566 abstracts: botany 



included faunas are discussed and compared with those of other local- 

 ities with a view of establishing the Lower Cambrian age of the forma- 

 tion, and include 2 new genera, for which Gogia and Shafferia are 

 proposed, and 29 new species including cystids, brachiopods, trilobites, 

 and a phyllopod. The paper is illustrated by six plates of figures. 

 Further explorations of the present season may throw new light on 

 some of the problems under discussion. G. R. B. 



BOTANY. — The Mexican and Central American species of Ficus. 



Paul C. Standley. Contributions from the U. S. National 



Herbarium 20, part 1. Pp. 1-35. 1917. 

 The genus Ficus includes the wild figs, as well as the common cul- 

 tivated fig, Ficus carica. The species are most abundant in the East 

 Indies and Africa, but many occur in tropical and subtropical America, 

 about 50 being known from South America and 33 from the West 

 Indies. In the present paper 41 are recognized from Mexico and Cen- 

 tral America, only one of which is found also in the West Indies. The 

 only previous enumerations of the Central American species were pub- 

 lished by Liebmann in 1851, by Miquel in 1862, and by Hemsley in 

 1883. The last author recognized 44 species. From a study of the 

 large amount of herbarium material accumulated in recent years, it 

 has been found that characters relied upon by earlier authors for the 

 separation of species were often of little value, consequently many 

 of the early names have been reduced to synonymy. The genus is 

 represented in Central America by two subgenera, Pharmacosyce, with 

 solitary receptacles and 2 stamens, and Urostigma, with geminate 

 receptacles and one stamen. Eighteen species are described as new, 

 and one new name is proposed. Two of the previously published 

 species were so imperfectly described that it has been impossible to 

 identify them. P. C. S. 



BOTANY. — New or noteworthy plants from Colombia and Central 

 America — 6. Henry Pittier. Contributions from the U. S. Na- 

 tional Herbarium 18, part 6. Pp. 225-259, pi. 106, figs. 98-104. 

 1917. 

 The present paper is a continuation of Mr. Pittier's series of studies 

 of tropical American plants, based chiefly upon his own collections in 

 Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela. In the Moraceae (Mul- 

 berry Family), two new species of Coussapoa and four of Cecropia 



