Main | Family List (MO) | Family List (INBio) | Cutting Edge Draft Treatments | Guidelines | Checklist | Citing | Editors The Cutting Edge Volume III, Number 4, October 1996 News and Notes | Recent Treatments | Leaps and Bounds | Germane Literature CRYIN' TIME AGAIN. Manual DICOT CONTRIBUTORS will recall that our DEADLINE for dicot family treatments is 1 JANUARY, 1997. This is just three months away! By 1 January, we must either have a draft of your manuscript in hand, or have heard from you as to progress and intentions. If we do not, we will assume that we must provide for your treatment otherwise. GOINGS-ON IN COSTA RICA. PI Grayum's otherwise uneventful six-week stint in Costa Rica this Summer featured a week at the La Selva Biological Station with the second (and final?) OTS Plant Systematics course. Course co-coordinators were Lynn Bohs (UT, Solanaceae) and ecologist Peggy Stern (Harvard). MO Lauraceae pundit Henk van der Werff arrived toward the end of our stay, and remained with the course at Monteverde. He also determined great piles of specimens at INB. Manual contributor Robert L. Wilbur (DUKE; Campanulaceae, Ericaceae pro parte) collected for several weeks at La Selva, in his capacity as coordinator of the La Selva flora project, and later did time at INB identifying material in several families. MO Araceae giant Thomas B. Croat was in Costa Rica from 29 August to 20 September, for part of that time in the company of his long-time sidekick Dylan Hannon. Tom concentrated on collecting material of Dieffenbachia for his forthcoming revision of that most vexatious of aroid genera. Biologists Luis Sánchez and Javier García, students of Manual Orchidaceae contributor Eric Hágsater (AMO), were in Costa Rica from 21 September to 5 October, visiting herbaria and collecting Epidendrum and Oerstedella. They were accompanied, on several excursions, by INBio herbarium manager Eduardo Lépiz. They apparently had a successful trip, visiting, among other areas, Tapantí and some of the higher parts of the Pacífico Sur region (Fila Costeña and the Cordillera de Talamanca). On their last day, they were able to join in on the INBio's seventh anniversary celebration, which featured the inauguration of a new administration building. CHEPE IN WONDERLAND. INBio botanist José González seized upon the golden opportunity to collect for the last two weeks of August on Cocos Island. Though he returned lugging several large sacks of pickled material, he reported that collecting was poor, as rather few spp. were in flower. YET ANOTHER COLLECTING HOT-SPOT. Or more like a hell-hole. In past issues, we have indicated that the mountains south of San José remain poorly known botanically, and have recently yielded numerous intriguing records (this despite the fact that the native vegetation in this area has long been much degraded). Vol. III, No. 2 reported the discovery of the South American genus Tachia (Gentianaceae) from this region. The site of that discovery is a small patch of forest adjacent to (and presumably, protected by) the municipal dump of San Marcos de Tarrazú. According to Costa Rican botanists Joaquín Sánchez (CR) and Gerardo Herrera, who (re)discovered this locale, the unavoidable transit of the dump tailings is nothing short of gut-wrenching, and nearly caused them to abandon their goal. Their efforts were richly rewarded, however; in addition to the Tachia, their still only partially studied collections have yielded two new spp. of Chamaedorea (Arecaceae), plus one new sp. each of Philodendron and Syngonium (Araceae). They also found Anthurium tonduzii Engl. (Araceae), a rare sp. collected several times in Panama, but long known from Costa Rica only by the type collection: Tonduz 7683, from "near San Marcos, in forest near Alto de Pito, 1,400 m"-i.e., precisely the present site of the town dump. So old Adolfo Tonduz passed this same way more than 100 years ago, and nothing is new under the sun. NET NOTICIAS. The Manual's World Wide Web checklist was updated in August. Get in step at: http://www.inbio.ac.cr/manual.plantas/lista.html (Outdated link: 4/2001) or: http://cissus.mobot.org/manual.plantas/lista.html (Outdated link: 4/2001) Most families of flowering plants now have images. Although most are