Maguire, Bassett. 1967. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part VII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 17: 1-439.
Rubiaceae
Coccocypselum guianense of many authors, not Tontanea guianensis Aubl.
Coccocypselum nummulariaefolium of many authors, not Cham. & Schl., 1829.
Type. Without certain geographical origin, but probably from Trinidad, where figured in Curtis (Bot. Mag. 119, pl. 7278. 1893) under this name and cultivated at Kew for many years under the name of Coccocypselum discolor. This plate shows purple stems with dense, long, spreading hairs, linear-lanceolate calyx-lobes with conspicuous spreading pubescence, hispid-ciliate leaves, spreading-pilose petioles, corolla with spreading hairs on exterior surface, and the lower leaf-surface spreading-pilose on the midrib and nerves.
Plants combining these characters are found in Mexico, Central America, the West Indies (including Trinidad), and South America, and have been variously identified by Standley as Coccocypselum hirsutum, Tontanea guianensis Aubl., Coccocypselum guianense, C. umbellatum, C. nummulanfolium as to West Indian plants (later determined as Tontanea guianensis by Standley), and as Coccocypselum tontanea.
Coccocypselum nummulanfolium was described by Chamisso and Schlech-tendal in 1829 (Linnaea 4: 145) and based upon a Sellow collection from southern Brazil. It has ovate-rounded or suborbicular leaf-blades rounded or very obtuse at the apex, and the leaf-blades are much broader and more rounded at the apex than in either C. hirsutum or C. guianense, with which species it has been confused previously. The petioles of true C. mummularifolium are also much shorter than those of C. hirsutum or C. guianense. A specimen at NY of Wilson 9235 from Cuba identified as “C. nummulariaefolium', has the following note pencilled by Urban in 1914 over the collection label: “I cannot find any difference between the specimen of Cuba and the type of Cham. & Schlecht.” This specimen was examined later by Standley and identified as Tontanea guianensis. It is like the rest of the very pronouncedly pubescent variation of what has been considered by various authors as “Coccocypselum guianensein the present treatment interpreted by me as C. hirsutum.
In general, C. hirsutum differs from C. guianense var guianense as follows: (1) the stems, petioles, and peduncles are densely villous with spreading hairs and not appressed, ascending, or incurved as in C. guianense; (2) the corolla, calyx-lobes, and hypanthium are densely villous with conspicuous spreading hairs, whereas in C. guianense the pubescence is appressed. From the var patens of C. guianense, C. hirsutum differs in longer calyx-lobes and stipules, more conspicuously pubescent exterior of the corolla-lobes, and longer pubescence of stems, peduncles, calyx-lobes and hypanthium.
Distribition and Ecology: Mexico, Central America, West Indies (Cuba, Trinidad), and South America (Colombia, Venezuela, British Guiana, Brazil, and Peru). COLOMBIA. Magdalena: Santa Marta, H. H. Smith 541. VENEZUELA. Anzoate-gui: headwaters of tributary of Rio Neveri, between Rio Leon and Carmelita, NE of Bergantin, Steyermark 61384. BRITISH GUIANA. Moraballi Creek, near Bartica, Essequibo River, Sandwith 69. BRAZIL. Para: Belem, 5 km NW of Instituto Agronomico do Norte, near Sao Joaquim, Barbosa da Silva 64. PERU, prope Tarapoto, Spruce 4075.
México Mexico North America| Central America| Colombia South America| Brazil South America|