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. 



