A new American species of schismatoglottis (araceae)

Abstract

Schismatoglottis has been known previously in the Western Hemisphere from two species of sect. Philonotion that occur in northeastern South America. A third species, S. bolivarana, is described and illustrated, from materials collected in the Guayana Highland of Venezuela; it is most closely related to S. americana of Surinam. The possible existence of infraspecific taxa of S. bolivarana is suggested by the differences of ecology and slight morphological variance of the plants at the two widely separated localities where it has been collected. A key to the known American species is presented.