Himantoglossum jankae Somlyay, Kreutz & Óvári, 2012

Molnár, Attila, Óvári, Miklós, Sennikov, Alexander N., Bateman, Richard M., Takács, Attila, Somlyay, Lajos & Sramkó, Gábor, 2012, Himantoglossum jankae (Orchidaceae: Orchideae), a new name for a longmisnamed lizard orchid, Phytotaxa 73, pp. 8-12 : 9-11

Himantoglossum jankae Somlyay, Kreutz & Óvári sp. nov. ( Figures 1 and 2 )

Himantoglosso calcarato primo adspectu maxime simile, sed calcaribus florum multo brevioribus; a H. adriatico floribus majoribus et plerumque lilacinis, calcaribus longioribus, lobulis labellorum lateralibus latioribus, a H. caprino labellis maculatis, lobulis lateralibus longioribus, nec non calcaribus longioribus differt.

Type:— HUNGARY. Budapest: “Comit. Pest. In declivibus dumetosis supra Solymár” [most probably Mt Kálvária in the Buda Mts at the border of Budapest and Solymár village], 7 July 1918, Degen s.n. (holotype BP 337088!) .

A robust herbaceous, tuberous perennial. Flowering stem (30–)50–72(–110) cm tall; basal leaves 66–135(–240) × 17–40 mm, cauline leaves decreasing in size and becoming increasingly bracteoidal upward. Inflorescence 100–500 mm long with (10–)20–40(–75) flowers. Lowest bracts (19–)30–44(–75) mm long, the remainder (6–)9–20(–30) mm long; uppermost bracts usually longer than the flowers that they subtend. Sepals (11–)13–16(–18) × (5–)6.2–7.8(–9) mm. Lateral petals (7–)9.5–11.5(–13) × (2–)2.5–3.5(–4.5) mm, usually three-lobed. Labellum deeply three-lobed, usually dark, rarely light reddish-purple, at the base whitish or cream-coloured with (6–)10–20(–33) dark purple papillate spots; mid-lobe (25–)46–68(–85) × 1–3 mm; apical notch of the mid-lobe (2–) 8–50 mm deep; lateral lobes strongly crenulated, (4–)11–19.5(–29) × (1–)2–3(–4) mm. Spur (5–)6.5–8(–9.5) × (2–)2.5–3.5(–4.5) mm at the opening. Column short, stigmatic cavity quadrate, rostellum prominent. Mature capsules (10–)13.5–21.5(–25) × (3–)4–5(–6.5) mm.

Etymology:—The specific epithet commemorates Viktor Janka (1837–1890), Hungarian scientist, who was one of the leading botanists exploring the Balkan Peninsula in the 19 th century.

Distribution and habitat:— Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, northern Turkey. Dry grasslands, forest edges, shrublands on calcareous soils.

Phenology:—In Hungary the species flowers from June to July (rarely extending into August). The mean flowering date is the Julian day 190 (9 July), based on 51 observations covering a 163 year time-span (Molnár V. et al. 2012).

Conservation status:— Himantoglossum jankae (recorded as “ H. caprinum ”) is designated a threatened and protected species in most of the countries in which it occurs. It is listed in Annex II of Council Directive 92/ 43/EEC (the ‘Habitats Directive’) under the name “ Himantoglossum caprinum (Bieb.) V.Koch ”.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— HUNGARY. Budapest: Budakeszi-erdŏ, 27 July 1899, Bernátsky s.n. ( BP 33350 !) ; Budapest: Farkas-völgy , June 1902, Lengyel s.n. ( BP 348446!) ; Budapest: Hármashatárhegy , July 1919, Vajda s.n. ( BP 287469!) ; Budapest: Pesthidegkút, Kálvária-hegy , 1 July 2007, Somlyay s.n. ( BP 691520!) ; Budapest: Fekete-fej , 25 July 1944, Papp s.n. ( BP 372474!) ; Nagykovácsi: Remete-hegy , 2 August 1920, Degen s.n. ( BP 337090!) ; Nagykovácsi: Nagy-Szénás , 13 July 1930, Vajda s.n. ( BP 287468!) ; Pilisszántó: Pilis , 21 June 1934, Csapody & Jávorka s.n. ( BP 33385 !) ; Süttŏ [?]: Sártvány-hegy , 3 July 1966, Jeney s.n. ( BP 684423!) ; Vác: Naszály , 4 July 1948, Pénzes s.n. ( BP 379445!) ; Veszprém [?]: Esztergáli-völgy , 30 June 1929, Rédl s.n. ( BP 414279 !) ; Pécs: Misina , 6 July 1931, Zsák s.n. ( BP 33363 !) ; Siklós: Máriagyűd , 17 July 1870, Simkovics (Simonkai) s.n. ( BP 33376 !) ; Mád: Király-hegy , 26 July 1871, Simkovics (Simonkai) s.n. ( BP 33379 !) . SLOVAKIA. Svätý Jur ( Pozsonyszentgyörgy ), 2 August 1855, Résely s.n. ( BP 33371 !) ; Skalica (Skalitz, Szakolca ): 26 June 1861, Holuby s.n. ( BP 33384 !) . ROMANIA. Băile Herculane ( Herkulesfürdŏ ): Domugled, June 1856, Heuffel s.n. ( BP 33362 !) ; Alba Iulia (Alba Carolina, Gyulafehérvár ): 26 July 1857, Haynald s.n. ( BP 33361 !) ; Ghioroc ( Gyorok ): 10 July 1888, Simonkai s.n. ( BP 33380 !) ; Orşova ( Orsova ) [?]: Alsó-Kazán, June 1912, Jávorka s.n. ( BP 33364 !) ; Babadag: Babadag forest , 15 July 1912, Prodan s.n. ( BP 63857 !) ; Pişchia ( Hidasliget ): 3 July 1913, Lengyel s.n. ( BP 348434!) . SERBIA. Vršac (Versec): Vár-hegy , 8 July 1901, Bernátsky s.n. ( BP 33368 !) . CROATIA. Rijeka ( Fiume ), s.d., Noë s.n. ( BP 33369 !) . BULGARIA. Madara: Madara Plateau , 43°16’45” N, 27°07’08” E, 415m, 29 June 2010, Takács s.n. ( DE!) . GREECE. Kavala , 8 June 1955, Rechinger 15568 ( W 4054 !) . TURKEY. Karatoprak (“ Karatoprack ”), June, Frivaldszky s.n. ( BP 63880 !) .

Although H. jankae and H. calcaratum ( Beck 1887: 55) Schlechter (1927: 145) are morphologically similar, we regard as diagnostic difference the contrasting lengths of the labellar spur: (5–)6.5–8(–9.5) mm in H. jankae , (7.5–)10–12(–14) mm in H. calcaratum . Moreover, H. calcaratum seems to be a narrow endemic species confined to the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. Disregarding rare individuals with colourless (apochromatic) flowers, the labella of H. jankae are reliably spotted, whereas those of H. calcaratum can occasionally be unspotted. Another similar species with spotted labella is H. adriaticum Baumann (1978: 171) , but all parts of its flowers are generally smaller, its spurs being considerably shorter [(2–)2.5–3(–3.5) mm long]. The morphological distinctions between H. jankae (referred to as “spotted” taxon) and H. caprinum (referred to as “unspotted” or “Crimean” taxon) were thoroughly discussed by Sramkó et al. (2012).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Holotype of Himantoglossum jankae from Degen’s collection (BP 337088).

FIGURE 2. Illustrations of Himantoglossum jankae from Hungary. A. Habit (Budapest). B. Winter-green leaf-rosette (Veszprém). C–F. Flowers (C. Pilisszentkereszt, D. Tarcal, E–F. Veszprém) (Photos A. Molnár V.).