Trichosalpinx reflexa Mel.Fernández & Bogarín, 2011

Fernández, Melania & Bogarín, Diego, 2011, A new Trichosalpinx (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from the northern Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica, Phytotaxa 38, pp. 41-48 : 42-44

Trichosalpinx reflexa Mel.Fernández & Bogarín , sp. nov.

Ab Trichosalpince memore foliis anguste ellipticis-lanceolatis, sepalis glabris, sepalo postico erecto, synsepalo concavo prope apicem reflexo, petalis longioribus, labello carina media demissa in tertio proximali instructo marginibus lobulorum apicisque ciliatis praecipue distincta.

Type:— COSTA RICA. Guanacaste: Nicoya, San Antonio, Barra Honda National Park, Ceiba trail, area of Las Cascadas, 10º11’15”N 85º20’36.1”W, 210 m, basal transition to premontane wet forest, epiphytes in fallen Ficus sp. (Moraceae) tree, 11 July 2005, D. Bogarín 1674 & F. Paniagua (holotype JBL, isotype CR).

Epiphytic, caespitose herb, erect to suberect, up to 10 cm tall. Roots slender, flexuous, to 2 mm in diameter. Ramicauls slender, terete, 1.5–5.5 cm long, enclosed by two to seven tubular lepanthiform sheaths; the sheaths acute, adpressed at the base, ribbed, minutely ciliate at the dilated margins, brown, 0.8–1.4 cm long. Leaves narrowly elliptical to narrowly obovate, apiculate, erect, fleshy, coriaceous, green suffused with purple beneath, 2.7–5.4 × 0.7–1.4 cm, the cuneate-attenuate base narrowing into a petiole up to 0.7 cm long, the petiole enclosed by the tip of the apical ramicaul bract. Inflorescence distichous, a –successively flowering raceme with four to eight flowers, 1.2–1.6 cm long including the peduncle 4 mm long, produced at the base of the leaf from a conduplicate, linear-ovate, acute spathe, 1.0–1.5 × 0.2–0.3 mm. Floral bracts cuneiform, conduplicate, 1 × 1 mm. Pedicels 1 mm long, persistent. Ovary cylindric, 1 mm long. Flowers with the sepals white suffused with dark purple toward the apex, petals translucent white, the lip blackish purple, the column and anther white. Dorsal sepal erect, oblong, obtuse, convex toward the apex, 3.5–4.5 × 2.0– 2.5 mm, threeveined. Lateral sepals connate into an ovate-oblong, retuse, entire synsepal, concave at the base and reflexed toward the apex, 3.0–4.0 × 2.0– 2.5 mm, three-veined. Petals oblong, acute, entire or serrulate, the apex erose, 1.3–2.0 × 1.0– 1.8 mm. Lip oblong, obtuse, ciliate, 2.0–3.0 × 1.5 mm, the disc with a central carina in the basal third, that divides into two low keels close to the second third, the basal lobes erect. Column semiterete, deeply erose-fimbriate at the apex, broadly winged near the apex, 2 mm long, the clinandrium apical, the stigma ventral. Anther cap incumbent, ovate, emarginate. Pollinia two, pyriform, on a cellular, oval viscidium ( Figs. 1 & 2 ).

Distribution and habitat:— Trichosalpinx reflexa is restricted to the lowland semi-deciduous forests of the northern Pacific watershed of the Costa Rican mountains. Plants inhabit tropical wet, very wet and transitional premontane forests, between 100 and 500 m elevation. Plants were recorded growing on Ficus sp. (Moraceae) and on the main tree trunks of Anacardium excelsum (Kunth) Skeels (Anacardiaceae) , mostly along riverbanks under shady conditions ( Fig. 3 ).

Etymology:—from the Latin reflexus, referring to the reflexed synsepal of the flowers.

Flowering time:—from September to December.

Additional specimens examined:— COSTA RICA. Guanacaste: Nandayure, 9°54’ N 85°20’ W, JBL 00401 (JBL); Santa Cruz, distrito primero, Parque Nacional Diriá, cuenca del río Enmedio, sendero a la catarata Santa Fe, ca. 300 m, 10°8’50”N 85°36’19”W, bosque de galería a orilla del río, 29 January 2009, D. Barrantes & M. Rojas s.n. (USJ)— Puntarenas: Esparza, San Rafael, Río Jesús María, cerca de 500 m río arriba a partir del Puente de Las Damas, 9°57’48.7”N 84°36’35.7”W, 170 m, bosque húmedo tropical, en troncos caídos de Anacardium excelsum (Anacardiaceae) , 29 December 2000, D. Bogarín 19, A. Prendas & P. Rodríguez (JBL); Garabito, Jacó, Parque Nacional Carara, sobre el sendero Quebrada Bonita, 9°46’24.1”N 84°36’03.4” W, 110 m, bosque húmedo tropical, epífitas en bosque secundario en ramas caídas cerca de la toma de agua, 19 March 2008, D. Bogarín 4075 (JBL); Cóbano, Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve, southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, secondary vegetation on former plantations and pasture, and remnants of original tall evergreen forest on steep slopes and stream edges in the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, 0–200 m, 9º35´N 85º6´W, 1–7 December 1969, W.C. Burger & R.L. Liesner 6637 (CR)— San José: Turrubares, San Luis, 1 km después de Pital hacia San Luis, orillas del Río Turrubaritos, 9°49’37.2” N 84°27’45.4” W, 450 m, bosque muy húmedo tropical transición a premontano, epífitas en Anacardium excelsum (Anacardiaceae) , 28 July 2010, M. Fernández 195, D. Bogarín, R.L. Dressler & C. Smith (JBL)—without locality data, JBL 10236 (JBL) ( Fig. 3 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Trichosalpinx reflexa (from D. Bogarín 1674). A: Habit; B: Flower; C: Dissected perianth; D: Column and lip, lateral view; E: Column, ventral view; F: Anther and pollinaria. Drawn by D. Bogarín.

FIGURE 2. Photograph of Trichosalpinx reflexa (from D. Bogarín 1674).

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Trichosalpinx reflexa (white circles), T. memor (black circles) and T. ciliaris (triangles) in Costa Rica.