BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
VoL. 14, No. 6 
CamBripGr, Massacuusetts, NoveMBerR 6, 1950 
NOTES ON PERUVIAN CINCHONAS—I 
BY 
W.H. Hover’ 
THE numerous collections of species of the genus Cin- 
chona made throughout the Andes during the recent 
war by botanists of the Foreign Economic Administra- 
tion (formerly the Office of Economic Warfare) have 
made it possible to reexamine critically the nomencla- 
ture and taxonomy of this admittedly difficult group. 
During the past century, dozens of species were described 
in the genus, but Standley (in Field Mus. Bot. 6 (19386) 
24-33) claims that many of these ‘‘pertain to forms of 
scarcely or not at all more significance botanically than 
horticultural varieties of common garden vegetables. ”’ 
Therefore, in the most recent treatment of the genus 
for Peru, Standley (zbid.) reduced the number of Peru- 
vian species to a mere handful, admitting, at the same 
time, that additional material might make it possible to 
amplify his treatment. 
As cinchona botanist in Peru during the period 1943-— 
1945, the writer had the unusual opportunity of collect- 
ing and seeing in their native haunts practically all the 
important forms of Cinchona occurring in that country. 
As a result of this fieldwork and subsequent herbarium 
' Associate Professor in Botany, University of Massachusetts (Am- 
herst); formerly Botanist in charge of scientific surveys, Cinchona 
Mission, United States Office of Economic Warfare, Lima, Peru. 
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