The Genus Syrrhopodon in the Americas. II. The Limbate Species

Abstract

Ten species of Syrrhopodon with the leaves not bordered above by elongated cells occur in the Americas. One species, S. incompletus, is represented by six varieties, including: S. incompletus var. perangustifolius Reese, var. nov.; S. i. var. lanceolatus (Hampe) Reese, comb. et stat. nov.; and S. i. var. bertero- anus (Brid.) Reese, comb. et stat. nov. Keys, descriptions and illustrations are provided for all taxa. This treatment includes all known American taxa of Syrrhopodon with the upper lamina of the leaf not bordered by elongated cells.3 It provides keys, descriptions, il- lustrations, synonymy and discussion of distribution, and is based primarily on herbarium specimens. In it, I have attempted to account for all names applied in the literature to North and South American taxa of Syrrhopodon with the upper lamina elimbate. Observations and measurements were made mostly from specimens mounted in Hoyer's solution (Anderson, 1954). Dry plants of most of the taxa included here, especially those with colored leaf bases, are exceedingly slow to soak up water. Con- sequently, all specimens were first immersed in boiling water before dissection and preparation of permanent mounts.