102 



MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN 



[VOL. 10 



The Colombian number 6922 is in the post-anthesis-young-fruiting stage 

 which shows no distinctive characteristic to place them to genus. The habit of the 

 leaves and inflorescence, however, agrees very well with that of the above species. 



Ocotea sprucei (Meissner) Mez, Jahrb. Bot. Gart. Berlin 5: 323. 1889. 



Mespilodaphne sprucei Meissner in DC. Prodr. 15 1 : 97. 1864 (only Spruce No. 2149) \ 

 Oreodaphne myriantha Meissner in DC. Prodr. UP: 120. 1864 (isotype, Spruce 3069, fi. 

 NY) (excl. var.)j Ocotea myriantha (Meissner) Mez, Jahrb. Bot. Gart. Berlin 5: 

 332. 1889. 



Type. Prope San Gabriel da Cachoeira, ad Rio Negro, Spruce 2149 (isotype, 

 <?fl. NY). 



Vernacular Names. Laurel (Williams) ; Dahuri (Guariquena, Williams). 



Infructescentia robusta, atro-rubescens, glabrescens, quam 7 cm amplior. 

 Fructus caeruleus fide coll., griseo-brunnescens, in sicco oblongus, obtuse 

 rotundatus, saepe fide coll. globosus subglobosusve, ad 16 X 10 mm, ad partem 

 tertiam inclusus in cupula rubescenti fide coll., cyathiformi, 10-15 mm longa et 

 12-15 mm diam. ad marginem, et ad 7 mm alt., stipite ad 9 mm longo, pedicello 

 satis incrassato, ad 5 mm longo ad apicem ad 2 mm lato. 



Distribution. Small tree or shrub (large tree according to Mez) with cream- 

 colored, dioecious flowers, found in Brazil along the Rio Negro and in Amazonas, 

 Venezuela, along the Orinoco and its tributaries, and in the region of Rio Guainia. 

 VENEZUELA. Amazonas: in slope forest at Camp 3, Cerro de la Neblina, Rio 

 Yatua, Maguire, Wurdack & Maguire 42592 (J 1 fl. NY) ; Esmeralda Ridge at 

 southeast base of Cerro Duida, Maguire, Wurdack & Keith 41554 (J* fl. NY) ; 

 in Sabana Cumare on right bank of Cano Cumare (20 km above San Fernando 

 de Atabapo, Wurdack & Adderley 43769 (J 1 fl., NY), occasional at edge of clear- 

 ing, San Fernando de Atabapo, 42841 (J 1 fl. NY) ; terrenos arenosos y humidos 

 a orillas del Rio Orinoco en los alrededores de San Fernando, Molina & Barkley 

 18 V 200 (y. fr. US) ; en los Chiquichiquiales de Capihuara, Alto Casiquiare, 

 Williams 15573 (fr. F, US), en las sabanitas, en la boca del Cano Ichana, Bajo 

 San Miguel, Rio Guainia, 14919 (fr. A). 



Spruce, according to Mez, has indicated that the type of Mespilodaphne 

 sprucei is from a tall tree 40-45 m in height, and that the branchlets are densely 

 ferruginous-tomentellous, the latter fact not borne out by an examination of 

 the istftype. 



The fruit of neither of the two species recognized by Meissner has been here- 

 tofore noted. The Chicago sheet of Williams 15573 apparently belongs to the 

 taxon that I consider to include both species exclusive of their varieties. Mez 

 excluded the variety and all other collections cited by Meissner, retaining only 

 the type of M. sprucei cited above. 



It will be noted that Meissner placed his species in different tribes : Mespilo- 

 daphne, a genus of the Cryptocaryeae, with fruits entirely or partially included 

 in the cupule ; Oreodaphne,* & genus of the Oreodaphneae, with fruits not included 

 in the cupule. Since Meissner apparently had no fruits of M. sprucei and possibly, 

 according to Mez, only an unattached fruit from the Gottingen Herbarium spec- 

 imen of O. myriantha, it is difficult to understand his disposition of the two 

 entities, for other differences given appear to be merely differences of degree and 

 not factors of value for super generic delimitation. 



