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THE BOTANY OF THE GUAYAXA HIGHLAND PART III 



89 



Shrub to 2 m tall, nearly glabrous, the youngest branchlets and leaves spar- 

 ingly strigose with pale appressed hairs, the inflorescence glabrous ; leaves rigidly 

 coriaceous, subsessile, orbicular to broadly ovate, 2-4.5 cm wide, 2-5 cm long, 

 rounded or obtuse at the tip. shallowly cordate with broad rounded lobes at 

 the base; petiole 1.5-2.5 mm thick, 2-3 mm long, much enlarged at the base; 

 midvein flat or convex above, often channeled near the base, prominent beneath ; 

 lateral veins 10-15 pairs, somewhat elevated on both surfaces but conspicuous 

 on neither ; marginal vein about equaling the laterals and little arched between 

 them, 1-1.5 mm from the margin; mature blades with 20-25 glandular dots per 

 mm 2 , these visible as small black dots above, more conspicuous, paler, and convex 

 beneath; inflorescence (at least in the specimens seen) terminal, the panicles 

 4—8 cm long, 3 times compound, about 50-flowered, each arising from the node 

 above the last leafy node and subtended by an elliptic pale-strigose bract up to 

 2 mm wide. 4 mm long; other bracts, and bracteoles, deciduous before anthesis; 

 buds 3-3.5 mm long:, obovoid, rounded at the apex or obscurely apiculate ; hypan- 

 thium at anthesis broadly campanulate. apparently coriaceous and wrinkling 

 irregularly in drying. 3 mm long: and the orifice about the same diameter, the 

 margin becoming: irregularly 5-8-lobulate, the whole prolonged about 2 mm be- 

 yond the summit of the ovary ; calyptra deciduous soon after the flower opens ; 

 style 4—5 mm long: stamens about 100, 5 mm long, the anthers about 0.2 mm long, 

 the staminal ring somewhat hairy; petals 3 or 4, clawed, the blade about 2 mm 

 long and wide; ovary bilocular, the ovules 3-5 in each locule, ascending-; fruit 

 oblate, about 7 mm long, 10 mm in diameter; seeds 2, myrcioid, 7 mm long'. 



The assignment of this species to Marlierea, instead of Calyptranthes, is 

 somewhat arbitrary. The calyptra breaks off irregularly, and the margin of the 

 hypanthium later splits into several irregular lobes, as in Marlierea. The calyp- 

 tra, however, comprises the whole of the summit of the bud, including the un- 

 changed apicuium ; in Marlierea the calyx ordinarily splits longitudinally so that 

 parts of the fragmented apicuium remain attached to the individual lobes. 



Perhaps the strongest argument for placing the species in Marlierea may be 

 found in its similarity to .1/. montana, from which it may be distinguished only 

 by the characters noted in the key. 



VEXEZT T ELA : Aniazonas, Rio Guainia, in sabanita 1 km east of Maroa, 120-140 m ele- 

 vation, Nov 25, 1953, Maguire et al .36400 (MICH, type). 



38. Marlierea summa McVaugh, sp. nov. 



Frutex, vel arbor parva, minute appresseque rufo-pubescens ; ramulis pani- 

 culisque, et foliorum novellorum superficie saltern inferiore, creberrime pilis 

 rufis 0.1-0.2 mm long-is obtectis; ramulis exalatis; foliis rigide coriaceis, 5-9 cm 

 longis; petiolis 4—8 mm longis; paniculis 5-8 cm longis (vel raro brevioribus) , 

 multifloris vel interdum 3- vel paucifloris ; ramulis accensis nullis; bracteis 

 deciduis; alabastris 3.5-5 mm. longis, apertis, calyce breviter 5-lobo. 



Shrub or small tree 1-4 m high, with the branchlets, inflorescence, and at 

 least the lower surface of the young leaves completely covered by very numerous 

 minute closely appressed bright rusty-brown dibrachiate hairs 0.1-0.2 mm long ; 

 leaves rigidly coriaceous, glabrous above or sparingly pubescent, at least near 

 the base of the midvein ; midvein impressed above, at least near the base ; lateral 

 veins 15-25 pairs, closely parallel ; marginal vein about equaling the laterals 

 and scarcely arched between them, up to 1.5 mm from the margin; margins 

 somewhat revolute ; both surfaces abundantly glandular-punctate ; paired pani- 



