Main | Family List (MO) | Family List (INBio) | Cutting Edge Draft Treatments | Guidelines | Checklist | Citing | Editors The Cutting Edge Volume IV, Number 2, April 1997 News and Notes | Recent Treatments | Leaps and Bounds | Germane Literature PEREGRINATIONS. Co-PI Grayum's whirlwind two-week trip to Costa Rica in January featured a three-day excursion to Tortuguero in the company of Barry Hammel . This was, incredibly, the first visit to this site by either PI. Our collecting efforts were hugely facilitated by the gracious collaboration of Caribbean Conservation Corporation on-site chief Jan Schipper , who placed his panga , as well as his considerable navigational skills, at our constant disposal (the fate of the boatless in Tortuguero is to be, quite simply, marooned). We also collected briefly in the Pacific lowlands of the Cantón de Acosta, Prov. San José, in the company of INBio phenomenon Francisco Morales . Though much deforested, this is a quiet, forgotten, and very beautiful corner of Costa Rica (and signficant tracts of forest do remain, especially on the higher ridges and along rivers). The valley of the Río Grande de Candelaria (where we saw an extensive stand of the local endemic Agave wercklei F. A. C. Weber ex Trel.) is rather dry, but more humid conditions prevail southward. We vouchered a new population of the rare Cryosophila grayumii R. J. Evans (Arecaceae) at ca. 625 m elevation along the Río Tiquires, and collected Chamaedorea brachyclada H. Wendl., another rare palm, at ca. 580 m elevation along the Río Parritilla, extending its known range significantly northward. OUTWARD BOUND. Revered Costa Rican field botanist Gerardo Herrera is busy collecting and "having the time of his life" at the La Planada reserve in Nariño Department, Colombia, where he has been since January. The quote comes from our good friend Jens Bittner who, after completing his doctoral research in Costa Rica, was hired to produce a florula of La Planada. Jens had the good sense to engage the services of the best collector available anywhere. As far as we know, this is Gerardo's maiden voyage outside his native land, discounting a few trivial and unsanctioned ventures onto Panamanian soil. He will remain in Colombia until June. Also in Colombia, from 14--19 February, was INBio whiz-kid Francisco Morales, in Bogotá working in the herbarium at COL. ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER. INBio Botany capo and Manual co-PI Nelson Zamora has recently traveled twice to Honduras (La Mosquitia, 19--25 March; La Ceiba, 2--12 April) to teach courses in plant identification. During a visit to Parque Nacional Pico Bonito, he made the first Honduran collection of the mainly South American genus Elvasia (Ochnaceae), just recently reported from as far north as Costa Rica [see The Cutting Edge July, 1996]. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS to MO this past quarter included Manual contributors William R. Anderson (MICH, Malpighiaceae), Harvey Ballard (WIS, Violaceae), and Fred Barrie (F/MO, Valerianaceae). Bound for St. Louis as you read this is Manual co-PI Barry Hammel, who arrives on 23 April and will stay through the end of May. SNEAK PREVIEW. Be the first in your cubicle-block to read co-PI Barry Hammel 's latest opus, "Three new species of Celastraceae from Costa Rica, one disjunct from Mexico," slated to appear in the next issue of Novon. See it now State-side at: http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/celastraceae/welcome.shtml and from Costa Rica at: http://www.inbio.ac.cr/papers/Celastraceae/CelasNew.html DIRECT LINE TO CR. The Museo Nacional now has an e-mail address, as well as a direct connection to the World Wide Web. Our understanding is that this address (museonac@sol.racsa.co.cr ) is museum-wide, at least for the time being, so that any messages intended specifically for the Herbario Nacional (CR) should be flagged accordingly. RECENT TREATMENTS CERATOPHYLLACEAE. Garrett E. Crow (NHA). Ceratophyllum, the sole genus of this peculiar dicot family of submersed aquatics, is represented in Costa Rica by two spp.: C. demersum L., of the Atlantic lowlands, and C. muricatum Cham., of the Pacific lowlands (mainly in the Guanacaste region). Both are widespread beyond Costa Rica. LEAPS AND BOUNDS ARECACEAE. Former parataxonomist Gerardo Rivera , currently engaged in private contractual work, has discovered a small