color images, those for some of the aquatics and small monocots (see for example Lemnaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Triuridaceae) are taken directly from line-drawings by Manual illustrator Silvia Troyo. Check out, e.g., Sapindaceae, Symplocaceae, or Ulmaceae for examples of quick and clean images made from live material directly on a flatbed scanner. VISITORS TO MO. Manual luminaries sighted in St. Louis this past quarter include Frank Almeda (CAS, Melastomataceae), Fred Barrie (MO/F, Valerianaceae), Bob Dressler (FLAS/MO, Orchidaceae), and Damon Smith (Wisconsin/Whitewater, Elaeocarpaceae). Most were on hand for the annual October symposium at MO. Manual co-PI Nelson Zamora also attended, following two weeks of herbarium duty at US and MO. WELCOME ON BOARD. Luis González (AKA "Pollo"), associate curator at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma in Heredia, has signed on to author Manual treatments of several smallish families, including: Cochlospermaceae/Bixaceae, Balsaminaceae, Coriariaceae, Alzateaceae, Viscaceae, Loranthaceae, and Cistaceae. OBITUARY. We were all shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic and untimely death of our long-time colleague Daniel Hernández, who drowned in a flash-flood in the Pérez Zeledón region on 29 September. Though primarily an ornithologist, Daniel accompanied many of us in the field, and collected plant vouchers (mainly from Palo Verde) under his own number series. Daniel was a first-class individual, who will be missed by all who knew him. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Felicia, and their families. Flash-floods, an everpresent if little-known field risk in Costa Rica, have caused more deaths than snake-bites during our tenure (though not nearly so many as riptides). They may descend even small creeks at a breakneck pace and appear virtually without warning, leaving little chance for escape; this may happen even under dry conditions, if heavy rains are falling somewhere upstream. RECENT TREATMENTS MENISPERMACEAE. Quírico Jiménez (INB). This treatment recognizes 16 Costa Rican spp. in 7 genera. Best represented are Cissampelos (5 spp.) and Hyperbaena (4 spp.). Three spp. may presently be regarded as Costa Rican endemics: Disciphania spadicea Barneby, of the Guanacaste lowlands; Hyperbaena eladioana Q. Jiménez, of the Pacific Fila Costeña; and H. smilacina Standl., of the Cordilleras de Guanacaste and Tilarán. LEAPS AND BOUNDS ARACEAE. Tom Croat, Barry Hammel, and Dylan Hannon made a four-day tour southward, collecting at Fila Tinamastes, Chacarita, Los Mogos, Rincón de Osa, Agua Buena, and finally near Fila Gamba in the hills behind the Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, an Austrian-run eco-resort at the very e dge of Parque Nacional Corcovado (Sector Esquinas). Austrian organizations were instrumental in stimulating interest and funds to acquire this addition to the parks system. This area has been the source of numerous recent "Leaps and Bounds," and did not disappoint on this otherwise somewhat uneventful trip. Indulging in his well-known penchant for straying off the trails, Barry came (dare we say fell?) face-to-face with the most pubescent of primary forest aroids. Tom, of course, provided the name - Homalomena picturata (Linden & André) Regel - but, having just last year discovered the same, otherwise South American, sp. in Panama, was perhaps less excited than the others. This becomes the fou rth Homalomena sp. known from Costa Rica. CUCURBITACEAE. An excellent fruiting collection made by Barry Hammel and Eduardo Lépiz from near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí appears to represent Cayaponia sessiliflora Wunderlin, a sp. known by just a few collections from Panama and coastal Ecuador. The species is unusual in the genus (at least to our knowledge) for its large fruits with uncinate hairs. DROSERACEAE. It isn't often that we have the opportunity to report a new family for the Costa Rican flora, but this would appear to be such an occasion. A collection (Gómez 25914, USJ) from 700-800 m elevation in the "Sabanas Esperanza" (apparently some where to the south of San Vito), made by Costa Rican botanist etc. Luis Diego Gómez, constitutes the