Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis Miranda, Engels & Smidt, 2016

Smidt, Eric De Camargo, Engels, Mathias Erich & Miranda, Marcelo Rodrigues, 2016, A new Aspidogyne (Orchidaceae: Goodyerinae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Phytotaxa 289 (3), pp. 279-284 : 279-282

Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis Miranda, Engels & Smidt , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 and 2 )

Type:— BRAZIL. São Paulo: Caraguatatuba, August 2014, 7 m a.s.l., M. R. Miranda 73 (fl. and fr.) (Holotype MBM!, Isotype SP!).

Herb, humicolous. Roots 0.5–3.4 × 0.1 cm. Leafless portion of stem 3.1–5 × 0.1–0.2 cm, terete, green; internodes 0.9–1.4 cm long, 1 root per internode. Leafy portion of stem 5.3–8.8 × 0.2 cm, 5–10-foliate, terete, green; internodes 0.6–1.3 cm long. Leaves petiolate, elliptic to lanceolate; petiole + sheath 0.6–1.2 × 0.3–0.4 cm, green; blade 1.1–2.5 × 0.6–1.1 cm, discolor, green, base decurrent. Inflorescence with 9–10 flowers, peduncle 6.3–10 × 0.1 cm, pubescent, green; peduncle bracts 0.9–1.2 × 0.2 cm, narrowly oblanceolate, glabrous, green; rachis 1.2–7.5 × 0.1 cm, pubescent, green; flower bracts 2.2–2.7 × 1 mm, narrow-lanceolate, glabrous, green. Flower with ovary + pedicel 3 × 0.6–0.9 mm, pubescent, green; dorsal sepal 2.4–2.8 × 1.2 mm, ovate-lanceolate, base acute, margin entire, apex rounded, green, pilose; lateral sepals 2.4–2.6 × 0.5–0.9 mm, oblong-lanceolate, base acute, margin entire, apex rounded, green, pilose; petals 2.4–2.6 × 0.6 mm, spatulate, asymmetric, base straight, margin entire, apex rounded, white, glabrous; lip 3.3–3.8 × 1.9 mm, white, papillose, subdivided; hypochile ca. 1 × 0.5 mm, oblongoid, calcariform; mesochile ca. 2 × 1.2 mm, ovate, margin entire; epichile ca. 1 × 1.5 mm, semilunate, subtrilobed, margin entire, apex obtuse. Column ca. 1.3 × 0.4 mm; stigma ca. 0.2 × 0.2 mm, entire; rostellum absent; anther ca. 1.1 × 0.4 mm; pollinia 2; ca. 0.3 mm long. Fruits ca. 4 × 2 mm, ellipsoid, brown. Seeds not seen.

Additional material examined: — BRAZIL. São Paulo: Caraguatatuba, October 2009, Smidt & Miranda 943 (fl.) ( UPCB!).

Etymology: —The specific epithet refers to Caraguatatuba, the municipality where the type material was collected. Caraguatatuba has large remnants of Atlantic Forest, from sea level to about 1,200 m ( Souza & Luna 2008), and is a region where other species have been described recently ( Miranda et al. 2014a, Chiron et al. 2015, Miranda et al. 2015b, Pessoa et al. 2015a, 2015b) and rare species have been rediscovered (Miranda & Menini Neto 2014, Miranda et al. 2014b).

Distribution and habitat: — Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis is known only from the type locality in Caraguatatuba, on the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. It occurs in shady areas, among leaf litter, on the wet forest floor of arboreal Restinga.

Comments: — Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis can be differentiated from other species of the genus by the following: flowers with perianth parts less than 4 mm long; lip epichile that is sublunate, subtrilobed, with an obtuse apex; and by the absence of a rostellum. The main morphological difference between the two genera that occur in Brazil is the shape of the rostellum after the pollinarium is removed. In Microchilus the rostellum is deeply bipartite, whereas in Aspidogyne the rostellum is truncate or not deeply bipartite. Considering that the new species lacks a rostellum, the classification in Aspydogyne is highly preliminary and should be confirmed using molecular phylogenetic studies. Also, the current Aspydogyne circumscription (sensu Meneguzzo 2012) includes a broad diversity of rostellum shapes, whereas in Microchilus the rostellum have a constant shape.

Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis occurs in sympatry with other five species of subtribe Goodyerinae ( Fig. 2 ), which can be distinguished using the key below. The new species resembles Aspidogyne argentea ( Vellozo 1831: 61) Garay (1977: 203) by having small plants with leafy portion of stem with less than 10 cm, but the flower color and size of the lip and calcar easily distinguishes them.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis. A–B. Habit. C. Detail of leaf venation. D. Detail of the scape. E. Inflorescence. F. Dorsal sepal, lateral sepal and petal. G. Lip. H, I. Column, dorsal and lateral view. J. Fruit, dehisced.

FIGURE 2. Aspidogyne caraguatatubensis. A. Habit. B. Inflorescence. C. Flower in lateral view.