BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
CamsBripGe, Massacuusetts, Decremper 12, 1952 
Voi. 15, No. 10 
STUDIES IN THE GENUS HEVEA V 
THE STATUS OF THE BINOMIAL HEVEA DISCOLOR 
BY 
RicHarp Evans ScHULTES ' 
THE name Hevea discolor (Spruce ex Benth.) Muell.- 
Arg. appears throughout the literature of Hevea, but it 
is used in such a confused way that serious doubt still 
plagues its exact meaning. 
Until rather recently, Hevea discolor has been accepted 
as a binomial representing a distinct specific concept. In 
1858, Baillon (Etud. Euphorb. (1858) 826) accepted 
Stphonia discolor as a valid species. Mueller-Argoviensis 
(in D.C. Prodr. 15, pt. 2 (1866) 717; in Martius FI. 
Bras. 11, pt. 2 (1874) 299) also considered it to be dis- 
tinct, placing it near Hevea Spruceana (Benth.) Muell.- 
Arg., because of its having obtuse staminate buds. In 
1908, Huber (in Bol. Mus. Goeldi 5 (1908) 247) indi- 
cated the extreme closeness of Hevea discolor to H. 
Spruceana and suggested that one day it might be neces- 
sary to unite it with HZ. Spruceana and H. similis Hems- 
ley. He stated: [translation] ‘‘. . . that HZ. discolor does 
not differ in essential characters, excepting in the size of 
the flowers, from H. Spruceana is a fact which is seen more 
and more as our study of the two species progresses. I 
1Botanist, Division of Rubber Plant Investigations, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research 
Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture; Research Fellow, 
Botanical Museum of Harvard University. 
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