first country record for the genus Drosera and the family Droseraceae. According to cuz Jorge Gómez-Laurito (USJ), to whom we owe this report, the specimen does NOT appear to represent Drosera panamensis M. D. Correa & A. S. Taylor. This is a family we have long dreamed of finding in Costa Rica. Maybe Pinguicula is still out there, as a consolation prize. ERICACEAE. Ace parataxonomist Reinaldo Aguilar and former stateside coordinator Heidi Schmidt collected Disterigma trimerum Wilbur & Luteyn, previously regarded as endemic to western Panama, from near Alto Lari, on the Atlantic slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca. The determination was made at INB by visiting DUKE specialist and Manual contributor Robert L. Wilbur. FABACEAE/CAESALPINIOIDEAE. This one is a herbarium leap, rather than a recent field discovery. PI Nelson Zamora has now confirmed that the familiar, lowland liana generally known in Costa Rica by the name Bauhinia guianensis Aubl. (synonym: B. manca) actually comprises two spp. This is something we have been suspicious of for many years. The spp. involved are B. guianensis and Bauhinia outimouta Aubl., the latter not previously reported from Central America. The range of B. outimouta can now be extended from SE Nicaragua to South America. FABACEAE/MIMOSOIDEAE. Another recent herbarium revelation by PI Zamora: the sp. commonly known in Costa Rica as Abarema macradenia (Pittier) Barneby & J. W. Grimes actually represents Abarema adenophora (Ducke) Barneby & J. W. Grimes, not previously reported from Central America. The latter spp. is now known from SE Nicaragua to Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. In Costa Rica, A. adenophora occurs in wet forests on both slopes. The real A. macradenia also is found in Costa Rica, where it is known by only a few, recent collections from the southern Pacific slope. Both species have very large, cup-shaped rachis glands. Material corresponding with the Mex ican Pithecellobium velutinum Britton & Rose, provisionally considered distinct from P. lanceolatum (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Benth., has been collected by José A. Sáenz from along the Carretera Interamericana at Sardinal de Puntarenas. Zygia stevensonii (Standl.) Killip ex Record, known principally from Belize, has been collected from the Los Mogos region, at the head of Golfo Dulce, by parataxonomist Reinaldo Aguilar. FABACEAE/PAPILIONOIDEAE. Apoplanesia paniculata C. Presl, a shrub with the calyx lobes accrescent in fruit as in Astronium graveolens Jacq. (Anacardiaceae) or Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav.) Oken (Boraginaceae), has been collected on the Península de Santa Elena, Prov. Guanacaste, by parataxonomist Carolina Cano. This sp. was previously known only from Mexico to Honduras and (disjunctly) northern Venezuela. LAURACEAE. Persea pseudofasciculata L. E. Kopp, heretofore known only from northern South America, has been collected on the Peninsula de Osa by the redoubtable Gerardo Herrera. The identification was made at INB by visiting MO specialist Henk van der Werff. PIPERACEAE. A peculiar, subscandent Piper collected at Palo Verde by parataxonomist Ulíses Chavarría answers the description of Piper retalhuleuense Trel. & Standl., previously known only from the Pacific lowlands of Guatemala. GERMANE LITERATURE Arriagada, J. E. 1995. Key to the species of Clibadium (Compositae, Heliantheae) with notes on synonymy and morphological variation. Revista Acad. Colomb. Ci. Exact. 19: 453-461. This contribution is extracted from a recent Ohio State University thesis, in which 29 spp. were accepted in this difficult, neotropical genus (compared with more than 80 published names). A key to all 29 spp. is provided, along with minimal distributional data and brief discussions of additional topics, as indicated in the title. Balslev, H. 1996. Juncaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 68: 1-168. This small, mainly temperate family is represented in the Neotropics by six genera and 55 spp., virtually restricted to highland regions. By far the largest genus in the area is Juncus, with 41 spp. The following nine taxa are represented in Costa Rica (none are endemic): Luzula denticulata Liebm., L. campestris A. DC. var. multiflora (Ehrh.) Celak. (first neotropical record), Juncus bufonius L., J. tenuis Willd. vars. tenuis and dichotomus (Elliott) A. W. Wood, J. effusus L., J. marginatus Rostk., J. microcephalus Kunth, and J. acuminatus Michx. Several other taxa might be expected to turn up, especially Juncus liebmannii J. F. Macbr. var. liebmannii, known from Cerro Fábrega in westernmost Panama. Line-drawings, range-maps, and index to exsiccatae. Introductory chapters include numerous Sb images of seeds, as well as extensive data on karyology and pollen morphology. Berg, C. C. & P. Franco Rosselli. 