Encyclia auyantepuiensis Carnevali & Ramírez (1994: 61)

Bastos, Cláudia A., Meneguzzo, Thiago E. C. & Berg, Cássio Van Den, 2018, A taxonomic revision of the Brazilian species of Encyclia (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Epidendreae), Phytotaxa 342 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

5. Encyclia auyantepuiensis Carnevali & Ramírez (1994: 61) .

Type:— VENEZUELA. Bolívar: Altiplanice e Savanas rochosas do Auyan-tepui , 1000-1100 m, 18 May 1964, Steyermark 94206 (holotype: VEN; isotype: AMES, NY 73806 photograph!) ( Figs. 6 , 24F ) .

Lithophyte herbs, c. 15.0 cm tall. Pseudobulbs conical to ellipsoidal, c. 4.1 × 1.3 cm. Leaves 3, oblong, c. 9.5 × 1.1 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence a loosely 2−4-flowered, simple raceme; peduncle c. 20 cm long; rachis c. 18.0 cm long. Flowers with pedicel 1.50−2.20 × 0.15 cm, warty; sepals brownish, dorsal elliptic, 1.3−1.8 × 0.3−0.4 cm, laterals oval, 1.3−1.8 × 0.3−0.5 cm, reflexed, margin entire, apex acute; petals brownish, lanceolate, acute, 1.3−1.7 × 0.3−0.5 cm, reflexed, margin entire; lip with claw 0.07 × 0.25 cm, lateral lobes elliptic-ovate, acute, free from midlobe, 0.9−1.0 × 0.4−0.5 cm, white, at a ˂45° angle to midlobe (in the flattened lip), not overlapping it, margin entire, midlobe rhombic to elliptic, acute to mucronate, 0.6−0.8 × 0.5−0.7 cm, white with a few pink traces, plane, margin gently undulate, callus cymbiform, apex of the callus long trifid; column clavate, 0.60−1.00 × 0.28−0.30 cm, clinandrium apex tridentate, lateral teeth triangular, acute, column arms absent, stigma oval, basal hooks absent; anther one, black, c. 0.20 × 0.18 cm.

Distribution and habitat:— Described originally from Venezuela, putative occurrence of E. auyantepuiensis in Roraima State (Govaerts et al. 2013, Barros et al. 2013) is here confirmed with specimens recently collected in Amajari ( Fig. 4 ).

Phenology:— Flowering September–May.

Etymology:— A reference to the origin of the type material, Auyán-tepui, in Venezuela.

Taxonomic notes:— This species is rupicolous or sometimes epiphytic (Carnevali & Ramírez 1994). It could be confused with E. chloroleuca , but differs by a lip midlobe that is rhombic to elliptic in E. auyantepuiensis , whereas it is rounded in E. chloroleuca . Moreover, the lateral lobes of E. auyantepuiensis in the flattened lip are at a <45° angle to the midlobe, whereas in E. chloroleuca they are cymbiform and at ca. 90° to the midlobe. Plants of E. auyantepuiensis also have shorter leaves (ca. 9 cm), whereas in E. chloroleuca they are considerably longer (ca. 20 cm). In living specimens, the anthers are black and sepals and petals brown in E. auyantepuiensis ; in E. chloroleuca the anthers are yellow and the sepals and petals are green.

Selected specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Roraima: Alto Alegre, Serra do Surucucu, 930 m, 5 November 1996, Silva & Cardoso 615 ( MG); Amajarí, Serra Tepequém, 1131 m, 2 September 2012, Pessoa 1010 ( HUEFS) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Distribution in Brazil of Encyclia advena, E. alboxanthina, E. andrichii, E. argentinensis, E. auyantepuiensis, E. bicalhoi and E. bohnkiana.

FIGURE 6. A−I. Encyclia argentinensis. A. Dorsal sepal. B. Lateral sepal. C. Petal. D. Lip. E. Detail lip callus. F. Column front view. G. Column side view (Bastos 300). H. Variation in the lip (Batista s.n. CEN 26611). I. Variation in the lip (Godinho 221). J−M. Encyclia auyantepuiensis. J. Dorsal sepal. K. Lateral sepals. L. Petal. M. Lip (Pessoa 1010). N−S. Encyclia bicalhoi. N. Dorsal sepal. O. Lateral sepal. P. Petal. Q. Lip. R. Detail of lip callus. S. Column side view (Bohnke s.n. SP 476498). T−A’. Encyclia bohnkiana. T. Habit (Popovkin 621). U. Dorsal sepal. V. Lateral sepal. X. Petal. W. lip. Y. Detail of lip callus. Z. Column front view. A’. Column side view (van den Berg 1577). B’. Variation in the lip (Meneguzzo 523). Illustration by Carla de Lima.

FIGURE 24. A. ×Catyclia ×intermedia. B. Encyclia advena. C. Encyclia alboxanthina. D. Encyclia andrichii. E. Encyclia argentinensis. F.Encyclia auyantepuiensis. G. Encyclia bohnkiana. H. Encyclia bracteata. I. Encyclia bragancae. J. Encyclia chapadensis. K. Encyclia chloroleuca. L. Encyclia conchaechila. M. Encyclia cyperifolia. (Photographers: A: A. Peres Júnior. B, D−E, G−J: C. van den Berg. C: U.C.S. Silva. F: E. Pessoa. K−L: T.E.C. Meneguzzo).