Specklinia spectabilis (Ames & C.Schweinf.) Pupulin & Karremans

Pupulin, Franco, Karremans, Adam P. & Gravendeel, Barbara, 2012, A reconsideration of the empusellous species of Specklinia (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) in Costa Rica, Phytotaxa 63 (1), pp. 1-20 : 15-18

Specklinia spectabilis (Ames & C.Schweinf.) Pupulin & Karremans , comb. nov.

Basionym: Pleurothallis spectabilis Ames & Schweinfurth (1925: 34) . Type: PANAMA. Veraguas: Santa Fé , Feb. 1924, 1500 ft, Powell 382 (holotype, AMES!; isotype, MO; photo of type, AMES!) .

Epiphytic, caespitose, erect herb to 18 cm tall. Roots fibrous, flexuous, glabrous, to 1 mm in diameter. Stem abbreviated, terete-subcomplanate, slender, monophyllous, 1.2–1.5 cm long, covered by a glumaceous, adpressed, obtuse sheath, becoming dry-papyraceous with age and eventually dissolving. Leaf narrowly oblanceolate, minutely retuse, subcoriaceous, 11.5–16.5× 1.2–1.7 cm, the adaxial midvein protruding at apex into a small apicule, gradually tapering toward the base into a strongly conduplicate-channeled, ancipitous petiole to 3.5 cm long. Inflorescence produced laterally from the apex of the stem, with an annulus, born from a small, papyraceous, spathaceous bract to 4 mm long, erect to arching, distichous, congested, successively many-flowered (to 23+) raceme, to 36 cm long; peduncle flattened, ancipitous, to 28 cm long, provided with 3 distant, tubular-amplectent, ancipitous, acute bracts to 9 mm long; rachis complanate, gently fractiflex. Floral bracts broadly ovate, acute, strongly flattened, abaxially ancipitous, apically shortly recurved-subuncinate in lateral view, 10× 6 mm. Pedicel cylindric, glabrous, to 11 mm long, persistent. Ovary cylindric-subclavate, 4 mm long, green. Flowers orange, sepals semi-hyaline at the base, tinged orange along the veins, column yellow. Sepals densely papillose adaxially except at the base, where they become semi-hyaline; dorsal sepal erect, triangular-lanceolate, acute, 5-veined, slightly concave at the base, inner surface densely papillose on the distal two-thirds, papillae extending almost to the base along the thickened margins, base semi-hyaline, the veins flushed with orange, 18.4–20.2× 4.8–5.2 mm; lateral sepals semigeniculate, born subparallele and then twisted outwards, lanceolate-subfalcate, triveined, subacuminate, ending into a short mucro, margins slightly revolute, 18.0–18.4× 3.6–4.1 mm, connate at the base for ca. 5 mm to form a deeply saccate mentum around the column foot, base hyaline, ribbed abaxially along veins, then densely papillose, the midvein strongly carinate externally. Petals ligulate-falcate, acute, porrect, papillose at the concave apex, abruptly contracting into a mucro, univeined, 4.1–4.5×0.8–1.0 mm. Lip longitudinally arched-convex in natural position, thinly articulate with the column foot by a hyaline claw, rectangular-subpandurate when expanded, truncate, with a small apicule, 4.9–5.2× 1.5–1.6 mm, provided with a pair of thin, erect keels arising from the middle margin and gently converging close to the apex, central portion with a shallow groove between the keels. Column semiterete, arched, 4.5 mm long without the foot, central portion expanded into broad, membranaceous, semihyaline wings, upper margin denticulate, clinandrium deeply lacerate-dentate; column foot stout, forward-projecting, incurved, slightly grooved at the base, ca. 2.0 mm long. Anther cap ovatesubquadrate, deeply cucullate, 2-celled. Pollinia 2, obovate-complanate, the subhyaline base contracted into a small hook. Immature fruit a green capsule, narrowly obovate, glabrous, with six crests, three taller, thus appearing triangular, 18 mm long, 10 mm wide at its widest point, just below the apex.

