44 



MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN [ Vol. 8, No. 1 



beneath; hypanthium green; corolla salmon-pink in bud, becoming red at anthesis). 

 Same locality, Camp E-4865 (NY only) (shrub to 1.5 m.; leaves crisp-coriaceous, 

 deep green, nitid above, pale beneath, cusped, even the youngest with a black 

 scurf; corolla dull crimson, the lobes yellow). 



Themistoclesia campii is most readily characterized by the blackish scurfy 

 scales which persist on the lower surfaces of leaves and on the inflorescence, 

 and by its hispidulous corolla. From the Colombian T. compacta A. C. Smith it is 

 distinguished not only by the different character of its foliar indument, but also 

 by the shorter and sparser pubescence of its inflorescence (especially the corolla), 

 its longer pedicels, and its isomorphic stamens with essentially glabrous fila- 

 ments. From T. dependens (Benth.) A. C. Smith the new species is readily dis- 

 tinguished by its indument and its short stamens. 



Not included in the above description, but almost certainly referable to this 

 species, is Camp E-151 (NY only) (Azuay: same locality, 9,000-11,000 ft. elev.; 

 spreading shrub with deep red flowers), which differs only as follows: corolla at 

 anthesis 10-11 mm. long and hispidulous only at apex; filaments about 2.5 mm. 

 long, glabrous; anthers about 7 mm. long, the thecae about 2.5 mm. long. Except 

 for the slightly larger and essentially glabrous corolla and stamens, this specimen 

 agrees perfectly with the two described; it apparently represents a form of the 

 species occurring at somewhat lower elevation. When the full range of variability 

 is known, no. 751 will doubtless fit into a reasonable species concept. 



Themistoclesia dependens (Benth.) A. C. Smith, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 28: 442. 

 1932. 



Azuay: "Oriente" Border, Eastern Cordillera, between Ona and the Rio Yacu- 

 ambi, east slope, 8,000-9,500 ft. elev., F. Prieto P-270 (shrub to 3 m.; young 

 leaves pale, the old leaves of previous season deep green and subnitid above, 

 pale green and dull beneath; corolla bright crimson, with pale pink lobes). 



A fairly frequent species in western Colombia and Ecuador, also represented 

 from Azuay by Steyermark 53446 (A, Ch). 



Sphyrospermum buxifolium Poepp. & Endl. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 4.pl. 8. 1835. 



Guayas, Canar, Chimborazo, & Bolivar junction: Foothills of the western Cor- 

 dillera near the village of Bucay, Camp E-3833 (NY only). El Oro: In Moro-Moro 

 region, about 21 miles west of Portovelo, Camp E-632, E-634 (both NY only). 

 Napo-Pastaza: Valley of the Rio Pastaza and adjacent uplands, near Fl Topo, 

 Camp E-1686, E-1688 (NY only), E-1689, E-1691 (NY only); same general region, 

 east of Puyo, Camp E-1698 (NY only). Santiago-Zamora: Eastern slope of the 

 cordiUera, valley of the Rlos Negro and Chupianza, El Partidero, between the 

 Rlos Paute and Negro, Camp E-1520 (NY only). Low hills west of Rio Upano, 

 along Rio Chupiangas, F. Prieto CbuP-18. Cordillera Cutucu, Camp E'1181, 

 E-1202, E-1341, E-1361 (all NY only). 



Field notes accompanying this excellent suite of specimens indicate that the 

 plant is a slender epiphyte, often pendant and high-climbing, rarely scrambling or 

 trailing along banks, and in. one case (no. 634) terrestrial and suberect to 50 cm. 

 high; it occurs in forest at elevations of 2,100 to 5,900 ft.; the corolla is white 

 and sometimes pink-tinged; the mature fruit is light blue or pale bluish lavender, 

 sometimes subtranslucent, and insipid. 



The related S. majus Griseb. was mentioned in my revision (Brittonia 1: 209. 

 1933) as having a southern limit of Venezuela, but I have since seen several speci- 

 mens from Colombian Departments as far south as El Valle and Cundinamarca. 

 However, at least in its typical form, the species does not seem to occur in Ec- 

 uador, although some of the cited specimens (e. g. those from the Cordillera 



