THE GENUS QUARARIBEA IN MEXICO 
AND THE USE OF ITS FLOWERS 
AS A SPICE FOR CHOCOLATE 
BY 
RicHarRbD Evans SCHULTES 
I. Taxonomic NoTEs ON QUARARIBEA 
THE taxonomic history of Quararibea is complex. The 
genus has been united with Matisia, with Myrodia, with 
both Matisia and Myrodia, and kept distinct by the 
numerous botanists who have treated the group. 
De Candolle (Prodr. 1 (1824) 477) joined Quararibea 
and Myrodia but kept them separate from Matisia. 
Endlicher (Gen. Pl. (1886-40) 992) followed the same 
disposition of these genera. 
Baillon (Hist. Pl. 4 (1878) 155) reduced Matisia, Ma- 
tisiopsis, Myrodia, Lexarsa, Gerberia and Myrodiopsis 
to synonymy under Quararibea. 
K. Schumann’s treatment (in Natiirl. Pflanzenfam. 3, 
6 (1895) 64) united Myrodia with Quararibea and ex- 
cluded Matisia. Basing his work on that of Baillon (in 
Adansonia 10 (1878) 146), he differed from Baillon only 
in the exclusion of Matisia. He divided Quararibea into 
two sections on the basis of the disposition of the anthers : 
Section I: Euquararibea Baillon— Anthers disposed in a circle on 
the apical part of the staminal column or on the upper 
quarter of the column. 
Section Il: Myrodia (Swartz) Baillon—Anthers disposed only at 
the apex of the staminal column. 
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