Two new remarkable Nolinaceae from Central Mexico LuIs HERNANDEZ AND SERGIO ZAMUDIO Hemfindez, Luis (Escuela de Biologfa, Universidad Aut6noma de Querrtaro. Cer- ro de las Campanas s/n. Querrtaro 76017, Querdtaro, Mexico; email: luish5@uaq.mx.) & Sergio Zamudio (Centro Regional del Bajfo, Instituto de Ecol- ogfa. A.R 386, P~tzcuaro 61600, Michoacgn, Mexico. email: zamudios@ecologia. edu.mx). Two new remarkable Nolinaceae from Central Mexico. Brittonia 55: 226-- 232. 2003.--Two new species of Nolinaceae are described and illustrated. The first is a ponytail palm, Beaucarnea eompaeta, occuring in xerophytic scrub in the Sierra Madre Oriental near Atarjea, Guanajuato. The second new species is Cali- banus glassianus, adding the second species to the genus Calibanus. This new species is found in the transition between tropical deciduous forest to submontane scrub in the Sierra Madre Oriental near Xich6, Guanajuato. Key words: Nolinaceae, Beaucarnea, Calibanus, Mexico. Two new remarkable Nolinaceae from Central Mexico. Brittonia 55: 226-232. 2003. Se describen e ilustran dos nuevas especies de Nolinaceae. La primera es una pata de elefante o palma petacona, Beaucarnea compacta. Se distribuye en matorrales xer6fitos de la Sierra Madre Oriental cerca de Atarjea, Guanajuato. La segunda nueva especie es Calibanus glassianus, que adiciona una especie m~is al grnero Calibanus. Esta nueva especie se encuentra en la transici6n de bosques tropicales caducifolios con matorrales xer6filos de la sierra Madre Oriental en los alrededores de Xichti, Guanajuato. The family Nolinaceae (sensu Nakai, 1943; Hern~indez, 1993) includes by the genera Beaucarnea, Calibanus, Dasylirion, and Nolina, but the definition of the family itself has been a subject of some debate (Bogler, 1998b; Chase, pers. comm.; Dahl- gren et al., 1985; Hern~indez, 1993; Huber, 1969). The last revision of the group was by Trelease (1911). The genera Dasylirion (Bogler, 1994, 1998a), and Beaucarnea (Hernfindez, 1992, 1993) have been revised more recently. During 1997 and 1998, after Charles Glass reported two unusual Nolinaceae in the Sierra Madre Oriental in the state of Guanajuato, the authors made several field- trips to that region. After collecting and studying the specimens, we concluded that both species were new members of Noli- naceae; one belonging to the genus Cali- banus, and the other to Beaucarnea. Beaucarnea compacta L. Hem. & Zamu- dio, sp. nov. TYPE: MEXICO. Guanajua- to: Mun. Atarjea: 6.5 km NE of E1 Gua- mtlchil, by dirt road to Atarjea. 12 Sept 1997, S. Zamudio, 17,. P6rez-Calix & L. Herndndez 10465 (HOLOTYPE, IEB; ISO- TYPES, CHAPA, ENCB, MEXU, QMEX) (Fig. 1). Beaucarnea compacta sp. nov. B. gracilis Lem. si- milis, sed differt habitu generali rosulis sessilibus, in- florescentiae ramis simpticibus et fructibus apiculatis. Dioecious shrubs with subglobose base, 40-60 cm high, 0.8-1.0 m diam.; bark fis- sured into a polyhedral pattern, reddish- gray to reddish-brown; leafy rosettes ses- sile, obconical, with very reduced branches. Leaves linear, erect, long acuminate, 50-75 cm long, 10-12 mm wide at the middle, glaucous green, papillate, margins pale- Brittonia, 55(3), 2003, pp. 226-232. ISSUED: 17 July 2003 9 2003, by The New York Botanical Garden Press, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 U.S.A.