1958] 



THE BOTANY OF THE (H AVANA HIGHLAND PART III 



131 



holds that "the species of Lacmellea are all closely inter-related, no sectional clas- 

 sication being particularly desirable within the genus." (Monachino, Lloydia 

 7: 282. 1944). L. pygmaea does not show any particular alliance with any one 

 of the 18 known species of Lacmellea: in the key to the genus ( I.e. p. 283; 

 Xotizbl. Bot. Gart. Mus. Berlin 15: 618. 1941), it would fall next to L. pauci- 

 flora (Kuhlm.) Mgf. This pedaneous species is truly a dwarf in a genus com- 

 prising trees up to 30 m tall. Its striking divergence from the rest of an other- 

 wise uniform group (although the singularity is in vegetative characters only) 

 again emphasizes the remarkable endemism discovered in the Yapaeana area. 



Malouetia glandulifera Miers. 



VENEZUELA: Maguire $• Wurdaok 34810, Rio Casiquiare and tributaries, Amazonas, 

 dominant plant of submerged margin of Lago Paciba, Rio Paciba, elev. 130 m, April 3, 1953, 

 slender tree 2-6 m, trunk basally swollen. COLOMBIA: Maguire, Wurdack 4" Bunting 36263, 

 Rio Atabapo, frequent in drowned river margin between San Fernando de Atabapo and 

 Cacagual, 130 m elev., Nov 18, 1953, tree to 6 in, with tumid trunk, calyx reddish, corolla 

 cream, "Palo" or "Yolla." 



The leaves of 36263 are very atypical. They are dull, thin, irregularly shaped 

 to strongly falcate. This may be due to disease. The flowers are identical with 

 those of 34810. The sepals of the latter are slightly blunter than those of the 

 isotype at The New York Botanical Garden. The corolla-limb is sparingly pilose 

 toward the center. 



Malouetia sp. nov. ? 



Wurdack c£* Monachino 41116, Rio Parguaza, Estado Bolivar, Venezuela, 

 locally frequent at savanna edge near Pilon, 5 km northeast of river mouth, elev. 

 100 m, Jan 5, 1956, tree 8 m with white latex, fruit green. 



Tree about 8 m tall, the branchlets dark brown ; leaves opposite, drying 

 green, shining and smooth; petiole about 7 mm long; blade lanceolate, slightly 

 asj-mmetrie, rounded to cuneate at the base, mostly short-aenminate at the apex, 

 12-16 cm long, (3-) 4-6 cm wide, the secondary nerves 9-13 pairs, slightly 

 arcuate, foveate at the axils, the middle ones ascending at an angle of about 

 45-50°, the reticulation of veinlets on the underside clear ; axis of the infructes- 

 cence short, about 1.2 cm long; sepals persistent, deltoid, about 1-1.3 mm long, 

 puberulent outside and within; flowers lacking; follicles divaricate to reflexed, 

 slender, slightly or hardly torulose, 12-17 cm long, 4 mm thick, glabrous; seeds 

 snbscaphiform, pale brown, about 2 cm long, 2.5 mm broad, completely covered 

 with a dense matting of light brown wool, the hairs about 2 cm long, slightly 

 crisped, easily rubbed off. 



Unfortunately, all the plants seen were past blooming. Whereas many spe- 

 cies of Malouetia are similar to each other in vegetative characters, the leaf de- 

 tails of the present plant could not be matched in the herbarium. The leaves dry 

 a shade of green, somewhat yellowish, a color unusual in Malouetia. The habitat 

 of the tree was unexpected ; it grew in savanna margins, in association with such 

 plants as Piptadenia peregrina. 



Mandevilla anceps Woods. 



Nine collections from Amazonas, Venezuela, are now available ; from the 

 Casiquiare (Piedra Tururumeri, Piedra Arauicaua) , Cerro Sipapo, Cerro Duida, 

 Serrania Yutaje. These were determined from the description and photo of the 

 Spruce holotype collected "in montic. Tarurnmari fluvi Paeimoni." The Casi- 



