Lopext R. K. Schultes and M. Sprucei (Muell.-Arg.) 
R. E. Schultes, known only from the granitic caatinga- 
forests; H. nitida Mart. ex Muell.-Arg., H. pauciflora 
(Spruce ex Benth.) Muell.-Arg. var. coriacea Ducke and 
Micrandra Rossiana from both the granitic and quartzitic 
areas; and Hf. nitida var. tovicodendroides (Schult. & 
Vinson) R. EK. Schultes, exclusively from the quartzitic 
mountains. 
Vaupesia cataractarum occurs in caatinga-forests in 
close association with Micrandra Spruceana and Hevea 
nitida. Other tree-associates are Monopterya Uaucu 
Spruce ex Benth. and Couma catingae Ducke. In the 
locality on the Rio Papuri, it grows in stands which com- 
prise almost exclusively Vaupesia cataractarum and Mi- 
crandra Spruce. 
The habitat of Vaupesia cataractarum, as the specific 
epithet implies, usually consists of hilly or sloping areas 
alongside or very near rapids. The ground is strewn with 
huge rocks, between which humus and sand has accumu- 
lated, creating a highly acid condition. In addition to 
the ample rainfall (more than 3 meters a year) which 
drenches the forests of this region, the sites chosen by 
Vaupesia cataractarum are almost perennially soggy as a 
result of the numerous rills and freshets that flow down 
from the higher hinterlands to empty into the river near 
the rapids. 
The Desano Indians, speaking a Tukanoan dialect, 
refer to this tree as ma-hd-wa-soo (‘‘macaw-cunuri’’), the 
same name which they apply to Micrandra Rossiana and 
M. siphonioides Benth. They know the superficially simi- 
lar cunurt (Micrandra Spruce) as wa-soo. 
From late March through May, the large seeds of Vau- 
pesia cataractarum fall in astonishingly large amounts. 
They are harvested from the ground by the Indians for 
food. Like the seeds of Hevea and Micrandra, they are 
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