population of Colpothrinax at ca. 700 m elevation on the Atlantic slope of Volcán Tenorio, in the Cordillera de Guanacaste. Though not a country record, this represents a significant range extension for this rare fan-palm genus, previously collected in Costa Rica only in the valley of the Río Urén, near the Panamanian border. Morphological evidence suggests that Costa Rican and Panamanian material of Colpothrinax may not be correctly referred to C. cookii Read, otherwise known from Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. FABACEAE/PAPILIONOIDEAE. Manual co-PI Nelson Zamora had long been pursuing fertile material of a mystery Lonchocarpus , known to him by sterile collections from the Boca Tapada region on the northern Atlantic coastal plain of Costa Rica. Recently, however, he saw a type photo of Swartzia sumorum A. R. Molina (known only from the type collected in Zelaya Dept., Nicaragua), and perceived a strong resemblance to his mystery tree. The notion that the latter might actually represent a Swartzia was borne out through the assistance of Vinzenz Schmack , owner of the Lagarto Lodge in Boca Tapada, who led Nelson to a fine fruiting specimen on the Lodge's generous parcel of primary forest. Despite recent incidents (including a highly publicized kidnaping at the Lodge), this is a very safe and interesting area in which to botanize. In an effort to reclaim popularity for the site, Vinzenz has shown a willingness to welcome biolgists (more intrepid, perhaps, than his discouraged birding clientele) with special rates. LOASACEAE. A small-flowered Mentzelia collected by co-PI Mike Grayum at 600 m elevation in the valley of the Río Grande de Candelaria SW of San Ignacio de Acosta clearly does not represent M. aspera L., the only sp. heretofore reported from Costa Rica (or, for that matter, from Central America in general). Further investigation is required to establish whether this is a new sp. or merely a country record. MALVACEAE. Credit veteran parataxonomist Calixto Moraga with the first Costa Rican collection of Pavonia malacophylla (Link & Otto) Garcke, a widespread sp. previously known from both Nicaragua and Panama. Calixto encountered it at 500 m elevation on the north side of Volcán Orosí, Cordillera de Guanacaste. MYRSINACEAE. INBio botanist Francisco Morales 's recent work on this family has yielded a pair of country records. Ardisia geniculata Lundell, originally described from the Panamanian portion of the Burica Peninsula, can now be reported north to the Puriscal region on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica. Ardisia tysonii Lundell, another ostensible Panamanian endemic, has been collected by co-PI Mike Grayum at 1300--1400 m elevation near Parque Nacional Tapantí. PROTEACEAE. William Burger 's (1983) Flora costaricensis account of Proteaceae treated just one Costa Rican sp. of Panopsis; we have known for some time of a second, as-yet-unidentified sp. from the Osa region. Now yet a third Costa Rican Panopsis sp. rears its head, in the form of a Gerardo Herrera collection, distinctive in its ferrugineous-velutinous foliage, from near Moravia de Chirripó, Prov. Cartago. The specific identity of this material also remains uncertain. We are indebted to CR botanist Alfredo Cascante for bringing this intriguing collection to our notice. SAPINDACEAE. Recent attention to this family by INBio wunderkind Francisco Morales has revealed three new records, as follows: Paullinia tenuifolia Standl. ex J. F. Macbr., not previously reported from outside South America, has been collected at 200--400 m elevation on the Osa Peninsula by former parataxonomist Abelardo Chacón ; Serjania lobulata Standl. & Steyerm., ostensibly a Guatemalan endemic, has surfaced in Costa Rica in the form of a Roberto Espinoza collection from the Santa Elena Peninsula (0--10 m elevation), Prov. Guanacaste; Panama also loses a supposed endemic, Serjania pluvialiflorens Croat, corralled by parataxonomist Calixto Moraga at 400--700 m elevation near Volcán Arenal. SCROPHULARIACEAE. An unusual floating aquatic collected by co-PI Barry Hammel in the Tortuguero region becomes the first Costa Rican record of the genus Micranthemum. Barry's collection matches Nicaraguan and Panamanian material at MO identified as M. pilosum Ernst. TILIACEAE. INBio botanist Alexander ('Popeye ') Rodríguez reports that a troublesome collection from Chomes de Puntarenas, on the Golfo de Nicoya, represents Corchorus olitorius L. As far as we can determine, this is the first Costa Rican collection and only the second Central American record of this Asian sp., one of the commercial sources of jute. GERMANE LITERATURE Aymard C., G. A. 1997. Dilleniaceae novae neotropicae, V. El gnero Doliocarpus en Colombia. