Genipa americana L., one of the best known woody Neotropical Rubiaceae (Gardenieae: Gardeniinae), is a robust tree which bears edible fruits, much appreciated by local people as a source of food, and by Amerindians for the preparation of body paint (Steyermark 1974). The cultivation of Genipa sp. is reported by Milliken et al. (1992) around the villages of the Waimiri-Atroari Indians. The species can also be utilized as timber, e.g. in Brazil (Lorenzi 1992) and Costa Rica (Burger & Taylor 1993). Alongside the widespread Genipa americana L. (including G. spruceana Steyermark, here treated as a synonym), there seem to be only two other species in the genus, namely G. williamsii Standley, from Costa Rica and Panama (not considered further here), and G. infundibuliformis Zappi & Semir from southeastern Brazil, described here.