed, a little longer than the achene; style elongated;
achene narrowly obovate, smooth, brown, about 2 mm. long;
tubercle subulate, about as long as the achene.
Sierra de Luquillo (Brother Hioram 364.)
67. AN UNDESCRIBED SIPHOCAMPYLUS FROM HAYTI
Siphocampylus pinnatisectus Gleason, sp. nov.
Stem herbaceous, erect, slender, glabrous. Leaves alternate,
broadly oblong in general outline, 5-7 cm. long, 3-3.5 cm. wide,
narrowed at base into a petiole, glabrous, deeply pinnatisect
into a terminal and 5-7 pairs of lateral linear lobes, each lobe
and the rhachis about 2 mm. wide, with 2-4 sharp salient teeth
or the smaller entire, sharply acute or submucronate, with a
single midvein and faint lateral veinlets; flowers in the upper
axils, few in number, appearing subcorymbose by the shortened
internodes, on minutely puberulent pedicels 1 cm. long; hypan-
thium obconic, acute at base, 3 mm. high; calyx-lobes narrowly
linear-triangular, acuminate, erect, separated by narrow acute
sinuse- ; corolla red, about 25 mm. long, narrowly tubular, some-
what curved ventrally, constricted at base, gradually enlarged
upward, 3 mm. in diameter at the throat, its lobes all depressed,
3-4 mm. long.
Type, Nash and Taylor 1701, collected on an open sunny
hillside, between La Brande and Mt. Balance, Hayti, at altitude
of 3150 ft., August 15, 1905.
Siphocampylus pinnatisectus differs from all other West Indian
members of the genus in its deeply pinnatisect leaves.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM rHE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 252
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PLANTS-XII
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1924
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bullhtin op thb Tobbby Botanical
Club 51: 1-12. January, 1924.
Studies of West Indian plants — XII
Nathaniel Lord Britton
68. UNDESCRI BED SPECIES FROM CUBA
Cyperus naguensis Britton, sp. now
Culms short, about 8 dm. high, trigonous, smooth. Basal
leaves rough-margined, strongly veined, 5- <S mm. wide, shorter
than the culm, the apex attenuate, those of the involucre several,
similar to the basal ones but shorter; umbel 8-10-rayed, the
rays slender, the longer ones 6-10 cm. long; spikelets straw-
colored, compressed, about 8- flowered, deciduous, 10-12 mm.
long, very numerous in dense oval or subglobose, simple or com-
pound spikes 2-3 cm. long; scales oblong-lanceolate, acute,
striate, slightly spreading, 3 mm. long; achene linear, 1.5 m.
long, about 3 times as long as thick, sharply pointed, narrowed
at base.
Moist place between San Felipe and Nagua, Oriente (Ek-
man 14720). Similar to ('. stenolepis Torr., but with shorter
scales and achenes.
Reynosia camagueyensis Britton, sp. nov.
Twigs slender, leafy. Leaves oblong-obovate, coriaceous,
entire, 12-17 mm. long, glabrous, very finely reticulate-veined,
the midvein impressed above and prominent beneath, the base
narrowed but obtuse, the apex obtuse, rounded or emarginate,
tipped with a nearly straight awn about 0.7 mm. long, the pet-
ioles about 1 mm. long; fruit globose, rounded, 12-14111111. in
diameter, its peduncle about 5 mm. long.
Hills, Camaguey (Padre Borrds', 1918). Resembles R.
latijolia Griseb., which has strongly reticulate leaves and ellip-
soid pointed fruits.
2 Hritton: Studies of West Indian plants — XII
Peperomia Leoclemerocana Trelease, sp. nov.
A rather large assurgent glabrous herb; stem succulent and
rather thick (5-8 mm.) ; leaves alternate, broadly elliptic-obovate,
somewhat blunt-acuminate and often emarginulate, cuneate,
rather large (2 X 5-4X 6.5 cm.), drying rather coriaceous and dull,
pinnately veined from about the middle, the principal ascending
branches of the midrib 3 or 4 X 2; petiole scarcely 1 cm. long,
winged; spikes terminal, paired or toward the end of a bracted
stalk about 6 cm. long, 2 X 70-130 mm.; peduncle about 2 cm.
long; bracts round-peltate, about .5 mm. in diameter and 10 to
the pseudo-whorl; berries separated by somewhat evident ridges,
ellipsoid, somewhat glandular, with stout curved beak; stigma
anterior.
Cobre range, Sierra Maestra, Oriente {Leon, Clement & Roca
10436 — the type at the New York Botanical Garden).
Clidemia Clementiana Britton, sp nov.
A shrub about 3 m. high, the very slender twigs, the petioles
and the under leaf-surfaces puberulent. Leaves narrowly
lanceolate, 1 -nerved, chartaceous, entire, short-petioled, 2-6 cm.
long, glabrous above, the apex acuminate, the base narrowed,
the lateral venation faint, spreading; inflorescence 1-3-flowered;
pedicels filiform, puberulent, 1-2 cm. long; calyx-lobes 4, linear,
2-3 mm. long; fruit 4-lobed, about 5 mm. in diameter.
Sierra Maestra, Oriente. Type from Loma del Gato, {Leon,
Clement and Roca 9830).
Rondeletia Ekmanii Britton & Standley, sp. nov.
Branchlets brown, puberulent or scaberulous, finally glabra te;
stipules deltoid-cuspidate, 2-3 mm. long, erect, persistent;
petioles 2-3 mm. long, glabrous or obscurely puberulent; leaf
blades broadly elliptic to elliptic-oval, 2-4 cm. long, 1.2-2.5 cm.
wide, rounded or very obtuse at apex, rounded at base, coriaceous,
dark green above, glabrous, lustrous, with prominulous-reti-
culate venation, paler beneath and brownish, glabrous, the costa
salient, the lateral nerves few, distant, not conspicuous; inflores-
cence terminating the main branches and on short leafy lateral
twigs, few-flowered, open, the flowers slender-pedicellate; rachis
of the inflorescence scaberulous, the pedicels 4-5 mm. long;
hypanthium globose, densely white-scaberulous; calyx-lobes
linear-subulate, scarcely over 1 mm. long, subobtuse, brownish,
scaberulous; corolla-tube 6 mm. long, dilated above, strigillose-
scaberulous with white hairs, the 5 lobes broadly obovate,
rounded at apex, tomentulose on the inner surface.
Brixton": Studies of West Indian plants— XII 3
Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1,145,291, col-
lected on banks of the Yara River, Oriente, August 14, 1922
(E. L. Ekman 14852).
Related to R. calophylla Standley,* but evidently distinct
in the small and narrow calyx-lobes.
The type of R. calophylla was collected in the Sierra Maestra
in July, 1922, by Brother Leon. Dr. Ekman also obtained it in
August, 1922, at Arroyo Corojo, Nagua, Oriente (No. 14729).
69. AN UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM HISPANIC )LA
Kallstroemia incana Rydberg, sp. now
KaUstr.oemiu cariba< rban, Symb. Ant. 8:319. 1920. Not
K. caribaea Rydberg, 1910.
A diffusely branched herb, somewli.it woody at the base;
stems spreading, 2-3 dm. long, with coarser spreading and finer
more appressecl hairs, terete; stipules linear-oblong, 2-3 mm.
long, tardily deciduous; leaves I— 1.5 cm. long; petioles 2-3 mm.
long; leaflets mostly 3 pairs, obliquely ovate, 3—5 mm. long,
hoary on both sides, acutish; peduncles 2-3 mm. long; sepals
lance-linear, acute, 3 mm. long; petals elliptic-obovate, light
yellow, 3 mm. long; fruit grayish-strigose, about 5 mm. broad,
the beak 2 mm. long, conic at the base; carpels cross-ridged on
the back and reticulate on the faces.
Type collected at Barahona, Santo Domingo, July 1920,
Fuertes 418 (herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden);
also collected at Rincon, October 191 1, Fuertes 1352.
The two numbers cited were determined by Urban as K.
caribaea and included under that name in his Flora Domingensis,
but it differs in the hoary pubescence, the small leaflets, the small
petals, scarcely half as long as in K. caribaea, the short peduncles
and short beak on the small fruit. It approaches more K. carta
Rydberg, from ( "uracao.w it h which it has the following characters
in common: small leaflets, short peduncles, small petals ami
fruit, and short beak; but it is more canescenl, more branched,
with shorterinternodes and smaller lea\ es.and the beak different,
not at all swollen.
* Bull. Torrey Club 50: 48. 192;,.
4 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XII
70. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM TRINIDAD
Anthurium aripoense N. E. Brown, sp. nov.