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 55: 17--30. A key to all five genera of Dilleniaceae occurring naturally in Colombia, and another to all 16 Colombian Doliocarpus spp., include all the Costa Rican members of these taxa. Descriptions are provided for the genus Doliocarpus and all of its Colombian spp., including two new spp., D. foreroi Aymard and D. lopez-palacii Aymard. A Costa Rican collection provisionally attributed to the former was reported in our July, 1996 issue. Illustrations are provided for both new spp. Barkley, T. M., B. L. Clark & A. M. Funston. 1996. The segregate genera of Senecio sensu lato and Cacalia sensu lato (Asteraceae: Senecioneae) in Mexico and Central America. In : D. J. N. Hind & H. J. Beentje (editors), Compositae: systematics. Proceedings of the International Compositae Conference, Kew, 1994 1: 613--620. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. In which the first author, who long clung to the broad generic concepts indicated above, finally caves in to the tyranny of the majority. The reasons for this capitulation are not convincingly articulated (A catalogue of the data relevant to generic delimitation is beyond the scope of this paper), and some misgivings are expressed (We hope that the generic concepts used here will not prove to be mere ephemera). Keys are provided for the 19 genera (and 6 subgroups of Senecio s. str.) represented in Mexico and Central America, together with brief notes relevant to each taxon. Nine genera are at least to be expected in Costa Rica. For more on Senecio , see the Kadereit & Jeffrey and Turner entries in this section. Borchsenius, F. & R. Bernal. 1996. Aiphanes (Palmae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 70: 1--95. The 22 spp. of this genus of spiny, mainly understory palms are widespread in the West Indies and South America, but with a concentration in western Colombia. According to the authors, Aiphanes is not represented in Central America beyond Panama; they did not see Costa Rican material, tentatively assigned to A. hirsuta Burret, collected from Cerro Anguciana in the Pacific Fila Costea in 1993 [see The Cutting Edge I (1) January, 1994]. One new sp. and one new subsp. are published here. Line-drawings, black-and-white habit photos, SEM pollen micrographs, distribution maps, dichotomous and multi-access species keys, indices to exsiccatae and scientific names. The introduction features a detailed, original analysis of pollen morpology. Cardiel, J. M. 1996. Tipificacin de las especies de Acalypha L. (Euphorbiaceae ) descritas por Jacquin. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 54: 230--233. The seven Jacquin names here lectotypified include five in current use for spp. occurring in Costa Rica: Acalypha alopecuroides, A. diversifolia, A. macrostachya, A. polystachya , and A. villosa. Chase, M. W., P. J. Rudall & J. G. Conran. 1996. New circumscriptions and a new family of asparagoid lilies: genera formerly included in Anthericaceae. Kew Bull. 51: 667--680. Analysis of both molecular (rbc L) and morphological (mainly ovular) data leads to the suggested restructuring of several monocot families. Anthericaceae is reduced, but still includes Echeandia and Chlorophytum (the latter cultivated in Costa Rica); the authors seem ignorant of Hagenbachia , nowhere mentioned here. An enlarged Lomandraceae now comprises 15 south temperate (mainly Australasian) genera, including the familiar Cordyline (formerly in Agavaceae or Asteliaceae). Phormiaceae is construed broadly, e.g. , to include Hemerocallis (most recently segregated in its own family). Dietrich, W., W. L. Wagner & P. H. Raven. 