Specklinia gersonii Bogarín & Karremans, 2015

Karremans, Adam P., Bogarín, Diego, Pupulin, Franco, Luer, Carlyle A. & Gravendeel, Barbara, 2015, The glandulous Specklinia: morphological convergence versus phylogenetic divergence, Phytotaxa 218 (2), pp. 101-127 : 112-114

Specklinia gersonii Bogarín & Karremans , sp. nov.

Type:— COSTA RICA. Limón: Guácimo, Pocora , La Argentina , camino a la catarata del río Dos Novillos , ca. 600 m, invenit Gerson Villalobos et Daniel Matamoros, floreció en cultivo en el Jardín Botánico Lankester, 12 April 2012, D. Bogarín 9565 (holotype, JBL-spirit, D5192!; isotype, JBL-spirit, D5197!; Fig. 8 ) .

The species is similar to Specklinia glandulosa (Ames) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase , but can be easily distinguished by the wider and sub-orbicular (vs. linear) leaves, the lack of a bract on the peduncle, the trialate ovary (vs. terete), the wider dorsal sepal (2.5 vs 1.5 mm), and the widely rounded apical half of the sepals in natural position (vs. narrow and elongate).

Epiphytic, caespitose, ascending, erect herb to 4.0 cm tall. Roots fibrous, flexuous, glabrous, to 1 mm in diameter. Stem abbreviated, terete, to 5 mm long, concealed by a papyraceous, subancipitous, acute sheath to 4 mm long. Leaf elliptic to broadly elliptic, up to 20 × 12 mm, minutely and irregularly emarginate at apex, the mid-vein protruding abaxially into a small apicule, gradually tapering toward the base into a deeply conduplicate petiole, subcoriaceous. Inflorescence borne laterally from the base of the leaf, without an annulus, successively single flowered, up to 3 cm long, glandular; peduncle terete, to 2 cm long, without bracts. Floral bracts infundibuliform, glandular, broadly ovate, acute to subacuminate, 4 mm. Pedicel terete, glandular, 3.5 mm long, persistent, appearing fascicled. Ovary trialate, subclavate, 2 mm long, greenish to orange. Flowers up to 4, only one developed at a time; with fruity fragrance around midday. Sepals fleshy, densely microscopically-glandulose on the outer surface; dorsal sepal narrowly-elliptic, 3- veined, acute, greenish orange, with bright orange-red, the margins microscopically glandulous, 7.0–8.0 × 2.5 mm; lateral sepals narrowly elliptic-oblanceolate, subfalcate, 3-veined, 6.5–7.5 × 4.0–5.0 mm, connate for about two thirds of their length, the midvein strongly carinate abaxially. Petals small, lanceolate-falcate, acute, 3.1–3.3 × 1.4–1.6 mm, 3-veined. Lip reddish-orange, small, longitudinally arched-convex in natural position, thinly articulate with the column foot by a hyaline claw, apically bifid-emarginate in natural position, sagittate to sub-triangular when expanded, obtuse, 3.5 × 1.4–1.5 mm, provided with a pair of sharp, triangular lateral lobes at the base. Column dark-red, arched, terete and slender at the base, 2.5 mm long without the foot, provided with membranous wings, the apex prolonged into a deeply cucullate, lacerate clinandrium; column foot, stout, fleshy, 1 mm long. Anther cap deeply cucullate, ovate, 2-celled. Pollinia 2, obovate-complanate, minutely hooked at the base. * NOTE: Description based on DB9565 & AK 6025.

Additional material: — COSTA RICA. Limón: Guácimo, Pocora, La Argentina , camino a la catarata del río Dos Novillos , 10°06’07.71” N 83°39’28.74” W, 591 m, bosque muy húmedo tropical transición a premontano, 25 November 2013, Karremans, Bogarín & Villalobos 6025 (JBL-spirit!; Fig. 1d & 2b ) .

Etymology: —The name honors Gerson Villalobos, a Costa Rican orchid enthusiast who brought this species to our attention.

Distribution: —Known only from Costa Rica, growing at elevations around 600 m ( Fig. 6 ).

Notes: —Despite its appealing bright orange flowers and easily recognizable broadly elliptic leaves it seems that Specklinia gersonii Bogarín & Karremans had eluded botanists so far. The species is as far as we know very rare; in fact we are aware only of a handful of plants, all from a single population on a trail along the Dos Novillos river in Limón.

Figures

FIGURE 1. The glandulous Specklinia species. A. S. alajuelensis 1 (Karremans 3265). B. S. alajuelensis 2 (Bogarín 2895). C. S. chontalensis (Pupulin 6543). D. S. gersonii (Karremans 6025). E. S. glandulosa (Karremans 6306). F. S. vittariifolia (Karremans 2945). Photographs by A.P. Karremans.

FIGURE 2. Comparison of the habits and flowers of species of the glandulous species of Specklinia. A. S. alajuelensis 1 (Karremans 3265). B. S. gersonii (Karremans 6025). C. S. glandulosa (Karremans 6306). D. S. vittariifolia (Karremans 2945). Scale bar = 1 cm. Photographs by A.P. Karremans.

FIGURE 6. General distribution map of the glandulous species of Specklinia. Edited by D. Bogarín.

FIGURE 8. Specklinia gersonii Bogarín & Karremans. A. habit. B. flower. C. dissected perianth. D. column and lip, lateral view. E. column ventral view. F. lip. G. anther and pollinaria. Drawn by D. Bogarín & L. Oses from Bogarín 9565 (JBL-spirit).