1996. New taxa and combinations in Moraceae and Cecropiaceae from Central and South America. Novon 6: 230-252. Of the 16 new spp. described in this article, two occur in Costa Rica: Ficus osensis C. C. Berg, known by two collections from the Golfo Dulce region; and Naucleopsis capirensis C. C. Berg, widespread in Costa Rica and ranging southward to Pacific Ecuador. The only known Costa Rican collection of Naucleopsis ulei (Warb.) Ducke is cited under the newly described subsp. puberula C. C. Berg, also ranging south to Pacific Ecuador. The new combination Maquira guianensis Aubl. subsp. costaricana (Standl.) C. C. Berg pertains to the taxon most recently known to us as M. costaricana (Standl.) C. C. Berg. As a consequence of infraspecific taxa here created from other regions, Costa Rican material of the following spp. is relegated to the autonymous var. (in the first instance) or subsp.: Ficus cotinifolia Kunth, Naucleopsis naga Pittier, Sorocea pubivena Hemsl., and Coussapoa villosa Poepp. & Endl. Sorocea cufodontisii W. C. Burger is included as a synonym of S. pubivena subsp. pubivena; Ficus intramarginalis (Liebm.) Miq., with lectotypification of its basionym, becomes a synonym of Coussapoa villosa.. Line-drawings. Bogler, D. J. & B. B. Simpson. 1996. Phylogeny of Agavaceae based on ITS rDNA sequence variation. Amer. J. Bot. 83: 1225-1235. The results of this work are consistent with previous studies (including cpDNA and rbcL analyses) in supporting a narrow interpretation of Agavaceae (e.g., restricted to Agave, Furcraea, and Yucca, to mention only those genera occurring in Costa Rica). Two clades are indicated within Agavaceae sensu lato: Agavaceae sensu stricto, on the one hand, and Convallariaceae plus Dracaenaceae and Nolinaceae, on the other. Dracaenaceae is affirmed as monophyletic, with its two genera (Dracaena and Sansevieria) very closely related. However, the "Convallariaceae...may be paraphyletic, with Dracaenaceae nested within it." Cordyline (Asteliaceae) is "clearly set apart" from both of the major clades. Daniel, T. F. 1995. New and reconsidered Mexican Acanthaceae. VI. Chiapas. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 48: 253-282. This one got by us, yet, despite the title, contains numerous conclusions relevant to the Costa Rican flora, as follows: 1. The neotropical Barleria micans Nees is conspecific with the West African B. oenotheroides Dum. Cours. (the older name). 2. Blechum pyramidatum (Lam.) Urb. is affirmed as the correct name for the weedy sp. often called B. brownei Juss. 3. Buceragenia is scuttled as "a genus that merely comprises species of Pseuderanthemum with cleistogamous flowers." The only Costa Rican representative, B. glandulosa Leonard, is apparently not even a good sp., but "appears to represent cleistogamous P. cuspidatum." Daniel cites a Chiapan specimen of P. cuspidatum (Nees) Radlk. with both cleisto- and chasmogamous flowers. 4. The sp. known to us as Teliostachya alopecuroidea (Vahl) Nees is discordant within Teliostachya, but concords with the genus Lepidagathis, and is thus best treated as Lepidagathis alopecuroidea (Vahl) R. Br. ex Griseb. 