40 THE OENUS- MANETTIA 



Purpits 6359 ! Guatemala. Chajnax, Alta Verapaz, 2000 ft., J. I). 

 ^niith 1368! Fraijanes, Amatitlan, 3900 ft., J. D. Smith 6149! 

 Cubilquitz, Alta A^erapaz, 1400 ft., J. B Smith 8224 ! Mazatenango, 

 Bernoulli 45 ! Honduras. San Pedro Sula, Santa Barbara, 1000 ft., 

 J. D. Smith 5258 ! American Settlement, Cnmplell 79 ! NiCA- 

 KAGUA. Chontales : Seemann 115 ! Tate 196 (141) ! Costa Kica. 

 Mt. Agnacate, Oersted 22 ! Guapiles, 850 ft., J. B. Smith 4837 ! 

 Tuis, 2112 ft., Tonduz 11473! Panama. Chagres, Fendler 238! 

 Empire Station, Hayes 301 ! Near Panama city, Seemann 348 ! 



West Indies. Cuba. Eastern, 7Fr/y A ;5 267 ! Jamaica. I have 

 not seen a specimen from this Island, but it is midoubtedly native, 

 if not common, there. St. Vincent's. Guilding ! 



South America. Trfnidad. LocMiart ! Crueger ! Fendler 

 417! Guiana. Auhletl Martin\ 



As may be expected from the circumstance of its relatively wide 

 distribution, this species displays a considerable amount of variation, 

 especiall}^ in the indumentum and in the size of the flowers. Like 

 M. alba, this species was discovered originally by Aublet iii Guiana 

 (supra, p. 1) ; but, unlike that species, M. coccinea has since been 

 found in nearly every case outside Guiana, its main area of distri- 

 bution being Central America. 



It may seem extraordinary that this species should have been 

 found first in Guiana before the nineteenth century, and have escaped 

 entirely the notice of the earlier collectors in Central America. This, 

 however, is probabW not actually the case, as will appear from a con- 

 sideration of the species which stands as the t^'pe of the genus, 

 namely, M. reclinata Mutis, in Linn. Mantiss. 553 (1771). 



I have not succeeded in tracing this species strictly to its type- 

 origin. Mutis gives the critical generic characters, in his original 

 description of Manettia, thus: 



Calyx 8-phyll, linear, concave, hirsute, persistent. Corolla hypo- 

 crateriform, tvibe cylindrical, exceeding the calyx ; limb 4-partite, 

 the lobes shorter than the tube, ovate obtuse bearded within. Capsule 

 turbinate, compressed, sulcate, unilocular. Seeds few, flat, winged. 



I have dealt separately with this description in its relation to the 

 diagnosis of the genus as constituted at present (supra, p. 1). 



The specific characters of M. reclinata (l. c. 558) are given thus : 

 Annual, stem herbaceous, weak, branched. Leaves ovate acute, 

 sul)ciliate, \h inches, pubescent beneath ; petiole very short, hirsute; 

 stipules semicircular, very short. Peduncle axillary solitary, many- 

 flowered. 



This description is strongly suggestive of M. coccinea Willd. ; 

 and I have adopted the view that M. reclinata is a form of that 

 species. This view derives some support from the distribution of 

 M. coccinea, Avhich, as we have seen, is a fairly common plant 

 throughout Central America. Moreover, only three species have ever 

 been recorded from Mexico, apart from M. reclinata ; one is M. coc- 

 cinea ; the others, the quite distinct M. jlexilis and the large- 

 flowered JSL. zimapanica. Again, beside these three, only two 

 species further have ever been assigned to the whole of Central 

 America ; and both of these are endemic in Costa Rica. M. coccinea 

 is represented in all the princijoal states of Central America. 



