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MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN [Vol. 9, No. 3 



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Perennial much-branched herb; stems 5-10 cm long, 1-10 mm thick, densely 

 leafy, with many ascending- spreading branches; branches slender, to 10 cm long, 

 very densely leafy, long-pilose; leaves dark green, intensely blue-green by re- 

 flected daylight or with an iridescent purplish-blue sheen when fresh (as in some 

 species of Stegolepis), grass-like, ascending or spreading, reflexed in age, 1.5-4 

 cm long, about 3 mm wide at the middle, acute at the apex, chartaceous, glabrous 

 on both surfaces, conspicuously parallel-veined, the 6 or 7 veins slightly subim- 

 pressed above and prominulous beneath; peduncles several or few per branch, 

 terminal, erect, 7-14 cm long, 4-costate, slightly twisted, brown, glabrous; sheath 

 brown, closely appressed to the peduncle, slender, about 2.5 cm long, glabrous, 

 many-striate, slightly twisted, obliquely split at the apex, the blade erect, ap- 

 pressed, 2-3 mm long, attenuate-acute at the apex; heads hemispheric, dull white 

 or gray, 6-9 mm wide, blackish at the base; involucral bractlets black, obovate- 

 lingulate, about 2 mm long and 1.4 mm wide, obtuse or rounded at the apex, 

 rather obscurely short-ciliolate at the apex, otherwise glabrous, shiny; receptac- 

 ular bractlets oblong, blackish toward the apex, about 2.2 mm long and 0.4 mm 

 wide, subacute or obtuse at the apex, pilose at the apex on the back; staminate 

 florets: sepals 3 (rarely 4), separate, oblanceolate, black toward the apex, about 

 1.7 mm long and 0.6 mm wide, white-barbate at and near the apex, otherwise gla- 

 brous; petals hyaline, connate into a slender tube about 1.2 mm long, glabrous, 

 the free apical portions about 1.2 mm long; stamens 3, exserted; pistillate florets: 

 sepals 3, separate, obovate, black toward the apex, about 2.5 mm long and 1 mm 

 wide, rounded at the apex, white barbate-pilose at the apex on the back; petals 

 3, separate, subhyaline, oblong-elliptic, about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, ob- 

 tuse at the apex, densely long-pilose at the base, sparsely pilose at the apex; 

 pistil brown, about 2 mm long, glabrous; style-appendages 3, about 0.7 mm long, 

 inserted at the same level as and alternate with the 3 slender stigmas; ovary ob- 

 long, about 0.5 mm long, glabrous, 3-sulcate, 3-celled. 



TYPE: John J. V'urdack 34315, upper part of the upper cumbre at 2300-2350 m 

 alt., northwest cumbres, Churi-tepui (Muru-tepui*), Bolivar," Venezuela, February 

 3, 1953 (NY). This beautiful species is said to be locally frequent in large mats 

 on the dry rocky face of cliffs. It was also collected on the Chimanta Massif by 

 Steyermark and Wurdack (492, 822). 



Syngonanthus obtusifolius Moldenke, sp. nov. 



Herba perennis; caulibus valde abbreviatis densissime tomentosis, pilis 

 pallide rubellis; foliis caespitosis coriaceis oblongis obtusis utrinque glabris; 

 pedunculis 1-3, brunneis 5-costatis paullo contortis plusminusve adpresso- 

 pilosis, pilis antrorsis albidis sericeis; vaginis gracilibus firmis adpressis 

 obscure adpresso-pilosulis vel glabrescentibus, laminis elongatis lanceolatis 

 plusminusve adpresso-pilosis acutis; capitulis hemisphaericis; bracteolis invo- 

 lucri firmis griseis anguste lanceolatis attenuatis acutis adpresso-pilosis, pilis 

 antrorsis albido-sericeis; receptaculo longe piloso. 



Perennial herb; stems much abbreviated, to about 2 cm long, very densely 

 matted-tomentose with pale pinkish hairs; leaves cespitose, erect, coriaceous, 

 uniformly olive-green and shiny on both surfaces, 5-12 cm long, oblong, rather 

 uniformly 2-5 mm wide from the base to the apex, rounded at the apex, glabrous 

 on both surfaces, very obscurely many-veined but the parallel veins indiscernible 

 above; penduncles 1-3, brown, erect, 28-40 cm long, 5-costate, slightly twisted, 

 more or less appressed-pilose with antrorse, whitish silky hairs; sheath slender, 

 firm, appressed to the peduncle, 8-10 cm long, obscurely appressed-pilosulous or 

 glabrescent, obliquely split at the apex, the blade elongate, lanceolate, 2-3 cm 