5. Habracanthus (sensu lato, i.e., including Hansteinia) is sunk into Stenostephanus; Daniel comments that further study is needed to establish whether certain other genera (including Kalbreyeriella and Razisea) might also have to be subsumed under Stenostephanus, the oldest name in this complex. New combinations are provided for the only two Costa Rican spp. that make it to Chiapas, Stenostephanus gracilis (Oerst.) T. F. Daniel and S. silvaticus (Nees) T. F. Daniel. Dressler, S. 1996. Two new species in Marcgravia (Marcgraviaceae) from Central and adjacent South America. Novon 6: 256-261. Marcgravia roonii S. Dressler sp. nov. occurs on the Atlantic slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca and in the Fila Costeña of Costa Rica, in western Panama, and disjunctly in Pacific Colombia and Ecuador. It is compared with the sp. heretofore known to us as Marcgravia membranacea Standl., a name here placed in synonymy under M. nervosa Triana & Planch. Fine composite line-drawing. Evans, R. J. 1995. Systematics of Cryosophila (Palmae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 46: 1-70. This neotropical genus of 10 spp. is largely Mesoamerican, with just two spp. reaching South America (Colombia). The genus reaches its peak of diversity in Costa Rica and Panama, which each have four spp. The Costa Rican contingent comprises Cryosophila cookii Bartlett, C. grayumii R. Evans, C. guagara P. H. Allen, and C. warscewiczii (H. Wendl.) Bartlett; the first two spp. are endemic, and C. guagara nearly so (barely entering Panama), while C. warscewiczii is the most widespread sp. in the genus. We can attest, from personal experience, that few taxonomic works have involved such extensive and intensive field-work as this one; on more than one occasion, we were held captive for up to a day and a half as our irregular office-mate worked to prepare a single specimen. Includes habit photos, pollen micrographs, composite line-drawings, distribution maps, a cladistic analysis of morphological characters, and an index to exsiccatae. Fay, M. F. & M. W. Chase. 1996. Resurrection of Themidaceae for the Brodiaea alliance, and recircumscription of Alliaceae, Amaryllidaceae and Agapanthoideae. Taxon 45: 441-451. Cladistic analyses of molecular data reveal that "Agapanthus [cultivated as an ornamental in Costa Rica] is misplaced in Alliaceae and, despite its superior ovary, should be considered a member of Amaryllidaceae, as subfamily Agapanthoideae." Gerlach, G. 1996 ['1994']. Kefersteinia retanae, una nueva orquídea de Costa Rica. Brenesia 41-42: 99-106. The proposed new sp. is alleged to occur at 600 m elevation in Cantón Pérez Zeledón, Prov. San José. Unfortunately, the name Kefersteinia retanae appears to be invalidly published here, since the indication of the holotype lacks any concrete reference to a specimen (collector's name and/or number, date of collection, etc.) as required by the Code (see Art. 37.3). The name Kefersteinia wercklei Schltr. is lectotypified on a Schlechter drawing, here reproduced. Grant, J. R. 1996 ['1995']. New combinations and new taxa in the Bromeliaceae. Phytologia 79: 254-256. The new combinations Werauhia dodsonii (L. B. Sm.) J. R. Grant, W. nutans (L. B. Sm.) J. R. Grant, and W. rugosa (Mez & WercklÇ) J. R. Grant are validated for three names typified by Costa Rican collections. All three names had previously been treated as synonyms by Grant, but recent INBio collections have clarified their identities. Grayum, M. H. 1996. Revision of Philodendron subgenus Pteromischum (Araceae) for Pacific and Caribbean tropical America. Syst. Bot. Monogr. 47: 1-233. The exclusively neotropical Philodendron, with perhaps 700 spp., is the second largest genus of Araceae (after Anthurium). Pteromischum, the second largest of the three Philodendron subgenera, is represented by 33 spp. in the study region, apportioned ± equally into two sections here established. Eleven spp. and five subspp. are here described as new, and two new combinations are validated. Panama and Costa Rica comprise the center of diversity for the region, with 18 and 16 spp., respectively (compared with just three and four spp., respectively, attributed to these countries by Standley in the most recent floristic treatments). No taxa are endemic to Costa Rica. A surprise is that Philodendron guttiferum Kunth, a name employed in virtually every regional flora, properly applies to a sp. restricted to the Amazon basin. Habit photos of most spp., distrubution maps, and index to exsiccatae. The introductory section features comparisons of the three subgenera, as well as original data on phenology and pollination biology. Two appendices provide cross-references to standard floristic treatments, plus bibliographic and typological information (including numerous new lectotypifications) for all names applicable to geographically extralimital taxa. _____ & B. E. Hammel. 