1997. Systematics of Oenothera section Oenothera subsection Oenothera (Onagraceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 50: 12--34. This genetically and cytogenetically intensively studied taxon comprises 13 spp. and 5 subspp., ranging naturally from southern Canada to Panama. No taxonomic novelties are here validated. The only taxon attributed to Costa Rica is Oenothera elata Kunth subsp. elata , known principally from the Meseta Central and (judging from the specimen citations) perhaps only in cultivation. Includes a key to the subsections and series of Oenothera sect. Oenothera, a key to spp. of subsect. Oenothera, comprehensive synonymies, excellent illustrations, range maps (documenting adventive as well as indigenous occurrences), detailed accounts of hybrids and invalidly published names, specimen citations (as an appendix), and an index to exsiccatae. The introductory part features a summary of experimental work and a lengthy discussion of breeding systems and pollination biology. Downie, S. R., D. S. Katz-Downie & K.-J. Cho. 1997. Relationships in the Caryophyllales as suggested by phylogenetic analyses of partial chloroplast DNA ORF2280 homolog sequences. Amer. J. Bot. 84: 253--273. The results of this study (which involved rather few genera) suggest that Amaranthaceae are polyphyletic, with Amaranthus nested within Chenopodiaceae; the other amaranth genera (represented in this study by Celosia and Froelichia) are a sister-group to this paraphyletic Chenopodiaceae. Stegnosperma appears excluded from Phytolaccaceae, but its proper placement could not be resolved. Harling, G. 1995. The genus Jungia L. fil. (CompositaeMutisieae). Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Litt. Gothob., Bot. 4: 11--33. A thorough monographic treatment, in which four sections with a total of 26 spp. are accepted for this mainly South American genus. Two new spp., one new subsp., and two new combinations are here published. Status quo for Costa Rica (and Central America in general), with but a single sp., J. ferruginea L. f. Full exsiccatae citations, line drawings, and distribution maps for each sp. The introductory section features dicussions of morphology, phylogeny, phytogeography, and ecology. Henderson, A. & G. Galeano. 1996. Euterpe , Prestoea , and Neonicholsonia (Palmae: Euterpeinae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 72: 1--90. This work completes the modern revision of subtribe Euterpeinae; the remaining genera, Hyospathe and Oenocarpus /Jessenia, were already treated by Skov & Balslev (Nordic J. Bot. 9: 189--202; 1989) and Balick (Advances Econ. Bot. 3: 11--40; 1986), respectively. The present monograph recognizes 7 spp. and 4 vars. of Euterpe , 10 spp. and 8 vars. of Prestoea, and a single sp. of Neonicholsonia. No new insight is provided on the distinctness of the three genera, often debated, though a phylogenetic analysis by Henderson is Id as in prep. Several new combinations, all at the varietal level, are validated. Most of the new taxonomic concepts here presented were debuted in previous publications by Henderson and colleagues [see, e.g., The Cutting Edge 1(3) July, 1994; 3(1) January, 1996]. The only Euterpe occurring in Costa Rica is henceforth to be called E. precatoria Mart. var. longevaginata (Mart.) Andrew Hend. Five taxa of Prestoea are attributed to Costa Rica: P. acuminata (Willd.) H. E. Moore var. acuminata (including P. allenii H. E. Moore), P. decurrens (H. Wendl. ex Burret) H. E. Moore, P. ensiformis (Ruiz & Pav.) H. E. Moore (including P. sejuncta L. H. Bailey), P. longepetiolata (Oerst.) H. E. Moore var. longepetiolata, and P. longepetiolata var. roseospadix (L. H. Bailey) Andrew Hend. & Galeano, comb. et stat nov . [formerly P. roseospadix (L. H. Bailey) H. E. Moore]. Status quo for Neonicholsonia, with N. watsonii Dammer, the only sp., widespread in Costa Rica. Line-drawings, black-and-white habit photos, SEM pollen micrographs, distribution maps, key to all genera of Euterpeinae and sp. keys for the three genera treated, indices to exsiccatae, common names, and scientific names. The introduction features a detailed, original analyses of pollen morphology and leaf anatomy. Kadereit, J. W. & C. Jeffrey. 1996. A preliminary analysis of cp DNA variation in the tribe Senecioneae (Compositae). In : D. J. N. Hind & H. J. Beentje (editors), Compositae: systematics. Proceedings of the International Compositae Conference, Kew, 1994 1: 349--360. