Encyclia parkeri Reina-Rodríguez & Leopardi, 2014

Leopardi-Verde, Carlos L., Reina-Rodríguez, Guillermo A., Carnevali, Germán & Romero-González, Gustavo A., 2014, Two new greenish Encyclia: E. parkeri and E. silverarum (Laeliinae, Orchidaceae), Phytotaxa 183 (3), pp. 159-170 : 164-167

Encyclia parkeri Reina-Rodríguez & Leopardi , sp. nov. ( Figure 5 )

Encyclia parkeri is similar to E. chloroleuca , but is distinguished by its flowers with olive-green to ocher petals and sepals, labellum creamy white, with the central lobe with many keels (at least three), all warty and usually slightly tinged red-purple.

Type:— COLOMBIA. Valle del Cauca: Restrepo, vereda El Aguacate, cercanía a finca Las Acacias , 16 August 2013, G. Reina-Rodríguez, C. Lopera, O. Meneses & D. Pedraza 1694 ( CUVC!, holotype; COL!, HUA!, isotypes) .

Epiphytic herb, 40 cm tall, up to 76 cm including the inflorescence. Rhizome tough, fibrous. Pseudobulbs 3.10−6.00 × 2.20−3.50 cm, clustered but shortly creeping, ovoid, apically 3-leaved, green and smooth when young, and finely wrinkled when old, when young clothed in white papyraceous, non-persistent sheaths. Leaves 21−40 × 2.00− 4.20 cm, narrowly oblong elliptic, somewhat twisted, thick, rigid, midnerve carinate mainly in the lower half. Inflorescences 45−66 cm long, terminal, erect, a multiflowered panicle, peduncle green, thin but fairly strong, upper portion of peduncle and rachis smooth, pedicellate ovaries slightly rough. Flowers resupinate, showy, 2.90−3.40 cm across the spread apices of the petals; perianth segments fleshy; sepals and petals olive-green to ocher, the nerves showing faintly, the margins narrowly but clearly outlined in pale green, the bases and very tips of the segments are almost devoid of the purplish overlay, and are thus pale greenish; the labellum ground color white to creamy white, with tiny purple spots above the nerves, the central lobe with 5 thicker nerves running down the callus into the apex, the lateral lobes only with the ground color, the callus white; column green, grading to white on the distal half; sepals subsimilar but the lateral somewhat oblique, dorsal 1.40−1.50 × 0.50−0.60 cm, oblanceolate, obtuse or broadly acute, lateral sepals: 1.40−1.50 × 0.48−0.58 cm, lanceolate, slightly oblique, broadly acute to acuminate; petals 1.30−1.40 × 0.60−0.70 cm, spathulate, narrowed on the lower half to a narrow claw 0.16−0.20 cm wide; labellum conspicuously 3-lobed, free from column except at the base, total labellum length 1.20−1.30 cm, 1.50−1.60 cm across lateral lobes; the central lobe orbicular to suborbicular, reduplicated in vivo, rounded at apex, 0.70−0.75 × 0.80−0.85 cm; lateral lobes 0.90−0.95 cm long, 0.30−0.35 cm wide at mid-length, 0.30−0.40 cm wide at base, oblong, apically rounded to broadly obtuse, the apices somewhat reflexed in natural position; callus 0.58−0.65 × 0.24−0.30 cm, subrhombic to quadrangular, composed of two broad, high keels running from just above the base of the labellum well (ca. 0.26 cm) into the blade of the central lobe, with a shallow, nearly oblong depression at running from the base to apex up to 3/4 of the total length of the callus, from the apex of the callus arise at least three elevated nerves that extend almost to the apex of the midlobe. Column 0.80−0.89 × 0.35−0.39 cm, 0.25 cm wide at base, 0.20 mm at its narrowest, 0.35 cm at its highest, hemicylindric to slightly triangular, clavate in ventral outline, provided with a pair of triangular–subquadrate auricles on the apical fourth, auricles 0.10 cm long, 0.13 cm broad at the base; anther pale yellow, 0.20 cm wide, 0.22 cm deep; pollinia 4, yellow, 0.85−0.89 × 0.11−0.13 cm, with yellow caudicles; stigmatic surface 0.16−0.18 × 0.15−0.17 cm, obovate; pedicellate ovary cylindrical, smooth at base, rough at apex, 2.00− 2.50 cm long. Capsule elliptic, ca. 2.60−2.70 × 1.10−1.30 cm ( Figure 5 ).

camera lucida. A, based on the holotype, photo by F . López-Machado; B; by J. Parker; C−N, based on C. Leopardi 469 ( AMES!).

