Prescottia truncicola Schltr., Repert., 2014

Azevedo, Cecília Oliveira De, Berg, Cássio Van Den & Barros, Fábio De, 2014, A revision of Prescottia (Orchidaceae: Orchidoideae, Cranichideae), Phytotaxa 178 (4), pp. 233-286 : 253-256

5. Prescottia lancifolia Lindl. , Gen . Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 453. 1840. [ Cogniaux 1895, Cogniaux 1907, Kraenzlin 1911, Brade & Pabst 1952, Rizzini 1954, Pabst 1966, Pabst & Dungs 1975, Azevedo & van den Berg 2007a].

Type :— BRAZIL. Gardner 681 (lectotype K-L!; isolectotype BM!; G!; K!; NY!; P!; SP!; W! (selected by Azevedo & van den Berg 2007a). Fig. 18 .

Heterotypic synonyms: Prescottia epiphyta Barb. Rodr. , Gen . Spec. Orchid. 1: 179, t. 462. 1877. [Macagnan et al. 2011]. Type:— Barbosa Rodrigues’ original drawing (plate t. 462) in the library of the Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro [reproduction printed in “Iconographie des Orchidées du Brésil”, Sprunger et al. (1996), 2: t. 86] (selected by Macagnan et al. 2011); Prescottia octopollinica Barb. Rodr. , Gen . Spec. Orchid. 2: 277, t. 652. 1881. Type (lectotype, here designated):—Barbosa Rodrigues’ original drawing in the library of the Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro [reproduction printed in “Iconographie des Orchidées du Brésil”, Sprunger et al. (1996), 2: t. 85]; Prescottia truncicola Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 16: 319. 1920. [ Hoehne 1945; Brade & Pabst 1952, Pabst & Dungs 1975, Azevedo & van den Berg 2007a]. Type:— BRAZIL. Paraná: Serra do Mar, Carvalho in silv. prim. ad trunc., 12.Sept. 1911, Dusén 18154 (lectotype AMES!; isolectotype GH!, selected by Azevedo & van den Berg 2007a).

Epiphytic herbs. Leaves 2–5, rosulate, petiolate; petiole (1.0–)3.0–6.0 cm long, green; blade (2.0–)4.0–9.0 × (0.8–)1.5– 2.0 cm, lanceolate, green, apex acute, base attenuate, margin entire. Inflorescence 11–40-flowered; peduncle (5.0–)10.0–13.0 × 0.04–0.1 cm, cylindric, green; peduncle bracts 2–3, 1.0–2.5 × 0.5 mm, ovate to triangular, green, apex acute to acuminate; rachis (2.0–)4.0–6.0(–12.0) × 0.6–1.0 cm, green. Flower bracts 3.0–6.0 × 1.2–2.6 mm, ovate to triangular, green, apex acuminate to acute; flower erect, white; dorsal sepal revolute, 2.0–2.6 × 1.0– 1.5 mm, lanceolate to ovate, apex acute; lateral sepals patent to revolute, 2.5–3.6 × 1.5–2.0 mm, oblong to ovate, apex rounded to acute; petals revolute, 1.5–2.6 × 0.5–0.8 mm, linear, apex rounded to acute; lip 2.0–3.5 × 2.5–3.0 mm, inner surface pubescent. Column 0.8–1.2 mm long, glabrous.

Distribution:— Restricted to Brazil, P. lancifolia occurs in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina ( Fig. 19 ).

Selected Specimens Examined:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Castelo , Forno Grande, 16 May 1949, Brade 19847 ( RB) . Minas Gerais: Caldas , 08 March 1969, Regnell III 1146 ( US). Paraná : Serra do Mar , Monte Alegre, 1910, Dusén 10290 ( MBM) . Santa Catarina : Itajaí , Braço Joaquim , Luis Alves , 24 May 1956, Klein 2051 ( US). São Paulo : Campos do Jordão , à beira da estrada nova atrás do Grande Hotel, 1946–1947, Pabst 324 ( GH, K, SP) .

Habitat:— Epiphytic in rainforest, 400–1,700 m.

Conservation Status:— Not endangered.

Etymology:— A reference to the lanceolate leaves of this species.

Notes:— Prescottia lancifolia can be distinguished by its lanceolate leaves, nodding inflorescence and internally pubescent lip. Previously the ratio between leaf length and inflorescence length has been the main reason for recognising Prescottia lancifolia , P. epiphyta and P. truncicola . Inflorescences can be shorter than the leaves but are generally longer. This character, therefore, appear to be variable within this species, even among specimens of the same collection and population. This variation has been the reason for some confusion among these taxa. For example, one of the syntypes of P. truncicola (Dusén 10290) was cited before its publication as P. lancifolia ( Kraenzlin 1911) .

Prescottia lancifolia was described as based on two syntypes, Gardner 681 and Descourtilz s.n. Seven specimens labelled as Gardner 681 were found. However, the Descourtilz’s syntype was not found. Azevedo & van den Berg (2007a) selected a syntype, Gardner 681, housed in Lindley’s herbarium (K-L) as the lectotype of P. lancifolia .

When Barbosa Rodrigues (1881) described Prescottia octopollinica , he stated that this taxon was similar to P. epiphyta , differing only in the number of pollinia. This character is probably due to confusion because he justified the number of pollinia by saying that Lindley cited “pollinia 4 geminata”, and he observed that the species in question had four detached pollinia pairs, which means that there are eight pollinia. Actually, when Lindley described the genus he cited “pollinia 2, didyma” (in Hooker 1824), confirming the same information a few years later ( Lindley 1840a): “pollinia 2, biloba”. In the description presented by Lindley (1836), he stated “pollinia 4, geminata”, giving rise to the confusion. Apparently, Barbosa Rodrigues’ illustration shows four sulcate pollinia. Eight pollinia were never found again in the genus suggesting that this was only a misinterpretation.

Barbosa Rodrigues’ herbarium specimens were lost after his death ( Cribb & Toscano de Brito 1996). After verifying material at the Herbarium of the Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden), we chose to lectotypify P. octopollinica with the plate mentioned by the author in the original description, reproduced in Sprunger et al. (1996).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Prescottia lancifolia.A. Habit.B,C. Flower. B. Front view.C. Lateral view. D. Floral bract. E. Perianth parts, clockwise from top: lip, dorsal sepal, petal, lateral sepal. F,G. Column with pollinarium in place. F. Dorsal view. G. Ventral view (Bocayuva 198).

FIGURE 19. Distribution of Prescottia lancifolia.