Specklinia simmleriana (Rendle) Luer (2004: 263)

Karremans, Adam, Salguero, Grettel, Bogarín, Diego, Oses, Lizbeth & Cedeño-Fonseca, Marco, 2020, Illustrations and studies in Neotropical Orchidaceae: the Specklinia brighamii group (Pleurothallidinae) in Costa Rica, Phytotaxa 447 (1), pp. 16-30 : 25-27

5. Specklinia simmleriana (Rendle) Luer (2004: 263) . (Fig. 5)

Basionym : Pleurothallis simmleriana Rendle (1900: 274–275) . Type :— COSTA RICA. Flowered by M. W. Barbey at Chamblésy, near Geneva, Apr 1900, Tonduz s.n. (holotype: BM-000082204!; tracings of the original drawing of the holotype, AMES-23676!) .

Homotypic synonym: Sarcinula simmleriana (Rendle) Luer (2006: 218) .

Heterotypic synonyms: Pleurothallis periodica Ames (1924: 21) . Specklinia periodica (Ames) Pridgeon & Chase (2001: 258) . Type:— COSTA RICA. Cartago: Peralta, elev. 1000 ft., 13 July 1923, Flowers hyaline, yellowish, deeply tinged and striped with maroon purple. Labellum and petals very dark maroon, Lankester 463 (holotype: AMES!; illustration of type: AMES!).

Epiphytic, caespitose, erect herbs, to 6 cm tall excluding the inflorescence. Roots flexuous, to 0.5 mm in diameter. Rhizome extremely abbreviated. Ramicauls erect, 2–4 mm tall, enclosed by tubular sheaths. Leaves narrowly elliptical to oblanceolate, conduplicate, acute, slightly oblique, emarginate, with a short apicule, 2.5–5.0 × 0.4–0.7 cm, the base narrowing into a distinct petiole to 5 mm long. Inflorescence racemose, distichous, glabrous, erect, successively single-flowered, to 8 cm long, longer than the leaves, born by a slender filiform peduncle, to 6 cm long, the rachis congested, sub-fasciculate, to 1.5 cm. Floral bracts ovate, acute, conduplicate, tubular, to 3.5 mm long. Pedicels elongate, cylindrical, to 7 mm long, persistent, green, turning papery with age. Ovary greenish, cylindric, 1.6 mm long. Flowers pale yellow or ochre base, with well-defined crimson veins and margins, lip yellowish, densely spotted and stained with purple above the base, especially along the keels and margins, dark purple apically, column greenish with purple median stripes and along the margins. Dorsal sepal oblong-lanceolate, acute, concave, margins minutely glandular, 6.0–7.5 × 2.0 mm. Lateral sepals lanceolate, acute, connate for 3.0– 3.5 mm, forming a mentum at base, 3-veined, each 6.5–8.0 × 3.6–4.0 mm. Petals oblanceolate, apiculate, 2.7–3.5 × 1.0– 1.5 mm. Lip oblong to obovate, slightly wider at the apex, basally unguiculate, hinged to the column foot, cellular-glandular, the apex erose-denticulate with a pair of cellular-glandular, intramarginal keels on the apical third, the disc transversely cellular-rugose, the base truncate with a pair of minute lobules, 3.0–4.0 × 1.4 mm. Column cylindrical, arcuate, to 4 mm long, longitudinally winged, erose apex, with a 1.5 mm long column foot at the base. Anther cap incumbent, cucullate, and stigma ventral. Pollinia two, ovoid, flattened and hooked towards the base, lacking accessory structures.

Distribution:— Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica and western Panama.

Habitat and ecology:— Epiphytic in tropical wet and premontane forest belt transition along the Caribbean plains, 50–500 m elevation.

Phenology:— Flowering throughout the year but mostly April–October.

Etymology:— In honour of M. Paul Simmler, gardener of M.W. Barbey at Chambésy, near Geneva.

