80 



MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK R-OTANICAL GARDEN 



[VOL. 10 



disjunctis, hypanthio longitudinaliter usque ad stamiuum orbis marginem rum- 

 penti. 



Shrubs or small trees, glabrous, or the vegetative buds densely pubescent, the 

 inflorescence, lower surface of young leaves, and young shoots thinly pubescent, 

 with appressed bright rufous partly dibrachiate hairs up to 0.5 mm long; 

 flower-buds, and upper leaf-surfaces, glabrous; young branchlets angled to 

 winged, the wing or angle originating just above and between axillary buds at 

 a node and extending distally to the median line of the base of the petiole at the 

 node above; petiole sometimes keeled or angled dorsally and this keel or angle 

 continuous with the distal portion of the wing of the branchlet ; branchlets often 

 flattened into one plane by the suppression of longitudinal growth in alternate 

 internodes and the abortion of leaves and axillary buds at the distal end of 

 these internodes; leaves relatively coriaceous, with short stout petioles, the mid- 

 vein impressed above and very prominent beneath ; lateral veins very slender 

 and closely parallel, inconspicuous on both surfaces, indefinite in number (more 

 than 20 pairs, with numerous intermediates which are scarcely smaller) ; mar- 

 ginal vein about equaling the laterals, scarcely arched between them, 2 mm or 

 less from margin ; blades above dark green, lustrous and smooth, and often 

 impressed-puncticulate ; lower surface paler and usually finely dark-dotted; in- 

 florescence terminal or axillary, much shorter than the leaves, marlieroid, con- 

 sisting of 1-3 pairs of small fascicled panicles arising from the lowest nodes of 

 an undeveloped and abortive central axis; paired panicles slender (the peduncle 

 compressed or terete, up to 1.5 mm wide just below the lowest node, usually 0.6- 

 1 mm wide), 2-6 (-8) cm long, few-flowered, the flowers solitary or in 3's near 

 the tips of the ultimate branchlets; peduncle usually one-third to one-half as 

 long as the panicle, and nearly or quite as long as the lowest panicle-branches; 

 bracts and bracteoles minute, deciduous before anthesis; buds 2-3 mm long, 

 narrowly turbinate, nearly closed, the 4 (rarely 5) free tips of the calyx 0.5 mm 

 long, infolded over the apex until anthesis; hypanthium in anthesis splitting 

 between the bases of the calyx-lobes as far as the revolute margin of the staminal 

 ring, the lobes in anthesis and in fruit persistent, spreading (appressed to the 

 fruit), somewhat irregularly margined, ovate to rounded or bluntly triangular. 

 1-1.5 mm long and wide, somewhat separated at the base at least in fruit ; ovary 

 bilocular, the ovules 2 in each locule, collateral, ascending; fruit glandular- 

 verrucose, when mature dark purple or black, fleshy, globose or oblate, crowned 

 by the persistent parallel-sided neck of the hypanthium which is 1.5-2.5 mm 

 across anfl about 1 mm high ; seeds myrcioid, 1 or 2. 



This very well-marked section is a perplexing intermediate which might al- 

 most as well be assigned to Myrcia as to Marlierea. The fruiting calyx and hyp- 

 anthium are strongly suggestive of those of various species of Myrcia (Aulo- 

 myrcia). The flower buds, however, are similar to those of other species of 

 Marlierea, and split longitudinally between the bases of the calyx-lobes, as usual 

 in that genus. The inflorescence is usually abortive at the lowest node; this is 

 frequent in Marlierea and Calyptranthes, but very rare in undoubted species of 

 Myrcia. The partly dibrachiate hairs of the young branchlets are characteristic 

 of Calyptranthes and may be found in Marlierea, but are rare in Myrcia. The 

 petals in M. guildingiana are 4 in number, and inserted about the margin of the 

 staminal ring at regular intervals, but they do not alternate with the calyx-lobes 

 in a regular manner, as might be expected; instead the petals are inserted with- 

 out any apparent relation to the supposed calyx-lobes — in one flower one petal 