Discussion:— Encyclia parkeri differs from E. chloroleuca in the shorter and wider petals (on average 1.35 × 0.65 vs. 2.09 × 0.57 cm in the latter) and the central lobe of the labellum, that has at least three verrucose carinae (not smooth as in E. chloroleuca ; Figure 2 L−U). In Colombia, Encyclia chloroleuca is found in the eastern foothills of the western mountains in the municipalities of Cali, Yotoco, Río Frío and Bolivar ( Figure 1 ; Reina-Rodríguez et al. 2010).

Encyclia parkeri is distinguished from E. silverarum by the labellum which has a central lobe with verrucose carinae and longer lateral lobes. The central lobe of the labellum in E. parkeri features tiny purple spots whereas the perianth is tinged of maroon. In E. silverarum , on the other hand, the central lobe is smooth, the lateral lobes are shorter and wider and the keels of the central lobe of the labellum are colored with purple stripes. (compare Figures 1 , 2 A−K, and 5 A−N). Encyclia peraltensis ( Figures 1 , 4 A ) and E. parkeri are also easily distinguished by the conspicuously warty pedicellate ovary and peduncle of the former. Encyclia peraltesis has a smooth central lobe of the labelum whereas the same structure in E. pakeri feature warty keels. Colors of the midlobe also differ between booth taxa: E. peraltensis lacks color spots in the labellum (or only a single spot in the center), whereas in E. parkerii there are tiny purple spots (see key to species in the E. chloroleuca complex below and Figures 1 , 5 ).

In Pastaza, Ecuador, several specimens similar to Encyclia parkeri , such as Hirtz 895 (MO) and Carnevali & Dodson 3492 (CICY!), have been collected. These specimens have been associated with E. thienii , a name proposed by Dodson (1989: t. 458). However, both the protologue of E. thienii and the drawings published ( Dodson 2010: Fig. 100 C) elsewhere by Dodson show an entity very similar to E. chloroleuca ; the more important differences mentioned by the author are the smaller flowers and the perianth green or yellowish in E. thienii ( Dodson 2010: 423−424) . Considering that E. chloroleuca is a very variable species, it is possible that E. thienii , as described by Dodson, should be referable to E. chloroleuca , whereas the different looking specimens featuring rugulose ovaries and labella belong in E. parkeri .

Distribution and ecology:— Encyclia parkeri is known from the canyon of “Río Grande”, which is part of the Dagua subxerophytic enclave in the south-western Colombia Chocó bioregion. This area is located on the western slope of the Western Coordillera in the vicinity of the towns of Restrepo, La Cumbre, and Dagua, in the department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia ( Figure 1 ).

The Dagua subxerophytic enclave of 23660 hectares forms an altitudinally complex plant community with cloud to subxerophytic forest at altitudes of 710 m in the canyon and up to 1780 m on the summits of the mountains. Encyclia parkeri was collected at 1300 m− 1400 m in an area of transition between the subxerophytic shrubs and bushes of the lower part of the canyon with the sub-Andean flora of the upper part. Riparian vegetation forms forest patches of 80 meters wide, surrounded by natural grasslands and to some extent by introduced pastures (e.g., Hyparrhenia rufa ( Nees 1829: 345) Stapf (1919: 304−307)) , which are widely used as forage for cattle ranches.

The habitat where the species was found, locally called “zanjones”, corresponds to a riverine forest with a canopy of 14 meters and a coverage of 45%, dominated by Clusia fructiangusta Cuatrecasas (1950: 33−34) , Chrysophyllum argenteum Jacquin (1760: 15) , Myrsine guianensis ( Aublet, 1775: 121) Kuntze (1891: 402) , and Nectandra lineata ( Kunth, 1817: 165) Rohwer (1993: 209) . Also, there is a community of epiphytes dominated by Tillandsia fendleri Grisebach (1865: 17) .

Encyclia parkeri grows as an epiphyte at 120−200 cm from the ground on Clusia fructiangusta , Calliandra pittieri ( Standley 1916: 104) , Chrysophyllum argenteum , and Daphnopsis americana ( Miller 1768) Johnston (1909: 242) as phorophytes; the soil is covered with a dense layer of litter. The plants of E. parkeri grow in places with an average light exposure, within the riverine vegetation. The terrain where this species grows has a complex topography, with strong slopes (50–75%) called “Hondonadas”, which act as a natural barrier that protects this community from livestock and the strong winds from the Pacific that are constant during the afternoon. Areas with similar conditions have been detected in the “Río Garrapatas” canyon, 100 km to North on the Pacific slope, where there are very dry conditions and potential areas for the occurrence of E. parkeri .

