Opilionanthe Karremans & Bogarín, 2018

Bogarín, Diego, Karremans, Adam P. & Fernández, Melania, 2018, Genus-level taxonomical changes in the Lepanthes affinity (Orchidaceae, Pleurothallidinae), Phytotaxa 340 (2), pp. 128-136 : 131

Opilionanthe Karremans & Bogarín , gen. nov.

Type: Trichosalpinx manningii Luer (2002: 113) .

Diagnosis:— Opilionanthe has apparently no close relatives, it is phylogenetically sister to a clade which includes Lepanthes , Lepanthopsis and all of their allies. The cupped flower with long-caudate sepals is somewhat reminiscent of species of Gravendeelia , Stellamaris and Tubella , however, it can be immediately distinguished from those by the long-caudate petals which are similar to the sepals (vs. acute to obtuse, conspicuously shorter than the sepals). From the first two genera it may also be distinguished by the long, multi-flowered inflorescence (vs. short, few-flowered). In species of Anathallis , the sepals and petals are frequently similar to each other, however, Opilionanthe can be distinguished from species of that genus by the lepanthiform-bracts and prolific habit.

Comments:— The recognition of Opilionanthe is highly supported in our analyses, the accessions of its only species formed a highly supported clade ( Fig. 1 ) (PP=1.0), sister to a clade that includes Draconanthes , Frondaria , Gravendeelia , Lepanthes , Lepanthopsis , Pseudolepanthes and Stellamaris ( Fig. 1 ) (PP=1.0). The single species known to belong this genus is endemic to Peru.

Etymology:— From Opiliones, an order of arachnids known as harvestmen, harvesters or daddy longlegs, and the Greek anthos, “flower”, in allusion to the long, slender acuminate petals and sepals reminiscent to the long-legged opiliones, distinctive of this genus among its relatives.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Phylogenetic analysis based on Bayesian inference of the Lepanthes affinity (nrITS and plastid matK sequences) from more than one-hundred different species, taken from Bogarín et al.(in prep.).Terminals ending in triangles represent genera with multiple species and single terminals are monospecific genera (Draconanthes, Frondaria, Gravendeelia, Opilionanthe and Stellamaris). Photographs: A, B, D, F, J–K, L–N by D. Bogarín; C by S. Vieira-Uribe; E by Ecuagenera; G, H, I by W. Driessen.