Miscellaneous of new species in Epidendrum (Orchidaceae) from southwestern Ecuador Romero, Bosco Javier Zambrano Hágsater, Eric Solano, Rodolfo Phytotaxa 2021 2021-07-15 511 2 111 114 9V77T Zambrano & Hagsater Zambrano & Hagsater. A. Habit. B. Flower 2021 [136,696,1435,1462] Liliopsida Orchidaceae Epidendrum Plantae Asparagales 16 Tracheophyta species leptopetalum sp. nov.    Type:— ECUADOR. El Oro: Cantón Atahualpa, sector Daucay,  847 m,  01 July 2017, Zambrano B .  1941( holotype, QCNE; isotype, QCNE). Epiphytic, erect, sympodial, caespitose herb, up to 30 cmtall. Roots 2–3 mmin diameter, from the base of the stems, fleshy, flexuous, white. Stems21 × 0.4–0.5 cm, cane-like, ancipitose, erect to slightly curved, basal half covered by 4–5 compressed, imbricated, persistent, chartaceous, gray-brown non-foliar sheaths. Leaves7–8 × 1.0– 1.6 cm, 3–4 distributed along the apical half of the stem, coriaceous, distichous, sessile, oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, obtuse, emarginate at the apex, channeled at the base, light green; sheaths1.0–3.5 × 0.3–0.4 cm, longitudinally striated, ancipitose, persistent, chartaceous. Inflorescenceapical from the mature stem, erect, a raceme with successive flowers; peduncle10–11 × 1.5–1.6 mm, terete, covered by a chartaceous bract 5–6 × 1.5–1.6 mm, conduplicate, persistent; rachis1.0– 1.5 mmlong, terete; floral bracts6.5–7.0 mm long, acute, persistent, scarious. Flowersresupinate, the sepals and petals spreading, yellow-green, dorsally purplish, lip cream with the calli and mid-lobe pale yellow, column white suffused with green towards the base, anther white; producing a sweet nocturnal fragrance. Sepalsfleshy, margin entire, revolute, 10-veined; dorsal sepal44–48 × 3.5–4.4 mm, linear-lanceolate, oblique, long-acuminate; lateral sepals44–48 × 4.8–6.4 mm, obliquely linear-lanceolate, long-acuminate, carinate dorsally. Petals44–46 × 1.8–2.4 mm, fleshy, linear-lanceolate, long-acuminate, margins entire, revolute, 5-veined, the lateral veins very reduced. Lip35–39 × 11.0– 12.5 mm, fleshy, 3-lobed, fused to the column, widely cuneate at the base; bicallose, the calli small, laminar, divergent, elliptic-ovate, rounded; lateral lobes 10.0–12.0 × 3.1–4.0 mm, hemi-ovate, slightly obtuse or truncate, inner margin straight, with thickened veins towards the base; mid-lobe 30–32 × 1.8–2.3 mm, longer than the lateral lobes, linear-triangular, long-acuminate, margin entire. Column10.5–11.0 × 2.7–3 mm, short, slightly arching, terete, lobed apically; clinandrium-hooderose, covering the anther; stigmaventral, short, concave, covered by a viscous substance; rostellumapical, laminar, slit; nectarypenetrating almost two-thirds of the ovary, minutely striated longitudinally. Ovary45–48 × 2.5–2.7 mm, thin, terete, unornamented, thicker near the middle. Anther0.9 × 0.9 mm, dorsal, obovate, glandular-papillose; pollinarium 0.8 mmlong, formed by 4 pollinia, yellow, sub-equal, obovoid, laterally compressed, the inner margin straight, caudicles granulose, longer than the pollinia. Capsulenot seen.   Distribution and habitat:—  Epidendrum leptopetalumis only known from two populations (Daucay and Monos) in El Oro province( Fig. 13). It grows as an epiphyte on the branches of shrubs of  Carapa Aublet (1775: 32),  Ocotea Aublet (1775: 780–781), and  Miconiaspeciesat 800–1000 min elevation.  Phenology:—In cultivation,  E. leptopetalumflowered between December and March.   Etymology:—The specific epithet is from the Greek λεπτΟΣ“fine, thin, slender”, and πεταλΟΝ“petal”, in reference to the slender petals.  Additional material examined:—  ECUADOR. El Oro: Cantón Atahualpa, sector Daucay,  847 m,  01 July 2017, Zambrano B .  s.n.( QCNE). Cantón Piñas, sector Monos,  1000 m,  19 August 2019, Zambrano B . 2417(QCNE).   Comments:—  Epidendrum leptopetalumbelongs to the Nocturnum group, and is distinguished by the light green, oblong-elliptic to lanceolate leaves, yellow-green flowers with lip cream, long-acuminate sepals and petals, and the lip with hemi-ovate, slightly obtuse or truncate lateral lobes. The most similar species is  Epidendrum litensefrom northwestern Ecuador. It differs in the green flowers with the lip white ( vs.yellow-green with the lip cream), the smaller dorsal sepal ( 28–35 mm vs. 44–48 mmlong), the 3-veined petals ( vs.5-veined), the lip with triangular-falcate lateral lobes ( vs.hemi-ovate), and the shorter column (7.0–8.0 mm vs.10.5–11.0 mm long).  Epidendrum mininocturnum Dodson (1977: 53)from the Chocó region of Colombiaand Ecuador, differs in the smaller plants (less than 15 cm vs.up to 30 cmtall), flowers reddish-green to pink with a white lip ( vs.yellow-green with a cream lip), the shorter dorsal sepal ( 27–28 mm vs. 44–48 mmlong), the 3-veined petals ( vs.5-veined), and the lip with obliquely semi-ovate lateral lobes ( vs.hemi-ovate) ( Sánchez & Hágsater 2010).  Epidendrum condornocturnum Hágsater & Tobar (2018a: pl. 1613), restricted to the southeast of Ecuadorand possibly Peru, can be distinguished by the elliptic leaves ( vs.oblong-elliptic to lanceolate), larger petals (67–87 × 3–4 mm vs.44 –46 × 1.8–2.4 mm), larger lip (longer than 5 cm vs.shorter than 3.9 cm), with larger, hemi-elliptic calli ( vs. small, elliptic-ovate calli), the narrowly hemi-obovate lateral lobes, half as long as the mid-lobe ( vs.hemi-ovate, one third the length of the mid lobe), and the longer column ( 17–18 mm vs.10.5–11.0 mm long). [136,1119,1578,1600] 2017-07-01 B Ecuador Type 847 Daucay Canton Atahualpa 16 1 El Oro QCNE Ecuador 16 1 El Oro holotype 2017-07-01 B Ecuador 847 Daucay Canton Atahualpa 17 1 El Oro [291,1208,758,785] 2019-08-19 QCNE, B Ecuador 1000 Monos Canton Pinas 17 1 El Oro