Encyclia bicalhoi Castro Neto & Bohnke (2010: 45)

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

6. Encyclia bicalhoi Castro Neto & Bohnke (2010: 45) . Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: São José da Vitória, October 2009, Bohnke s.n. (holotype: SP 476498 !) ( Fig. 6 ) .

Epiphytic herbs, c. 15 cm tall. Pseudobulbs oval. Leaves 1, linear, 12.7 × 0.4 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence a densely 4–6-flowered, simple raceme; peduncle 4.6 cm long; rachis 10.4 cm long. Flowers with pedicel 1.90 × 0.15 cm, warty; sepals olive green, lanceolate, acute, 1.9 × 0.6 cm, pendent, margin entire; petals olive green, lanceolate, acute, c. 1.8 × 0.5 cm, pendent, margin undulate, lip unguiculate, the claw c. 0.1 × 0.3 cm, lateral lobes elliptic-ovate, obtuse, free from the median lobe, c. 0.9 × 0.6 cm, white with purple stripes, at a 45° angle to the midlobe (in the flattened lip), not overlapping it, margin entire, midlobe rounded, truncate-emarginate, c. 0.6 × 0.8 cm, white with purple stripes, sinuous, margin undulate, callus cymbiform, long trifid at apex; column clavate, 0.8 × 0.2 cm, clinandrium apex tridentate, lateral teeth horn-like, apex premorse, arms of the column rounded, obtuse, c. 0.08 × 0.10 cm; stigma elliptic, with basal hooks; anther one, yellow, c. 0.2 × 0.2 cm.

Distribution and habitat:— Endemic to rainforests in northeastern Brazil ( Fig. 4 ).

Phenology:— Flowering in October.

Etymology:— The epithet is in honour of professor and researcher Hamilton Dias Bicalho.

Taxonomic notes:— There are no specimens of E. bicalhoi except the type material, but the species is present in cultivation in private collections. Because of its small habit, it could be confused with E. linearifolioides when sterile. However, it differs from the latter in presence of column wings and a yellow anther (black in E. linearifoloides ). The plants are small (9−15 cm tall) with oval, purplish pseudobulbs, greenish flowers with a white lip delicately streaked with pink and a bright yellow anther, which suggests to us that it is related to the osmantha alliance (Bastos 2014).

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.