BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
CampripGk, Massacuuserts, May 23, 1935 
NOMENCLATORIAL STUDIES IN 
MALANIS AND SPIRANTHES 
BY 
OakES AMES AND CHARLES SCHWEINFURTH 
THE FOLLOWING nomenclatorial revision in Malaxis 
and Spiranthes was made as a result of a careful restudy 
of these genera based on records of types in our herbarium 
and particularly on a large collection of specimens from 
Mr. Erik M. Ostlund of Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. 
Malaxis aurea Ames in Sched. Orch. 5 (1928) 8, 
fig. 1. 
Microstylis guatemalensis Schlechter in Fedde Re- 
pert. 21 (1925) 834. 
It appears that the Guatemalan Microstylis guate- 
malensis is a somewhat smaller plant vegetatively than 
the Costa Rican Malavis aurea. However, both species 
were described from limited material, so the range of size 
cannot be estimated. 
After careful comparison of the drawings, descrip- 
tions and flowers of these species (the flowers of Micro- 
stylis guatemalensis kindly contributed by Dr. Mansfeld), 
we are unable to find any differences which are in any 
degree diagnostic. 
Malaxis brachyrrhynchos (Reichb.f.) Ames in 
Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 85 (1922) 84, as M.brachyrrhyn- 
cha. 
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