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. The results of this study suggest that Senecio, in the narrow sense as envisioned by most contemporary workers, is both poly- and paraphyletic. The authors conclude that the genus requires either re-extension, which in general is not regarded as desirable, or substantial restriction. Although the authors clearly favor the restriction option, they admit that the phylogenetic analysis of the Senecioneae based on molecular characters [may result] in groups which can not be easily defined by morphological characters. While classification must obviously be inferred from phylogenetic analysis, ranking decisions should be guided by more practical considerations, including nomenclatural stability and ease of identification. Technical genera may be more appropriately ranked as subgenera, sections, subsections, etc. Put us down for re-extension! Kappelle, M. 1996. Los bosques de roble ( Quercus) de la Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica . Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands/Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica. 319 pp. This handsome volume, the culmination of a decade of hard work in the Talamancas by our indefatigable Dutch colleague Maarten Kappelle,will long stand as the definitive study of Costa Rican oak forests. The eight chapters, covering such topics as geology and soils and structure, diversity, phytosociology, and conservation of oak forests, are replete with hard data presented artfully in a dazzling variety of graphic formats. A comprehensive bibliography is followed by three appendices, including a vouchered and nomenclaturally rigorous floristic checklist and an alphabetical, cross-referenced index of common names. Illustrated with 34 mostly color photographs, including one of the recent novelty Roldana scandens Poveda & Kappelle (Asteraceae). Space does not permit even a brief summary of the many kinds of data available in this invaluable reference source. Copies may be ordered from the Hugo de Vries Laboratory, c/o Secretary, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Fax: (31) 20-5257662; or, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, c/o Publication Department, Apartado Postal 22-3100, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica, Fax: (506) 244-2816. More information is available at: http://www.frw.uva.nl/acd/fgb/icg/COSTARIC/costa.htm (Outdated Link: 4/2001) and at: http://www.inbio.ac.cr/pubs/ipubs.html (Outdated Link: 4/2001). Knapp, S., V. Persson & S. Blackmore. 1997. A phylogenetic conspectus of the tribe Juanulloeae (Solanaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 84: 67--89. Cladistic analysis of conventional, morphological characters reduces from 9 to 6 the number of genera recognized in the tribe. A key to all recognized genera is provided, along with full generic descriptions, synonymy, and lists of component species with the geographic range of each. The authors stop short of formally subsuming Solandra in Juanulloeae, though it is included in the key and provided with a description, etc. We are able to glean a few new (to us!) data of floristic interest: Costa Rica is now left without a single sp. of Markea s. str., with the familiar M. neurantha Hemsl. now going by the cumbersome moniker Merinthopodium neuranthum (Hemsl.) Donn. Sm.; and the equally familiar sp. long known to us as Markea megalandra (Dunal) DArcy or (more recently) Schultesianthus megalandrus (Dunal) Hunz. is now, correctly, S. leucanthus (Donn. Sm.) Hunz. Liede, S. & U. Meve. 1997. Some clarifications, new species, and new combinations in American Cynanchinae (Asclepiadaceae). Novon 7: 38--45. The acceptance (contra Woodson) of Metastelma as distinct from Cynanchum , and the concomitant clarification of both generic concepts, results in 14 new combinations under the former genus name. Metastelma liesnerianum (L. O. Williams) Liede, based on Cynanchum liesnerianum L. O. Williams (type from near Caas, Prov. Guanacaste), is apparently the only one relevant to Costa Rican floristics. Luteyn, J. L. 1996. Redefinition of the neotropical genus Anthopterus (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae), including one new species. Brittonia 48: 606--610. Anthopterus is redefined to include several spp. formerly included in Themistoclesia ; the latter genus is maintained as distinct, and none of its Costa Rican spp. are affected. Anthopterus emerges as genus of 12 spp., newly classified in two subgenera. Anthopterus costaricensis Luteyn, here described as new, is known only from the incomplete type collection (Gómez & Herrera 23557), from 1200 m elevation on Fila Matama, Cordillera de Talamanca. It belongs to subgen. Anthopterus, along with A. revolutus (Wilbur & Luteyn) Luteyn (the only other Costa Rican sp.), and is compared with the Colombian A. pterotus (A. C. Sm.) Luteyn. Includes generic and subgeneric descriptions, a key to all 12 spp., and a table summarizing some critical information on the spp. No illustrations. ----- & J. F. Morales. 