Glabrous in all parts. Petioles about 75 cm. long and (when
dried) 4 mm. thick, sheathing for about 7 cm. at their base,
apparently more or less flattened above with obtuse edges,
rounded on the back; blades about 34 cm. long, 26 cm. broad
across the basal lobes and 18 J2 cm. broad at the constriction,
cordate, with the basal lobes slightly constricted into the front
lobe at about 1 1 cm. above the insertion of the petiole ; basal sinus
about 4 cm. deep, broadly open, rounded; basal lobes semi-
orbicular; front lobe ovate, abruptly acute, apiculate; both
surfaces green; basal nerves 4 on each side of the midrib, the 3
outer united and denuded at the sinus for about 25 mm., much
curved and all excurrent at the margin below the middle of the
leaf; the inner one free, ascending and excurrent at the apex,
running subparallel with the margin at about 12-15 mm.
from it ; primary lateral veins about 7 on each side of the midrib,
with others similar but less prominent between them, widely
spreading, subparallel, nearly straight. Peduncle about 57 cm.
long, 4 mm. thick (dried), apparently terete. Spathe 1 1 cm. long,
12 mm. broad, strap-shaped or broadly linear, with a subulate
point about 25 mm. long. Spadix 15 cm. long, 5 mm. thick at
the base, much longer than the spathe, on a stipe 5 mm. long,
apparently violaceous or dark purple. Flowers diamond-shaped,
4 mm. in their longer and 3 mm. in their shorter diameter.
Heights of Aripo, {Broadway 9924).
The venation of the leaf of this species is on the same plan
as that of A. Guildingii Schott, but in outline the slight constric-
tion above the basal lobes brings it nearer to A. panduraeforme
Schott.
Piper maravalanum Trelease, sp. nov.
Stem nodose, glabrous; leaves ovate or elliptic-ovate, acumin-
ate, equilaterally rounded at base, rather large (6-9 X 1 5—1 7
cm.), pinnately nerved from below the middle, the nerves about
5X2 and sparingly pubescent beneath; petiole rather short
(scarcely 10 mm.), not winged; spikes opposite the leaves, as
yet comparatively short and thick (2 X 15 mm.), mucronate;
peduncle very short (scarce 5 mm.); bracts lunulate-subpeltate,
rusty-ciliate; flowers sessile, perfect; stigmas 3, minute, sessile.
Maraval, December 30, 1914, {Broadway 7829, the type
in the New York Botanical Garden).
Scarcely to be placed anywhere except in close connection
with P. Schackii and P. ovatunr, but pubescent beneath on the
veins.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XII 5
Piper aripoense Trelease, sp. now
A shrub, 1 m. tall; flowering internodes moderately slender
and short, zig-zag, hirsute; leaves elliptic or oblanceolate-elliptic,
acuminate, more or less unequally cordulate, moderately large
(5X 14-9X20 cm.), pinnately nerved from below the upper fourth,
the nerves about 9X2, paler and appressed-hirsute on the
nerves beneath; petiole short (scant 5 — exceptionally 10 mm.),
sometimes covered by the longer side of the base, hairy, winged
to the blade; spikes opposite the leaves, rather thick and short
(4 X 25 mm.), blunt; peduncle short (5 mm.), hirsute; bracts
concave-incurved, glabrous; flowers sessile, perfect; stigmas 3,
sessile; berries subglobose, glabrous.
Heights of Aripo (Britton and Freeman 235 j, the type at
the New York Botanical Garden).
Prestonia Brittoni N. E. Brown, sp. now
Stem twining, 3 mm. thick at the flowering parts, glabrous.
Leaves opposite, stipulate; petioles in the specimen seen 15 mm.
long, glabrous; blade about 16 cm. long and 7V2 cm. broad,
oblong-elliptic, shortly" acute and apiculate at the apex, rounded
at the base, glabrous on both sides, with 8-9 primary veins on
each side of the midrib inarching and uniting 5 mm. from the
margin; stipules formed of a number of small teeth 1 mm. long
between the bases of the petioles. Cymes axillary pedunculate,
6-8 cm. in diameter, quite glabrous in all parts; peduncle 3-4
cm. long, nearly 2 mm. thick. Pedicels 15-25 mm. long. Sepals
10 mm. long and 4-5 mm. broad, oblong, obtuse, rather thick;
at the base of each sepal, between it and the corolla is a broadly
deltoid-ovate obtuse gland about 1 mm. long. Corolla only seen
in bud and in that condition the tube is 12 mm. long and 3 mm.
in diameter, cylindric, not dilated at any part, surmounted by a
truncate-based actite cone 5 mm. long and 6V2 mm. in dia-
meter formed by the contorted lobes; mouth of the tube raised
within into a distinct rim about 1 mm. high, without processes
or other appendages; lobes as unfolded from the bud 5 mm.
long and 6 mm. broad, suborbicular, entire. Stamens inserted
5 mm. below the top of the corolla-tube; filaments 1 mm. long;
anthers 5 mm. long, not or scarcely exserted. Ovary surrounded
by 5 large faintly crenulate or faintly toothed fleshy lobes.
Heights of Aripo {Broadway iooog).
Decastelma trinitense N. E. Brown, sp. now
Stem twining, up to 2 mm. thick at the flowering part, with
internodes 2-3 cm. long, minutely puberulous, brown. Leaves
spreading; petiole 4-6 mm. long, minutely puberulous; blade
6 Rrition : Sitdiivs of West Indian pi.. wis XII
2-6 cm. long, 15 30 mm. broad, ovate or oblong-lanceolate,
acuminate, rounded at the base, glabrous on both sides to the eye,
but with a microscopic scattered pubescence above, where the
midrib is also minutely puberulous; primary veins 3- 5 on each
side of the midrib, distant, inarching and uniting into a sub-
marginal vein 2 3 mm. from the margin, not prominent on either
surface. Flowers in small sessile umbellate clusters at the nodes
of leafless branches. Bracts very minute. Pedicels 2-2 V2 mm.
long, and together with the flowering branches minutely puberu-
lous. Calyx 5-lobed to the base; lobes about % mm. long, ovate,
obtuse, think- and very minutely puberulous. Corolla about
3 mm. in diameter; tube about 0.75 mm. long. glabrous; lobes
spreading, about 1 mm. long, ovate, subacute, minutely and
densely puberulous within; each sinus with a thickening or slight
gibbosity, which seems nearly or quite to touch the staminal
column so as to form 5 small pocket-like entrances to the tube at
the base of the lobes. Staminal column subsessile, about 0.75 mm.
long, somewhat conical, truncate at the apex. Corona of 5
lobes arising from the staminal column at the base of the anthers,
minute, about :4 mm. long, pressed close against the back of
the anthers and shorter than the latter, ovate, obtuse; they seem
to be connected at the base by a minute tooth under the anther-
wings, but in the dried flowers this is difficult to determine.
Trinidad (Dannouse 6419, type). Collected in 1898.
The genus Decastelma is very like Metastclma in appearance,
but differs by having the staminal column subsessile instead of
with a long stipe, and by the corona arising from the staminal
column at the base of the anthers instead of at the mouth of the
corolla-tube. But the description of the corona of Decastelma
as given by Schlechter is entirely wrong, unless the flowers on
different specimens vary very much. For in the type of the
genus, D. Broadwayi Schltr. (Broadway 474), the flowers that I
have examined have a corona consisting of 5 lobes only, which
are shorter than the staminal column and pressed close to it;
they are broader than long and somewhat truncate at the three-
toothed top, the middle tooth being minute.
Probably some species from South America, now placed under
the genus Metastelma, really belong to Decastelma.
71. A NEW GENES OF MELASTOMACEAE FROM
TRINIDAD
NECRAMIUM Britton, gen. nov.
An erect shrub with long branches. Leaves opposite, large,
membranous, short-petioled, with a strong midrib and three
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XII 7
pairs of veins, the first pair from near the base, the second pair
from a short distance above, the third pair from below the
middle, the transverse venation widely spreading. Inflorescence
of sessile panicles borne on the branches much below the leaves,
the panicle-branches filiform; flowers 2 or 3 together, sessile,
subtended by subfoliaceous bract lets; calyx subcampanulate
with 4 subulate teeth.
Necramium gigantophyllum Britton, sp. nov.
Stems slender, simple or few-branched, quadrangular, 2 m.
high or higher, densely scurfy-puberulent above. Leaves oblong
to oblong-oblanceolate, 2-4 dm. long, 12 cm. wide or less, entire,
green on both sides, but paler beneath than above, glabrous
above, scurfy-puberulent on the veins beneath, the apex acu-
minate, the base narrowed, the stout scurfy petioles 1-2 cm.
long; panicles densely pubescent, several-flowered, about 4 cm.
long; bractlets oblong-lanceolate, concave, acute, pubescent, 3
mm. long; calyx-tube 2 mm. long, its teeth 1 mm. long; petals
and stamens unknown.
