Protologue Description: Larnax psilophvta N. W Sawyer, sp. nov. TYPE: Ecuador. Zamora-Chinchipe: Nudo de Sabanilla, pass on road from Yangana to Valladolid, 2800-2900 m, elfin forest and clearings, 5 Apr. 1985. Harling & Andersson 23724 (holotype, NY). Figure 2.

Species rarissima a loco unico cognito inter quaterni species ceteris generis fructibus involutis arte calyce. Ab caulibus, ramis, et foliis glaberis omnino, foliis induratis ambo apice et base acutato, floribus parvulis usque 6 mm longis, corolla viridia-alba, antheris exsertis, calyce fructifero rotundo tantum 7 mm in diametro a speciebus descriptis fructibus involutis arte calyce notis bene distincta.

Suffrutescent perennial.1-2 m tall. Stems, branched, secondary branches geniculate. Stems
and leaves entirely glabrous. Leaves somewhat indurate-fleshy, entire, elliptic, 4-5 cm long, 1-2 cm wide with 3-4 secondary veins prominent abaxially, apex acute, base cuneate, oblique; minute, stalkless, unicellular red glands occurring abaxiallv toward the leaf base. Petiole glabrous 5-7 cm long. Inflorescence axillarv, 1-3 flowers per node in fascicles from a much reduced peduncle, pendent on glabrous pedicels 6-7 mm long. Flowering calyx glabrous except at the apex where short hairs may be present, green, 1.5 mm long, 2,5 mm wide, margin broadly pyrimidal at the 5 major veins. Corolla campanulate-rotate, 4.6-6.4 mm long, tube 1.5-2.8 mm long, lobes of the limb coriaceous, ovate-triangular, reflexed, margins and apex puberulent, otherwise glabrous without, nonglandular, pluricellular finger hairs present in an annular ring at anther level within. Corolla pale yellow-cream-green. Stamens included. Filaments glabrous-puberulent, filamentose-ribbon-like, the free portion 1-1.5 mm long, adnate to the basal third of the corolla and there broadened and thickened formng a stamen petalum with extended shoulders, separated from each other by the corolla vasculature, the fused portion 0.8-1.4 mm long. Anthers white, ovate, minutely apiculate or, more commonly, without apiculum, occurring in two size arrays of three large and two small, l.2-1.6 mm long, 1 mm wide, slightly dorsifixed, base somewhat sagittate. Ovary glabrous, ovate, 1 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, ringed basally by a greenish yellow nectary. Style glabrous, 3-4 mm long, extended beyond anthers late in anthesis; stigma clavate-subbilobate, green. Fruiting pedicels glabrous, to 10 mm long, raising the mature fruit above the leaf plane. Fruiting calyx accrescent, tightly enveloping the fruit, open at the apex, green, glabrous, membranous, globose, 7 mm diam. with scattered, 2-celled, glandular hairs within; teeth short yet distinct, triangular, acute, <1 mm long. Fruit an orange, fleshy berry containing about 30, reniform, faveolate seeds to 2.6 mm diam.
Diagnostic characteristics for this species include the geniculate younger stems as in L andersonii, the glabrous nature of the plant, the indurate leaves with acute apex and base, and the very small greenish white flowers. Larnax psilophyta is found at higher elevations than other known Larnax species and appears to be limited in occurrence to the Parque Nacional Podocarpus and the Nudo de Sabanilla areas of southern Ecuador. The specific epithet invokes the smooth texture of the foliage resulting from the combined effects of the indurate and glabrous conditions found in the foliage. This species has been consistently confused with Deprea glabra another glabrous species found at high elevations in Ecuador. However, D. glabra has several features that allow it easily to be distinguished from L. psilophyta, viz., falcate leaves with attenuate base, a denser ring of pubescence within the much larger corolla tube, anthocyanins that are always present in the corolla, anther thecae with bases that are connate rather than sagittate, and a northerly Ecuadorian distribution.
Paratypes. ECUADOR. Loja: Parque Nacional Podocarpus, new road Loja-Zamora, E of Cerro Yánococha, montaue forest along former Indian trail to Zamora, slightly disturbed. 2550-2650 m, 3°59'S. 79°07'W, 26 Nov. 1988, Madsen 75581 (AAU, LOJA, QCA. QCNE). Loja/ Zamora-Chinchipe: Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Road Yangana-Valladolid, km 21. vicinity of sample plot. 2700-2800 m, 4°28'S. 79°09'W 24-25 Jan. 1989, Madsen 85661 (AAU. LOJA. QCA. QCNE): Road Yangana-Valladolid. at entrance of Parque Nacional Podocarpus, 2500-3000 m. 4°28'S, 79°10'W. 10 Dec. 1989. Madsen 86688 (AAU, LOJA. QCA. QCNE): Parque -Nacional Podocarpus. pass on road Yangana-Valladolid (Nudo de Sabanilla). 2750-2900 m. 4°27'S. 79°08'W 28 Feb. 1985. Øllgaard et al. 58374 (AAU, LOJA. QCNE): Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Road Yangana-Valladolid, km 21, vicinity of sample plot, 2560 m, 4°28'S. 79°09'W, 31 July 1996, Sawyer 770 (CONN, LOJA): Province boundary, pass over Nudo de Sabanilla, elfin forest. 2740 m, 4°27'S, 79'10'W, 11 May 1985, Stein & D’Alessandro 2733 (K, NY).