A review of South American herbarium specimens of Bourreria P. Browne (Boraginales, Ehretiaceae) indicates that five species are readily distinguished. Bourreria bolivarensis Gottschling & J. S. Mill. is described as new; B. baccata Raf., B. exsucca Jacq., and B. mollis Standl. have their nomenclature clarified; B. exsucca is epitypified; and a neotype has been designated for Rhamnus cumanensis Loefl. (= B. exsucca). Bourreria bolivarensis and B. exsucca are common species in the northern South American flora. Bourreria costaricensis (Standl.) A. H. Gentry and B. mollis are Central American species that have not been previously reported for South America. Bourreria baccata is a Caribbean species with the southern end of its distribution on Tobago, but it also occurs in a small, isolated population in the Netherlands Antilles and on the adjacent Venezuelan coast, perhaps resulting from a single long-distance dispersal event. Bourreria exsucca and the new species B. bolivarensis have their distribution restricted to South America and exhibit schizocarpous fruits. The other three species have drupaceous fruits. All five species have extent of occurrence above the threshold (> 2000 km²) to be considered vulnerable based on the IUCN Red List categories, and none of the five species that occur in South America appear to be threatened when evaluated solely on their distributions.