1032 CONTRIBUTIONS FEOM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



3. Combretum erianthum Benth. PI. Hartw. 73. 1840. 

 Oaxaca and Campeche. Guatemala, the type from Retalhuleu. 



Large vine ; leaves oblong to elliptic, 7 to 15 cm. long, obtuse to acuminate, 

 densely brownish-lepidote beneath ; spikes solitary or paniculate, dense ; calyx 

 limb sometimes 1 cm. long ; petals 2.5 mm. long ; fruit about 2 cm. long, 

 puberulent, with broad wings. " Bejuco de peine," " bejuco de toro " (Oaxaca) ; 

 " chupamiel," "peine de mico " (El Salvador). 



4. Combretum farinosum H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 110. 1823. 

 Comhretum argenteum Bertol. Nov. Comm. Acad. Bonon. 4: 412. 1840. 

 Sinaloa to Chiapas and Veracruz ; type collected between Acapulco and 



Venta del Ejido, Guerrero. Guatemala and El Salvador. 



Large vine, unarmed ; leaves broadly oval to elliptic-oblong, 5 to 15 cm. 

 long, obtuse or short-acuminate, sparsely or densely lepidote beneath ; spikes 

 very thick and dense, solitary or paniculate; flowers blood-red or green- 

 ish yellow, sweet-scented ; calyx limb often 1 cm. long ; petals oblong-spatulate 

 to broadly ovate, 1.5 to 2 mm. long, obtuse or acute; fruit about 2 cm. long, 

 lepidote. "Carape" or " carapi " (Michoacdn, Guerrero) " peinetillas " (the 

 spikes), "compio" (Sinaloa); " angarilla " (Durango, Patoni) ; " peinecillo " 

 (Veracruz); "quie-tzine" (Oaxaca, Selcr) ; " abacamiel," " abamiel " (Central 

 America) ; " papa-miel " (Nicragua) ; "chupamiel," " peineta," "chupamiel de 

 peineta," " chupa-ehupa " (El Salvador). 



The branches were formerly used for arrow shafts and are now sometimes 

 woven into baskets. The showy flowers are full of sweet nectar. When cut, 

 the stems yield a considerable amount of water, a fact of which advantage is 

 taken by travelers through the forests when other water is absent. In Sinaloa 

 the leaves are applied as a remedy for headache. 



In a recent account of the species of Comhretum of the section Micropetalne^, 

 Pittier has treated C. argenteum as a valid species, distinguished from C farino- 

 sum chiefly by its broader petals. Examination of the available material shows 

 that there is too great variation in petal shape to admit of its use as a basis 

 of specific segregation. 



122. MYETACEAE. Myrtle Family. 



Trees or shrubs, usually aromatic; leaves entire, opposite, pellucid-punctate 

 or gland-dotted, estipulate ; flowers perfect, regular, variously arranged, bi- 

 brac-teolate ; calyx tube adnate to the ovary, the limb 4 or 5-lobate, or the lobes 

 united in bud and sometimes circumscissile ; petals 4 or 5 or none; stamens 

 numerous; ovary 2 to several-celled, the style simple, the stigma capitate; 

 fruit baccate or drupaceous, large or small, containing 1 to many seeds. 



This is one of the large families in tropical America, and its representatives 

 are easily recognized by the combination of punctate leaves, numerous stamens, 

 and characteristic fruit. It is, however, almost impossible to distinguish the 

 genera by the embryo characters upon Avhich they are based, and it is extremely 

 difficult to identify a plant of the family except by comparison with named 

 specimens. 



Several species of the Australian genus Eucalyptus are grown in Mexico for 

 ornament. They are known as "eucalipto " and " gigante." Eucalyptus trees 

 grow rapidly, and for this reason they are planted in Florida and California as 

 shade trees and as a source of lumber. As shade trees, however, they are not 

 desirable, for their foliage is so thin and their crowns so narrow that they 



^Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 239-246. 1917. 



