STANDEE Y TEEES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 663 



of Hispaniola," he states, " some of them who are willing to endure suffering 

 to improve their appearance, since they are envious of the white women of 

 Spain, take the roots of the guao and roast them carefully; and after they are 

 well cooked and soft they rub them between their hands into a sort of paste; 

 with this they anoint the face and neck and whatever part of the body they 

 wisli to whiten, and over this they place other ointments of herbs and comfort- 

 ing juices, in order that the guao may not cook them alive, or that they may 

 endure it; at the end of nine days they take off all this coating and wash, and 

 they are now as changed and white as if they were born in Castile." 



Comocladia acuminata DC.^ was assigned erroneously to Mexico by De- 

 Candolle and Hemsley. It is a Porto Rican plant. 



Leaflets glabrous beneath or sparsely pubescent. 



Leaflets broadly rounded or truncate at base 1. C. palmeri. 



Leaflets, at least the upper ones, cuneate at base 2. C. repanda. 



Leaflets densely pilose beneath. 



Lateral nerves of the leaflet 6 to 8 pairs 3. C. mollissima. 



Lateral nerves 12 to 17 pairs 4. C. engleriana. 



1. Comocladia palmeri Rose, sp. nov. 



Colima and Guerrero; type from Acapulco {Palmer 450; U. S. Nat. Herb., 

 no. 266344). 



Leaflets 9 to 13, oblong-oval, 5 to 9 cm. long, glabrous above, glabrous or 

 sparsely inibescent beneath, shallowly sinuate-deutate, with 7 to 12 pairs of 

 lateral nerves; panicles 14 to 30 cm. long, hirtellous or glabrate. 



2. Comocladia repanda Blake, Contr. Gray Herb. n. ser. 53: 58. 1918. 

 Oaxaca ; type from Cafetal Concordia, Pochutla, altitude 600 meters. 

 Leaflets usually 9, cuneate-obovate, elliptic, or elliptic-oblong, 5 to 11 cm. 



long, obscurely sinuate or repand-dentate, soon glabrous on both surfaces ; 

 j>anicles about 30 cm. long ; flowers 4-parted ; petals 1.5 mm. long. " Tetlate," 

 '• tatatil," " tatatisin " (from the Nahuatl, tie-tlati, "burning fire"); " hincha 

 huevos." 



3. Comocladia mollissima H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 7: 17. pi. 607. 1825. 

 Guerrero to Chiapas; type collected between Acapulco and Venta del Exido. 

 Tree, about 4 meters high ; leaflets 9 to 17, 1.5 to 2.5 cm. long, 1 to 1.5 cm. 



wide, obtusely dentate; panicles 10 to 25 cm. long, densely pubescent; flowers 

 4-parted. 



4. Comocladia engleriana Loesener, Bull. Herb. Boiss. 3 : 615. 1895. 

 Sinaloa to Morelos and Oaxaca ; type from Morelos. 



Leaflets 13 to 21, elliptic to broadly oval-oblong, 5 to 13 cm. long, sinuate or 

 remotely repand-dentate ; panicles 7 to 35 cm. long, densely pubescent ; flowers 

 4-parted; petals 1.5 mm. long. " Teclatilla " (Morelos, Seler) ; " hincha- 

 huevos" (Sinaloa). 



It is probable that this is only a form of C. mollissima. The specimens of 

 Comocladia at hand are mostly imperfect and quite inadequate for a thorough 

 investigation of the relationships of the species. C. enylerinana integra Loes., 

 described from Guatemala, is known by the vernacular names " chinil-te " and 

 " pata de pava," according to Seler. It is said to have handsome red wood. 



It is presumably one of the species of Comocladia which is described by 

 Hernfmdez* in his chapter entitled " De Tetlatia, seu urenti arbore." 



'Prodr. 2: 65. 1825. 

 " Thesaurus 98. 165L 



