Cranichis ciliata (Kunth) Kunth, Syn. Pl. 1: 324. 1822.

Kolanowska, Marta, Baranow, Przemyslaw, Nowak, Slawomir & Fuentes, Alfredo, 2021, Materials to the revision of the genus Cranichis (Orchidaceae) in Bolivia, PhytoKeys 186, pp. 11-41 : 11

4. Cranichis ciliata (Kunth) Kunth, Syn. Pl. 1: 324. 1822.

Ophrys ciliata Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. (quarto ed.) 1: 334, t. 74. 1816.

Type.

VENEZUELA. Humboldt s.n. (lectotype, designated by Garay (1978: 191): W!).

Diagnosis.

Plants 26-54 cm tall. Leaves l-2, basal, petiolate; petiole 5-19 cm long, canaliculate; blade 4-15 cm long, 3-7.5 cm wide, oblong-ovate to elliptical, acute to acuminate, broadly rounded to subcordate at the base. Scape glabrous in lower part, glandular-pubescent above, enclosed in 3-6 non-foliaceous sheaths. Inflorescence 3.5-17 cm long, cylindrical, sublaxly to subdensely many-flowered. Flowers whitish marked with green or purple-brown, with reddish or brown lip. Floral bracts 4.2-6.0 mm long, ovate-lanceolate, ovate, acuminate to acute, glabrous. Pedicellate ovary 5.0-8.5 mm long, glabrous. Dorsal sepal 3.0-4.1 mm long, 1.2-2.0 mm wide, oblong-elliptical to ovate, obtuse, 3-5-veined (rarely 1-veined). Petals 2.8-4.1 mm long, 0.4-1.0 mm wide, obliquely narrowly-ligulate to oblanceolate, obtuse, 1-veined, margins ciliate. Lateral sepals 3.0-4.5 mm long, 1.2-2.0 mm wide, obliquely oblong-ovate to elliptic-ovate, subobtuse, 2- or 3-veined. Lip 2.5-3.2 mm long, 2.1-3.0 mm wide, gibbose at base, cochleate above, obovate to suborbicular above the base, rounded or obtuse at apex; disc with 3 thickened, dendritic branching veins. Gynostemium 1.2-2 mm long. Fig. 5 - 6 .

Habitat and ecology.

Terrestrial in Yungas secondary submontane humid forest, montane, cloud forest, secondary forest with Tibouchina Aubl. ( Melastomataceae ) and Miconia Ruiz & Pav. ( Melastomataceae ), forest with Clusia L. ( Clusiaceae ) and Weinmannia L. ( Cunoniaceae ) and in Tucumano-Boliviano secondary submontane humid forest with Myrcianthes O. Berg. ( Myrtaceae ). Flowers in March, April, May and June. The populations of this species were recorded growing at altitudes between 1900-3000 m. According to Vásquez et al. (2014) this species occurs in the Yungas ecoregion at altitudes between 1000-3000 m.

Representative specimens.

BOLIVIA. Cochabamba: Cochabamba: Prov. Carrasco. La Siberia. January 1983. R. Vásquez et al. 792 (Herbarium Vasquezianum- Dodson and Vásquez. 1989); Sehuencas, PN Carrasco, 2100 m. 5 April 1996. P. Ibish & C. Ibish 96.0020 (LPB!), Prov. Ayopaya, 10 km Cocapata-Cotacajes, 3000 m. 9 May 1997. M. Kessler et al. 9412 (LPB!). La Paz: Prov. Nor Yungas. 2.4 km below Chuspipata on road to Chulumani, 2950 m. 4 March 1983. J. C. Solomon 9678 (LPB!). Prov. B. Saavedra. Area Natural de Manejo Integrado Apolobamba. Chulina, al frente de estancia Wikjelani, pasando por el río Sillaca. 15°07 ’57” S 68°52 ’57” W, 2760 m. 17 April 2010. A. Fuentes & R. Rodas 16115 (LPB!), Area Natural de Manejo Integrado Apolobamba. Kazu, cruzando el río Sillaca, 30 minutos bajando por el río Sillaca, al frente de la loma Wakelli. 15°07 ’53” S 68°53 ’08” W, 2788 m. 17 April 2010. I. Loza et al. 1621A (LPB!), Area Natural de Manejo Integrado Apolobamba. Paian, río Silliaca, sector Kumamita. 15°06 ’47” S 68°55 ’04” W, 2659 m. 20 April 2010. I. Loza et al. 1698 (LPB!), Prov. Franz Tamayo. Parque Nacional Madidi. Sector campamento Tanhuara, por el antiguo camino Pelechuco-Apolo, pasando el río Pelechuco. 14°44 ’59” S 68°56 ’57” W, 1905 m. 28 June 2009. A. Fuentes & D. Alanes 15018 (LPB!). Santa Cruz: Prov. Vallegrande. Vallegrande, aprox. 10 km al S por el camino a Pucará, 2260 m. 31 March 2001. A. Fuentes 2903 (LPB!). Fig. 2 .

Notes.

This is a widely distributed species reported from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Various authors have synonymized C. ciliata with different species, e.g. C. antioquiensis Schltr. ( Davidse et al. 2020), C. atrata ( Garay 1978; Christenson 1991; Bogarín et al. 2014), C. curtii Schltr. ( Davidse et al. 2020), C. irazuensis Schltr. ( Davidse et al. 2020), C. mandonii ( Schweinfurth 1958; Bogarín et al. 2014), C. pachnodes Løjtnant ( Bogarín et al. 2014), C. pleioneura ( Bogarín et al. 2014), C. polyblephara Schltr. ( Brako and Zarucchi 1993; Bogarín et al. 2014), C. schlimii Rchb. f. ( Bogarín et al. 2014) and C. sororia Schltr. ( Garay 1978; Bogarín et al. 2014). The actual taxonomic position of most of them requires further study.

Figures

Figure 2. Distribution of Cranichis species in Bolivia. A C. atrata, C. badia, C. beckii, C. ciliata, C. cylindrostachys. B C. garayana, C. lehmannii, C. longipetiolata, C. maldonadoana. C C. mandonii, C. muscosa, C. pulvinifera, C. silvicola, C. stictopylla. Base map provided by Natural Earth (www. naturalearthdata. com).

Figure 5. Cranichis ciliata (Kunth) Kunth. A Dorsal sepal. B Petal. C Lateral sepal. D Lip, front view. E Lip, side view. Drawn by P. Baranow from I. Loza et al. 1621 A (LPB).

Figure 6. Cranichis ciliata (Kunth) Kunth (photo by A. Fuentes).