MICROCYCAS CALOCOMA 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE HULL BOTANICAL LABORATORY 



XCVII 



O T I S W. C A L D \V E L L 



(with plates x-xiii and rouRTEEN figures) 



In a recent number of the Botanical Gazette (i) there appeared 

 a brief taxonomic account of this plant. It was described originally 



r 



by MiQUELj from fragmentary material, as Zamia calocoma (2), 

 although on account of its resemblance to a small Cycas revoluta 

 he made for it the section Microcycas under Zamia. Later DeCan- 

 DOLLE (3) added to ]Miquel's description and raised the section to 

 generic rank. The previous paper (i) added to the knowledge of 



taxonomic 



mor 



field observations 



V 



The region in which this study was made is in the Sierras of western 

 Cuba, beginning with the mountains northwest of San Diego de los 

 Banos, running through the Santa Catalina region, and ending to the 

 westward with the mountain known locally as Cuchillo de Pinar, near 

 San Andrace. Within this area Microcycas was found in four places, 

 in three of which the plants were few and distinctly local. In the 

 other (Cuchillo de Pinar) the plants were found one, two, or a half- 

 dozen together at infrequent intervals for a distance of one and a half 

 to two miles along the mountain. It is highly probable that sufficient 

 search would result in the discovery of other groups in other moun- 



tains. 



some 



known 



plant elsewhere, though they saidj^it is extremely rare. The folk-lore 

 of the region says that the roots of the ^^palma corcho" are good for 

 use as rat poison, hence the desirability of a knowledge of its location, 

 and the probability that there would-be knowledge of any large groups 

 of individuals should they exist. 



J 



Botanical Gazette^ vol. 44] 



[118 



