Maxillaria striolata Bennett & Christenson, 2009

Bennett Jr, David E. & Christenson, Eric A., 2009, Nine new species and one new name in Maxillaria (Orchidaceae), Phytotaxa 1, pp. 21-36 : 32-34

Maxillaria striolata Bennett & Christenson , sp. nov. ( Fig. 8 )

Species haec Maxillaria ochroleuca Loddiges ex Lindley (1832: 143) similis sed foliis latiora, sepalis petalisque sulfureis et striatis, sepalis oblongis differt.

Type:— PERU: Amazonas: Bongara, near Venceremos , 1800–2000 m, August 2004, D. Bennett & George Bennett 8979 ( HAO) .

Caespitose epiphytes to 30 cm tall. Pseudobulbs moderately compressed, oblong with rounded apical corners, 7× 3 cm, basally enclosed by several pairs of articulated leaf-bearing sheaths a little shorter than the leaf on the pseudobulb. Leaf 1, narrowly elliptic, attenuate to the conduplicate petiole, apex strongly obliquely, unequally bilobed, 22× 3 cm. Inflorescences numerous, basal, shorter or subequal to the pseudobulb in length. Flowers intense yellow, the sepals and petals with 7–9 garnet red veins at the base on the inner surface, the labellum yellow down the middle, the erect lateral lobes very dark purple, the column pale cream with the foot streaked as tepals, the anther pale cream white. Dorsal sepal concave, oblong, lightly contracted near the middle, apex minutely mucronulate, 2.3× 0.5 cm, the lateral sepals similar but slightly oblique. Petals linear, long-tapered, 2.2× 0.3 cm. Labellum 3-lobed, ovate, obtuse, with a short basal claw, 1.1× 0.6 cm, the lateral lobes semielliptic, the mid-lobe thickened, obovoid with the upper surface flat and lower surface convex, sparsely short-pubescent, the callus oblong, rounded. Column lightly arcuate, convex-concave, edge of clinandrium short-fringed, 0.85× 0.3 cm, the foot about 3 mm long; the anther 2.7× 1–6 mm; the pollinarium 2.8 mm long, the viscidium saddle-shaped, 1.5× 1 mm, the pollinia in two unequal and dissimilar pairs, the larger pair 1.3× 0.6 mm. Flowering in nature in February and in cultivation during February and June.

Habitat:—Cool, wet lower levels of cloud forest.

Distribution:— Ecuador and Peru.

Observations:—Distinguished by the clusters of intense yellow flowers and the partially striped sepals and petals.

Comments:— Dodson (2002) refers to this species as M. ochroleuca Loddiges ex Lindley (1832: 143) . Type: BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, Hort. Loddiges s. n. (K!). That species, however, has more slender white sepals and petals as well as nearly linear leaves less than 2 cm wide.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Maxillaria striolata Bennett & Christenson (drawn from Bennett 8979 by M. Alcántara A.). A. plant in flower; B. flower, side view; C. ovary and labellum, side view; D. sepals and petals, dissected; E. column, undersurface; F. labellum, expanded, from above, with a detail of the callus apex; G. anther, dorsal view (left), ventral view (right); H. pollinarium, dorsal view (left, ventral view (right).