Prescottia spiranthophylla Barb.Rodr.

Azevedo, Cecília Oliveira De, Berg, Cássio Van Den & Barros, Fábio De, 2014, A revision of Prescottia (Orchidaceae: Orchidoideae, Cranichideae), Phytotaxa 178 (4), pp. 233-286 : 274

14. Prescottia spiranthophylla Barb.Rodr. , Gen . Spec. Orchid. 1: 177. 1877. [ Cogniaux 1895, Hoehne 1945].

Type (neotype, here designated):— BRAZIL. Distrito Federal : Retiro dos Bandeirantes, 04 August 1931, Brade & Lutz 15 ( R!). Fig. 30 .

Rupicolous herbs. Leaves 3–6, rosulate, sessile; blade green, (10.0–)20.0–44.0(–47.0) × (1.0–) 2.0–3.0(–5.0) cm, lanceolate to linear, apex acute, base truncate, margin entire. Inflorescence 140–260-flowered; peduncle green (17.0–)29.0– 67.0 × (0.7–)1.0– 1.2 cm; peduncle bracts 4–5, green, 20.0–90.0(–190.0) × 10.0–24.0 mm, ovate to oblong, apex acute; rachis green (9.0–)12.0–27.0 × (0.8–)1.0– 1.2 cm. Flower bracts green, 3.0–5.4(–7.5) × 2.0– 3.2 mm, ovate, apex caudate; flower erect, green to whitish; dorsal sepal revolute, 2.7–3.8 × 1.6–1.9 mm, lanceolate, apex acute; lateral sepals reflexed with distal part adpressed to ovary to reflexed, 3.7–3.8 × 1.8–2.2 mm, ovate, apex acute; petals revolute, 3.7–3.8 × 0.8–1.0 mm, linear, apex acute to obtuse; lip yellow to green, 2.7–3.0(–4.2) × 2.0– 3.5 mm, inner surface glabrous, outer surface densely minute-papillose, with trichomes at the base. Column 1.7–2.0 mm long, dorsal surface covered by trichomes.

Distribution:— Restricted to Brazil, apparently endemic to Rio de Janeiro municipality ( Fig. 17 ).

Specimens Examined:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Parque Natural Municipal da Prainha , Pedra dos Cabritos (Boa Vista), 15 July 2006, Azevedo 270 ( HUEFS) .

Habitat:— Prescottia spiranthophylla is found growing together with species of Bromeliaceae and Cactaceae on granite at 100– 460 m.

Conservation Status:— Not endangered.

Notes:— The main distinguishing characters of Prescottia spiranthophylla are its robust, vigorous habit, large sessile leaves and congested inflorescence with overlapping flowers.

Cogniaux (1895) transcribed Barbosa Rodrigues’ original description, saying that he did not see the original material. Hoehne (1945) commented that the original diagnosis was not sufficient to recognize the species. Besides this comment, he made a new diagnosis and presented an illustration to establish the species. Pabst (1966) considered it a synonym of Prescottia plantaginifolia , a decision followed by Pabst & Dungs (1975) and Sprunger (1996). Here we are re-establishing the species based on morphological characters.

Barbosa Rodrigues made good illustrations of his collections, which are mentioned in the original description. Those illustrations were recently reproduced in Sprunger et al. (1996). Many of Barbosa Rodrigues’ original illustrations have been chosen as the lectotypes of his names. When Barbosa Rodrigues described Prescottia spiranthophylla , he cited a plate (t. 501), but the original drawing was never found and had probably been lost. For this reason, it was not printed in Iconographie des orchidées du Brésil ( Sprunger et al. 1996), and it is not at the library of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden together with the remaining original Barbosa Rodrigues plates. We have chosen here one of the two specimens cited by Hoehne (1945), Brade & Lutz 15, as the neotype of P. spiranthophylla . In addition, its label states “Distrito Federal” as the site of collection, but it was certainly collected at Rio de Janeiro, which was the Brazilian Federal District around 1960.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Distribution of Prescottia glazioviana, P. leptostachya, P. mucugensis, P. ostenii, P. phleoides and P. spiranthophylla.

FIGURE 30. Prescottia spiranthophylla. Drawn from fresh material (Azevedo 270). A. Habit. B,C. Flower. B. Front view. C. Lateral view. D. Floral bract. E. Perianth parts, clockwise from top: lip, dorsal sepal, petal, lateral sepal. F,G. Column F. Dorsal view. G. Ventral view. (Azevedo 270).