Forests at high altitudes, northern mountain range; type
from Heights of Aripo {Trinidad Herbarium 9798, collected by
Broadway, January 10-26, 1922); Mount Tocuche {Britton,
Hazen & Mendehon 1334), April 3-5, 1920.
72. THE GENUS DORSTEXIA IX THE WEST INDIES
Leaves large, deeply lobed or undulate; receptacle quad-
rate. 1. D. Contrajerva.
Leaves small, dentate, crenate or entire; receptacle
suborbicular, discoid or cyathiform.
Leaves not peltate.
Leaves orbicular, deeply cordate.
Leaves crenate; receptacle cyathiform. 2. D. crenulata.
Leaves entire or obsoletely repand.
Receptacle pubescent, discoid. 3. D. tuberosa.
Receptacle puberulent, about as long as broad 4. D. Rocana.
Leaves ovate to oblong or elliptic.
Leaves ovate, deeply cordate. 5. />. cordifolia.
Leaves oblong to elliptic, cordate or subcordate,
crenulate. 6. D. tubicina.
Leaves peltate.
Leaves ovate-oblong, peltate very near the base 7. D. petraea.
Leaves ovate to orbicular, peltate at the middle
or somen hat below.
Leaves orbicular, pubesi ent on both si' 8. D. peltata.
I eaves suborbicular to i vate, more or less longer
than broad.
8
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants— XII
Glabrous throughout; leaves rounded at both
ends or the apex \ ery obi use.
Pubesceni or puberulem ; leaves a< ute or
bluntly pointed.
Leaves suborbicular, very bluntly pointed.
Leaves ovate.
Peduncles and petioles puberulenl ; leaves
6-8 em. long. •
Peduncles and petioles tomentulose or
pubescent; leaves 3-5 cm. long.
Receptacle tomentulose, ciliate; pedun-
cle about as long as the petioles.
Receptacle puberulent; peduncle much
shorter than the petioles.
<). I), crassipes.
10. D. erythrandra .
11. D. Roigii.
\2. D. confusa.
13. D. jamaicensis.
I. DORSTENIA CONTRAYERVA L. Sp. PI. 121. 1 753
Porto Rico ; St. Martin ; Guadeloupe ; Martinique ; St. Vincent ;
Trinidad; Mexico to Colombia and Peru.
2. Dorstenia crenulata C. Wright ; Griseb. Mem. Ann. Acad.
II. 8: 173. i860
Banks of rivulets, Monte Verde, Cuba, {Wright 1447).
3. Dorstenia tuberosa C.Wright; Griseb. Mem. Ann. Acad.
11. 8: 173. i860
Mountains of northern Oriente, Cuba.
4. Dorstenia Rocana Britton, sp. now
Rootstock short. Petioles very slender, tomentulose, 5 cm.
long or less; leaf-blades orbicular, membranous, deeply cordate,
rounded, entire, or some of them obscurely repand, puberulent
on the veins beneath, otherwise glabrate, 10-23 mm. in diameter;
peduncle filiform, puberulent, about as long as the petioles;
receptacle cyathiform, about 5 mm. long and 4 mm. in diameter,
puberulent, narrowed below, purple-margined above.
Shaded rocks on banks of Cupeyales, Banao Mountains,
Santa Clara, Cuba {Brother Leon & Father Roca, 80Q2, August
5, 1918).
5. Dorstenia cordifolia Sw. Prodr. 31. 1788
Central and western Jamaica. Recorded from Haiti.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XII 9
6. Dorstenia tubucina R. & P. Fl. Per. 1: 65
Arima Savanna, Trinidad, collected by Purdie, according to
Grisebach.
7. Dorstenia petraea Griseb. ("at. PI. Cub. 58. 1866
Mountains of southern Oriente, Cuba.
8. Dorstenia peltata Spreng. Neue Entd. 3: 22. 1822
Santo Domingo, near Samana Bay.
9. Dorstenia crassipes C. Wright; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub.
58. 1866
Near La Catalina, Oriente, Cuba (Wright 2224).
10. Dorstenia erythrandra C. Wright ; Griseb. Cat. PI. Cub.
58. 1866
Rocks by the sea, Baracoa, Oriente, Cuba (Wright 2225).
11. Dorstenia Roigii Britton, sp. nov.
Rootstock stout, 8-10 cm. long, 5-6 mm. thick. Petiole>
rather stout, densely puberulent, 15 cm. long or less; leaf-blades
ovate, peltate below the middle, chartaceous when dry, coarsely
undulate-dentate all around, strongly veined, 6-8 cm. long,
dark green and scabrous above, paler and densely puberulent
beneath, the apex obtuse or acute, the base rounded; peduncle
puberulent, 5-7 cm. long; receptacle orbicular, nearly Hat,
peltate, about 10 mm. in diameter.
On rocks at the foot of Mogote de la Jagua, Consolacion del
Norte, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, June 17, 1923 (Roig 254J).
12. Dorstenia confusa Britton, sp. nov.
Rootstock slender, tuberiferous. Petioles slender, tomentu-
lose, 4-6 cm. long; leaf-blades broadly ovate, membranous,
2.5-3 cm. long, peltate somewhat below the middle, finely pubes-
cent beneath, especially on the veins, repand-crenate, the apex
blunt, the base rounded; peduncle tomentulose, about 4 cm.
long; receptacle orbicular, nearly discoid, 6 mm. in diameter,
tomentulose, ciliate.
Monte Verde, Oriente, Cuba (Wright 2220, in Gray Herb-
arium).
io Britton: Si i dies OF West Indian plants XII
13. Dorstenia jamaicensis Britton, Bull. Torrey Club 35:
Limestone cliffs, Manchester, Jamaica.
73. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM PORTO RICO
Maytenus ponceana Britton, sp. nov.
A tree about 12 m. high, with slender, somewhat tortuous,
glabrous twigs. Leaves oblong, or oblong-obovate, coriaceous,
9 cm. long or less, indistinctly few-veined with the midrib rather
prominent on both sides, shining above, dull beneath, the apex
bluntly short-acuminate or obtuse, the base subcuneate, the
rather slender petioles 6-8 mm. long; fruiting pedicels 3-5 mm.
long, solitary or 2 together in the axils; fruit globose, whitish,
6-8 mm. in diameter.
Hillside, Rio Portugues, north of Ponce {Britton 78 iS). In
fruit Feb. 12, 1923.
Eugenia Underwoodii Britton, sp. nov.
A shrub, 2.5-3 m. high, much branched, the very slender
gray terete twigs puberulent when young, the inflorescence
pubescent. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, chartaceous,
2-5 cm. long, slightly paler green beneath than above, somewhat
shining, delicately veined and scarcely reticulated, rather coarsely
punctate, flat, the apex acuminate, the base narrowed, the
puberulent petioles 1.5-2.5 mm. long; flowers in small short-
peduncled racemes near the ends of the twigs; pedicels 2-3 mm.
long; bracts about 1 mm. long; calyx-tube campanulate, glabrate,
about 1.5 mm. long, the lobes a little shorter, puberulent, ciliate,
obtuse; petals nearly 2 mm. long; fruit unknown.
Collected at Yauco. (L. M. Undenvood & R. F. Griggs,
639)
Eugenia boqueronensis Britton, sp. nov.
A tree about 8 m. high, the slender short twigs gray, densely
tomentose when young. Leaves ovate or elliptic-ovate, cori-
aceous, 2-3.5 cm- l°ng, shining, nearly equally green on both
sides, coarsely blackish-punctate, finely pinnately veined and
scarcely reticulated, pubescent on the midvein beneath when
young, glabrous or very nearly so when mature, the apex abruptly
and bluntly acuminate, the base narrowed, the stout pubescent
petioles 2-3 mm. long; racemes few-flowered, about I cm. lons^,
borne in the uppermost axils, densely tomentose; pedicels about
3 mm. long; bracts oblong, shorter than the pedicels; calyx-lobes
broad, rounded or obtuse, about 1.5 mm. long; petals rounded,
not longer than the calyx-lobes; fruit unknown.
Britton: Studies of West Indian plants — XII n
Base of limestone hill, Salinas de Boqueron, {Britton, Cowell
& Brown, 462"/).
Eugenia Stewardsonii Britton, sp. nov.
