Lobelia guatemalensis (B. L. Rob. ex Donn. Sm.) Wilbur

Pratia guatemalensis (Donn. Smith) F. E. Wimmer, Repert. Sp. Nov. 29: 50. 1931.
Cenlropogon guatemalensis B. L. Robinson; Donn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 20: 4. 1895.
Plants terrestrial, herbaceous, entirely glabrous except for a slight puberulence in the axils of the flower-bracts; stems mostly simple, erect, up to 5 mm. in diameter and at least 40 cm. high; leaves cauline, ascending, stiff-papery when dry, abruptly differentiated from the flowerbracts, the blades ovate or broadly elliptic, 4-9 cm. wide by 10-20 cm. long, usually 2-2.5 times as long as wide, on a stout, narrowly margined petiole 2-6 cm. long, the base of the blade acute, attenuate, the apex abruptly short-acuminate, the margins crenate with 3-4 low teeth per cm.; inflorescence 10-17 cm. long, densely 10-25-flowered; pedicels spreading, stiff, up to 1 .5 mm. in diameter, 35-40 mm. long in fruit, sometimes purplish, each with 2 filiform bracteoles 1-2 mm. long, at or very near the base; flower-bracts linear or oblong (or the lowermost slightly broader, foliaceous), toothed, acute, 1-3 mm. wide, 10-15 mm. long; flower 5-7 cm. long, including hypanthium; corolla purplish-red when dry, glabrous without, puberulent within and at the base of the lower lip with colorless inflated hairs, the tube 23-30 mm. long, broadest at base, narrowed slightly to the apex, slightly falcate, the dorsal sinus deeper than the lateral ones, extending to a point about 2 cm. from the base or less, the two upper lobes subulate, erect, long-attenuate, 4—6 mm. wide at base, 20-27 mm. long, the three lower lobes united into a distinct lower lip, the lobes linear or narrowly elliptic, acute, 1-2.5 mm. wide, 8-18 mm. long; filament-tube 35-41 ram. long, the filaments densely clothed their whole length with inflated hairs like those of the corolla, distinct at base, entirely free from the corolla; anther-tube 7.5-8.5 rara. long, dark bluish-gray when dry, the two shorter anthers densely white-tufted at tips, the anthers otherwise glabrous, or sparsely tufted at base and near apex and occasionally with stifl hairs on the backs; hypanthiura in anthesis short-campanulate, often purplish, in fruit enlarging slightly, about as wide as high, about 6 mm. in diaracter, forraing a rim about 2 mm. wide above the attachment of the ovary; mature fruit not seen; calyx-lobes deltoid or narrower, blunt or subacute, obscurely denticulate, 4-5 mm. broad at base, 5-7 mm. long; seeds not seen.
Type locality: "Pansamald forest, Depart. Alta Verapaz, Guat.," ran Turckheim (pi. guat. J. D. Sm. 728) (US!).
Distribution: Central Guatemala (Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz).