Utricularia myriocista Saint-Hilaire & Girard (1838: 869)

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 : 16-17

14. Utricularia myriocista Saint-Hilaire & Girard (1838: 869) ( Fig. 5 : D–F)

Aquatic submersed herbs, inflorescence up to 10 cm above water surface. Stolons and vegetative parts with simple hairs. Leaves 4-whorled, divided into whorled capillary segments. Traps terminal, without appendages, glandular hairs present in the aperture of the utricle. Inflorescence up to 4-flowered, flowers ca. 6 mm distant from each other. Peduncle pinkish, with inflated appearance (aerenchymatous); lateral spongy floats absent. Sterile bracts absent. Bract ca. 4 × 2 mm, basifixed or peltate (in this case, lower lobe oblong with truncate apex, ca. 1 mm long), oblong, apex truncate. Bracteoles absent. Pedicels nearly 6 mm long, longer than the calyx lobes. Calyx lobes nearly equal, margin entire, without prominent nerves, pink; upper lobe 4 × 3 mm, ovate to elliptic, apex rounded; lower lobe 4 × 4 mm, orbicular. Corolla pink with a white and yellow-orange mark on the lower lip; upper lip 6 × 8 mm, orbicular, concave; lower lip 6 × ca. 5 mm, trilobate, lateral lobes conspicuously saccate; spur ca. 7 × ca. 1 mm, cylindrical, apex acute, 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 globose to obovoid, dehiscing by a longitudinal ventral aperture. Seeds numerous, globose with irregular projections on the testa.

Distribution:— Utricularia myriocista occurs in South America ( Taylor 1989). In Brazil the species is found in the northern, northeastern, central-western and southeastern regions ( Miranda et al. 2016). It grows in shallow and deep pools and slow flowing rivers ( Taylor 1989), habitats where it is found in the VNP.

Taxonomic notes:— Utricularia myriocista differs from other species by its aerenchymatous inflated peduncle and its trilobed lower corolla lip with two lateral saccate lobes.

Specimens:— BRAZIL. Roraima, Caracaraí, Viruá National Park : “Estrada Perdida”, 14 September 2010, S. M. Costa et al. 740 ( INPA!, UEC!) ; “Estrada Perdida”, 25 January 2010, S. M. Costa 899, K. G. Cangani ( INPA!, UEC!) ; “Estrada Perdida”, 20 July 2010, T.D. M. Barbosa 1223, S. M. Costa ( INPA!, UEC!) .

Figures

FIGURE 5. Utricularia longeciliata A.DC. A. inflorescence (detail). B–C. flower (lateral view and view from the top). Utricularia myriocista A.St.-Hil. & Girard—D–E. habit. F. open flower (front view) and fruit. Utricularia nana A.St.-Hil & Girard—G. habit. H. flower (lateral view). I. habit in fruit. Utricularia olivacea Wright & Girard—J. habit. K. flower (front view). Utricularia pusilla Vahl—L. inflorescence (detail).