Cotompia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratama (above 
mouth of Rio Kananari) and vicinity. Alt. about 900 feet. “‘Vine. 
Flowers white; green bark rasped and soaked in water to make eye- 
wash for conjunctivitis. Puinave name = tsun-jo. Makuna = mun-te- 
ka.’’ January 19, 1952. Richard Evans Schultes et Isidoro Cabrera 
14921 (Tyrer in Herb. Gray). 
The soft green bark of Cayaponia ophthalmica is em- 
ployed in preparing a soothing wash for conjuntivitis, 
without any doubt the most widespread disease amongst 
the Indians of the northwestern part of the Amazon. The 
specific epithet alludes to this use. The vine, a strong 
heliophile, is frequently cultivated by the Indians living 
in the Apaporis River basin. Like so many of the culti- 
vated plants of these natives, it grows almost without 
care along the margins of agricultural plots where Mani- 
hot utthssima and Erythroxylon Coca are set out, but it 
is definitely planted for use as a medicine. 
Cayaponia ophthalmica appears to be most closely re- 
lated to C. capitata Cogn., a species known from the Rio 
Acre area of Amazonian Peru, a great distance from the 
Colombian Amazon. I have examined a duplicate type 
at Kew and find that the two concepts are distinct. Both 
have densely capitate inflorescences, not common in the 
genus; but in Cayaponia ophthalmica the inflorescence 
can attain a length of 15 cm. and may branch. The leaves 
of this new species are glabrous on both surfaces, whereas 
those of Cayaponia capitata are sparsely hirtellous above 
and densely villous beneath. The colored foliaceous bracts 
and bracteoles (which are not common in the genus) are 
much larger and more conspicuous in the former than in 
the latter. There are further differences in the flowers. 
The fruit was not seen but is described as being yel- 
lowish and the size and shape of a small lime. 
A spot test for alkaloids (cf. Raffauf, R. F. in Econ. 
Bot. 16 (1962) 171) applied to the leaves and the bark 
of the type specimen was negative. 
The illustrations have been made possible by a grant 
from the National Science Foundation. 
[ B24 | 
