1316 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM 



Large scandent shrub, the branches angulate; leaves opposite, long-petiolate, 

 3 or 2-foUolate, the terminal leaflet often replaced by a trifid tendril; leaflets 

 ovate or rounded-ovate, 6 to 10 cm. long, usually short-acuminate, truncate or 

 cordate at base, entire, finely lepidote and often pubescent; flowers white, turn- 

 ing j'^ellow in age, in terminal racemes or panicles; calyx campanulate, sub- 

 truncate; corolla campanulate-funnelform, 4.5 to 5 cm. long, curved, tomentulose 

 outside; fruit oblong or eUiptic, 15 to 20 cm. long, 4.5 to 6.5 cm. wide, somewhat 

 compressed, the valves hard and woody, densely covered with large sharp tuber- 

 cles; seeds broadly winged, 6 to 8 cm. broad. "Giiico" (Sinaloa); "xnetoloc" 

 (Yucatdn, Maya); "mariposa" (San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca; seeds); "palomitas" 

 (seeds; San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca); "lengua de vaca" (Tamaulipas, Guatemala); 

 "bejuco de huico" (Sinaloa, Oaxaca); "corneta" (Oaxaca); "hiedra bocina" 

 {H err era); "clarin" (Oaxaca); " petaquillas " (seeds; Morelos, Guatemala); 

 "cucharilla" (Costa Rica); "hoja de cucharilla" (Guatemala); "peine de mico" 

 (Nicaragua, Costa Rica); "tonalxochitl" (Nahuatl, Reko); "pico de pato," 

 "bateita" (El Salvador). 



The large seeds are light and float through the air, hence the names "mari- 

 posas" ("butterflies") and "palomitas" ("little doves") applied to them. 

 They are widely used in Mexico as a remedy for headache, being moistened and 

 stuck upon the forehead. The hard portion of the seed is ground, mixed with 

 tallow, and appUed to the temples as a remedy for sore eyes (in Tamaulipas, 

 according to Palmer). A decoction of the flowers is said to have been used by 

 the Aztecs as a remedy for fevers. The curious rough fruits are used as back 

 scratchers and pin-cushions. 



DOUBTFUL SPECIES. 

 PiTHECocTENiuM TRIBRACHIAT0M Loesener, Repert. Sp. Nov. Fedde 18: 

 209. 1919. Type from Zacuapan, Veracruz. 



5. PHAEDRANTHUS Miers, Proc. Hort. Soc. Lond. 3: 182. 1863. 



A single species is known. 

 1. Phaedranthus buccinatorius (DC.) Miers, Proc. Hort. Soc. Lond. 3: 182. 

 1863. 



Pithecoctenium buccinatorium DC. Prodr. 9: 195. 1845. 



Bignonia buccinatoria Mariet; DC. Prodr. 9: 195, as synonym. 1845. 



Bignonia ghiesbreghlii Heller, Linnaea 30: 45. 1859. 



Phaedranthus lindleyanus Miers, Proc. Hort. Soc. Lond. 3: 182. 1863. 



Phaedranthus exsertus Miers, Proc. Hort. Soc. Lond. 3: 182. 1863. 



Phaedranthus cinerascens Miers, Proc. Hort. Soc. Lond. 3: 182. 1863. 



Jalisco and San Luis Potosi to Puebla. 



Large vine; leaflets 2, the third one usually represented by a tendril, oblong to 

 oval or ovate-elliptic, 5 to 9 cm. long, acute to rounded at apex, rounded or sub- 

 cordate at base, entire, lepidote beneath, coriaceous; flowers purple-red, in few- 

 flowered terminal panicles; calyx campanulate, 1 to 1.5 cm. long, obscurely 5- 

 dentate, densely tomentose; corolla coriaceous, tubular-funnelform, 9 to 11 cm. 

 long, tomentulose outside, the lobes short, rounded. "Trompetilla grande" 

 (Queretaro) ; "clarin," "hiedra bocina" (Ramirez). 



The plant is often cultivated in Mexico. 



6. DISTICTIS Bureau, Monogr. Bignon. 46. 1864. 

 Scandent shrubs; leaves opposite, 2 or 3-foliolate, the terminal leaflet often 

 represented by a tendril, the leaflets entire; flowers large and showy, purple or 

 pink, in terminal racemes or panicales; calyx campanulate, truncate or 5-dentic- 

 ulate; corolla funnelform-campanulate; capsule oblong or elliptic, smooth, obcom- 

 pressed; seeds broadly winged. 