A tree, 5-10 m. high, glabrous throughout, the slender twigs
gray. Leaves ovate, suhchartaceous, very nearly sessile, 4-6
cm. long, bright green and shining on both sides, the venation
rather prominent, coarsely reticulated, the apex obtuse or
rounded, the base rounded or subcordate, the stout petioles about
1 mm. long; flowers sessile, in lateral clusters below the leaves;
larger calyx-lobes obtuse, about 2 mm. long; fruit subglobose or
depressed-globose, 5-7 mm. in diameter.
Mountain forests and summits. Central Cordillera of Porto
Rico. Type from the summit of Monte Torrecillo (Britton,
Cowell & Stewardson Brown, 5603). Included by Urban in
Eugenia cor data (Sw.) DC.
Eugenia (?) corozalensis Britton, sp. nov.
A tree about 6 m. high, the rather slender subterete glabrous
forking twigs slightly enlarged below the internodes. Leaves
oval-orbicular, chartaceous, glabrous, sessile, 4-7 cm. long, green
on both sides, densely punctate, the apex rounded, the base
cordate, the venation slender, loosely reticulated; flowers and
fruit unknown.
Limestone hill, Corozal (Britton 7832).
Eugenia (?) xerophytica Britton, sp. nov.
A shrub, or a small tree up to about 4 m. high, much branched,
the slender terete twigs and the leaves glabrous. Leaves sub-
orbicular or some of them a little broader than long, coriaceous,
glabrous, shining above, yellow-green and reticulate-veined on
both sides, 1.5-5 cm- l°ng> the apex obtuse, rounded or short-
tipped, the base subcordate or rounded, the stout petioles 2-4
mm. long; flowers and fruit unknown.
Limestone rocks, Cayo Muertos, Porto Rico, (Britton, Cowell
& Brown, 4982, type); limestone hill, LI Tuque, west of Ponce
(Britton 7915).
Calyptranthes portoricensis Britton, sp. nov.
A tree or shrub, the twigs and inflorescence densely brown-
pubescent. Leaves elliptic or ovate-elliptic, coriaceous, glabrous
above, pubescent beneath when young, 3 7 cm. long, very ob-
scurely punctate, the apex rounded or acutish, the base obtuse,
the midvein prominent beneath, the lateral venation obscure;
12 Britton: Studies of West Indian plants XII
peduncles rather stout, 7 cm. long or shorter; panicles several-
flowered, the flowers subglomerate, nearly sessile; calyx densely
brown-pubescent, aboul 2 mm. long, obovoid, rounded; fruit
finely pubescent, globose, about 5 mm. in diameter.
Vicinity of Maricao. Type from Monte Alegrillo (Stevens
4718).
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL
GARDEN— No. 284
STUDIES OF WEST INDIAN PL ANTS-XIII
NATHANIEL LORD BRITTON
NEW YORK
1926
Reprinted, without change of paging, from Bulletin or the Torret
Botanical Cllb 53: 457-471. 30 O 1926.
Studies of West Indian plants — XIII
Nathaniel Lord Britton
74. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM CUBA
Andropogon virginicus graciliformis Leon, var. nov.
Lower sheaths not equitant, rather terete, glabrous; culms
slender and cylindrical from the base, usually producing one or
two flowering branches, only from the two or three upper nodes;
nodes of the inflorescence long pilose; blades at first narrowly in-
volute or conduplicate from base to apex, becoming flat and
flexuous in age, only about 1.5 mm. wide, devoid of long hairs
towards the base; spathes becoming reddish, the upper ones 6
to 9 cm. long, much longer than the racemes.
Gravelly soil, Sabana de Motembo, Santa Clara, Cuba {Leon
and Loustalot 11343). This variety may be readily recognized
by its basal sheaths not strongly compressed and equitant as
those of typical Andropogon virginicus and in its long and very
slender stems and narrow leaves. The type specimen is pre-
served in the herbarium of Colegio de la Salle, Vedado, Havana.
We are indebted to Prof. A. S. Hitchcock and Mrs. Agnes Chase
for suggestions and help.
Paspalum motembense Leon, sp. nov.
Perennial, glabrous, with a rhizome; culm erect or nearly so,
glabrous, about 60 cm. high, simple, the nodes glabrous; sheaths
much longer than the internodes, glabrous, striate, compressed,
the basal ones overlapping; ligule a delicate membrane 1-1.5 mm.
long; blades 20 to 30 cm. long, up to 5 mm. wide, glabrous on
both surfaces, scaberulous on the border, conduplicate, acuminate
at the convolute apex; panicle short exerted, 15 cm. long, the
rachis angled; racemes several, ascending, 2 to 5 cm. long, erect
or falcate, their rachis about 1 mm. wide, glabrous, scaberulous
on the border; spikelets in pairs, elliptic, 2.5 mm. long, 1.2 to
1.4 mm. wide, the pedicels scaberulous, one of them 1 mm. long,
the other two-thirds as long; glumes covering the fruit, thin,
glabrous, brownish-yellow; second glume 5-nerved, short pointed;
sterile lemma faintly 3-nerved, fruit brown, slightly rugose,
shining.
Grassy place, Sabana de Motembo, Santa Clara, Cuba {Leon
and Loustalot 9354)- Related to the South American P. hydro-
phyllum Henr., a much more robust plant, and to the Cuban
P. JVrightii; this is taller and stiffer than P. motembense, from
457
458 BULLETIN OF THE TORREY CLUB [vol.. 53
which it differs also in its aquatic habit and wrinkled spikelets.
The type specimen is preserved in the Herbarium of the New-
York Botanical (iarden.
Aristida Pradana Leon, sp. nov.
Perennial, culms cespitose, 60 to 80 cm. long, erect, wiry,
somewhat flattened, simple and naked, the upper leaves of the
culms, if any, reduced to the elongate, strongly adherent and
mostly bladeless sheath; ligule a short ciliate membrane less
than 0.5 mm. long; blades firm, closely involute from the base,
with usually a few hairs on each side of it, scaberulous on the
upper surface, glabrous beneath, flexuous, often splitting, up to
60 cm. long or more; panicle 25 to 35 cm. long, the branches few
flowered, usually with one branchlet at base, at first stiffly erect,
finally divergent or spreading, the lower ones distant, up to 8
cm. long, the axis and branches scabrous; glumes unequal, 10
to 12 mm. long, the first caducous, scabrous on the keel, i-nerved,
awn-tipped, the second glabrous, awn-tipped from a bifid apex;
lemma 15 to 17 mm. long, including the short pilose callus about
1 mm. long, and the dark colored scaberulous beak; awns un-
equal, ascending, the central one slightly recurved, 2 to 3 cm.
long, the lateral ones somewhat approximate, one-half as long
as the central one or little more.
Arid rocky silicious hillside, Peladeros de Jauco, southwest
of Baracoa, Oriente, Cuba (Leon 12299).
This species is allied to A. divaricata Humb. & Bonpl. of
Mexico, but may be distinguished by its much longer and closely
involute leaves. It is named in honor of Sr. Enrique Prada of
Jauco, who helped very efficiently in collecting work. The
type specimen is preserved in Colegio de la Salle Herbarium,
Vedado, Havana.
Chloris Morales-Coelloi Leon, sp. nov.
Perennial, glaucous; culms cespitose, erect, glabrous, com-
pressed, freely branching from the lower nodes, 50 to 80 cm. tall;
sheaths keeled, often longer than the internodes, glabrous, the
basal ones overlapping; ligule a short ciliate membrane about
0.5 mm. long, with a few hairs behind on each side; blades flat or
conduplicate, glabrous on both surfaces, abruptly pointed at
apex, 8 to 20 cm. long, 2 to 4 mm. wide; inflorescence finally
long exserted; spikes 5 to 11, mostly 6 or 7, ascending, finally
divergent or spreading, straight or recurved, sometimes flexuous,
6 to 9 cm. long; axis of inflorescence 1 cm. long or less, the rachis
of the spikes scabrous and densely pubescent at base; spikelets,
exclusive of the awns, mostly 3 to 3.4 mm. long, appressed, im-
1926] britton: west Indian plants 459
bricate; glumes unequal, acuminate or awn-tipped, scaberulous
on the nerve, the second 3 mm. long, the first more than one-half
as long; fertile lemma pale, five times as long as wide, wider in
the middle, 3-nerved, villous on the callus, short villous on the
marginal nerves from base to apex, and often on the keel, from
above the base to the middle, the awn 8 to 12 mm. long; sterile
lemma I to 2.2 mm. long, wider below the apex than at base,
acute at apex, its awn 6 to 10 mm. long; some of the lower spike-
lets include sometimes a second awned sterile floret.
