90 



MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN 



[vol. 10 



cles many-flowered (or by reduction 3- or few-flowered), 1-3' times compound, 

 the flowers mostly in 3's near the tips; bracts and bracteoles 1.5-2 mm long, 

 deciduous before anthesis; buds 3.5-5 mm long, obovoid; calyx irregular, includ- 

 ing the 2 (or 1) broad rounded and curved inner lobes 1.5—1.8 mm long and 2.5 

 mm wide, which are infolded and completely cover the corolla in bud, and an 

 exterior series of 3 smaller lobes, these nearly flat, obtuse or bluntly triangular. 

 1-1.2 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide; all lobes pubescent on both surfaces, or the inner- 

 most on the distal half only; hypanthium at anthesis eampanulate with a flaring 

 margin, 3.5 mm wide at the orifice, glabrous within, prolonged 2 mm above the 

 summit of the ovary; petals cream-color or white, suborbicular, glabrous or the 

 outermost pubescent on the outer surface, the outermost 2-2.5 mm long and 

 wide, the inner ones successively smaller; stamens 125-150, 3-5 mm long, the 

 anthers 0.3-0.4 mm long; style 4-6 mm long, gland-dotted; ovary bilocular, the 

 ovules 2 in each locule, collateral, ascending from near the base. 



A species consisting of 2 well-marked varieties which differ in leaf-characters 

 and in some features of the inflorescence. The flowers of the two varieties are 

 very closely similar and the differences between them are probably no more than 

 to be expected between isolated populations. 



Marlierea summa var. summa. 



Leaves elliptic-ovate (2.5-3 cm wide. 7-9 cm long, 2.5-3.3 times as long as 

 wide) or elliptic-lanceolate (0.7-1.4 cm wide, 3.5-6 cm long, 4—5.5 times as long 

 as wide), caudate-acuminate, usually widest a little below the middle and thence 

 rounded to a cuneate base, the margins decurrent on the stout channeled petiole 

 6-8 mm long, 1—1.5 mm thick; lateral and marginal veins usually not perceptible 

 on the upper surface, scarcely .so on the lower; upper surface coarsely impressed- 

 punctate. green, the lower surface obscured by the hairs or glabrescent in age 

 and then perceptibly punctate; panicles 1.5—5 cm long, the lowest branches up 

 to 3 cm long, the peduncles stout, compressed, up to 2 cm long and 2 mm wide 

 at the summit ; hypanthium splitting irregularly at the bases of the calyx-lobes, 

 and the lobes deciduous or the outer series somewhat persistent ; petals 3. some- 

 times with 1 or 2 additional transitional staminode-like structures with imperfect 

 anthers and petal-like blades; immature fruit globose. 5-7 mm in diameter, 

 crowned with the persistent neck of the hypanthium 1 mm high. 



VENEZUELA : Terr. Amazonas: Cerro Sipapo (Paraque) : Cano Xegro, elevation 1400 

 m, Maguire f Politi 27688, 27 906 ; Cano Profundo, elevation 1600 m, 28257 ; Cano Xegro. 

 elevation ^600 m, 28237 (form with small lanceolate leaves) ; elevation 1500 m, 28262 (form 

 with small lanceolate leaves), 28270; East Escarpment savanna, elevation 1900-2000 m, 28644 

 (MICH, type). Cerro de la Xeblina, along west escarpment n of Cumbre Camp, elevation 

 1700-1800 m, Maguire et ai. 37223 (fruiting specimen). 



A collection from eastern Colombia (Vaupes. Rio Xegro. at confluence of Rios 

 C4uainia and Casiquiare. Cano Ducuruapo. Dec 13-17. 1947. Schultes &' Lopez 

 9399, US ). is perhaps the same species. The specimen bears nearly mature fruits 

 from which the calyces have fallen except for a few persistent remnants which 

 may represent the remains of a calyptra. or portions of lobes of a marlieroid 

 type. T am unable to find any satisfactory differences between the vegetative 

 portions of this plant and those of Calyptranthes kUlipii Standi., of the Pacific 

 Coast of Colombia, and conceivably it belongs to this species. The leaves in the 

 fruiting specimen are larger than any others known in Marlierea summa (up to 

 13 cm long and about half as wide), they are somewhat rounded at base, with 

 midvein concave rather than impressed, and the upper surface polished at 



