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MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN 



[VOL. 10 



apex; flowers moderate in size (the buds up to 4.5 cm long). The netted vena- 

 tion of the leaves is gross and not sharply raised, the marginal nerve is promi- 

 nent, and the gloss of the leaf surface is not so strong as usual. 



The leaves of the three remaining collections cited above are rounded at the 

 apex, otherwise they are typical. Hybridization has been suggested for the 

 genus, but at present one can only speculate on the reason for the great diver- 

 gence shown in 307 6 4- A and 36281. 



Lacmellea pygmaea Monachino, sp. nov. Figure 14. 



Frutex gracilis, 0.1-0.3 m altus; caulibus primo pubernlis; foliis oppositis 

 subsessilibus linearibus, 3-5.5 cm longis, ca. 2-3 mm latis, margine revolutis, 

 costa subtus glabra vel puberula, venis secundariis obscuris ; inflorescentiis axil- 

 laribus sessilibus; sepalis ovatis glabris vel obscure ciliatis, 1.3-1.7 mm longis; 

 tubo corollae ca. 11 mm longo, extus glabro vel hirtello, intns infra pubescenti; 

 lobis corollae oblongis obtusis, ca. 4 mm longis, 1.7 mm latis; staminibus in parte 

 superiori tubo corollae insertis; antheris 0.6-0.7 mm longis glabris, ad basin 

 sagittatis, lobis dein uncinatis; ovario glabro ad apicem attenuato; stylo ca. 1.3 

 mm longo ; stigmatis capitulo 0.4-0.5 mm longo papilloso, apicnlis brevissimis 

 tantum exsertis; fructibus sphaeroideis, ca. 7 nun longis. 5 mm diam. ; semine 1, 

 ca. 5 mm longo, 3.3 mm lato. 



Slender shrub 0.1-0.3 m tall, the stems somewhat 4-angled, puberulent with 

 spreading hairs when young; leaves opposite, subsessile, very narrow, the axil- 

 lary glands deltoid, up to 1.7 mm long; petiole up to 2 mm long; blades cori- 

 aceous, linear, slightly narrowed at the base, obtusish or acutish at the apex, 

 revolute at the margins, 3-5.5 cm long, up to 5 mm Avide when spread out but 

 mostly less than 2 mm when the margins are revolute, glabrous or puberulent 

 along the midrib beneath, the midrib lightly raised beneath, the venation ob- 

 scure ; inflorescence axillary, sessile, up to 6-flowered ; pedicels short, up to 2 mm 

 long, bracteate, the bracts like the sepals but smaller, sometimes subtending the 

 calyx ; calyx glabrous or its lobes faintly puberulent-ciliate, calycine squamellae 

 none, the calyx-lobes ovate, acutish or obtusish at the apex, 1.3-1.7 mm long; 

 corolla greenish-white, hypocrateriform, the tube slightly swollen at the base and 

 at the location of the stamens, about 11 mm long, essentially glabrous to variably 

 hirtellous outside, papillose- pubescent within at the lower part ; the lobes sinis- 

 trorsely contorted, oblong, obtuse, about 4 mm long, 1.7 mm broad, glabrous; 

 stamens jnserted about % up the tube, the filaments 0.7-0.9 mm long, the anthers 

 dehiscent to their base, lanceolate, sharply sagittate at the base, finely tipped at 

 the apex, about 3.5 mm long, the basal lobes 0.6-0.7 mm long, becoming uncinate, 

 the acumen about 0.3 mm long, glabrous ; ovary syncarpous, tapering at the apex, 

 glabrous, 2-celled, the many ovules in about 4 series in each cell; style about 1.3 

 mm long, the clavuncle 0.4—0.5 mm long, minutely papillate-woolly, the apiculi 

 very short, hardly exserted ; fruit a berry, spheroid, about 7 mm long, 5 mm 

 diam. ; seed one, oblong-elliptic, about 5 mm long, 3.3 mm broad. 



Type: Bassett Maguire & John J. Wurdack 34507, Alto Rio Orinoco, Terri- 

 torio Amazonas, Venezuela, occasional at edge of Savanna No. 3, northwest base 

 of Cerro Yapacana, elev. 150 m, March 17, 1953, shrub 0.1-0.3 m, flowers green- 

 ish white, fruit green (holotype NY). 



L. pygmaea has an unique appearance in the genus. Its revolute-linear leaves 

 are unlike any other in Lacmellea. Its flowers and fruits, however, place it un- 

 mistakably. The essential floral and fruit structure is typical, and it thus still 



