Encyclia fimbriata C.A.Bastos, Van den Berg & Meneguzzo

Bastos, Cláudia A., Berg, Cássio Van Den & Meneguzzo, Thiago E. C., 2012, Encyclia fimbriata (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae), a new large-flowered species from Bahia, Brazil, Phytotaxa 40, pp. 26-40 : 26-40

Encyclia fimbriata C.A.Bastos, Van den Berg & Meneguzzo , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Haec species E. fowliei floribus brunneo-olivaceis, sepalis ovatis, petalis spathulatis cum margine undulata similis, sed sepalis concavis, lobis lateralibus labelli majoribus (1.3 cm longis et 0,8 cm latis), lobo mediano fimbriato cum duobus callis cristatis longitudinalibus, clinandrio cum dentibus lateralibus cornutis et rostelo triangulari protuberanti revoluto imprimis differt.

Type:— BRAZIL: Bahia: southeastern portion of the state, 19 January 2006, Thomas et al. 14604 (holotype CEPEC!) .

Epiphytic herb. Pseudobulbs ovoid, 5.0−6.0 × 1.0− 1.5 cm. Leaves 3, narrow-lanceolate, 20.0−26.7 × 1.0− 1.4 cm. Inflorescence a double raceme, weakly branched; peduncle 53.6 × 0.3 cm, peduncle bracts closed, obconic, 1.4 × 0.8 cm; rachis up to 30.0 cm long; floral bracts deltoid, 0.4 × 0.3 cm. Flowers resupinate; pedicel 3.0 cm long; ovary 0.3 cm wide, smooth; sepals obovate, slightly concave, base constricted, margin entire, patent, tan-olive, dorsal sepal with apex obtuse, 1.3−1.9 × 0.6−0.8 cm, lateral sepals apiculate, 1.5−1.8 × 0.6−0.9 cm; petals oblique, spathulate, patent, tan-olive, margin gently wavy, about 1.5 × 1.0 cm; lip trilobed, cream streaked with purple, 1.5 × 2.0 cm, lateral lobes obovate, oblique, base constricted, apex obtuse to rounded, margin entire, oblique in angle of 50°, 1.3 × 0.8 cm, median lobe 1.5 × 1.0 cm, reniform, margin fringed, fringes 0.25 cm long; two longitudinal and parallel calli united to form crests in the terminal portion, apices of the calluses ending in the center of the median lobe; column semi-clavate, 1.0 × 0.3 cm, clinandrium apex tridentate, median tooth triangular, lateral teeth horn-like, apices praemorse, stigma obovate, rostellum triangular, protruding, revolute; column wings oblong, involute, apex truncate; anther oblong, rostrate, 0.3 × 0.2 cm, pollinia 4, in pairs, ovate, laterally compressed, waxy, equal, yellow, granular caudicle. Capsule not seen.

Distribution: —Found so far only in southern portion of Bahia State, Brazil, 850–990 m in montane wet forest, known from a single collection.

Etymology: —From the Latin fimbriatus, in reference to the fimbriate midlobe of this species, not observed in any previously known species in the genus.

Discussion: —Floral morphology of Encyclia fimbriata indicates affinities with E. fowliei Duveen (1990: 38) , endemic to southern Bahia and also an epiphyte in Atlantic Forest ( Fowlie & Duveen 1992, Barros et al. 2010). Similarities include the tan-olive color of the petals and sepals, ovate sepals and spathulate petals, as well as the gently wavy margins of the latter ( Fig. 2 ). Nevertheless, the much larger lip of E. fimbriata , hornlike teeth of the clinandrium and protruding rostellum are reminiscent of E. euosma ( Reichenbach 1877: 79) Porto & Brade (1935: 28) . The wavy midlobe of E. bragancae Ruschi (1975: 84) and horn-like teeth of the clinandrium also suggest a relationship between E. fimbriata and the last. Encyclia fimbriata can be separated from similar species by several features of its floral morphology and distribution ( Table 1 ).

There is a published list of the flowering plants in the area where the type specimen was collected ( Amorim et al. 2009). In this list only two Encyclia were reported and not identified to species level, as Encyclia sp. 1 and Encyclia sp. 2 . The latter corresponds to E. fimbriata , here described, whereas Encyclia sp. 1 is in fact a specimen of E. unaensis Fowlie (1991: 26) , vegetatively much smaller than E. fimbriata and with completely different flowers. The measurements in our description above are based on the single specimen available to us, but we have bracketed these data a little so that the description is more likely to apply to additional collections, if they are ever made.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Habit. B. Dorsal Sepal. C. Lateral sepal. D. Petal. E. Labellum. F. Callus of the labellum. G. Detail of the fringed area on the labellum midlobe. H. Column in ventral view. I. Column in dorsal view. J. Column in lateral view. K. Anther cap in dorsal view. L. Anther cap in ventral view. M. Pollinarium. Based on Thomas et al. 14604 (CEPEC).

FIGURE 2. Flower diagrams and columns in ventral views. A. Encyclia bragancae (Bastos 325, HUEFS). B. Encyclia euosma (Bastos 305, HUEFS). C. Encyclia fimbriata (Thomas et al. 14604, CEPEC). D. Encyclia fowliei (Bastos 322, HUEFS).

Tables

TABLE 1. Comparison of floral morphology for Encyclia bragancae, E. euosma, E. fowliei and the new species, E. fimbriata.

	Encyclia bragancae	Encyclia euosma	Encyclia fowliei	Encyclia fimbriata
Lateral lobes of the labellum	0.8 × 0.3 cm	1.1 × 0.3 cm	0.6 × 0.4 cm	1.3 × 0.8 cm
Terminal lobes of the labellum	0.5 × 0.8 cm, strongly wavy	0.8 × 0.9 cm, margin wavy	0.5 × 0.7 cm, margin gently wavy	0.8 × 1.0 cm, margin fimbriate
Calluses of the labellum	veins dispersed in the midlobe	veins dispersed in the midlobe	veins dispersed in the midlobe	crested in the center of the midlobe
Lateral teeth of the clinandrium	extended horn-like	shortly horn-like	small triangular	extended horn-like
Rostellum	triangular protruding, revolute	triangular protruding, involute	depressed	triangular protruding, revolute