A new species of Rourea (Connaraceae) from the Venezuelan Guayana GERARDO A. AYMARD AND PAUL E . BERRY Aymard, G. A. (UNELLEZ-Guanare, Programa de Recursos Naturales Renovables, Herbario Universitario (PORT), Mesa de Cavacas, Edo. Portuguesa 3303, Venezuela) and P. E. Berry (Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166, U.S.A.). A new species of Rourea (Connaraceae) from the Venezuelan Guayana. Brittonia 48: 580-581. 1996.---Rourea foreroi is described here from a previously unexplored montane area of the Venezuelan Guayana and belongs to Rourea section Rourea. It is distinguished by trichomes on the lower leaf surface that have a dark hemispheric base, a feature not known elsewhere in the genus. Key words: Rourea, Connaraceae, Venezuelan Guayana. c m long, 2.8-3.5 cm wide, rounded at the base, acuminate at the apex, the acumen 0.8-1 c m long and the tip itself emarginate, the upper surface glabrous except for the slightly pilose midrib, the lower surface strigose with scattered appressed trichomes arising f r o m a dark, glandular, bulbous base, the midrib more densely strigose; venation strongly reticulate on both sides, the midrib impressed above, prominent below; lateral veins 12-18 pairs, anastomosing R o u r e a f o r e r o i A y m a r d & P. E. Berry, sp. near the margin. Inflorescence r a c e m o s e or nov. (Fig. 1). paniculate, pseudoterminal, the rachis 6 - 7 cm long, densely ferruginous-tomentose; TYPE: V E N E Z U E L A . Amazonas: Alto bracts on the base of the rachis lanceolate, Rfo Ventuari, bosques en plateau, 1250 m, 2.5-3 m m long, densely ferruginous-tomen04~ 65~ Feb 1992, A l f r e d o tose. Pedicels articulate, 3 - 4 m m long Chaviel 422 (HOLOTYPE: PORT; ISOTYPE: above the articulation, densely ferruginousMO). tomentose, the bract below the articulation lanceolate, 0.5 m m long. Sepals ovate, 3 - 4 A Rourea sprucei G. Schellenberg foliolis ovatom m long, 2-2.7 m m wide, densely ferrulanceolatis coriaceis, subtus setulis e basi nigra bulbosa dilatata ortis dense provisis, costa supra pilosis, reticg i n o u s - t o m e n t o s e on b o t h s u r f a c e s , the ulatione supra elevata differt. apex acute, the margin ciliate; petals free, Vine; branchlets terete, conspicuously ovate, 2 - 3 m m long, 1 m m wide, sparsely lenticellate, d e n s e l y t o m e n t o s e w h e n pilose on both surfaces; stamens 10, conyoung, puberulous or glabrescent when ma- nate at base, the shorter five 0.3-0.4 m m ture. Leaves imparipinnate, the leaflets 2- or long, the longer five 0.5-0.7 m m long, the 3-jugate; petiole 3.5-6.5 c m long, tomen- staminal tube 0.3 m m long, the filaments tose; rachis 4 - 6 . 8 cm long, tomentose; pet- glabrous, the anthers globose; o v a r y hispiiolule 2 - 4 m m long, appressed-ferruginous; dulous, with ferruginous hairs 0.7 m m long. Fruit not seen. leaflets coriaceous, ovate-elliptic, 3.5-7.5 While editing the Connaraceae treatment for the Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana, we found an undetermined specimen that came f r o m a previously unexplored mountain in the basin of the upper Ventuari River in A m a z o n a s state. This collection, upon which the following new species is based, was m a d e during a brief helicopter visit by a government-sponsored mining prospect team. Brittonia, 48(4), 1996, pp. 580-581. 9 1996, by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY '10458-5126 ISSUED: 23 Jan 1997 1996] AYMARD & BERRY: CONNARACEAE 581 \ g. :i:~ ,, ' 5cm 5 FIG. 1. Roureaforeroi. Flowering branch with a detail of the lower leaf pubescence and an enlargement of a single glandular-based trichome and a detail of the calyx (from Chaviel 422, MO). Because of its short staminal tube and eglandular calyx and pedicels, Rourea foreroi belongs to Rourea sect. Rourea (Forero, 1976, 1983). It is most similar to R. sprucei Schellenberg but differs in its coriaceous, ovate-elliptic leaflets that have a dark-punctate lower surface, a pilose midrib, and a raised reticulation on the upper surface. Rourea foreroi is related to R. krukovii, but in that species the leaflet has a markedly revolute leaflet margin and a subglaucous and papillose lower surface. R o u r e a f o r e r o i is k n o w n only from sandstone outcrops in the basin of the upper Ventuari River in Amazonas state, Venezuela, where it occurs in mesothermic, humid, montane forests of medium height (18-25 m tall) at 1250 m altitude. It is named in honor of Dr. Enrique Forero, for his significant contributions to the taxonomy of Connaraceae. Acknowledgments We thank Henk van der Werff for correcting the Latin diagnosis, Bruno Manara for making the illustration, and Jacquelyn Kallunki, Rupert Barneby, and Wm. Wayt Thomas for their helpful comments on an earlier draft o f the manuscript. Research was supported by National Science Foundation grant No. B S R - 9 2 0 1 0 4 4 , which is gratefully acknowledged. Literature Cited Forero, E. 1976. A revision of the American species of Rourea subgenus Rourea (Connaraceae). Mere. New York Bot. Gard. 26: 1-119. --. 1983. Connaraceae. F1. Neotrop. Monogr. 36: 1-205.