1996. Four new species of Cavendishia (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae) from Costa Rica. Brittonia 48: 514--519. Cavendishia osansis Luteyn & J. F. Morales and the vegetatively striking C. linearifolia Luteyn & J. F. Morales are most closely related to one another, and both hail from the Golfo Dulce region--the former from the Pennsula de Osa, the latter from about Golfito. The other two novelties come from the Cordillera de Talamanca: Cavendishia herrerae Luteyn & J. F. Morales (compared to C. ciliata Luteyn) and C. luteynii J. F. Morales (compared to C. talamancensis Luteyn). All four of these new sp. have been collected by redoubtable Costa Rican field botanist Gerardo Herrera , to whom C. herrerae is dedicated. Fine illustrations of C. osansis and C. linearifolia. The spp. described here and in the preceding paper, together with three new spp. of Cavendishia and five new records published by Luteyn in Brittonia 48: 241--249 (1996), push the Costa Rican Ericaceae total to 50 spp. in 18 genera. This represents a 14% increase in one year, for one of the showiest and most easily recognizable families of flowering plants, in a country often thought of as...botanically well-collected. Morales, J. F. 1997. A synopsis of the genus Prestonia (Apocynaceae) section Tomentosae in Mesoamerica. Novon 7: 59--66. Section Tomentosae, characterized by pubescent leaves and corollas, comprises eight spp. in the Mesoamerican region, of which just three are recorded from Costa Rica. A key to all eight spp. is provided, and each is treated in a format including complete synonymy, a generous description, and exsiccatae citations. Three new spp. are described, of which two occur in Costa Rica (both endemically): Prestonia hammelii J. F. Morales, from ca. 250--600 m elevation in the Fila Costea and the Osa Peninsula; and P. riverae J. F. Morales, at ca. 100--900 m elevation from the Cordillera de Guanacaste to the Atlantic slope of the Cordillera Central. Several other names are here newly synonymized, including the Costa Rican Prestonia isthmica Woodson (under P. mexicana A. DC.). Superb illustration (by Silvia Troyo) of Prestonia riverae. Murrell, Z. E. 1997 [1996]. A new section of Cornus in South and Central America. Syst. Bot. 21: 273--288. Cornus subg. Kraniopsis sect. Umbellicrania Murrell is erected to accommodate the widespread and variable, generally alternate-leaved C. peruviana J. F. Macbr. (Cornaceae). Here referred to the last-mentioned sp. are Costa Rican populations first discovered in 1976 by Manual collaborator Robert L. Wilbur (DUKE) on Cerro de la Muerte and Volcn Turrialba. Nilsson Laurito, V. & G. Umaña Dodero. 1997 [1995]. Colección tipo del Herbario Nacional de Costa Rica (C.R.). I. Liliatae. Brenesia 43--44: 7189. An enumeration of the 295 Liliatae (= monocots) among the total of ca. 1300 specimens comprising the CR type collection, organized alphabetically by family, with a bibliographic reference to each protologue. The above totals, however, include a fair percentage of paratypes, topotypes, types of unpublished names, excluded syntypes, superseded neotypes, etc. Still, this is a useful compilation and an important first step. We can only hope that it will ultimately be made available in searchable form on the World Wide Web, where it can be continuously upgraded and updated. Rivas, M. E. 1997 [1995]. Lista actualizada de cactos (Cactaceae) de Costa Rica. Brenesia 43-44: 34--37. Accounts for 42 indigenous Costa Rican Cactaceae spp., 36 (85%) of which are epiphytic. Tables indicate tribal affiliations, habitat and general distribution, and synonymy. Unfortunately, the checklist itself is unvouchered, and also lacks itemized literature references. Turner, B. L. 1996. New species and combinations in Pseudogynoxys (Senecioneae). Phytologia 80: 253--256. Pseudogynoxys alajuelana B. L. Turner (Asteraceae) is based on a single collection (Rivera 1235), from 600 m elevation on the Atlantic slope of Volcn Rincn de la Vieja. The new sp. is compared with P. boquetensis (Standl.) B. L. Turner, of the oligotypic segregate Talamancalia sensu Robinson and Cuatrecasas (Novon 4: 48--52. 