4 NEW SPECIES OF CHUSQUEA (POACEAE, BAMBUSOIDEAE) FROM BRAZIL AND ECUADOR

Four new species of Chusquea - C. bahiana, C. bradei, C. leonardiorum, and C. loxensis - are described and illustrated. Chusquea bahiana and C. bradei, classified within subg. Rettbergia within Chusquea based o n their infravaginal, geniculate branching and spatheate, often contra cted inflorescences, are endemic to the Atlantic forests of Bahia and Espirito Santo, Brazil, where they are relatively uncommon. Chusquea l eonardiorum and C. loxensis are native to the paramos of southern Ecua dor; C. leonardiorum is moderately widespread, but C. loxensis is know n from only two populations in the Parque Nacional Podocarpus in the p rovince of Loja. These two species are allied with Chusquea sect. Chus quea based on their erect to arching or scandent habit, extravaginal b ranching, and relatively numerous subsidiary branches per node.