Specklinia absurda Bogarín, Karremans & R.Rincón, 2013

Bogarín, Diego, Karremans, Adam P., Rincón, Rafael & Gravendeel, Barbara, 2013, A new Specklinia (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from Costa Rica and Panama, Phytotaxa 115 (2), pp. 31-41 : 34-38

Specklinia absurda Bogarín, Karremans & R.Rincón , spec. nov. ( Figs. 1–3 ).

The species is similar to Specklinia fuegi (Rchb.f.) Solano & Soto Arenas; however, it differs in the pendent plant, singleflowered inflorescence, whitish-yellowish sepals with red-pink veins and yellow apex, red petals with translucent margins and the pandurate-trilobed, unguiculate lip with a distinct papillose isthmus, and erect, reniform, erose lateral lobes, with a Y-shaped thickened, hirsute callus. It is also similar to Specklinia cactantha Pridgeon & M.W.Chase but differs in the erect, glabrous inflorescence, not spiculate sepals and pandurate-trilobed lip.

Type: — COSTA RICA-PANAMÁ. Puntarenas-Chiriquí: Coto Brus-Renacimiento, línea fronteriza hacia el Cerro Pando, después del mojón N.338, 8°55’11.22” N 82°43’18.18” W, 2446 m, bosque muy húmedo montano bajo, epífita en bosque primario, “ in sylvis virginis versus montium Pando in itinere ad summum Costa Rica austro-orientalis in finibus utrimque Costa Rica et Panama ”, 19 April 2011, Bogarín 8711, Jiménez & Karremans (holotype, CR!; isotypes, JBL!, PMA!, UCH!, USJ!) .

Epiphytic, caespitose herb, up to 2.5 cm long. Roots flexuous, to 1 mm in diameter. Ramicauls erect, up to 1 cm long, enclosed by 2 tubular sheaths up to 5 mm long. Leaves suberect, elliptic, obtuse, emarginate, with an apicule, lenticular, 1.0–2.2 × 0.5–0.8 cm, cuneate at the base, narrowing into an indistinct petiole less than 3 mm long. Inflorescence racemose, single-flowered, pendent, glabrous, shorter or as long as the leaves, 1.0– 1.5 cm long; peduncle, up to 1.1 cm long, rachis 1 mm long. Floral bracts ovate, acute, conduplicate, membranaceous, up to 1.0 mm long. Pedicels 8 mm long, persistent. Ovary to 1.5 mm long, carinate, echinate. Flowers with the sepals whitish-yellowish with red-purple veins, apex yellow, petals red with translucent margins, lip with the lateral lobes reddish, midlobe yellow with margin pinkish white and column whitishgreenish. Dorsal sepal ovate to elliptic, acuminate, entire, dorsally with three keels, concave, 9.2 × 3.5 mm. Lateral sepals connate up to 4.5 mm into an ovate, entire, dorsally keeled lamina 11.3 × 5.7 mm, the acuminate, filiform apices to 2.5 mm long. Petals spathulate-lanceolate, acute, entire, 4.3 × 1.6 mm. Lip unguiculate, pandurate-trilobed, 4.8 × 4.0 mm, with a distinct isthmus below the midlobe, lateral lobes reniform, erose, erect in natural position, 1.4 × 1.8 mm, isthmus quadrate, papillose, 0.9 × 0.9 mm, midlobe triangular, puberulent, erose, 2.8 × 2.1 mm, with a Y-shaped, thickened, hirsute callus from the middle towards the apex, attached to the column foot. Column cylindric, footed, arcuate, entire apically, with a pair of minute calli at base, anther apical and stigma ventral. Pollinia two, ovoid, without caudicles or viscidium. Anther cap rounded, cucullate. ( Fig. 3A–E )

Distribution: —Endemic to the Cordillera de Talamanca in southern Costa Rica and western Panama ( Fig. 4 ).

Habitat and ecology: —Epiphytes forming large colonies on main trunks in oak forest mostly in shaded spots in wet forest ( Holdridge, 1987) at around 2400–2550 m elevation.

Etymology: —From the Latin absurdum, “absurd, illogical, out of tune, contrary to common sense” in reference to the flower morphology, especially the lip, which seems exceptional when compared to its closest relatives.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — COSTA RICA. Limón: Talamanca, Bratsi, Parque Internacional La Amistad , Valle del Silencio , orillas del Río Terbi cerca del andarivel, 9°06'41.81" N 82°57'42.44" W, 2462 m, bosque pluvial montano, 16 agosto 2012, Bogarín 9864, Fernández, Godínez, Karremans, Kruizinga & Smith (JBL-spirit). Límite entre Limón y Puntarenas: Talamanca-Buenos Aires, Bratsi-Potrero Grande, Parque Internacional La Amistad , Sector Altamira , sendero al Valle del Silencio , Cerro Hoffman , sobre la divisoria de aguas, 9°05'38.2" N 82°58'37.73" W, 2553 m, bosque pluvial montano, 14 agosto 2012, Bogarín 9772, Fernández, Godínez, Karremans, Kruizinga & Smith (JBL-spirit). ( Fig. 5 ) .