1994), to which P. alajuelana would presumably also be assigned by the last-mentioned authors. The subsumption of Talamancalia under Pseudogynoxys is here pursued with the validation of the combination P. westonii (H. Rob. & Cuatrec.) B. L. Turner. A peculiar sp. most recently included in Senecio s. str. (e.g. , by Barkley et al. , featured above) is transferred to Pseudogynoxys as P. durandii (Klatt) B. L. Turner. Vanni, R. 1996. Zornia confusa , a new species of Zornia section Anisophylla (Leguminosae). Brittonia 48: 495--497. A new sp., Zornia confusa Vanni (Fabaceae/Papilionoideae), is discriminated from widely scattered material previously identified as Z. reticulata Sm. and Z. thymifolia Kunth. It more resembles the latter sp., in having bracts shorter than the fruits, but can be distinguished by its concolorous (not basally whitened), more prominently auriculate bracts, and pubescent fruits. Zornia confusa ranges from Mexico (Tamaulipas) to Panama, and disjunctly to Venezuela and eastern Brazil; the only Costa Rican specimen Id is Skutch 2942 (NY), from the Valle de El General, Prov. San Jos. Includes an excellent illustration, plus a key to the South American Zornia spp. with fruits longer than the bracts. Wallnfer, B. 1996. New or noteworthy species of Aegiphila, Styrax and Zamia from Peru. Linzer Biol. Beitr. 28: 1053--1060. The new combination Aegiphila ulei (Hayek) B. Walln. (based on Clerodendrum ulei Hayek) is of passing interest to us, since this is the oldest name in a complex of dubiously distinct spp. that includes A. costaricensis Moldenke. The possibility that this complex might comprise but a single sp. was first suggested by D. L. Nash and M. Nee in Flora de Veracruz Fasc. 41: 6 (1984). Wilmot-Dear, C. M. & I. Friis. 1996. The New World species of Boehmeria and Pouzolzia (Urticaceae, tribus Boehmerieae). A taxonomic revision. Opera Bot. 129: 1--103. Each genus is represented in the New World by 14 spp. Novelties here validated include two new spp., four new subspp., and four new combinations; in addition, 10 names are reduced to synonymy for the first time. From a Costa Rican perspective, the changes from William Burger s (1977) Flora costaricensis treatment of Urticaceae (Fieldiana, Bot. 40: 218--283) are surprisingly few. The last-mentioned work accepted 8 Costa Rican spp. of Boehmeria [including the cultivated B. nivea (L.) Hook. f. & Arn.] and 4 of Poulzolzia [including P. occidentalis (Liebm.) Wedd., on the basis of a single collection from along the Ro San Juan]. These totals remain unchanged, as do the names involved, with the following exceptions: Boehmeria coriacea Killip becomes B. bullata Kunth subsp. coriacea (Killip) Friis & Wilmot-Dear; Poulzolzia phenacoides Killip is placed in synonymy of the African P. parasitica (Forssk.) Schweinf.; and our material of P. guatemalana (Blume) Wedd. and P. occidentalis is consigned to the respective autonymic varieties, with the recognition of other varieties from extralimital regions. We also learn that both Boehmeria pavonii Wedd. and B. celtidifolia Kunth occur in westernmost Panama (Chiriqu Province), and thus might be expected in Costa Rica. Frustratingly, the status of the mysterious taxon treated by Burger (p. 282) as A Species of Uncertain Position is not further resolved here (An unidentifiable taxon resembling Boehmeria, p. 60). The authors did not see any of the collections of this taxon that have accrued since Burgers treatment (and we could easily have supplied them with as much additional material as they needed, had we known this revision was underway; anyone else interested?). Features a brief introductory section, non-indented key to species, inadequate citations (no locality data beyond state or province) of Selected collections, range maps and useful illustrations for most spp., and an index to scientific names (but no index to exsiccatae). Zimmer, B. & J. Prado. 1997. (1281) Proposal to reject the name Adiantum dissimile (Polypodiaceae, Adiantoideae). Taxon 46: 123--124. The recognition and examination of a type of the obscure Adiantum dissimile Schrad. (1824) reveal that it is conspecific with the well-known A. deflectens Mart. (1834). In the interest of nomenclatural stability, rejection of the former name is proposed. [As an aside, we are encouraged to see that somebody is still using Polypodiaceae in the old-fashioned, latissimo sense!].