In sandy ground, at Cajobabo, not far from the mouth of
Jojo River, Oriente, Cuba (Leon 12320). Named in honor of
Colonel Morales Coello of the Cuban Navy, in recognition of his
effective help. This species is of Chloris Sagraeana relationship,
but a much taller plant; it also differs in its longer and broader
leaves and more leafy stems. The type specimen is preserved in
Colegio de la Salle Herbarium, Vedado, Havana.
Peperomia Roigana Trelease, sp. nov.
A puberulent suberect fleshy herb; stem slender (2 mm.);
leaves in crowded whorls above, more separated below, about
4 at a node, somewhat angularly suborbicular or slightly ovate
or obovate, obtuse, sessile, rather small (10 X 12-14 X 15 mm.),
drying opaque, obscurely 3-nerved by transmitted light and
finely pellucid-punctulate; inflorescence unknown.
Mogote de la Bandera, Sierra de Vifiales, Pinar del Rio, Cuba,
(Roig £5? Azcuy 2902).
Torrubia Leonis Standley, sp. nov.
Shrub 2 m. high, the branches grayish, the branchlets densely
brownish-tomentose or in age merely puberulent, evenly leafy,
with short internodes; petioles slender, 6-15 mm. long, brownish-
tomentose; leaf blades oblong-elliptic or narrowly elliptic, 4-7
cm. long, 1.7-3.3 cm- w'de, rounded or very obtuse at apex,
obtuse or rounded at base or sometimes acute, subcoriaceous,
above deep green, lustrous, with obsolete venation, densely
short-villous when young but in age only sparsely short-villous
or glabrate, beneath slightly paler, copiously villous even in age
with short slender spreading hairs, the lateral nerves very slender
and irregular; pistillate peduncles slender, 1-2 cm. long, thinly
brownish-tomentose, the inflorescence cymose, few or many-
flowered, the flowers sessile; pistillate perianth tubular, 1.5-2
mm. long, with spreading limb, glabrous or nearly so; style
exserted.
Type in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden,
collected on limestone rocks at the top of the Sierra de Anafe,
Province of Havana, Cuba, May 6, 1924. (Brother Leon 11622.)
460 BULLETIN OF THE TORREY CLUB [vol. 53
There are only a few species of Torrubia that have pubescent
foliage. The present plant is related to T. cuspidata, of Grenada
and Trinidad, hut differs conspicuously in leaf characters.
Tounatea cubensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A small tree, the young twigs, petioles, and rachis more or
less densely pubescent with dark brown hairs. Leaves odd-
pinnate, 1.5-2.6 dm. long, the leaflets 13 or 15, elliptic-lanceolate
to elliptic-oblanceolate, 5-9.5 cm. long, 2-3 cm. broad, short-
petioled, the base obtuse, the apex acuminate, finely reticulate-
veined on both surfaces; pod ellipsoid, about 4.6 cm. long.
Valley of the San Juan, Pinar del Rio, Cuba {J. T. Roigji62y
April 5, 1924, foliage, type; fruit sent by Dr. Roig from Pinar del
Rio, June 1925). This is the first record of the genus Tounatea
in Cuba. In leaf form it approaches Tounatea caribaea (Griseb.)
Taub. of the Lesser Antilles.
Bunchosia linearifolia P. Wilson, sp. nov.
Shrub about 3 m. tall, with grayish branches. Leaves linear
or somewhat linear-obovate, 3-6 cm. long, 2.5-5 mm- wide,
rounded at the apex, acute at the base, lustrous above, dull and
faintly nerved beneath, the petioles 2-3 mm. long; drupes sub-
globose, 10-12 mm. in diameter, apiculate.
Type collected in thickets between Jauco and Cajobabo,
Oriente, Cuba {Brother Leon 12062). Related to Bunchosia
Leonis Britton & Wilson, of Cuba, but differing in its linear-
obovate leaves.
Byrsonima motembensis Britton & Small, sp. nov.
A shrub 2 m. tall or less, with warty-rugose gray bark and
red-strigillose twigs. Leaves mainly on the twigs, early de-
ciduous from the branches, the blades cuneate to obovate-
cuneate, 2-6 cm. long, obtuse or abruptly short-pointed, gray-
ish-green, somewhat lustrous and with minute scattered hairs
above, paler, dull, somewhat reticulate, and with minute scat-
tered hairs beneath, at least during anthesis, short-petioled, the
petioles hairy like the twigs when young; panicles raceme-like,
peduncled, rather few-flowered, the peduncle and pedicels pu-
bescent like the twigs, but the hairs often early deciduous from
the peduncle; bracts shorter than the pedicels, lanceolate; sepals
ovate to orbicular-ovate, 2>~3-S mrn- l°ng5 obtuse, red-pubescent,
corolla 12-15 mrn- wide; petals 7-9 mm. long, with orbicular-
reniform claws, the blade of one smaller and the claw stouter than
in the others; filaments clavate, 2-2.5 mm- long; anthers fullv
1926] BRITTON: WEST INDIAN PLANTS 46 1
1 mm. long, blunt or notched at the apex, acute at the base;
styles subulate, curved at the apex; fruits not seen.
In thickets of Sabana de Motembo, Santa Clara, Cuba,
August 28, 1922 {Brother Leon and A. Loustalot i/j/o).
Leucocroton pallidus Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A scurfy-pubescent shrub with slender light brown twigs.
Leaves coriaceous, oblong-linear, 5-12 cm. long, 5-10 mm. wide,
pale green above, grayish green beneath, mucronate at the apex,
obtuse or acute at the base, short-petioled, the midvein impressed
above, prominent beneath, the lateral veins rather prominent
on both sides, diverging at right angles to the midvein; flowers and
fruit unknown.
Forest on Mesa de Prada, Oriente, Cuba {Brother Leon
1 1960). Similar to Leucocroton saxicola Britton, but with longer
and narrower leaves.
Pachyanthus Lunana Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A shrub with ferruginous twigs. Leaves ovate, 5-5.7 cm.
long, 2-3.2 cm. broad, glabrous above, pubescent beneath with
mostly scattered stellate ferruginous hairs, acute at the apex,
subcordate at the base, coriaceous, petioled, 5-nerved, the veins
and lateral nerves prominent beneath, slightly impressed above;
inflorescence short peduncled; calyx about 4 mm. long, 4 mm.
broad, pubescent with shaggy hairs, its lobes oblong, 2 mm.
long.
Lomas de Banao, Santa Clara, Cuba {Antonio Luna 8). Re-
lated to Pachyanthus Clementis P. Wilson, of Cuba, from which
it differs in its short-ovate leaves.
Icacorea baracoensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A small tree 5-6 m. high, the twigs and branches glabrous.
Leaves oblanceolate, 5—1 1 cm. long, 1.8-4 cm- broad, obtuse at
the apex, cuneate at the base, indistinctly veined, glabrous, the
margin entire, short-petioled; branches of the inflorescence cor-
ymbiform, the lower pedicels elongated; sepals 5, triangular,
acuminate, 0.9 mm. long, 0.8 mm. broad; petals 5, elliptic-ovate
or elliptic, 3 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, obtuse at the apex.
On rocks, Sierra de Imias, Oriente, Cuba {Brother Leon 12256).
This plant differs from nearly all of the Cuban species of Icacorea
in its corymbiform inflorescence.
Bumelia Roigii Britton and Small, sp. nov.
Tree with gray branches and sparingly pubescent twigs, the
shoots sometimes with axillary subulate thorns: leaves persistent;
462 BULLETIN OF THE TORREY CLUB [vol. 53
blades coriaceous, obovate, rhombic-obovate or somewhat cuneate,
3-7 cm. long, rounded at the apex, smooth, glabrous, and shining
above, closely tawny-pubescent beneath when young with the
hairs fading or deciduous in age, acuminate at the base, short-
petioled: flowers not seen: fruit large, apparently about 1.5 in
diameter.
Between Cape San Antonio and Morro de Piedras, Pinar del
Rio, Cuba, April 13, 1924, (Roig 3256, type, and 3257.)
The specimens indicate, by the leaves, a relationship between
this species and Bumelia loranthifolia; the fruit of B. Roigii,
however, is much larger than any heretofore found in the former
species.
Maba Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. no v.
A shrub with grayish brown strigose-pubescent twigs. Leaves
elliptic to oval, occasionally somewhat ovate, 1.5-3.5 cm- l°ng>
0.8-2.2 cm. broad, spinulose-apiculate at the apex, rounded or
obtuse at the base, finely reticulate veined on both surfaces,
pubescent beneath with appressed hairs or glabrous; petioles
2-2.5 rnm. long; young fruiting calyx lobes suborbicular, 6-7
mm. broad, densely strigose pubescent on the back; ovary stri-
gose-pubescent.
