Psychotria blepharophylla (Standl.) Steyerm.

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett. 1972. The botany of the Guayana Highland--part IX. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 23: 1-832.

  • Family

    Rubiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Psychotria blepharophylla (Standl.) Steyerm.

  • Type

    Type. French Guiana, Aublet.

  • Discussion

    Cephaelis blepharophylla Standi., Field Mus. Publ. Bot. 8: 182. 1930.

    Tapogomea glabra Aubl., Pl. Guian. 1: 165. pl. 63. 1775, not Psychotria glabra (Turrill) Fosberg, 1942.

    Uragoga glabra (Aubl.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 2: 960. 1891.

    Tapogomea glabra Aubl. and Cephaelis blepharophylla Standl. are conspecific. When transferred into Psychotria, the already published epithet Psychotria glabra (Turrill) Fosberg (Sargentia 1: 126. 1942) necessitates the transfer of Standley's Cephaelis blepharophylla as the earliest available name. The narrow, strongly ciliate bracts 0.5-1 mm long, caudate-acuminate leaves with slender, elongated apex and cuneate base, together with the mainly glabrous lower side of the leaf blades with glabrous to sparsely villous midrib are characters common to both Cephaelis blepharophylla and Tapogomea glabra. The length of the peduncle varies. On the type specimen of Tapogomea glabra at BM the peduncle varies from 8-30 mm long, while on the type specimen of Cephaelis blepharophylla and material referred to it by Standley, the peduncle varies from 5-10 mm. Other specimens above cited show peduncles varying from 6-15 mm.

    The flowers are not subtended by bracts or bracteoles, but show an arrangement similar to that of P. medusula and P. hoffmannseggiana, described above. In the case of P. blepharophylla in which the floral axis is branched into six or seven short axes, one of the axes may have 11 flowers subtended by 23 bracts with 12 bracts subtending 5 flowers, 6 bracts subtending 4 flowers, 3 bracts subtending 1 flower, and 2 bracts subtending another individual flower.