Material examined:— COSTA RICA. Limón: Siquirres, Santa Marta, epífitas, en la zona entre los Ríos Reventazón y Pacuare , 10°02’N, 83°32’W, 500–1000 m, 08 Mar 2004, Karremans & Vassart 184 (JBL-spirit) ; Siquirres, Bajo Tigre, orillas de la Quebrada Mona y el Río Pacuare , 10°00’00.53”N 83°32’36.89”W, 250 m, bosque muy húmedo tropical, invenimus prope Bajo Tigre in sylva secundaria quae flumine Mona influit in flumen Pacuare, 26 May 2011, Karremans et al 4205 (JBL-spirit) ; Horquetas , potrero al lado del camino a la Reserva Rara Avis, 10°20’12”N 83°58’28”W, 78 m, epífita en árbol en margen del potrero, 16 Apr 2009, Kisel & Turjak 2049 (JBL-spirit) .

FIGURE 5. Specklinia simmleriana (Rendle) Luer. A. Habit. B. Flower. C. Dissected perianth. D. Column and lip, lateral view. E. Lip. F. Column lateral and ventral views. F. Anther cap and pollinarium. Lankester Composite Dissection Plate ( LCDP) by G. Salguero based on Karremans 7017.

Heredia: Sarapiquí, La Virgen, Tirimbina Lodge, sendero en la isla a orilla del río Sarapiquí , 10°24’58.01”N 84°7’17.93”W, 149 m, 15 Apr 2018, Díaz et al. 323 (JBL-spirit) ; Sarapiquí, Reserva Ecológica La Tirimbina , 10°24’09”N 84°06’03”W, 200 m, 14 Jan 2001, Blanco et al. 1773 ( USJ) ; Sarapiquí, Puerto Viejo, Estación Biológica La Selva , ca. 50 m, epífitas en ramas caídas, 11 Nov 2016, Rojas & Blanco 165 (JBL-spirit) ; Sarapiquí, Puerto Viejo, Estación Biológica La Selva , 3 Oct 1985, Atwood 85-101 ( USJ) ; same locality, 29 Sept. 1985, Atwood 85-21 ( USJ) ; same locality, sendero SJ 2400m, epífita, flores con rayas vino, Aguilar 8298, 8757 ( LSCR) ; Sarapiquí, La Virgen, Reserva Biológica La Tirimbina , sendero El Canopy, 10°27’32”N 84°7’48”W, ca. 500 m, bosque húmedo premontano transición a basal, 8 Nov 2002, Bogarín et al. 92 ( USJ; JBL-spirit) ; Sarapiquí, Horquetas , camino a la Reserva Rara Avis, 150 m, 19 Nov 2003, Ossenbach 319 (JBL-spirit) ; Sarapiquí, La Virgen, Chilamate, Cerros Sardinal , 10°28’44” N 84°04’39” W, 106 m, 11 Apr 2016, Karremans et al. 7017 (JBL-spirit) .

Notes:— This species is distinguished by sepals and petals with well-defined purple stripes, smooth sepals and lip broadening apically with purple, inconspicuous apical teeth. It is similar in habit to the sympatric S. barbelifera and S. tirimbina , but these species differ from S. simmleriana in blotched or spotted sepals (respectively), glandular sepal margins and linear lip not broadening apically with conspicuous, whitish apical teeth.

Specklinia simmleriana was described from a collection by Adolphe Tonduz in Costa Rica and cultivated at the Barbey-Boissier conservatory in Chambésy, Switzerland. Pupulin et al. (2016) stated that the holotype is at BM because it has Rendle´s original handwriting, indicating that the specimen was collected by Tonduz. The holotype specimen has a colorless flower, possibly due to having been kept in alcohol before it was dried. However, Rendle (1900) described the sepals “with three broad, deep crimson veins on a pale, dull ochre ground dotted with crimson between the veins”, a diagnostic character of S. simmleriana (Fig. 5).