Two New Species in Cuphea (Lythraceae), and a Note on Alzateaceae Shirley A. GrahamDepartment of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242 U.S.A.ABSTRACT. Cuphea (sect. Melvilla) alaniana fromcentral Mexico and C. (sect. Diploptychia) armatafrom Central America are described and illustrated.The monotypic family Alzateaceae, long knownfrom Peru and Bolivia, and more recently discov-ered in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, is herereported from Ecuador for the first time. Of the twoEcuadorian collections, one belongs to the north-ern, broad-leaved Alzatea verticillata subsp. ampli-folia; the other is most similar to the southern sub-species verticillata. Apical leaf glands are a newlyrecognized feature of the genus. They are inter-preted as extra-floral nectaries. In revisionary studies of Cuphea, two new North American species were discovered among collections on loan from a number of North American herbaria. Cuphea alaniana is a large-flowered perennial of section Melvilla, subsection Polyspermum (Koehne, 1903). It is one of four species of the subsection, which is endemic to the western and southern moun-tains of Mexico. Cuphea armata, discovered in neighboring areas of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras is a new species of section Diploptychia. Cuphea alaniana S. A. Graham, sp. nov. TYPE: Mexico. Guerrero: Distrito Adama, Temisco, Barranca del Consuelo, 500 m, 15 Nov. 1937, Mexia 8810a (holotype, UC; isotype, GH). Fig-ure la-d. Suffnrutices vel frutices, probabiliter ad 1.5 m. caulis simplex, erectus, viscosissimus. Petioli 5-10 mm longi, ad summum caulis sessiles; folia 25-100 mm longa, 5-35 mm lata. anguste lanceolata vel linearia. Flores 25-32 mm longi. rubro-purpurei, glanduloso-hispidi; lobus dorsalis calycis ceteris paullo major; appendices prominentes, se-tosae. Petala 6, roseo-purpurea, inaequalia, 2 dorsalia 7-9 mm longa, manifeste unguiculata, 4 ventralia 1.0-2.5 mm longa. Ovula 40-50. Discus 2-3 mm longus, 2.5 mm latus, 2 mm crassus, basi ovarii late affixus. Suffrutescent or shrubby perennials, probably0.5-1.5 m tall, stems simple, erect, from a fibrous-rooted base, branched distally in the inflorescence;stems and pedicels highly viscous, the vestituredensely, minutely glandular-puberulous and glan-dular-hispid, the hairs thin, erect, colorless or red-dish purple, bulbous-based, minute (< 0.25 mm)or 0.5-1 mm long; internodes up to half as long asthe subtending leaves. Leaves with petioles 5-10mm long, becoming subsessile or sessile distally inthe inflorescence; blades 25-100 mm long, 5-35mm wide, membranous, crowded on the upperstern, narrowly lanceolate-linear, base acute, apexacute; blade surface minutely scabrous, or scabrouswith sparse to abundant white, weak, slightly ap-pressed hairs to 1 mm long, the margins of youngleaves densely ciliate, the hairs erect, glandular-viscous, to 1 mm long; upper leaves very graduallydiminishing in size to become the lanceolate-linearbracts of the inflorescence. Inflorescences denselyflowered, terminal, leafy racemes; flowers solitaryat the nodes, interaxillary; pedicels 4-6 mm long;bracteoles 1.5 mm long, lanceolate-linear or re-duced to a few fleshy hairs, positioned 1.0-1.5 mmbelow the apex of the pedicel. Floral tubes 25-32mm long, including a rounded, horizontal base ex-tending 1 mm beyond the pedicel, 4-5 mm wide inlateral view at anthesis, dorsally slightly convex,the neck slightly or not at all narrowed, the mouthflaring, oblique in lateral view, the ventral side ex-tended 1 mm or less beyond the dorsal side, thefloral tube more distinctly convex and distended infruit, the neck contracted; outer surface reddishpurple, straw-colored ventrally at the mouth, glan-dular-puberulous and glandular-hispid with abun-dant, erect, thin, colorless or reddish purple hairsto 1 mm long; inner surface pale, neither bialatenor vesiculate, glabrous or lightly villous above thestamens, glabrous below; calyx lobes subequal, thedorsal lobe deltoid, 2 x 3 mm, the others 1 X 2mm, margins not ciliated; appendages at the sinus-es of the lobes prominent, 1 mm long, equaling thecalyx lobes, thick, green or reddish purple, theapex bulbous, crowned by 5-8 setae 1-2 mm long.Petals 6, rose-purple, the 2 dorsal 7-9 mm longincluding a slender claw 1-2 mm long, narrowlyobovate, the 4 ventral 1.0-2.5 mm long, linear-spa-thulate, caducous. Stamens 11, all inserted at %/6 thelength of the floral tube, the 2 dorsalmost shortest,included, the 5 antesepalous exserted, the 4 ante-petalous included to subexserted; filaments gla-NovoN 5: 272-277. 1995.
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