Thickets near Cojimar, Havana, Cuba (Brother Leon 6269,
type; 5609). Related to Maba Grisebachii Hiern, of Cuba, from
which it differs in its elliptic or oval leaves which are finely
reticulate-veined.
Necbracea angustifolia Britton, sp. nov.
A shrub or small tree, with slender branches, the leafy twigs
densely short-pilose. Leaves linear-oblong, subchartaceous,
4-7 cm. long, 8-10 mm. wide, densely tomentose, the venation
rather prominent beneath, the apex obtuse, the base narrowed,
the petioles 2-3 mm. long; inflorescence few-flowered, peduncled,
shorter than the leaves, pilose; calyx-segments lanceolate, acu-
minate, pilose, about 3 mm. long; corolla purplish, about 1 cm.
long.
Rocky soil between Santa Cruz and Los Coyuelos, Pinar del
Rio, Cuba (Roig 3227). In general appearance this plant is
similar to Neobracea bahamensis Britton, of Cuba and the
Bahamas, but differs in its much smaller corolla and narrower
leaves.
Tournefortia Roigii Britton, sp. nov.
Shrubby, the twigs and inflorescence sparingly pubescent
with short white appressed hairs. Leaves oblong to oblong-
I926] BRITTON: WEST INDIAN PLANTS 463
elliptic, 4-7 cm. long, dark green above, pale green beneath,
sparingly pubescent with short white hairs on both sides, the
venation prominent beneath, the apex acuminate, the base cune-
ate, the petioles short; branches of the slender-peduncled cymes
many-flowered, 6-9 cm. long; sepals linear-lanceolate, acuminate,
3 mm. long; corolla-tube nearly glabrous, 4 mm. long, its lobes
ovate, about 1 mm. long; anthers ovoid, 1 mm. long; berries
globose, about 6 mm. in diameter.
Open places, El Gato, Pinar del Rio, Cuba (Roigj2o8). Re-
lated to Tournefortia bicolor Sw., of the West Indies and con-
tinental tropical America, but differing in the prominent vena-
tion of its lower leaf surface.
Tournefortia Leonis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A vine 3 m. or more long, the young twigs densely pubescent
with appressed brownish hairs. Leaves narrowly oblong or
oblong-elliptic, 2-4.3 cm- l°ng> 4-10 mm. wide, acute at the
apex, nearly glabrous above or with short scattered appressed
hairs on both sides, the petioles 2-3 mm. long; cymes short-
peduncled; calyx about 1 mm. long, appressed-pubescent, its
narrowly lanceolate lobes acute; corolla-tube 2 mm. long, the
linear lobes 2.5 mm. long; fruit depressed, about 4 mm. broad,
glabrous.
Type from coastal thickets, Jauco Abajo, Oriente, Cuba
{Brother Leon 12383) ; also collected between Sabana and Maisi
(Shafer 7910). Related to Tournefortia volubilis L., from which
it may be distinguished by its much narrower leaves.
Callicarpa Roigii Britton, sp. nov.
A shrub, the stout branches, petioles, inflorescence and lower
leaf-surfaces densely grayish-floccose, becoming glabrate when
old. Leaves broadly ovate, submembranous, 6-10 cm. long,
strongly pinnately veined, serrulate, the apex acute or acuminate,
the base obtuse or rounded, the stout petioles 8-15 mm. long;
cymes stout-peduncled, densely many-flowered, shorter than the
leaves, 4-7 cm. broad; pedicels very short; calyx campanulate,
subtruncate, I mm. long; corolla white, about 3 mm. broad,
its lobes rounded; fruit apparently black, about 4 mm. in di-
ameter.
Rocky places, Bolondron, Pinar del Rio, Cuba (Roig 3220
type, in flower April, T924); Punta de la Jaulu (C. Wright 3/69, in
fruit, Dec. 22). Referred by Grisebach to C. acuminata Kunth.
Related to Callicarpa acuminata H.B.K.. of Mexico and Central
America.
464 BULLETIN OF THE TORREY CLUB [vol. 53
Solanum lomensis Britton & Wilson, sp. no v.
A tree 6-8 m. high, the twigs and branches armed with
brownish prickles 2-4 mm. long, densely hispid with ferruginous,
long-stalked, stellate hairs. Leaves broadly elliptic, 7-14 cm.
long, 4.5-8.5 cm. broad, acute to short-acuminate at the apex,
rounded at the base, coarsely sinuate undulate, rather dull and
with few slender prickles above, the midvein and primary veins
impressed, densely hispid beneath with stalked stellate hairs,
the midvein and primary veins often rather prominent; petioles
7-15 mm. long; inflorescence 5-10 cm. long; calyx about 2 cm.
in diameter; corolla 3.8 cm. in diameter; anthers 6-6.5 mm. long,
attenuate at the apex.
Loma San Juan near Loma del Gato, Oriente, Cuba {Brother
Leon 2520 , type; 12353). Similar to Solanum Gundlachii Urban,
of Cuba, but differing in its indumentum.
Rondeletia myrtacea Standley, sp. nov.
Shrub 3-4 m. high, the branches terete, reddish brown or
grayish, with short or elongate internodes, glabrous or when
young sparsely puberulent; stipules broadly triangular, 1.5-2
mm. long, subulate-acuminate, sparsely short-pilose near the
apex; leaves opposite, the petioles 2-10 mm. long, glabrous; leaf-
blades very variable, ovate-elliptic to oval or oblong-elliptic,
2-6.5 cm< l°ng> I-3 cm- wide, rounded or obtuse at apex, rounded
to cuneate at base, coriaceous, glabrous, lustrous above, the
venation prominulous, beneath dull, the costa slender, salient,
the lateral nerves about 6 on each side, straight, arcuately anas-
tomosing remote from the more or less revolute margin; in-
florescences terminal, few or many-flowered, 3-6 cm. long,
cymose-paniculate, the pedicels slender, mostly 3-10 mm. long,
glabrous or with a few minute appressed hairs; lower bracts
leaf-like, 3-7 mm. long, elliptic or broadly ovate, the upper
linear or lance-subulate; bractlets subulate, I— 1.5 mm. long;
hypanthium glabrous or with a few minute appressed hairs;
calyx-lobes 5, 1.5-2 mm. long, oblong-spatulate, contracted
below, rounded or obtuse at apex; corolla-tube 5-6 mm. long,
ampliate above, pilose with minute whitish erect-patent hairs,
the 5 lobes orbicular, 2-2.5 mm. long; capsule subglobose, 2~5
mm. long, glabrous or glabrate; seeds I— 1.5 mm. long, com-
pressed, yellow-brown, coarsely reticulate, attenuate at each end.
Type in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden,
collected in gravelly soil near Jauco, Mesa de Prada, southern
Baracoa region, Cuba, July 17 to August 4, 1924 (Brother Leon
1 1 966). The following collections, from the same region, also
belong here: Mesa de Prada, Leon 11946; Jauco Arriba, Leon
/20/6.
I926] BRITTON: WEST INDIAN PLANTS 465
In general appearance this is very similar to R. Ekmanii
Britton & Standley, but that species differs in having narrow
calyx-lobes which are broadest at base.
Rondeletia ingrata Standley, sp. nov.
Shrub 4 m. high or less, the branches stout, terete, blackish
or gray, the branchlets densely pilose with short ascending hairs,
the inernodes 2-4 mm. long; stipules triangular or broadly tri-
angular, 1.5-2 mm. long, acute, erect, sericeous; leaves opposite,
the petioles stout, 1.5-3 mm. long, minutely grayish-pilose; leaf-
blades oblong-elliptic, 6-15 mm. long, 3-7 mm. wide, obtuse or
rounded-obtuse at apex, obtuse at base, thick-coriaceous, with
revolute or subrevolute, much thickened margins, green above,
the venation obsolete, when young densely pilose with minute
appressed hairs, in age glabrate, beneath covered with a very
dense, minute, grayish tomentum, along the nerves sericeous
with longer hairs, the costa and lateral nerves elevated, the veins
prominently reticulate; inflorescences axillary, usually 3-flow-
ered, sometimes i-flowered, the peduncles stout, 2-3 mm. long,
the flowers sessile; bracts and bractlets deltoid; hypanthium
densely tomentose; calyx-lobes usually 5, sometimes 4, oblong-
ovate, obtuse, 1.5 mm. long; corolla not seen; capsule globose,
3 mm. in diameter, densely tomentose; seeds minute, compressed,
brown, exalate.
