1 7;} 



thi' plant on whicli tlu- new species is based attracted (jur atten- 

 tion by its abundant and hirsute foliage and its relatively large 

 yellow flow-ers, perhaps the most showy of all Cuban Sidas. 



The specimens collected had been at first tentatively referred 

 to Sida ciliaris L., man\- characters being common to both 

 species: Stems prostrate, hirsute-strigose, diffusely branching 

 at base; leaves crenate or serrate above the middle; flowers clus- 

 tered at the end of branches; long-ciliate linear or spatulate 

 stipules. Remembering how the living plant differed in aspect 

 from S. ciliaris I thought it likely to be a distinct species. 

 In fact a more accurate observation revealed a number of dis- 

 tinct characters. At first sight, the mode of branching and the 

 distribution of leaves appear very different; in 6". Brittoni the 

 numerous stems which branch only near the base and have 

 their nodes approximate, are leafy and nearly simple most of their 

 length, while in 5. ciliaris the stems, shorter and thinner and 

 with relatively long internodes bran^rh repeatedly throughout 

 and most of the leaves are crowded near the extremites of the 

 branches and around the inflorescence. 



Among other differences are the following: 5. Brittoni has the 

 leaves hirsute on both surfaces, the corolla yellow, the style- 

 branches red and 4 mm. long, the top of the fruit puberulent 

 and sharply reticulate-wTinkled ; in S. ciliaris the leaves are 

 glabrous on tb^ upper surface and stellate-pubescent beneath, 

 the smaller corolla reddish purple, the style-,branches pale 

 yellow-, 2 mm. long, the top of the fruit tubercled and stellate- 

 pubescent. 



As to the habitat it appears to be also different, Sida ciliaris 

 being mostly confined to the sandy or rocky limestone soil of 

 coastal thickets and adjacent hillsides. 



This species is named in honor of Dr. Nathaniel Lord Britton, 



who has contributed so much to the knowledge of the Cuban 



flora. 



CoLEGio DE La Salle, 

 Vedado, Habana. 



