AN ERRONEOUS RECORD OF HEVEA 
IN COLOMBIA 
BY 
A. H. G. Ausron’ ano Ricuarp Evans ScHuULTES? 
In Rees’ ‘‘Cyclopedia’’ (89 (1819) sub Stphonia), there 
is a most interesting reference to a Mutis collection of 
Hevea guianensis Aubl. (‘‘ Siphonia elastica’’) from Co- 
lombia. Sir J. E. Smith, who compiled the section of 
the encyclopedia on Siphonia,* wrote: ‘‘There is, in- 
deed, in the Linnaean herbarium, besides the original 
specimen,‘ marked with this last name [S¢phonia elastica], 
another from Mutis, which that learned botanist judged 
to be a distinct species, though affording, as some other 
trees do, a similar gum. The leaflets in this specimen are 
larger, more acute at each end, and destitute of partial 
stalks. The calyx is nearly half an inch long. The 
' Principal Scientific Officer, Department of Botany, British Muse- 
um (Natural History), London, England. 
* Botanist, United States Department of Agriculture; Research 
Fellow, Botanical Museum of Harvard University. 
® Lady Smith: “* Memoir and correspondence of the late Sir James 
Edward Smith, M.D.’ 1 (18382) 488-489; B. D. Jackson: ‘‘An at- 
tempt to ascertain the actual dates of publication of the various parts 
of Rees’ Cyclopedia’’ (1895) 3. 
‘ This statement undoubtedly refers to a specimen of Hevea guianen- 
sis preserved in the Linnaean Society in Smith’s herbarium. From 
all appearances of the specimen, it is one of the Aublet collection 
from French Guiana and represents the type of the genus. 
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