Type in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden,
collected on dry gravelly hills, at Cajobabo, valley of the Rio
Jojo, southern Baracoa region, Cuba, July 17 to August 4, 1924,
{Brother Leon 12415). Also collected in the same region, at
Jauco Arriba {Brother Leon 11S65).
Related to R. camarioca Wright and, according to description,
to R. Norlindii Urban. The former differs in the velvety pu-
bescence of the upper leaf surface; the latter in its i-flowered
peduncles and smaller leaves, glabrous on the upper surface.
Rondeletia gaultherioides Standley, sp. nov.
Shrub, the stout branches terete, dark red-brown, with
elongate internodes, when young densely pilose with long och-
raceous erect-patent hairs; stipules lance-ovate, 5-8 mm. long,
acuminate, persistent, densely appressed-pilose; leaves opposite,
the petioles stout, 3-5 mm. long, pilose with subappressed hairs;
leaf-blades ovate-oval to oblong-elliptic, 3-10 cm. long, 1.7-5.5
cm. wide, abruptly acute to obtuse at apex, rounded or shallowly
cordate at base, thick-coriaceous, somewhat lustrous above, when
young sparsely appressed-pilose but soon glabrate, the costa
impressed, the other venation prominulous, beneath dull, sparsely
4M| HI I.I.KTIN Ol THE TORREV CI. I B
[vol. 53
pilose with slender, closely appressed hairs, more densely pilose
along the nerves, the costa salient, the lateral nerves very
prominent, 5 or 6 pairs, nearly straight, ascending at an angle
of 450, arcuately anastomosing near the margin; inflorescence
terminal, subsessile, i-flowered, subtended by lanceolate to
rhombic-ovate bracts, these longer than the capsule, appressed-
pilose; capsule subglobose, 5 mm. long, densely appressed-pilose,
the 4 persistent calyx-lobes (imperfect) oblong, 7 mm. long,
densely appressed-pilose outside.
Type in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden,
collected on rocky banks of Arroyo Bayaja, Sierra Maestra, south
of Nagua, Oriente, Cuba, August 8, 1922 (E. L. Ekman Z4759).
The foliage of this plant is suggestive of R. correifolia Griseb.,
but the form of the inflorescence is unlike that of any of the
Cuban species of Rondeletia.
75. UNDESCRIBED SPECIES FROM TRINIDAD
Gravisia aripensis N. E. Brown, sp. nov.
Leaves 60-75 cm- or more long, 4^-5 cm. broad, broadly
strap-shaped, concave; sides parallel up to about $-6 cm. below
the apex, where they incurve to an acute and shortly mucronate
point; margins armed with small horizontally spreading pale
brown (? green when alive) prickles 1 mm. long and 3-5 mm.
apart; surface glabrous, very minutely punctate (not lepidote).
Scape 13-14 cm. long in the only specimen seen, 7 mm. thick,
clothed with light brown wool and bearing two glabrous sheath-
ing acute bracts 5-7 cm. long, and terminating in a dense sub-
globose inflorescence 7-8 cm. long and 7-8 cm. in diameter, com-
posed of 4-5 spherical bright pink flower-heads, each about 4
cm. in diameter and sessile in the axil of a large elliptic obtuse
mucronate pink outer bract 5-6 cm. long and 4-5 cm. broad.
Flowers numerous in each cluster or head. Bracts about 3-3}^
cm. long, 10-15 mm. broad, ovate-lanceolate, acute, tipped with
a spine 3-4 mm. long, slightly woolly or becoming glabrous.
Sepals 15 mm. long, spine-tipped, the lower two-thirds having
unequal membranous inrolled margins, one margin about 3 mm.
broad and the other 1 mm. broad and more acutely narrowed
into the spine than the broad margin, woolly. Petals not seen
in perfect condition, but apparently about as long as the sepals
and lanceolate. Stamens about three-fourths as long as the
petals, absent in two flowers examined; anthers 3^ mm. long,
versatile, oblong, with a blunt mucro. Style rather shorter
than the stamens; stigma entire.
Trinidad: Heights of Aripo, growing on trees, Jan. 1922
(Broadway 9917).
1926] BRITTON": WEST INDIAN PLANTS 467
I have placed this very distinct plant under Gravisia because
in general appearance it seems more nearly allied to G. aquilega
Mez, than to any other in the Kew Herbarium. But the flowers
are not in a sufficiently good state to admit of complete details
being given. I could not, however, detect any ligules upon the
petals, nor did I find any pollen to examine. The habit of its
inflorescence would seem to distinguish it from Aechmea. [N. E.
Brown.]
Piper maraccasense Trelease, sp. nov.
Flowering internodes brown hirsute-tomentose; leaves sub-
elliptic-oblong, somewhat acuminate, equilaterally rounded or
barely subcordulate at base, rather small (3.5—4.5 X 9-1 1 cm.),
pinnately nerved from below about the upper third, the rather
prominent nerves 5-7 X 2, glabrous and somewhat glossy above
and finally bullate, brown appressed-hairy on the nerves be-
neath; petiole short (5-scarcely 10 mm.), scarcely winged, densely
brown-hairy; spikes opposite the leaves, rather slender and
short (scarcely 4 X 40 mm.); peduncle short (5 mm.), brown-
subtomentose; bracts concave-inflexed, hairy; flowers sessile,
perfect; stigmas 3, sessile, berries subglobose, indented, glabrous.
Maraccas, Trinidad, (Trinidad Bot. Gard. Herb. 26/j, col-
lected in 1845). Type at the New York Botanical Garden).
Coccolobis quadrifida Britton, sp. nov.
A small tree with stout somewhat flexuous, glabrous twigs.
Leaves elliptic, coriaceous, strongly reticulate-veined on both
sides, glabrous, 7-10 cm. long, shining above, the apex acute,
the base obtuse, the stout petiole 1— 1 .5 cm. long; ocreae mem-
branous, about 12 mm. long or shorter, their lobes acuminate;
spikes slender, densely flowered, 6-8 cm. long, numerous, gla-
brous, occasionally forked at the base, short-peduncled, 6-10
cm. long; flowers sessile; buds about 2 mm. long; sepals 4;
stamens 8, white; stigma 2-cleft.
Tocuche, Trinidad {Trinidad Herbarium 11012, collected by
R. O. Williams April 28, 1925).
Elsota lophosoma Blake, sp. nov.
Branches and branchlets densely and softly pilosulous with
antrorse-curved, yellowish or in age fuscescent hairs; leaves
oval-ovate or oval-oblong, obtuse, papery, softly incurved-
pilosulous on both sides, more densely so beneath; racemes ter-
minal; fruit about 6 cm. long, sordid-pilosulous, the cell sub-
globulose, about 1 cm. long, each side covered with about 5
468 HI l.ll! I \ OF THE TORREY CLUB [vol. 53
elevated anastomosing thick blunt crests (about 2 mm. high),
the upper margin of the cell bearing a repand-denticulate wing-
margin about 3 mm. high, this truncate or emarginate at base
of proper wing and not decurrent on it, the proper wing obliquely
obovate, about 5 cm. long, 7 mm. wide at base, 2 cm. wide above
the middle.
Shrub, doubtless scandent, branching; petiolar glands slender,
peziziform, 0.5 mm. long; leaves distichous; petioles densely
yellowish-pilosulous, 1-2 mm. long; leaf blades 2.5-4.5 cm- l°ng>
1.7-2.3 cm. wide, rounded at base, dull brownish-green above,
slightly paler beneath, loosely prominulous-reticulate on both
sides, the lateral veins 7-10 pairs; racemes terminating leafy
branches, solitary, in fruit 4 cm. long or less, pubescent like the
stem, the bracts deciduous; flowers unknown; proper wing of
fruit curved at apex, repand on lower margin, with numerous
subparallel veins.
Trinidad: Road to Maraccas Bay, 10 July 1924, {R. 0. Wil-
liams, W. G. Freeman, and E. E. Cheeseman 11 246; type in
herbarium of Royal Botanic Gardens, Trinidad and Tobago;
photog. and fragm. in U. S. Nat. Herb., and in Herb. N. Y. Bot.
Gard.).
A species allied to Elsota coriacea (Bonpl.) Blake and to
E. sylvestris (Schlecht.) Kuntze, and characterized primarily by
the numerous thick blunt crests of the fruiting cell. The de-
scription of Securidaca tenuijolia Chod., of Trinidad, suggests
this species, but a fruit received from Berlin of Trinidad Bot.
