Five new species of Pleurothallis (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) in subsection Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae from Southeastern Ecuador Jiménez, Marco M. Vélez-Abarca, Leisberth Mashendo-Jimbicti, Viviana Garzón-Suárez, Henry X. Monteros, Marco F. Wilson, Mark Phytotaxa 2023 2023-08-09 607 3 161 181 Mashendo-Jimbicti, Velez-Abarca & M.M.Jimenez Mashendo-Jimbicti, Velez-Abarca & M. M. Jimenez 2023 [164,1103,1044,1070] Liliopsida Orchidaceae Pleurothallis Plantae Asparagales 1 162 Tracheophyta species kashi-menkakarai sp. nov.    Type:— ECUADOR. Zamora Chinchipe: El Pangui, Cordillera del Cóndorflank, 3°38’32’’ S, 78°30’37” W,  1302 m,  23 October 2021,  L. VélezLV-0069( holotype: HUTPL 14771!)  Similar to  Pleurothallis fossulataLuer & Escobarfrom which it differs by its shorter, elliptic dorsal sepal ( 7.5–8 mm vs. 11 mmlong, oblong), shorter, translucent green synsepal (6.5–7.0 mm vs. 10 mmlong, red brown), crenulate, verrucose petals, equal in length to the lip ( vs.entire, glabrous, shorter than the lip), and involute, thickened, verrucose, crenulate lip margins ( vs.revolute, thin, smooth, entire).   Description:— Plantepiphytic, caespitose, to 30 cmtall. Rootsslender, white, flexuous, 1 mmin diameter. Ramicaulserect, green, 8.9–20.1 long and 0.1 cmin diameter enclosed by two papyraceous sheaths at the base and one below the middle. Leaves6.6–11.0 × 2.1–4.5 cm, sessile, coriaceous, erect to suberect, ovate, long acuminate, shiny, cordate at the base, with faintly raised lateral nerves, margin revolute, purplish. Inflorescencesingle-flowered, resupinate, produced in a successive fascicle from a reclining spathaceous bract to 1.4 cmlong; peduncle abbreviate ca. 1 mmlong, concealed within a spathaceous bract, floral bract tubular ca. 4 mmlong, pedicel cylindrical, verrucose, straight, 3.9–5.0 mm long. Sepalsglandulous-cellular, translucent yellow to reddish brown with red-brown and yellow veins, rarely in almost purely translucent yellow; dorsal sepal 7.5–8 × 4.5–5.0 mm, broadly elliptic, obtuse, concave, 3-veined; lateral sepals connate into a broadly ovate, subacute, synsepal, 6.5–7.0 × 4.5–5.0 mm, 4-veined, slightly concave at the base; Petals4.5–5.0 × 0.9–1.0 mm, narrowly oblong, slightly falcate at the base, acute, inconspicuously 1-veined, papillose-verrucose, reddish brown to red purple, rarely tan yellow, margins yellow and crenulate-erose. Lip5 × 2.5–2.7 mm, shortly unguiculate, oblong-ovate, obtuse and incurved at the apex, slightly convex above the middle, 3-veined abaxially, papillose-verrucose, reddish brown to red-purple, rarely tan yellow, margins crenulate, thickened, purple; the base concave, hinged to the column-foot; a small, narrowly elliptic glenion in the middle. Columnpurple, stout, complanate, papillose, 2.0 mm long, 1.5–1.8 mmwide, 2-channeled dorsally, widening to the base, column-foot glandulous, paler. Anthernarrowly obovate, purplish with a touch of yellow, papillose, stigma apical, bilobed, 0.7 mmlong. Pollinia2, clavate, 0.6 mmlong. Ovarycylindrical, subverrucose, brownish purple, slightly curved at the joint with the pedicel, 3.5–4.6 mmlong, 0.8 mmwide.   Distribution and ecology:—  Pleurothallis kashi-menkakaraiis known from two locations within the Cordillera del Cóndor in south-eastern Ecuador( Figure 3). The species is found around 1400 min elevation in lower montane forests near watercourses of sandstone plateaus. The holotypeof this species was found growing sympatrically with  Maxillaria grayi Dodson (1994a: 69),  P. cordata( Ruiz & Pavón 1798: 234) Lindley (1830: 5)and  P. adeleae Luer (1981: 200), between the lower and middle strata of the forest. This forest is characterized by a mixture of Andean and lowland trees of the Amazon, where the canopy can grow up to 30 min height and the understory is dense. It was also found growing together with  Dichaea histrio Reichenbach (1859: 330),  Epilyna embreei Dodson (1994b: 146)and  Maxillaria bicallosa( Reichenbach 1878: 9) Garay (1962: 527), over the roots of  Socratea exorrhiza( Martius 1824: 36) Wendland (1860: 103)palms, in a nearby location. This species has been only recorded in the province of Zamora Chinchipeand is considered as endemic.   Etymology:—From the words kashi(night), and menkakarai(lost), meaning “lost at night” in the Shuar language, because the new species was discovered at night when researchers were lost in the forest of a Shuar community.   Taxonomic discussion:—  Pleurothallis kashi-menkakaraiis similar to  Pleurothallis angustaAmes & C. Schweinfurth (1925: 23–24)from Costa Ricaand  P. fossulatafrom Colombiawith which it shares flowers with a maroon-burgundy colored lip, a triangular, cream-colored area between the apex and edges of the lip and glenion and two calli flanking the deep glenion. The new species is distinguished from  Pleurothallis fossulata( Figure 2) by its smaller plants ( 30 cm vs. 42 cmtall), the narrower (3.0– 4.5 cm vs. 5–7 cmwide), cordate, attenuate leaves ( vs.deeply cordate, acuminate), the shorter pedicel (3.9–5.0 mm vs. 10 mmlong), the shorter ovary (3.5–4.6 vs. 6 mmlong), the one flower produced per fascicle ( vs.to 2–3 often simultaneous), the non-dilated petals ( vs.dilated at the base), the subacute synsepal ( vs.obtuse) and the strongly incurved apex of the lip ( vs.convex). It is also similar to  Pleurothallis angustabut is distinguished by the smaller plants ( 30 cm vs. 50 cmtall), the shorter (6.6–11.0 cm vs.8.0– 16.5 cmwide), ovate, long-acuminate leaves ( vs.lanceolate, acute), the shorter pedicel (3.9–5.0 mm vs. 14 mmlong), the shorter ovary ( 3.5–4.6 mm vs.5.0–7.0 mm long), the translucent yellow or reddish brown flowers ( vs.dark purple), the shorter ( 8 mm vs. 11 mmlong), broadly elliptic, obtuse dorsal sepal ( vs.ovate, acute), the 4-veined synsepal ( vs.5-veined), the smaller (4.5–5.0 × 0.9–1.0 mm vs.6.3–7.0 × 1.5–2.0 mm), narrowly oblong, acute petals ( vs.falcate, obtuse), the lip with crenulate margins ( vs.minutely ciliate) and the narrowly obovate anther cap ( vs.obtriangular) ( Pupulin 2021).   Conservation status:—  Pleurothallis kashi-menkakaraihas not been reported within the Ecuadorian National System of Protected Areas. The species is known from two abundant populations, where a population density of 3 to 4 plants per phorophyte can be found. However, the range in which the species occurs is under threat by gold mining and grazing since  P. kashi-menkakaraihas only been observed within an area of 9 km 2( Figure 3). 4173771305 2021-10-23 HUTPL L. Velez Ecuador 1302 -3.6422222 Cordillera del Condor 21 -78.51028 El Pangui 1 162 HUTPL 14771 1 Zamora Chinchipe holotype