Cypella luteogibbosa Deble, 2012

Deble, Leonardo Paz, Deble, Anabela Silveira De Oliveira & Alves, Fabiano Da Silva, 2012, Two new species of Cypella (Iridaceae: Tigridieae) from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Phytotaxa 71 (1), pp. 59-68 : 60-62

Cypella luteogibbosa Deble , sp. nov. ( Figures 1 , 3A–B , and 4 )

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: Quaraí, 28 km ao sul do trevo para o Passo da Guarda , 19 October 2010, fl., fr., L . P . Deble & A . S . de Oliveira-Deble 10265 (holotype: PACA!) .

A Cypellae fucatae cui maxime proxima foliis linear-ellipticis (non anguste linearis), perigonium album (non pallide aurantiacum) et stigmatae lobi divergentibus (non convergentibus) differt. A Cypellae ostenianae valde proxima, spatha uniflora (non biflora), tepala exteriora spathulata, 10–12 mm lata (non obovata, 15–17 mm lata), productis bene differt.

Plant up to 15–35 cm high above the soil, underground stem up to 10 cm long. Bulb ovoid, outer cataphylls darker brown, 20–35 mm × 20–30 mm, prolonged in a short collar. Basal leaves green at anthesis 2–4; blades linear-elliptic, plicate, apex acute, 10–26 × 0.2–0.5 cm. Flowering stems 10-27 cm long, 2-3 branched. Spathes 2–3, herbaceous, pallid-green, bivalved, one-flowered, pedunculate, peduncles 1.8–3 cm long; outer valve 1.4–2.2 cm long, the inner 2.5–3 cm long, both with membranous edges and orange longitudinal glandular strips; pedicel filiform, 2.8–3.2 cm long. Flowers predominately white, 28–36 mm diameter. Tepals whorls sharply dissimilar: outer tepals white, spatulate, 18–22 mm × 10–12 mm, panduriform, patent distally, dark purplish-brown veined, and with orange glandular trichomes concentrate in proximal half. Inner tepals geniculate-revolute, 8–9 mm × 8.5–9 mm, proximal half with adaxial surface striated, distal portion keelshaped, and a light yellow macula and dark-purple dots; abaxial surface mostly white, with a yellow hump. Filaments cream-white or pallid pink, 2–2.4 mm long, at the base bulbiform and connate; anthers oblong 3.2–3.5 mm × 0.7–1 mm; connective white to cream, locules dark-brown, pollen ochraceous. Ovary pallidgreen, 5–6 mm × 1.8–2.1 mm, with orange glandular dots scattered. Style 7–8 mm long. Style arms channeled, 3–4 mm long. Crests at the style apex 3, adaxial crests 3.4–4.2 mm long, one abaxial crest lobed, 0.5–0.8 mm long. Capsule obovate-oblong, 14–21 mm × 5.5–7.5 mm. Seeds oblong to obconical, angulated, reddish-brown, epidermis papillose striate, 1.5–2 mm long.

Distribution and habitat: — Cypella luteogibbosa is endemic to Quaraí municipality, in southwest Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ( Figure 4 ). Individuals grow on stony grasslands.

Phenology: —Specimens with flowers and capsules can be found between October-December. The flowers open only one day, during the morning, and close early afternoon.

Conservation status: — Cypella luteogibbosa occurs in an extent of occurrence smaller than 300 km 2 and the area of occupancy is less than 10 km 2. Only four populations are known, each composed by just a few individuals. According to the IUCN Red List ( IUCN 2011) the species can be assigned to Critically Endangered risk category (CR, B2a, b(iii), and D) due to the very small area of occupancy, few individuals known, decline in the quality of habitat and few places of occurrence.

Etymology: —From the Latin luteous meaning yellow and gibbosus that mean hump, and referring to shape of inner tepals with a yellow hump on abaxial surface.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: Quaraí, Cerro do Jarau , entre rochas, October 2010, F. S . Alves 17 ( PACA!); cerro do Jarau, stony grasslands, 30°10’21.55”S, 56°32”10.33” W, 16 December 2010, L. P . Deble & A. S . de Oliveira-Deble 11604 ( PACA!); 12 km east of the city, on stony grassland, after fire, 30°26’32.64”S, 56°19”39.98” W, 9 November 2011 ( PACA!) .

Comments: — Cypella luteogibbosa is closely related to Cypella fucata Ravenna (1981b: 18) , both species displaying small habit, one-flowered spathes, and darker purplish-brown veined outer tepals. However, C. luteogibbosa differs by the shape and size of basal leaves, white perigone, size and shape of inner tepals and divergent adaxial crests of style apices. The new species also resembles Cypella osteniana Beauveard (1923: 165) , but that species differs by two-flowered spathes, shape of outer tepals, shape and size of inner tepals, and broader connective of anthers. Cypella luteogibbosa may be distinguished from C. fucata and C. osteniana based on the characters listed in the Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cypella luteogibbosa. A. Habit. B. Distal part of the plant. C. Flower, lateral view. D. Flower, upper view. E. Flower, tepals removed. F. Stamen. G. Capsule. H. Seed. I. Seed, longitudinal section. J. Stem bract. K. Leaf in cross section (from Deble & Oliveira-Deble 10265).

FIGURE 3. Cypella luteogibbosa. A. Flower, upper view. B. Flower, lateral view. Cypella magnicristata. C. Flower, upper view. D. Flower, showing the androgynoecium apparatus. (A–B from Deble & Oliveira-Deble 10265; C–D from Deble & Oliveira-Deble 12816).

FIGURE 4. Geographic distribution of Cypella luteogibbosa and C. magnicristata.