STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 1067 



24. Miconia arg-entea (Swartz) DC. Prodr. 3: 182. 1828. 

 Melastonia argenteum Swartz, Fl. Ind. Occ. 779. 1800. 



Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Tabasco. Guatemala to Panama ; type from the 

 Mosquito Coast. 



Shrub or tree, 3 to 20 meters high, the trunk sometimes 30 cm. in diameter; 

 baik gray; leaves ovate to rounded-elliptic, 10 to 25 cm. long, acute or rounded 

 at apex and abruptly short-acuminate, rounded at base, usually denticulate 

 but sometimes entire, green and glabrate above ; panicles 10 to 25 cm. long, 

 the flowers sessile ; calyx 1.5 to 2 mm. long ; petals 2 mm. long. "Cenizo," 

 " sabano " (Tabasco); "Maria," "Santa Maria," "Maria colorada," " capi- 

 lote" (Costa Rica); " capirote bianco" (Nicaragua); " sirin cacal " (Guate- 

 mala, Seler) ; " cainillo," " canillo," " dos-caras," " papelillo," " mancha- 

 mancha " (Panama); " sirinon " (El Salvador). 



The sapwood is described as thick and light brown and the heartwood as 

 slightly darker; the wood is said to be moderately hard, durable, fine-grained, 

 and susceptible of a fair polish. 



25. Miconia albicans (Swartz) Triana, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 98: 116. 1871. 

 Melastoma albicans Swartz, Fl. Ind. Occ. 786. 1800. 



Guerrero and Oaxaca. West Indies ; Central and South America ; type 

 from Jamaica. 



Shrub, 1 to 5 meters h'gh, the branches whitish-tomentulose ; leaves ovate- 

 oblong, 6 to 13 cm. long, obtuse or acute, 5-nerved, emarginate at base, glabrate 

 above, coriaceous ; panicles thyrsiform, 5 to 15 cm. long, the flowers secund ; 

 calyx 2.5 to 3 mm. long ; petals white, 2.5 mm. long ; fruit blue, 4 mm. thick, 

 "Mortino " (Colombia). 



26. Miconia stenostachya DC. Prodr. 3 : 181. 1828. 



Oaxaca and perhaps elsewhere. Central and South America ; type from 

 Brazil. 



Shrub, 1 to 3 meters high, the branches whitish-tomentulose; leaves oblong 

 or lance-oblong, 10 to 15 cm. long, acute, 5-nerved, glabrate above ; panicles 

 5 to 15 cm. long, the flowers secund ; calyx 3.5 to 4 mm. long ; petals white or 

 pink, 3 to 3.5 mm. long ; fruit blackish, 5 mm. thick. 



27. Miconia scorpioides (Schlecht. & Cham.) Naud. Ann. Sci. Nat. III. 16: 

 243. 1851. • 



Melastoma scorpioides Schlecht. & Cham. Linnaea 5: 564. 1830. 



Miconia anceps Naud. Ann. Sci. Nat. III. 16: 150. 1851. 



Veracruz and Chiapas; type from Cuesta Grande de Chiconquiaco, Veracruz, 

 Central and South America. 



Shrub or small tree, sometimes 6 meters high, the branches minutely stellate- 

 puberulent ; leaves ovate-oblong to oblong-elliptic, 12 to 25 cm. long, acuminate, 

 attenuate at base, entire, glabrous above, very sparsely and minutely stellate- 

 puberulent beneath ; panicles 10 to 25 cm. long ; calyx 2 mm. long ; petals 2.5^ 

 mm. long. 



28. Miconia ambig-ua (Humb. & Bonpl.) DC. Prodr. 3: 189. 1828. 

 Melastoma ambiguum Humb. & Bonpl. Monogr. Melast. 1: 55. pi. 25. 1816, 

 Veracruz, Puebla, and Chiapas. West Ind'es ; Central and South America ; 



type from Caripe, Venezuela. 



Shrub, 2 to 3 meters high, the branches obscurely stellate-puberulent ; leaves 

 oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 10 to 20 cm. long, long-acuminate, obtuse or acute 

 at base, glabrate, entire or nearly so; panicles 5 to 14 cm. long; calyx 1.5 to 

 2 mm. long: petals white, 2.5 to 3 mm. long. " Cirin " (El Salvador). 



