the plant is apparently unknown elsewhere in the Colombian 
Amazonia (e.g., in the Leticia region, where the species is very 
common.) 
COMBRETACEAE 
Combretum Cacoucia (Auvb/.) Exell in Kew Bull. (1931) 469. 
BRAZIL: Estado do Para, Utinga, Belém. ‘‘Rabo de arara. Extensive liana. 
Acrid water in stem. Flowers red, said to be toxic.’’ September 1947. R. E. 
Schultes 8668. 
There are numerous reports in the literature which, like the 
report cited above, claim that the flowers of Combretum 
Cacoucia are poisonous. There seems to be no chemical evi- 
dence to sustain such an assertion, yet the number of folk 
reports would appear to justify serious investigation. 
Caffeine and tannins have been reported from Combretum 
(Gibbs, loc. cit. 3 (1974) 1478). 
ERICACEAE 
Befaria congesta Fedtschenko et Basilevskaja in Not. Syst. 
Herb. Hort. U.S.S.R. 6 (1926) 42; Bot. Gaz. 85 (1928) 319. 
COLOMBIA: Departamento de Cundinamarca, Macizo de Bogota, above La 
Cita. May 10, 1946. R. E. Schultes 7192. 
Peasants in the vicinity of La Cita report that a thick syrup 
made by boiling the bark of this plant in a sugar-water solution 
acts to relieve severe coughing. 
Befaria resinosa Mutis ex Linnaeus filius, Suppl. Pl. (1781) 246. 
COLOMBIA: Departamento de Cundinamarca, Macizo de Bogota, El Retiro, 
Bogota. Altitude 2600-2700 m. May 7, 1946. R. E. Schultes 7204a — Represa 
de Sisga. Altitude about 9000 feet. ‘‘Large bush. Flowers bright red, sticky.” 
March 2, 1953. R. E. Schultes 18799. 
The flowers of this shrub are often prepared in tea form as an 
expectorant. Garcia-Barriga likewise reports this use (loc. cit., 2 
1975) 346) as well as its employment as an antitusant. 
b23 
