A new species of Vitex from South America 



Harold N. Moldenke 



Vitex Brittoniana Moldenke, sp. nov. Arbor excelsa; an- 

 notinis et hornotinis minute puberulentibus vel glabris; foliis 

 5-foliolatis (interdum 3-foliolatis) ; petiolis dense vel minute 

 puberulentibus vel strigillosis, supra planatis, ad apicem valde 

 ampliatis et claviformibus; petiolulis tantum 3-15 mm. longis, 

 supra plerumque valde sulcatis, a pulvinis satis magnis circu- 

 laribus vel ellipticis emergentibus; laminis utrinque nitidis 

 ellipticis, inter se inaequalibus, ad apicem et basin acutis vel 

 breviter acuminatis, integerrimis, supra glabris, subtus praeter 

 costam et venas secundarias minutissime puberulentes glabratis; 

 inflorescentiis paniculatis. 



Tree to 20 m. tall; branches and branchlets stout, more or 

 less tetragonal, medullose, brownish, very minutely puberulent 

 or glabrous, marked with many linear-elongate lenticels; inter- 

 nodes 1-5 cm. long; leaves decussate-opposite, 5-foliate or 

 occasionally 3-foliate; petioles slender or stout, 3-11 cm. long, 

 densely or minutely puberulent or strigillose, decidedly flat- 

 tened on the upper surface, with minutely projecting margins, 

 conspicuously ampliate at the apex and more or less club- 

 shaped; petiolules slender, 3-15 mm. long" the terminal one 

 usually by several mm. the longest, minutely puberulent or 

 strigillose, usually deeply sulcate above, issuing from compara- 

 tively large circular or elliptic cushions whose margins project 

 around the base of the petiolules; leaflets firmly membranous, 

 dark green and nitidous on both surfaces, elliptic (or occasion- 

 ally obovate), unequal in size, the terminal one 8.5-18 cm. long 

 and 3.5-8 cm. wide, acute or short-acuminate at apex (occasion- 

 ally rounded and subretuse), entire, acute or short-acuminate 

 at base, perfectly glabrous above, glabrous beneath except for 

 the very minutely or obsoletely puberulent midrib and sec- 

 ondaries; midrib slightly impressed above, prominent beneath; 

 secondaries slender, 9-14 on each side, rather close together, 

 ascending, often only slightly arcuate, slightly impressed above, 

 prominent and conspicuously anastomosing near the margins 

 beneath; veinlet reticulation prominulent on both surfaces; the 

 two lateral leaflets slightly or noticeably smaller ; the two basal 

 leaflets usually very conspicuously smaller, sometimes quite 



67 



