Maguire, Bassett. 1972. The botany of the Guayana Highland--part IX. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 23: 1-832.
Rubiaceae
Psychotria foveolata R. & P., Fl. Peruv. 2: 59. pl. 207, f.b. 1799.
Psychotria fockeana Miq., Symb. Sur., Linnaea 18: 296. 1844.
Mapouria fockeana (Miq.) Brem., Rec. Trav. Bot. Neerl. 31: 286. 1934.
Psychotria ficigemma DC., Prodr. 4: 510. 1830.
“Psychotria glabrata” of Johnston, in Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 34: 263. 1909, not Sw., Prodr. Ind. Occ. 43. 1788.
Type. Cartagena, Colombia, Jacquin.
The Broadway 4029 collection from Tobago was misidentified and cited as P. nitida Willd. by Urban, and included under P. nitida in Williams & Chessman’s Flora of Trinidad and Tobago, while the Broadway 7582 was identified as P. trinitensis by Standley.
Psychotria carthaginensis is characterized by the following combination of characters: (1) sessile, crowded flowers, (2) puberulent hypanthium and calyx, (3) minutely uniformly puberulent branches of the inflorescence, (4) corolla externally puberulent, (5) glabrous non-ciliate leaf margin, (6) flattened or angled, but not quadrangular inflorescence branches, (7) shallowly denticulate calyx, (8) leaves often domatiate below, (9) mainly glabrous leaves with prominulous, somewhat elevated lateral nerves, (10) midrib beneath sometimes bordered with divaricate cilia-like hairs.
Domatia may or may not be present in the axils of the lower side of the leaf. Psychotria glabrata Sw., described from Jamaica, with shortly pedicellate flowers with elongated glabrous corollas 6.5-8 mm long, has been confused with some of the Venezuelan collections from Margarita Island (Miller & Johnston 215, Johnston 337). The Venezuelan specimens have the sessile, smaller corollas 4.5-5 mm long with minute external puberulence, characteristic of P. carthaginensis. Psychotria fockeana Miq. from Suriname must be relegated to synonymy. The ciliation occurring along the midrib of the lower side of the leaf is found in both P. fockeana and P. carthaginensis. Although there is a tendency in the Suriname material towards somewhat larger inflorescences (up to 7.5 cm long and 7 cm wide), those of P. carthaginensis may measure up to 6 cm long and 6 cm wide, and overlapping occurs between the Suriname plants and those of P. carthaginensis from other countries. When the inflorescence is in the beginning stages of anthesis or not fully expanded, it may measure only 2.2-3 cm long by 2.5-3.5 cm broad. Although there is a tendency in the Suriname material to have 9-12 pairs of lateral nerves on the leaf blades as contrasted to material of P. carthaginensis from countries to the west showing somewhat fewer nerves, i e 8-10 pairs, nevertheless 12 pairs of lateral nerves may also occur within material of P. carthaginensis outside of Suriname. Finally, it may be observed that the stipules in the Suriname material measure up to 7 mm long by 4 mm wide, as contrasted with other material of P. carthaginensis from elsewhere with stipules slightly longer (up to 8-9 mm long) and slightly broader (up to 6.5 mm wide). However, no constancy is to be found in any of these characters, which merge into one another. The leaves measure similarly in both the Suriname and extra-Suriname specimens, as do also the length of peduncle, number and arrangement of the main axes of the inflorescence, possession of sessile flowers in both cases with the same expression of pubescence on the floral parts and inflorescence. In both cases the inflorescence may vary from relatively few-flowered to many-flowered branches.
The specimens of H. H. Smith 1802 and 1803, cited by Standley as Psychotria fendleri Standi, in Rubiaceae of Colombia (Field Mus. Publ. Bot. 7: 93. 1930), prove to be P. carthaginensis. Psychotria ficigemma DC. is probably to be placed in synonymy under P. carthaginensis. Instead of the usual four lowest axes of the inflorescence characteristic of P. carthaginensis, only a pair of lowest axes are found on the specimen of P. ficigemma originating from Cayenne. However, aside from this discrepancy, the placement of the fruiting peduncles axillary-wise on the branch can be matched by several collections of Psychotria carthaginensis, such as Lanjouw & Lindeman 1370 and 1392, Maguire 24089 and 22773, all from Suriname and all previously determined by Bremekamp as Psychotria fockeana or Mapouria fockeana. Likewise, the small fruit on the specimen of the type of P. ficigemma is also characteristic of Psychotria carthaginensis, and the leaf shape and nervation of P. ficigemma can be matched by numerous specimens of P. carthaginensis.
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