Observations: —This species is similar to Specklinia fuegi (Reichenbach; 1866: 97) Solano & Soto Arenas (2002: 10). It differs mainly in the pendent, single-flowered inflorescence (rather than erect, fewflowered), whitish-yellowish sepals with red-pink veins and yellow apex, red petals with translucent margins (rather than white-cream) and pandurate-trilobed, unguiculate lip with a distinct papillose isthmus below the anterior lobe, and reniform, erose lateral lobes, erect in natural position ( Fig. 3A ), with a Y-shaped thickened, hirsute, papillose apical callus ( Fig. 3D, E ; rather than a simple, smooth lip without an isthmus). Specklinia absurda is also similar to Specklinia cactantha (Luer; 1976: 72) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase (2001: 257) and S. turrialbae (Luer; 1991: 105) Luer (2004: 264). The main differences among the species related to S. absurda are summarized in Table 2.

Phylogenetic placement: —Placing S. absurda among its closest relatives based on morphology proved to be a difficult task. The plant habit resembles species of the S. grobyi (Bateman ex Lindley; 1835: t. 1797) Barros (1983: 110) complex with elliptic-ovate or suborbicular thick leaves, whereas the pendent, singleflowered inflorescence and acuminate sepals resemble those of S. fimbriata (Ames & Schweinfurth; 1930: 18) Solano (2003: t. 671) and other species placed in Muscarella . However, S. absurda lacks the erect multiflowered inflorescence, linear lip and glabrous ovary of the S. grobyi complex, and the loose raceme, denticulate, fringed or fimbriate petals, and pollinaria with caudicles, which characterize species of Muscarella . Superficially Trichosalpinx webbiae Luer & Escobar (1984) is also similar, sharing the elliptic, coriaceous thick leaves, acuminate, dorsally carinate sepals, obovate petals and a trilobed lip with the lateral lobes erect in natural position; however, that species has obscurely lepanthiform bracts (rather than tubular), prostrate leaves mottled with purple beneath (rather than erect, immaculate), erect inflorescences (rather than pendent), a glabrous ovary (rather than echinate) and a simple, trilobulate lip with entire margins (rather than a pandurate-trilobed, erose lip with a distinct papillose isthmus below the anterior lobe, and a Y-shaped thickened apical callus in S. absurda ). Further morphological and molecular study of T. webbiae will be useful to confirm its phylogenetic affinities. An unpublished molecular phylogenetic analysis of Specklinia carried out by Karremans et al. indicates that S. absurda is related to some species placed in Sylphia by Luer (2006), all found embedded within Specklinia , sister to a clade that includes species of the S. grobyi complex and all the orange-flowered species of Specklinia , including the type of the genus, Specklinia lanceola (Sw.; 1788: 123) Lindl. (1830: pl. 8) ( Fig. 6 , Table 1). The new species is similar to Specklinia cactantha , S. fuegi and S. turrialbae in habit, ramicauls and petiolate leaves, inflorescence, echinate ovary (in the material we studied; Fig. 3C ), acuminate sepals and rounded to apiculate, obovate petals, and column thickened towards the apex, and pollinaria without caudicles or viscidium. Nevertheless, the combination of unusual characters observed in the new species, especially the complex lip morphology ( Fig. 3A ), is not found in any of those species groups, and we have yet to find a species that we can say is sister to this species of Specklinia .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Specklinia absurda. A. Habit. B. Flower. C. Dissected perianth. D. Column and lip, lateral view. E. Column, front view. F. Lip, natural position and spread. G. Pollinarium and anther cap. Drawn from the holotype by D. Bogarín.

FIGURE 2. Lankester Composite Dissection Plate (LCDP) of Specklinia absurda. A. Habit. B. Flower. C. Dissected perianth. D. Column and lip, lateral view. E. Lip, spread. F. Pollinarium and anther cap. Based on photographs of Bogarín et al. 9772 (JBL) by A.P. Karremans and D. Bogarín.

FIGURE 3. SEM images of micromorphology of Specklinia absurda. A. Lip, flattened. B. Column front view showing the anther cap, rostellum and stigma. C. Surface of the echinate ovary showing the cellular projections. D. Lip apex showing the epidermal cells of the apex of the callus. E. Basal lip lobe margin showing the shape of the papillate epidermal cells. Voucher specimen: Bogarín et al. 9772 (JBL). By A.P. Karremans.

FIGURE 4. Distribution of S. absurda in Costa Rica and Panama, by D. Bogarín.

FIGURE 5. Flower morphology: A. S. absurda (Bogarín 9772, JBL). B. Specklinia fuegi (Karremans 5600, JBL). C. Specklinia turrialbae (Karremans 5635, JBL). A-B by D. Bogarín. C by A.P. Karremans.

FIGURE 6. Phylogenetic placement of S. absurda. By A.P. Karremans using FigTree v.1.3.1.