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Petioli 1.2-1.7 cm. longi; lamina 3 x 2.6-3.5 X 3-6X 4.5 cm. 
1.9 cm. longa et lata; semina 2.5 X 3 mm. ae et longa. Semen 
cum alis 5X 4.5 mm. longum et latum. 
Brasilia ae between Meiaponte et Caisarea (Burchell 23 
Oct. 1827, Cat. xo. 6706) in Herb. N. Y. Bot. Gard. and Kew 
(Burchell, Cat. no. 8627 et 8787) in Herb. Kew. 
This species finds its place in section A//actostemon Grisebach, 
next to D. filiformis, fracta and _furcata (cf. Mart. Fl. Brasil. 3*: 
44) from which it differs by its long inflorescence, much exceeding 
the leaves, and by the solitary flowers. In the system of Uline (in 
am., Nachtr.) it is easy to determine D. orthogoneura’s 
place if we adit that Burchell’s no. 8623 is the female state of the 
same species. (The leaves and inflorescences being identical, the 
identification does not seem doubtful.) In that case, our plant 
must belong to the Zudoscorea with a wide capsel, alternate leaves 
and without stellate hairs. It means the sections 48, 49 or 50 Steno- 
phyllidium to Lastogyne; but all of them have 6 stamens or stami- 
nodes. The one has flowers in bundles and the other pedicellate 
flowers. Therefore a new section must be admitted, for which we 
propose the name 7rzandra, and this section should be character- 
ized as follows: 
Trranpra (subgen. &udizoscorea Pax) Capsula latior quam 
longa; caules dextrogyra ; folia integra alternantia; planta glabra; 
stamina 3, perigonii tubi medio inserta ; perigonii lobi subaequi- 
longi; flores masculi solitarii, sessiles; ovarii rudimentum con- 
spicuum. 
DroscorEA SCHOMBURGKIANA Kunth; Schomb. Fauna 
l. Brit. Guian. 899, nomen. 1848 
Helmia Schomburgkiana Kunth, Enum. Pl. 5: oe 1850. 
Guyana Brit., Roraima (Schoméurgk an. 1842, 20. 850). 
This is a very queer case of nomenclature. For Holmia Schom- 
burgkiana Kunth there is a correct description by Kunth, but the 
author does not mention at all that two years before he named the 
plant Dioscorea Schomburgkiana. And, of course, when he created 
the binomial name J. Schomburgkiana he did not yet know that 
he would describe it as Helmca two years later. So it was only by 
accident that I discovered the two names to be synonyms. But if 
