Utricularia benjaminiana Oliver (1860: 176)

Costa, Suzana M., Bittrich, Volker & Do Amaral, Maria Do Carmo E., 2016, Lentibulariaceae from the Viruá National Park in the northern Amazon, Roraima, Brazil, Phytotaxa 258 (1), pp. 1-25 : 9

2. Utricularia benjaminiana Oliver (1860: 176) ( Fig. 2 : J–L)

Aquatic submersed herbs, inflorescence up to 10 cm above water-surface. Stolons and vegetative parts with abundant simple hairs. Leaves alternate, divided into capillary segments, with 1 or 2 primary segments; traps lateral with a pair of dorsal setaceous branched appendages, and some lateral simple setae. Inflorescence erect, 1–10-flowered; chasmogamous flowers up to 5 mm distant from each other; when present, cleistogamous flowers up to 1 cm distant from each other (at base of peduncle, generally submersed). Peduncle pinkish with 4–6 lateral spongy floats. Sterile bracts absent. Bract ca. 1.5 × ca. 1 mm, basifixed, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, apex acute or irregularly sinuous. Bracteoles absent. Pedicels up to 5 mm long, longer, equal or shorter than the calyx lobes. Calyx lobes ca. 1 × ca. 1 mm, equal, orbicular, margin irregularly sinuous, without prominent nerves. Corolla lilac, pink or nearly white with a purple mark on the lower lip and spur; upper lip 3 × 3 mm, bilobed, lobes trullate, apex rounded; lower lip 3 × 4 mm, orbicular, apex bilobed, lobes rounded; spur 5–6 × 2 mm, botuliform (sausage-shaped spur with round apex), generally longer than the lower lip of corolla and not forming an angle of 90º with the latter, in lateral view. Style and filaments short. Capsule ovate to ellipsoid, dehiscence circumscissile. Seeds lenticular, winged, wings narrow and irregular, surface reticulate, testa cells long, narrow and sinuous.

Distribution:— Utricularia benjaminiana is widely distributed in Africa and is also present in Central and South America ( Taylor 1989). In Brazil this species occurs only in Roraima ( Miranda et al. 2016). In the VNP it is found in small waterbodies with little or no water flow, on clay soil in areas of grassy white-sand savannas.

Taxonomic notes:—This species differs from other species by the presence of simple hairs on the vegetative parts, especially abundant on areas of growth, the botuliform spur (sausage-shaped spur with round apex) and by the elongate sinuous testa cells.

Specimens:— BRAZIL. Roraima, Caracaraí, Viruá National Park : “Estrada Perdida”, 16 July 2010, T.D. M. Barbos 1106, S. M. Costa ( INPA!, UEC!) ; “Estrada Perdida”, 20 July 2010, T.D. M. Barbosa 1213, S. M. Costa ( INPA!, UEC!) ; “Estrada Perdida”, 25 July 2010, T.D. M. Barbosa 1350, S. M. Costa ( INPA!, UEC!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Genlisea filiformis A.St.-Hil. A. leaves in rosette. B. flower (front view). Genlisea oxycentron P.Taylor—C. leaves. D. flower (lateral view). Genlisea pygmea A.St.-Hil.—E. leaves in rosette. F. flower (front view). Utricularia amethystina Salzm. ex A.St.-Hil. & Girard—G. leaves. H. the white-flowered variant (lateral view). I. the blue-flowered variant (front view); Utricularia benjaminiana Oliv. J. spongy floats. K. habit. L. inflorescence (detail, note the botuliform spur).