Lepanthes pseudoprofusa Damian & B.T.Larsen, 2017

Damian, Alexander & Larsen, Bruno, 2017, Three new species of Lepanthes (Pleurothalldinae: Orchidaceae) From Amazonas, Peru, Phytotaxa 291 (2), pp. 149-156 : 153-155

Lepanthes pseudoprofusa Damian & B.T.Larsen , sp. nov. ( Fig 3 , 4A )

Type:— PERU. Amazonas: Prov. Chachapoyas, Dist. Magdalena, above “Saula”, 187463.00 m E, 9291401.00 m S, 2800 m, 20 March 2016, A. Damian & J. Torres 7003 (holotype MOL!, isotype UFV!).

Among the large species of Lepanthes with congested racemes, this species is noted for the lip with blades with obliquely truncate crenate bases and round, cilliate apices, and petals with a conspicuous mucro between the two lobes.

Plant large, epiphytic, shortly ascending, caespitose. Roots coarse, flexuous, to 0.2 cm in diameter. Ramicauls stout, erect 35–50 cm long, enclosed by 11–16 cloosely adpressed, ribbed, glabrous, pale brown, lepanthiform sheaths, densely ciliate on the margins of the upper ostia. Leaf erect, coriaceous, elliptical-ovate, acuminate, 5–9.5 cm long, 2–4.5 mm wide, the base cuneate into a conduplicate petiole of 3–5 mm long, the apex acuminate. Inflorescence a congested, succesively many-flowered raceme, distichous, up to 6 cm long including the peduncle of 1.5–2 cm long, borne on the abaxial surface of the leaf; floral bracts conduplicate, acuminate, glabrous, 3.2 mm long; pedicel terete, persistent, 3 mm long. Ovary terete, 3.1 mm long. Flowers comparatively small for the size of the plant, resupinate, the sepals orange-yellow to intense reddish (sometimes with yellow margins), the veins pale red, the petals orange to reddish with flushed margins and sometimes with a yellow spot between the lobes, the lip entirely reddish or with orange at the basal part and strongly reddish on the apex, the column and anther pinkish. Sepals, glabrous, carinate, margins irregularly ciliate, the dorsal sepal ovate-triangular, acute-acuminate, 8.5 mm long, 7 mm wide, 3-veined, connate to the lateral sepals for 1–1.5 mm, the lateral sepals obliquely ovate, acute, the apices long acuminate and diverging, 8–9 mm long, 7–7.3 mm wide, connate by 3–3.5 mm in their bases, 2-veined. Petals glabrous, margins microscopically cilliate, transversely bilobed, 3–3.5mm long, 5–6 mm wide, constricted by a sinus between the lobes and with a thick triangular conspicuous mucro, the lobes unequal, the upper one oblong, oblique, basally angled, broadly truncate, the lower lobe narrowly obliquely oblong-triangular, acute, rounded at the apex. Lip bilaminate, fused to the column above of the base of it, indented below the middle, oblanceolate, 3–3.5 mm long, apically rounded, baselly obliquely subrounded, crenate, cilliate, angled on the inner margin, the connectives short, connate above the base of the column, the appendix minute, oblong, bilobed at the tip, densely pubescent. Column terete, 2 mm long; the anther apical, the stigma ventral. Anther cap 2-celled. Pollinia 2, obpyriform. Capsule not seen.

Additional specimens examined:— PERU. Cajamarca: Prov. Cutervo, Cerro Ilucan , 1130 m, June 2016. L. Ocupa 0213 ( HUT, photo!) ; Piura: Prov. Huancabamba, Huarmaca , 2100 m. January 2016. A. Diaz 009 ( HUT, photo!) .

Etymology:—Named for its close affinity to L. profusa .

Distribution and habitat:—Up to now, this species is known only from Northern Peru, in Piura, Cajamarca and Amazonas provinces. This plant grows as an epiphyte forming densely colonies on the base of trees in very humid cloud forest at about 2,800 m elevation.

Comments:—The most distinguishing feature for this species is the transverse, thick, mucro-like callus between the lobes of the petals. Lepanthes profusa is similar both vegetatively and florally, but is distinguished by the lip with elliptical blades and petals with broadly ovate upper-, and oblong lower lobes, without the tranverse callus at the constriction near the middle of the petals.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Lepanthes pseudoprofusa Damian & B.T.Larsen. A. Habit. B. Flower. C. Dissected flower. D. Lip and column, ventral view in natural position and spread; lip ventral view dissected from the column. Drawn from the holotype by Greta Damian P.

FIGURE 4. Flowers of Lepanthes. A. Lepanthes pseudoprofusa. B. Lepanthes odobenus. C. Lepanthes peruviana (Photographs by A. Damian).