1996 ['1995']. The genus Tetranema (Scrophulariaceae) in Costa Rica, with two new species. Phytologia 79: 269-280. Tetranema gamboanum Grayum & Hammel and T. floribundum Hammel & Grayum are both endemic to Costa Rica, the former known from 550-1000 m elevation on the Atlantic slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca and in the Fila Costeña, the latter from 1200-1600 m on Cerro Turrubares in the central Pacific region. Both spp. have conspicuous, tubular, scarlet corollas, and are compared with the Chiapan T. megaphyllum (Brandegee) L. O. Williams. These are the first records of the genus from south of Honduras. Features a key to the three aforementioned spp., a Costa Rican range-map, line-drawings of the two new spp. by Silvia Troyo, and an Sb photo of a seed of T. gamboanum. This paper was previewed (and is still extant) on the World Wide Web at http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/tetranema/welcome.shtml, and simultaneously at http://www.inbio.ac.cr/papers/Tetranema/tetpage.html; consult one of those sites for some very recent updates (including a new station for Tetranema floribundum). Ingram, S. W., K. Ferrell-Ingram & N. M. Nadkarni. 1996. Floristic composition of vascular epiphytes in a neotropical cloud forest, Monteverde, Costa Rica. Selbyana 17: 88-103. "The number of angiosperm families represented by epiphytes in the lower montane study site...exceeds the number for lowland sites in Costa Rica (La Selva) and Ecuador..." Orchidaceae (92 spp.) were most diverse, followed distantly by Bromeliaceae (22 spp.). Königer, W. 1994. Neue Arten der Gattungen Cyrtochilum, Masdevallia, Odontoglossum, Oncidium und Sigmatostalix/New species of the genera Cyrtochilum, Masdevallia, Odontoglossum, Oncidium and Sigmatostalix. Arcula 2: 29-57. Costa Rica is spared most of the attention here, as the majority of the novelties are South American. However, two new spp. are at least tentatively attributed to Costa Rica. In the worst-case scenario, Masdevallia epallax Königer is based on a specimen cultivated in Munich, originally collected from some unknown locale in "Costa Rica (?)"; the holotype and single isotype are both deposited in Germany, the latter in the author's private herbarium. The new sp. is not compared with any other spp. Masdevallia fonsecae Königer fares somewhat better: the type locality is known (900-1000 m elevation N of San Vito, Prov. Puntarenas), an isotype is designated for USJ, and a comparison (with M. attenuata Rchb. f.) is provided. Both new spp. are illustrated with mediocre shaded drawings. Fully bilingual (German/English). Krapovickas, A. 1996. La identidad de Wissadula amplissima (Malvaceae ). Bonplandia 9: 89-94. Sida amplissima L., the basionym of Wissadula amplissima (L.) R. E. Fr., is lectotypified. A key is provided to separate W. amplissima from related spp. Lavin, M. & M. Sousa S. 1995. Phylogenetic systematics and biogeography of the tribe Robinieae (Leguminosae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 45: 1-165. This work contains virtually nothing of interest from a Costa Rica perspective, with Lennea viridiflora Seem. and Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud. the only Costa Rican spp. represented among the mainly Mexican genera revised at the sp. level. The recognition of a new Mexican var. of the former sp. consigns our material to var. viridiflora. Liede, S. 1996. Sarcostemma (Asclepiadaceae)___a controversial generic circumscription reconsidered: morphological evidence. Syst. Bot. 21: 31-44. Cladistic analyses based on conventional (non-molecular) characters suggest that Sarcostemma sensu lato be subdivided into several "certainly monophyletic" genera. According to this system, all concerned Mesoamerican taxa are returned to the genus Funastrum (the appropriate names are apparently available for all Costa Rican spp.). The similar floral structures of Funastrum and the Old World Sarcostemma sensu stricto are interpreted as a result of parallel evolution. Luer, C. A. 1996. New species in the Pleurothallidinae (Orchidaceae) from Costa Rica. Lindleyana 11: 