Encyclia parkeri is geographically close to three species of Encyclia in the Cauca river valley: Encyclia chloroleuca (discussed earlier), Encyclia ceratistes ( Lindley 1844: misc. 91) Schlechter (1919: 74), and Encyclia betancourtiana Carnevali and Ramírez (2004: 413−416) . Encyclia ceratistes is distinguished from E. parkeri by the length of inflorescence, the number of flowers, the truncated lateral lobes and the long apical portion of the central lobe; this species grows in the eastern foothills of the western mountains and the Cauca river valley in the municipalities of Cali, Bolívar, and Sevilla ( Reina-Rodríguez et al. 2010). Encyclia betancourtiana , occurring in Colombia in the western foothills of the central mountains in the municipality of Tuluá ( Reina-Rodríguez et al. 2010), is distinguished by the completely warty rachis and pedicellate ovary.

The Dagua subxerophytic enclave receives from 832.9 mm /year at the Loboguerrero station (700 m) ranging to 1197.2 mm /year at the summit station (1500 m); ( CVC 2009). The area has a bimodal pluviometric regimen, with two dry periods, the first from December to February and the second from June to August; July is the month of least rainfall. The first rains of the year fall between March and May and the second rainy season extends from September to November. Encyclia parkeri has been seen in bloom during March, August, and October.

Eponymy:— This species is dedicated to Jeff Parker from Hawaii, who first brought this new species to our attention.

IUCN Conservation assessment:— Critically Endangered (CR). The known distribution area is less than 5000 km 2 (Extent of occurrence = 848.5 km 2, based on the collections cited in this paper), however the area occupied is lesser than 10 km 2, wich would qualify the species as Critically Endangered (CR) (Area of Occurrence = 1.5 km 2, based upon SIG calculations). There are, however, areas not explored in the department of Valle del Cauca, such as the río Garrapatas Canyon ca. 100 km to the north that features habitats apparently suitable for this species. Encyclia parkeri was collected within a protected area of 6418 hectares called “Distrito de Conservación de Suelos Cañon de Río Grande”. This conservation assessment was made using IUCN (2012) categories directly with the available population data.

Paratypes:— COLOMBIA. State unknown, but possibly from Valle del Cauca. Without date, legally purchased from Orquifollajes as “ Encyclia sp. 2 ”, cultivated by David Hunt in Texas and grown from seed and flowered by Jeff Parker in Hawaii , sub C . Leopardi 469 ( AMES!, CICY!). Valle del Cauca: Vijes , vereda monte redondo, Hacienda El Tambor , Relicto superior de la vía, 1402 m, 8 October 2013. G . Reina-Rodríguez , C . Lopera 1748 ( CUVC!). Corregimiento de San Salvador , Finca Bachue, Zanjón Capa Rosa , 13 April 2012, G . Reina-Rodríguez , O . Meneses & E . Vivas 1613 ( CUVC!) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution of species of the Encyclia chloroleuca complex included in this work. The color bar in the right side represents the altitude in meters.

FIGURE 2. Encyclia silverarum Leopardi & Carnevali (A−K) and Encyclia chloroleuca (L−U). A, L. Flower in frontal view. B, M. Perianth. C−E, N−P. Column and labellum, in natural position, in dorsal (C, N), lateral (D, O), and ventral (E, P) views. F, Q. Spread labellum. G, V. Pedicellate ovary. H−I, R−S. Column in lateral (H, S) and ventral (I, R) views. J, T.Anther. K, U. Pollinarium.A−K, based

FIGURE 4. Other species of the Encyclia chloroleuca complex. A, Encyclia peraltensis from Costa Rica. B. Encyclia elegantula from Panama. A, by Carlos Leopardi; B, by Gaspar Silvera.

FIGURE 5. Encyclia parkeri Reina-Rodríguez & Leopardi.A−B. Flowers in frontal (A) and lateral (B) views. C. Perianth. D−F. Column and labellum in natural position in dorsal (D), ventral (E) and lateral (F) views. G. Spread labellum. H−I. Column in lateral (H) and ventral (I) views. J. Anther. K. Pollinarium. M. Pedicellate ovary. N. Habit. Drawings by C. Leopardi from re-hydrated flower with the aid of a