Sipanea pratensis Aubl.
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Authority
Maguire, Bassett. 1967. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part VII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 17: 1-439.
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Family
Rubiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Discussion
Type. “Dans les savanes qui sont autour de la ville de Caienne,” French Guiana, Aublet.
This species has been the one most confused, probably because of its variability, shown especially in leaf-shape, pubescence, and branching of inflorescence. Typical S. 'pratensis from French Guiana and neighboring Territorio Amapa, Brazil, indicate a plant having completely fasciculate flowers and fruits, the axes not elongating in fruit, the fruit short and broad instead of longer than broad, the corolla-lobes completely glabrous without, small, ovate-elliptic or elliptic-ovate leaves with a loose hirsute, elongated pubescence spreading from the midrib and lateral nerves on one or both surfaces, usually a loosely pubescent stem with elongated spreading hairs, and the vegetative stems prostrate or decumbent at the base with erect flowering stems.
After a prolonged study of numerous specimens, it is believed in the best interests of taxonomy to render the great variation expressed by the assignment of varietal and formal categories. No subspecies are given, since there does not appear to be any definite geographic range indicated within the variations, and the differences manifest appear to intergrade in various portions of the variable characters.