1957] 



THE BOTANY OF THE GUAYANA HIGHLAND—PART II 



281 



ciliolate-margined; heads hemispheric, gray, 7-15 mm wide; involucral bractlets 

 pale-stramineous, firm, ovate- triangular, about 2.7 mm long and wide, acute or 

 short-acuminate at the apex, glabrous, shiny; receptacle pilose; receptacular 

 bractlets linear-oblong, dark-brown or black toward the apex, very thin-textured, 

 hyaline toward the margins, about 3 mm long, 1 mm wide, barbate near the apex on 

 the back; staminate florets long-pedicellate: sepals 3, separate, oblanceolate, 

 blackish toward the apex, hyaline toward the base, about 2.2 mm long, 0.7 mm 

 wide, subacute at the apex, glabrous or with a few obscure hairs at the apex on 

 the back; petals 3, connate into a slender stramineous tube about 1 mm long, free 

 above, the free portions erect, 0.8-1 mm long, white-hyaline; stamens 3, exserted; 

 pistillate florets: sepals 3, separate, light-stramineous, elliptic, about 2.5 mm 

 long, 1 mm wide, erect, acute at the apex, long-pilose at the base, otherwise gla- 

 brous; petals 3, separate, light-stramineous, oblong, about 2.5 mm long, 0.5 mm 

 wide, erect, acute at the apex, glabrous; style about 1.2 mm long, glabrous; stig- 

 mas 3; ovary globose, about 1 rnm long and wide when mature, brownish, gla- 

 brous, 3-sulcate, 3-celled. 



TYPE: Bassett Maguire 33538a, hanging from the wet face of cliffs at 7800 ft. 

 alt. v Ilu-tepui", Gran Sabana, Venezuela, March 20 or 21. 1952, New York Botani- 

 cal Garden. 



Paepalanthus venustus Moldenke, sp. nov. 



Herba perennis; caulibus simplicibus vel pauciramosis densissime foliosis; 

 foliis chartaceis patentibus vel reflexis graminoideis attenuatis acutis utrinque 

 glabris; nedunculis 1-4 oallide brunneis aliquot costatis paullo contortis, in 

 sulcis adpresso-pilosis; vaginis gracillimis arete adpressis multistriatis glabris, 

 laminis acutis ciliatis; capitulis hemisphaericis; bracteolis involucri ovatis ni- 

 gris acutis versus apicem sparsissime ciliolatis; receptaculo longiter piloso. 



Perennial simple or sparingly branched herb; stems slender, to 20 cm long, 

 erect or ascending, very densely leafy throughout; branches to 8 cm long, 

 densely leafy throughout, erect or ascending; leaves quite uniform throughout, 

 chartaceous, spreading or reflexed 9 uniformly dark-green and shiny on both sur- 

 faces, grass-like, 1.5-2 cm long, 2-3 mm wide at the middle, gradually attenuate 

 from the base to the apex, acute at the apex, glabrous on both surfaces, rather 

 obscurely parallel-veined; peduncles 1-4 per plant, 10-20 cm long, erect, pale- 

 brownish, several-costate, slightly twisted, appressed-pilose in the sulcations; 

 sheath very slender, closely appressed to the peduncle, 3-4 cm long, many-stri- 

 ate, very slightly or not at all twisted, glabrous, obliquely split at the apex, the 

 blade erect, appressed, about 3 mm long, acute at the apex, ciliate-margined; 

 heads hemispheric, 6-9 mm wide; involucral bractlets ovate, black, about 2.7 mm 

 long, 1.2 mm wide, acute, very sparsely ciliolate on the margins toward the apex; 

 receptacle long-pilose; receptacular bractlets spatulate, brownish, about 2.2 mm 

 long, 0.6 mm wide, acute, densely white-barbellate at the apex, otherwise gla- 

 brous; staminate florets: sepals 3, separate, elliptic, concave, about 2 mm long, 

 0.7 mm wide, acute, densely white-barbellate at the apex; petals 3, connate into 

 a slender stramineous tube about 1.7 mm long, glabrous, the free apical portions 

 about 0.7 mm long; stamens 3. included or equaling the petals; pistillate florets 

 short-pedicellate: sepals 3, separate, oblanceolate, blackish toward the apex, 

 about 2.5 mm long, 1 mm wide, white-barbate at the apex on the back; petals 3, 

 separate, whitish or gray, oblong, about 2.5 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, densely long- 

 pilose especially at the base, barbate at the apex; pistil brown, about 2.5 mm 

 long, glabrous; style stout, about 1 mm long, glabrous; style-appendages 3, about 

 1 mm long, inserted at about the same level as and alternate with the stigmas; 



