1960] 



SPATHIPHYLLUM 



in 



5. S. monachinoi Bunting, sp. nov. Figure 5. 



Foliorum lamina valde anguste oblonga ad lanceolato-ellipticam, 30-34 cm 

 longa et 3.5-4.3 cm lata, ad apicem acuminata, ad basim acuta, venis primariis 5- 

 jugatis angulo 15-20° divergentibus ; petiolus gracilis, 27-32 cm longus. ad 

 dimidium conspieue vaginatus; geniculum ca. 1.7 cm longum. Pedunculus peti- 

 olum longitudine subaequans, ca. 30 cm longus; spatha anguste lanceolata, 11.8 

 cm longa et 2.6 cm lata, apice attenuate basi acuto et in pedunculo ca. 0.5 cm 

 decurrenti, intra viridi-alba, extus viridis (fide Wurdack et Monachino) ; spadix 

 albus, ca. 4 cm longus, stipite ca. 2 cm longo ; perianthii segmenta separata ; 

 pistillum obpyramidale, apice subtruncato, solum stigmate papilliformi peri- 

 anthium superanti; ovarium 2-loculare. loculis 6-5-ovulatis, ovulis ad pulvinum 

 subbasilarem in loculo quoque affixis, 12-11 in toto ovario; fructus ignotus. 



Type collection: J. J. Wurdack & V. Monachino 41056, "Spathe greenish- 

 white above, green beneath, spadix white, in rocky moist ravine just below 

 Raudal Maraea (ca. 110 river km from mouth), alt. 115 m," Rio Parguaza, 

 Edo. Bolivar, Venezuela; 31 Dec 1955 (holotype XY). Unicate. Known only 

 from the type collection. The collectors told me that they encountered numer- 

 ous sterile plants in the locality, but only one flowering plant was found and 

 collected. 



It is with much pleasure that this species is named for Mr. J. V. Monachino, 

 one of the collectors of the type specimen and Associate Custodian of the her- 

 barium of the New York Botanical Garden. His keen taxonomic ability and 

 willing assistance has greatly benefited the author during the course of this 

 investigation. 



S. monachinoi is the most robust Guayana species of sect. Massowia. Its 

 bilocular ovary contains twelve or eleven ovules per ovary, in contrast to the 

 trilocular ovary of 8. jejunum which contains a total of only seven to six ovules. 



5. monachinoi was collected in lower elevations along the Rio Parguaza. some 200 

 air miles north of the Rio Cunucnnuma where 8. jejunum was collected. Between 

 these points lies the broad Rio Ventuari drainage, which Maguire and his asso- 

 ciates have explored botanically without procuring a single specimen of 8pa- 

 thiphyllum. 



The greater number of ovules per locule in 8. monachinoi easily sets it 

 apart from S. sipapoanum from nearby Cerro Sipapo. It differs from the other 

 species of Guayana by its outstandingly larger size and narrower leaves. 



There are similarities between this species and S. quindiuense. They differ 

 in these characteristics: (1) the texture of the leaf-blade and spathe (in dried 

 specimens) is chartaceous in 8. monachinoi, pergameneous in 8. quindiuense; 

 and (2) the stipe of the spadix is proportionally shorter in the latter species. 



6. S. gardneri Schott, Aroicl. 1: 2. pi 3A. 1853. Figure 4. 



Leaf -blade oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic. (10-) 14-34 cm long, and 3-7.5 cm 

 wide, the apex acute-acuminate, the base acute or subattenuate. with ca. 4-6 

 pairs of arcuate primary lateral veins arising at an angle of ca. 45° ; petiole 

 15-35 cm long, alate in the lower half or more ; geniculum 0.8-2.4 cm long. 

 Peduncle exceeding the petiole, 21-45 cm long ; spathe cucullate. lanceolate or 

 elliptic, 7-10 em long and 2.2-3.4 em wide, the apex long-acuminate, the base 

 acute to subtruncate, conspicuously oblique and decurrent on the peduncle to 

 ca. 1 cm, white with a green central rib (fide Gardner) ; spadix 2.3-5 3 cm long, 

 on a stipe ca. 0.5 (-1.2) cm long; perianth segments separate above, sometimes 

 conglutinate below, at least in age ; pistil obpyramidal, ■ scarcely exceeding the 



