STANDLEY — TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 731 



2. Cissus subtruncata Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 284. 1909. 

 Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Morelos ; type collected near the city of 



Oaxaca. 



Stems densely pubescent ; leaves cordate to subreniform, 4 to 12 cm, long and 

 about as broad, rounded to short-acuminate at apex, truncate to cordate at base, 

 serrate-dentate, densely pubescent ; cymes pedunculate, equaling or longer than 

 the leaves; flowers green. 



3. Cissus sinaloae Standi., sp. nov. 



Type collected between Rosario and Acaponeta, Teplc (Rose 1872; U. S. Nat. 

 Herb. no. 300756). 



Glabrous throughout ; petioles 6 to 12 mm. long ; leaf blades oblong-obovate, 

 8 to 12 cm. long, truncate or obtuse at apex, thin, with a few remote appressed 

 serrations ; inflorescence long-pedunculate, the cymes umbellate ; fruit obovoid, 

 6 mm. long. 



4. Cissus sicyoides L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2: 897. 1759. 

 Cissus elliptica Schlecht. & Cham. Linnaea 5: 440. 1830. 



Sonora to Tamaulipas, Yucatan, and Chiapas. Widely distributed in tropical 

 America. 



Slender vine, often very long; leaves oblong-ovate to subreniform, 4 to 16 

 cm. long, obtuse to acuminate, rounded to deeply cordate at base, coarsely or 

 finely serrate, varying from glabrous to densely pubescent ; cymes corymbiform, 

 loose and open ; fruit globose-obovoid, 1-seeded, black. " Hierba del buey " 

 (Tamaulipas) ; " tripa de zopilote " (Sinaloa) ; " bejuco loco" (Tabasco, Rovi- 

 rosa) ; " tabkanil " (Yucatan, Maya); " vid silvestre " (Hidalgo, Veracruz); 

 " tripas de Judas" (Valley of Mexico, Morelos, Hidalgo, Oaxaca); " tumba- 

 vaqueros " (Valley of Mexico, Hidalgo, Morelos); " molonqui " (Valley of 

 Mexico, Ramirez); " temecatl " (Nahuatl) ; "tripa de vaca " (Guanajuato); 

 " iasli," "bejuco iasu " (Costa Rica) ; "bejuco comemano " (Guatemala, Hon- 

 duras) ; "bejuco castro," "bejuco chirriador " (Colombia); " uvilla " (Nica- 

 ragua); "ubi" (Cuba); " earo," "bejuco de caro " (Porto Rico, Santo 

 Domingo). 



The species is a variable one, especially in leaf form and pubescence, and 

 many segregates and varieties have been proposed. The inflorescence is often 

 attacked by a smut, Mycosyrinx cissi, and it is then greatly enlarged and modi- 

 fied. This diseased form was made the type of a new genus, Spondylantha, by 

 Pre«l. 



The tough stems are sometimes used as a substitute for cordage, and in 

 Costa Rica for making baskets. When cut they yield a plentiful supply of 

 watery sap. The leaves, when macerated in water, give a lather like that pro- 

 duced by soap, and they are employed for washing clothes. They have a 

 slightly acid flavor. Sometimes they are applied to sores or inflammations, 

 and in Mexico a decoction of the stems is used as a remedy for rheumatism. 

 The fruit is said to yield a blue dye. 



Some of the Mexican specimens have been determined incorrectly as Ampe- 

 lopsis cor data Michx. 



It is this species, apparently, which is figured by Hernandez* as "Tlacama- 

 zatcazqui y papan." It is perhaps also the plant figured * and briefly described 

 as " yztac gagalic, seu Herba glutinosa, & candenti." The decoction of the 

 root of the latter, he states, was administered for diarrhea and as a diuretic, 

 and used in baths to relieve pain of various sorts. 



' Thesaurus 414. 1651. 

 * Thesaurus 283. 1651. 



