Campylocentrum serranum E. Pessoa & M. Alves, 2015

Pessoa, Edlley & Alves, Marccus, 2015, A new Campylocentrum (Vandeae; Epidendroideae; Orchidaceae) from submontane Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 197 (1), pp. 54-58 : 54-55

Campylocentrum serranum E. Pessoa & M. Alves , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 , 2 )

Type:— BRAZIL. Pernambuco: Jaqueira, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Frei Caneca, Mata do Quengo, 8º43’12”S, 35º50’38”W, 700 m, 30 May 2012, E. Pessoa et al. 945 (fl.) (holotype UFP, isotypes K, NY, RB).

C. serranum is morphologically related to C. hirtellum , but differs by having a pedicellate ovary and base of the perianth both slightly papillate, smaller sepals, mid-lobe of the lip less than three times longer than the lateral lobes, lip 5-nerved, spur slightly longer than the pedicellate ovary and a glabrous capsule.

Epiphytic herb. Roots 1 − 1.5 mm diam., dorso-ventrally flattened, fibrous, smooth, whitish to dark grey. Stem 3 − 7 mm long, cylindrical, completely covered by the leaf sheaths. Leaves 2–4, sheath 2 − 3.5 mm long, blade 10 − 31 mm long, 2 − 4 mm wide, dark green, elliptical, falcate, the apex asymmetrically 2-lobed, lobes acute, margin entire, caducous. Inflorescence 25 − 40 mm long, peduncle 7 − 12 mm long, papillate, brownish; rachis 15 − 30 mm long, papillate, brownish; floral bracts 0.5 − 1.2 mm long, 0.3 − 0.5 mm wide, lanceolate to deltoid, margin ciliate, the apex acute, membranaceous. Flowers 8 − 15 (per inflorescence), whitish, distichous, ovary 1.3 − 1.5 mm long, pedicellate, slightly papillate; dorsal sepal 1.2 − 1.5 mm long, 0.3 − 0.5 mm wide, oblong-elliptic, the apex acute to obtuse, 1-nerved, adaxially slightly papillate in the base, margin entire, membranaceous; lateral sepals 1.4 − 1.6 mm long, 0.4 − 0.5 mm wide, oblong-elliptical, the apex acute, 1-nerved, adaxially slightly papillate in the base, margin entire, membranaceous; petals 1.1 − 1.3 mm long, 0.4 − 0.5 mm wide, oblong-elliptical, the apex acute, 1-nerved, glabrous, margin entire, membranaceous; lip 1 − 1.2 mm long, 1 − 1.1 mm wide between the lateral lobes, 3-lobed, membranaceous, 5-nerved, margin entire, producing at base a spur, lateral lobes 0.2 − 0.3 mm long, 0.3 − 0.4 mm wide, orbicular, the apex rounded, mid-lobe 0.5 − 0.6 mm long, ca. 0.3 mm wide, deltoid, the apex acute, spur 1.5 − 1.6 mm long, 0.3 − 0.5 mm diam., cylindrical, slightly curved, the apex rounded; gynostemium 0.2 − 0.3 mm long,, anther cap apex 2-lobed, pollinia 2, globose. Capsule 5.0 − 6.0 mm long, 1.5 − 2 mm wide, fusiform, 6-ribbed, glabrous, pedicel ca. 1 mm long.

Distribution and Ecology: —It is known only from the type locality, an area of submontane Atlantic forest along the eastern border of the Borborema plateau, Pernambuco state, northeastern Brazil. The area is part of the Serra do Urubu, which is mainly covered by ombrophilous forest ( Veloso 1992) with some exposed rocky outcrops at 600 − 800 m altitude. Some new species of orchids have been recently described from the area ( Amorim & Alves 2012, Sobral 2013, Gregório et al. 2014, Pessoa et al. 2014a, Pessoa et al. 2014b,). The flowering period is poorly known, but based on the specimens cited, flowers can be found in May, and fruits in January.

Etymology: —It is named on behalf of the area of occurrence, highlands of Pernambuco state (Serra do Urubu).

Morphological affinities: — Campylocentrum serranum is morphologically related to species with reduced stems and small conduplicate leaves like C. hirtellum , C. hondurense and C. steyermarkii . The latter two species are restricted to the Amazon Basin and Central America, and have inflorescences as long as to slightly shorter than the leaves and an entire to obscurely 3-lobed lip. C. hirtellum and C. serranum grow in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and have inflorescences longer than the leaves and a distinctly 3-lobed lip.

The new species differs from C. hirtellum by having a slightly papillate pedicellate ovary and base of the perianth (vs. pedicellate ovary and base of perianth densely hirtellous), smaller sepals (<1.6 mm long vs.> 2.0 mm long), mid-lobe of the lip less than three times longer than the lateral lobes (vs. more than four times longer), lip 5-nerved (vs. 9-nerved), spur slightly longer than the pedicellate ovary (vs. spur more than two times longer than the pedicellate ovary) and glabrous capsule (vs. densely hirtellous capsule) ( Fig. 1 ).

The comparison of diagnostic features between C. serranum and allied species is presented in Table 1.

Characters C. hirtellum C. hondurense C. serranum C. steyermarkii Inflorescence length (I) × leaf length (L) I> L I <L I> L I <L

Lip form distinctly 3-lobed entire distinctly 3-lobed obscurely 3-lobed Spur length (S) × pedicellate ovary length (P) S> P S> P S> P S <P

Capsule surface hirtellous sparsely glandulose glabrous sparsely glandulose

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — BRAZIL. Pernambuco: Jaqueira, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Frei Caneca, Mata do Quengo , 8º43’53”S, 35º50’34”W, 752 m, 29 January 2013, E. Pessoa et al. 1051 (fr.) ( UFP) ; ibid., 776 m, 25 November 2014, E. Pessoa et al. 1279 (fr.) ( UFP) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Campylocentrum serranum. A. Habit. B. Detail of inflorescence. C. Dissected perianth. D. Flower. E. Lip and pedicellate ovary. F. Capsule. G. Column. H. Pollinarium. Campylocentrum hirtellum. I. Dissected perianth. J. Flower. K. Lip and pedicellate ovary. L. Capsule. M. Column. N. Pollinarium. [A–E, G–H drawn from E. Pessoa et al. 945; F from E. Pessoa et al.1051; I–K, M–N from Reitz & Klein 1152 (HBR); L from H. Shenck 2718 (BR)].

FIGURE 2. Campylocentrum serranum. A. Inflorescence. B. Habit. C. Lateral detail of inflorescence. D. Frontal detail of inflorescence. [A–D Pessoa et al. 945 (Holotype)]