Gard. Herb. no. 2703, described by Chodat as a velvety form of
S. tenuijolia, proves to be entirely different from the fruit of
E. lophosoma.
Pedilanthus ierensis Britton, n. sp.
Stem glabrous, tall, erect, up to 2 m. high. Leaves broadly
ovate, rather thin, glabrous, the larger ones 8-15 cm. long, 5-10
cm. wide, the venation widely spreading, the apex bluntly acute,
the base narrowed, the stout petiole about 1 cm. long or shorter,
the mid vein not flanged beneath; flowers similar to those of
P. tithymaloides but smaller.
Penal Rock Road, Trinidad {Britton, Hazen and Mendelson
logj). In flower, March 28, 1920.
Metastelma Freemani, N. E. Brown, sp. nov.
Stem about 1 mm. thick, with internodes 10-20 mm. long,
terete, puberulous along two opposite rather broad lines with
strongly curved very short hairs. Leaves opposite, apparently
1926] britton: west Indian plants 469
slightly deflexed; petiole i-ij^ mm. long, minutely puberulous;
blade 9-13 mm. long, 4-8 mm. broad, elliptic or elliptic-oblong,
obtusely rounded at both ends or slightly and broadly cuneate
at the base, minutely apiculate at the apex, entire, glabrous on
both sides. Flowers in small branching or simple axillary ra-
cemes 3-10 mm. long, minutely bracteate, and minutely pu-
berulous on the axis, pedicel and calyx. Pedicels ]/2~ I mm.
long. Calyx-lobes 1 mm. long, oblong, rounded at the apex.
Corolla 5-lobed; tube 1 mm. long; lobes 1^/2 mm. long, oblong,
subacute, with thickened microscopically puberulous margins
within, glabrous on the back. Coronal lobes 5, arising from the
sinuses between the corolla-lobes, about 1 mm. long, linear-
lanceolate, acute, bent outwards just below the middle and
upcurved at the apex. Staminal column 1^2 mm. long, arising
shortly above the base of the tube of the corolla and exserted
from it, much dilated at the truncate apical part. Fruit not seen.
Balandra Bay, Trinidad, {IV. G. Freeman njio).
The genus Metastelma is one that urgently requires a thor-
ough revision, for as understood by modern authors and as de-
fined in Bentham & Hooker, Genera Plantarum 2: 755, it com-
prises three very distinct types of coronal structure, which in
other parts of the order are held to constitute generic distinction,
and there seems no valid reason why these differences should not
be considered of generic value in this case. The three types are:
1, Plants with the coronal lobes inserted at the sinuses of the
corolla. 2, Plants with the coronal lobes inserted at the base of
the staminal column. 3, Plants with the coronal lobes inserted
at the top of the staminal column.
Originally the genus Metastelma was founded by Robert
Brown upon a plant collected in the Islands of St. Croix and St.
Christopher, having the coronal lobes inserted at the sinuses of
the corolla (type 1). This plant (M. parviflorum R. Br.) 1 find
upon comparison with the type to be identical with Thompson
499, collected on St. Croix, and M. Freemani, above described,
has the same type of structure and undoubtedly is a true species
of Metastelma. But modern authors seems to have understood
type 2 as being the typical structure of Metastelma. While
K. Schumann in Engler, Pflanzenfamilien 42: 229 has placed
plants having the typical structure of Metastelma (i. e. type 1)
under the genus Irmischia, founded by Schlechtendahl in Lin-
naea 19: 738 upon a Mexican plant I have not seen, but which
from description may prove to be a typical Metastelma; in which
case Irmischia will rank as a svnonvm of Metastelma.
470 I'.l I.IKIIX OF IMF. TORREY CLUB |v<)L. 53
As to types 2 and 3 mentioned above, I consider that these
should be separated from Melastelma and made to constitute
separate genera. [N. hi. Brown\]
Jacquemontia elongata Britton, sp. nov.
A slender vine, up to 5 m. long or longer, the branches and
peduncles appressed-pubescent. Leaves ovate, membranous,
slender-petioled, glabrous or nearly so, about 7 cm. long or
shorter, the apex acute or acuminate, the base cordate, rounded
or subtruncate; peduncles 5-10 cm. long, much longer than the
petioles; inflorescence subcapitate, several-flowered; corolla blue
to lavender, about 1.5 cm. in diameter.
Thickets, Trinidad, Tobago and northern Venezuela. Type
from Manzanilla, Trinidad {Britton 2 191). This plant has been
referred to J. pentantha (Jacq.) Don.
Columnea tocoensis Britton, sp. nov.
Stems rather short, simple or little branched, clustered, 1.5
m. long or less; long, appressed, pubescent. Leaves oblong, 3-4
cm. long, appressed-pubescent, obtusish. Peduncles densely
pubescent, 1.5 cm. long or shorter; calyx densely pubescent,
about 8 mm. long, its lobes lanceolate, acutish; corolla yellow,
about 4 cm. long, loosely villous with nearly white hairs, its
slender tube about twice as long as the limb.
Pendent on forest trees, Trinidad. Type from Toco Road,
near Valencia {Britton, Hazen and Mendehon 1785). This is,
perhaps, the plant referred by Grisebach to C. scandens.
Columnea aripoensis Britton, sp. nov,
Branched, the branches rather stout, densely appressed-
pubescent, 2 dm. long or longer. Leaves oblong, short-petioled
2.5-3.5 cm. long, finely appressed-pubescent, obtuse; peduncles
densely villous, 8-12 mm. long; calyx 10-12 mm. long, appressed-
pubescent, its lobes ovate, acute; corolla red, 3-4 cm. long,
loosely pubescent with long jointed hairs, its tube gradually
expanded above, about twice as long as the limb.
On trees, Heights of Aripo, Trinidad. {Britton and Free?nan
2340, type).
Diapedium aripoense Britton, sp. nov.
Branching, strigillose, 1— 1.5 m. high. Leaves elliptic-ovate,
membranous, slender-petioled, rather strongly veined, long-
acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, the lower about 2
dm. long, the upper much smaller; inflorescence several-flowered,
1926] britton: west Indian plants 471
short-peduncled or nearly sessile; corolla red, villous, slightly
curved, about 3 cm. long, its lobes about 6 mm. long.
Heights of Aripo, Trinidad. (Trinidad Herbarium 9860,
coll. Broadway, Jan. 10-26, 1922.)
Chimarrhis microcarpa Standley, sp. nov.
Branchlets stout, obtusely angulate, ochraceous, glabrous,
the internodes 5-13 mm. long; stipules lance-oblong, attenuate,
3 cm. long, thin, brown, glabrous, caducous; leaves opposite,
the petioles slender, glabrous, 2.5 cm. long; leaf blades elliptic,
11-19 cm. long, 5-8 cm. wide, acute, at base acute and decurrent
upon the petiole, membranaceous, glabrous, the lateral nerves
about 10 pairs, arcuate, laxly and irregularly anastomosing close
to the margin; inflorescences axillary, cymose-paniculate, halt
as long as the leaves, 4-5 cm. long and broad, many-flowered,
the peduncles slender, 3.5-5.5 cm. long, thinly puberulent, the
pedicels 1-2 mm. long; capsules subglobose, 2 mm. long, obtuse
at base, broadly rounded at apex, slender-costate, dark red-
brown, glabrous, crowned by the low persistent calyx.
Type in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden,
collected at Maraval, Trinidad, in 1904 (I. Dannouse 6946).
Because of the incompleteness of the available material, there
is some doubt as to the proper reference of this plant to Chimar-
rhis, but it agrees well with that genus in the characters exhibited
by the specimen studied.
76. AN UNDESCRIBED TREE OF PORTO RICO
Paralabatia portoricensis Britton & Wilson, sp. nov.
A tree 15 m. or more high, the twigs clothed with appressed
ferruginous hairs. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 6-1 1 cm. long,
2.5-4 cm. wide, acute or obtuse at the apex, rounded or some-
what acutish at the base; glabrous above except on the midvein,
loosely pubescent beneath with rather long whitish hairs, the
petioles about 1.5 cm. long; calyx-lobes 5, oblong-elliptic, 2 mm.
long, pubescent on the back; corolla-lobes broadly elliptic to oval,
1.5 mm. long, unappendaged; staminodes filament-like; ovary
2-celled.
On limestone hills, northern Porto Rico. Type from Domin-
guito, near Arecibo (H. T. Cowles 702).
Related to P. dictyoneura (Griseb.) Pierre, of Cuba, but dif-
fering in the pubescence of the petioles and lower leaf-surfaces.
New York Botanical Garden Library
BrtttSiNauinW/Stadies in i«M .India
3 5185 00135 6128
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