Other material examined:— MEXICO. Chiapas: Soto 9484 ( AMO) . NICARAGUA. Chontales: Cerro Oluma , lower to middle E slopes; moist forest in quebradas, 12°18'06"N 085°23'22"W, 500–700 m, 30 Jan. 2008, Stevens, Coronado, Montiel, Duarte 26820 ( HULE; MO; photograph of flower, MO!) . COSTA RICA. San José: trail up to water source for guard station in Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo ; humid forest, 700–750 m, 83°57’ N - 10°06’ W. 16/II/1984, Chase 84218 (CR-98483!; CR-98381!; K-spirit); Bajo de la Hondura: Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, floreció en el JBL 16-XII-1993, Mora s.n. ( USJ!) ; Vasquez de Coronado: Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, Sendero la Botella , 10°10’00” N 83°57’20” W, 750m, 21 Sept. 1990, Ingram 559 & Ferrell ( USJ!; INB!) ; Limón: Pococí, Guapiles, Reserva Teleférico del bosque lluvioso, parque atlántico, 10°10’24.5” N – 83°54’48.3” W, 546 m, 14 Oct. 2008, Quesada 2729 , Serrano & Volio ( CR!) ; Heredia: Estación Carillo de 700 a 450 m. de la Fila Cañón del R. Sucio, bosque muy húmedo tropicaltransición a premontano, 12/11/1983, Chacón 1716 & Herrera (CR-108241!); Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, Bajo de La Hondura , recolector desconocido, sin fecha, floreció en el JBL el 26 Oct. 2000, Blanco 1653 ( USJ!) ; Parque Nacional Braulio Carillo, Río Sucio , 1350 m, 10 Oct. 2001, Bosch s.n. ( USJ!) ; Pococí: Parismina, recolectada por Gerson Villalobos , floreció en cultivo en el Jardín Botánico Lankester, 30 Octubre 2009, Bogarín 7401 (JBL-Spirit!); same locality and data, Bogarín 7403 (JBL-spirit!) ; Alajuela: Potrerillos, Piedades de San Ramón , 1150m, 6/XII/1922, Brenes 495 ( CR!) ; Piedades de San Ramón , 1100 m, 26/X/1925, Brenes 273 (1458) ( CR!) ; without collection data, flowered in cultivation at Lankester Botanical Garden, JBL- 02643 (JBL-spirit!, CR!) ; flowered in cultivation at Lankester Botanical Garden , JBL-02641 (JBL-spirit!) ( Fig. 5 , 10 ); flowered in cultivation at Lankester Botanical Garden, JBL-02535 (JBL-spirit!); flowered in cultivation at Lankester Botanical Garden, JBL-02532 (JBL-spirit!) .

Distribution:— Southern Mexico (Chiapas) to central Panama, mostly along the Caribbean watershed, at 450-1350 meters ( Fig. 11 ).

Ames described Pleurothallis spectabilis from Central Panama, comparing it with P. pfavii and its synonym, P. platyrachis , and distinguishing it by the truncate-retuse lip, and dentate wing of the column ( Ames & Schweinfurth 1925). The short rhizome, congested inflorescence with floral bracts shorter than pedicels, and apiculate-mucronate petals are diagnostic of the species.

We accept here populations from Nicaragua as belonging to S. spectabilis , even though the available material is scanty and illustrations somewhat confused. The plant illustrated by Hamer (1984) from Nicaragua and supposedly based on Stevens & Hahn 18980 (MO) is actually a mix of that collection and the flower from a specimen from El Salvador, previously illustrated under Hamer 482 in his series on orchids of El Salvador ( Hamer 1981). Whereas the size of the cespitose plant, floral bracts shorter than pedicels, truncate lip and serrulate column-wings are apparently consistent with the concept treated here as S. spectabilis , the petals of both specimens illustrated from El Salvador and Nicaragua are not mucronate, but instead acute and roundedinvolute, respectively. It may well be that populations from El Salvador on the Pacific watershed of Central America continental division represent a still undescribed taxon. On the other hand, photographs of flowers of Stevens 26820 (MO), also from Nicaragua, are consistent with S. spectabilis . Finally, the presence in Mexico of S. spectabilis ( Solano & Soto 2008) confirms that this taxon reaches the northernmost distribution for the group and strengthens our interpretation of intermediate populations as belonging to this species.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Comparison of flowers of species of the Specklinia endotrachys group. A. Specklinia endotrachys (Blanco 961). B. Specklinia pfavii (JBL-11086). C. Specklinia remotiflora (Bogarín 8181). D. Specklinia spectabilis (JBL-02641). All flowers shown in front, three-quarters side, and side views. Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURE 10. Specklinia spectabilis (Ames) Pupulin & Karremans. A. Habit. B. Flower. C. Dissected perianth. D. Petals. E. Column and lip, side view. F. Lip, front and side views. G. Column, ventral view. H. pollinaria and anther. Drawn by F. Pupulin & E. Winkel from JBL-02641 (JBL-spirit).

FIGURE 11. Distribution map of Specklinia spectabilis.