A single species of the lisianthoid genus Macrocarpaea had been known from Panama. Recent explorations of previously inaccessible cloud forest peaks in western, central, and eastern Panama have turned up additional species previously known only from Costa Rica and Colombia. Three species are now recorded from Panama: M. browallioides, M. macrophylla, and M. subeaudata. Evidence is provided to merge the Costa Rican M. valerii into M. macrophylla. The shrubby gentians of the Neotropics are some of the most conspicuous elements of higher elevation tropical forests. This complex of about 16 genera comprised Grisebach's (1838) tribe Lisyantheae. These lisianthoid genera are notoriously difficult to separate taxonomically with the consequence that they have often been treated as synonyms of Lisianthius (or its orthographic variant "Lisianthus"). The taxonomic difficulties are compounded by their remote montane habitat which makes them poorly collected. Only Lisianthius sensu stricto (Weaver, 1972a) and Macrocarpaea (Ewan, 1948) have been adequately monographed. Other genera of the tribe Lisyantheae are now being taxonomically revised in a multidisciplinary study (Maas et al.,