of Brazil. Cunuria was described by Baillon in 1864. The 
type species of Cunuria was C. Spruceana Baillon from 
the uppermost reaches of the Rio Negro and from the 
Rio Casiquiare in Venezuela, 
Cunuria has been separated from Micrandra in the 
past by the following characters : 
Cunuria Micrandra 
Calyx deeply cup-shaped Calyx open, rather shallowly 
bowl-shaped 
Sepals strongly imbricate Sepals imbricate or valvate 
Staminate disk absent Staminate disk glandular, five- 
lobed 
Pistillate disk cup-shaped, glan- Pistillate disk annular and thin 
dular-lobate or absent 
Stamens ten Stamens five to seven 
Seeds ecarunculate Seeds carunculate 
Leaves entirely glabrous Leaves usually variously pilose 
beneath 
Field studies and collections of hundreds of individuals 
of various species of Cunuria and Micrandra made in 
1947-1948 in the upper Rio Negro basin of Brazil and 
Colombia suggested the possibility that these two hither- 
to apparently well-defined genera might represent but a 
single concept. Critical examination of a portion of the 
ample material collected during these field studies, espe- 
cially of the collections of the new species Micrandra 
Lopez and M. Rossiana herein described, and abundant 
flowering material of what has been known as Cunwria 
crassipes, indicates that there is definitely but one genus, 
since the characters hitherto used to separate the two 
concepts break down and overlap. It becomes necessary, 
therefore, to transfer the recognized concepts of Cunuria 
to Micrandra. 
Micrandra australis (R. Ll. Schult.) R. Ee. Schultes 
comb. nov. 
Cunuria australis R.K.Schultes ex Baldwin & Schultes 
[ 202 ] 