54-113. Thirty-seven new spp. are described, most based on Costa Rican types and most or all occurring in Costa Rica. The following genera are represented among these novelties: Dryadella (2 new spp.), Lepanthes ( 7 spp.), Pleurothallis (19 spp.), Stelis (5 spp.), and Trichosalpinx (4 spp.). All of the new spp. are known from just one or a few collections (and one from just a drawing); some of the types are specimens brought to flower in cultivation, and in at least one case (Trichosalpinx lankesteriana Luer) a Costa Rican provenance is unverified. Complete descriptions and composite line-drawings for all spp. No range maps. Maas, P. J. M. 1996. Studies in Annonaceae. XXX. Monograph of Duguetia: preliminary notes. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 118: 187-227. We had long been aware that the sp. identified as Duguetia panamensis Standl. in Paul Allen's (1956) Rain Forests of Golfo Dulce was something else again. Here it is finally provided with a name, Duguetia confusa Maas (the epithet of which alludes to this prior confusion). The new sp. occurs in the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica at ca. 100-450 m elevation, and also in Colombia and the Chocó. It is compared to the South American D. quitarensis Benth. Excellent line-drawing. Morales, J. F. 1996. Novelties in Prestonia (Apocynaceae). Novon 6: 285-287. New synonymies are proposed in the Prestonia portobellensis (Beurl.) Woodson complex, and the newly combined Prestonia longifolia (Sess & Mo.) J. F. Morales (based on Echites longifolia Sess & Mo.) becomes the accepted name for the taxon most recently known as P. concolor (S. F. Blake) Woodson. The differences between P. longifolia and P. portobellensis are summarized in a key. Morrone, O., A. S. Vega & F. O. Zuloaga. 1996. Revisin de las especies del género Paspalum L. (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae), grupo Dissecta (s. str.). Candollea 51: 103-138. Of the six neotropical spp. here treated, only Paspalum repens Berg. is reported from Costa Rica. No change from Flora costaricensis or Flora mesoamericana . Nordenstam, B. 1996. Jessea gunillae B. Nord. (Compositae___Senecioneae), a new species from Costa Rica. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 118: 147-152. The new sp. is known only from the type, collected at 2050 m elevation on Volcán Poás. A natural hybrid found in Costa Rica, Jessea megaphylla (Greenm.) H. Rob. & Cuatrec. X multivenia (Benth. ex Oerst.) H. Rob. & Cuatrec., is the first reported for the genus. Includes a key to all 4 spp. presently accepted in the Senecio segregate Jessea (Novon 4: 48-52. 1994). The author defends the distinctness of the latter genus from the Caribbean Jacmaia , to which some of these sp. had been previously referred. Fine line-drawing. Pruski, J. F. 1996. Pseudogynoxys lobata (Compositae: Senecioneae), a new species from Bolivia and Brazil. Syst. Bot. 21: 101-105. Includes a key to all 14 spp. of the Senecio segregate Pseudogynoxys accepted by the author. The author's arguments to strengthen the circumscription of Pseudogynoxys by excluding four spp. rather make (for us) a reasonably convincing case for dumping the whole mess back into Senecio. Taylor, C. M. 1996. More new species and a new combination in Rubiaceae from Costa Rica and Panama. Novon 6: 298-306. The only novelty relevant to the Costa Rican flora is Faramea permagnifolia Dwyer ex C. M. Taylor, endemic to the Pennsula de Osa. Illustrated with a composite line-drawing. Zhu, G. 1996. The generic affinity of Echidnium spruceanum Schott and its placement in Dracontium (Araceae). Novon 6: 308-309. The most widespread sp. of the neotropical genus Dracontium will henceforth be known as D. spruceanum (Schott) G. Zhu. The basionym, in the foundered genus Echidnium , served for many years under Cyrtosperma spruceanum (Schott) Engl. Dracontium spruceanum occurs throughout the western portion of the Amazonian basin, in the Chocó region of Colombia, and north through Panama; it barely enters Costa Rica in the easternmost corner (Sixaola region), where it has been known under the name Dracontium costaricense Engl., one of five binomials here relegated to synonymy. The sp. is here briefly characterized, but not illustrated.