Masdevallia pachyura forma pardinella A.Doucette & J.Portilla, 2016

Doucette, Alfonso, Portilla, Jose & Cameron, Kenneth M., 2016, Ten new taxa in the orchid subtribe Pleurothallidinae (Epidendroideae, Epidendreae) from Ecuador, Phytotaxa 257 (3), pp. 230-248 : 234-235

Masdevallia pachyura forma pardinella A.Doucette & J.Portilla , f. nov. ( Figs. 3 , 11B )

Type:— ECUADOR: Azuay: Shanglly, 2600m, flowered in cultivation at Ecuagenera Orchid Nursery, 4 September 2015, Doucette 0312 (holotype: HA).

Diagnosis: The form differs from M. pachyura f. pachyura Reichenbach (1874: 322) and M. pachyura f. leptoura in having entirely yellow sepals and a broader dorsal sepal.

Epiphytic, caespitose herbs, roots 1.5 mm in diam. Stems 4–6 5 2 mm, and enveloped by 2–3 papery sheaths, 7–20 5 4 mm. Leaves spathulate, 80–195 5 12–20 mm. Inflorescence a raceme; peduncle 97.0–101.0 5 1.0– 1.5 mm; bracts 4–5 5 3 mm; pedicel 2.0–3.0 5 1.5 mm; ovary crested, 2.0 5 2.5 mm; dorsal sepal round, yellow, spotted with purple, 10–12 5 7–9 mm, contracted into a yellow tail, 3–5 5 1 mm; lateral sepals oblong, similar in color to the dorsal sepal, 11–12 5 3 mm, contracted into tails similar to that of the dorsal sepal; petals oblong, white suffused with yellow at the apex, tridentate, 6.0 5 2.2 mm; lip oblong, cleft at the base, constricted below the middle, the apex rounded, yellow suffused with orange at the apex, 5 5 2 mm; column 5.0 5 1.5 mm.

Etymology:— From the Latin pardus meaning leopard, referring to the yellow and spotted flowers.

Notes:— Masdevallia leptoura was first described to recognize a sympatric taxon resembling M. pachyura , but differing in the “larger [plant size] with more flowers with narrow, non-clavate tails”, and subsequently reduced to a subspecies of M. pachyura based on Luer’s (1988) opinion that “two of the most distinctive forms have been described as species. Masdevallia aureodactyla is little more than a color form of M. pachyura , and the other [ M. leptoura ] is reduced to a subspecies.” We agree with Luer (1988) and believe that this distinctive plant should be recognized at the rank of form.

Given the overlap in morphology and geographic distribution, we hypothesize that M. leptoura and M. pachyura represent a single polymorphic species. Masdevallia pachyura f. leptoura is hypothesized to be a form with narrower tails, and M. pachyura f. pardinella is hypothesized to be a form of the species with yellow sepals and yellow, non-clavate tails. We feel that a form is the most appropriate rank for these two taxa because we hypothesize that they are embedded within a clade including populations matching the description of M. pachyura . Masdevallia aureodactyla is distinguished from M. pachyura f. pardinella by the orange and clavate rather than yellow and non-clavate tails. No forms of Masdevallia pachyura are reported by International Plant Names Index (2016) or Luer (2003).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Masdevallia pachyura f. pardinella. A. Habit, drawn to 5cm scale. B. Flower. C. Dorsal sepal. D. Lateral sepals. E. Petal. F. Lip. G. Flower with petals and sepals removed.All drawn to 1 mm scale.

FIGURE 11. A. Masdevallia constricta f. glabra. B. Masdevallia pachyura f. pardinella. C. Masdevallia posadae f. rugosepala. D. Acianthera nikoleana. E. Pleurothallis papillingua. F. Pleurothallis gigiportillae. G. Pleurothallis cardiostola f. magnidraba. H. Zootrophion machaqway. I. Stelis glaucus. J. Trisetella portillae.