Maxillaria leucopurpurea 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 : 31-32

Maxillaria leucopurpurea Bennett & Christenson , sp. nov. ( Fig. 7 )

Species haec Maxillaria thurstoniorum Dodson (1994: 87) similis sed bracteis nonfoliaceis, floribus coloribus parvioribus, columno tepalisque subaequali differt.

Type:— PERU: Huanuco: Leoncio Prado, Cueva de Las Pavas , 1000 m, 19 Jan 1988, leg. E . Jara P., D. Bennett 4247 (holotype: MOL) .

Caespitose epiphytes 30–35 cm tall. Pseudobulbs ovoid, complanate, 1.3× 1 cm, subtended by scarious sheaths longer than the pseudobulb. Leaves one, linear, petiolate, acute, thin-textured, 30× 1.2 cm. Inflorescences erect slender scapes to 11 cm long, with 4–5 approximate tubular bracts, the floral bracts ovate, acuminate, subequal to the ovaries, 1.1 cm long. Flowers opening only slightly, the dorsal sepal white with purple suffusion on the basal 1/4, the lateral sepals white in the middle with the veins and margins marked with purple, the petals purple on the lower half, white on the outer half, the labellum and callus white with purple margins, the column white with faint purple streaks below, the ovaries green streaked with purple. Dorsal sepal ovate-triangular, acute, concave, 1.4× 0.6 cm, the lateral sepals obliquely triangular, acute, 1.5× 0.8 cm. Petals obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, 1.6× 0.3 cm. Labellum obscurely 3-lobed below the apex, elliptic in outline, 1.3× 0.6 cm, with shallowly erect-involute lateral margins, the callus linear-oblong with a slightly dilated rounded apex, more than half the length of the labellum. Column lightly arcuate and clavate, 1.2 cm long, the foot subequal to the column; the anther with dome-like sides, 2.4× 2.4 mm; the pollinarium 3.2× 1.8 mm; the pollinia 4, in 2 unequal pairs, sessile on a large viscidium. Flowering in nature from January to February during the rainy season.

Habitat:—Wet montane forest.

Distribution:— Peru.

Etymology:—Named for its purple and white flowers.

Observations:—Similar to the Ecuadorian M. thurstoniorum Dodson (1994: 87) by virtue of the long, narrow leaf, M. leucopurpurea differs by having scarious bracts, smaller, differently colored flowers, and subequal tepals and column. In M. thurstoniorum , the bracts subtending the pseudobulbs are foliaceous, the larger flowers (dorsal sepal = 4.5 cm long) are wine-red with a darker labellum, the tepals are more than twice the length of the column. Maxillaria leucopurpurea is also similar to the Peruvian M. parvibulbosa Schweinfurth (1945: 283 , t. 17) but that species has much broader leaves, larger flowers, and a sharply 3- lobed labellum. It is also similar to the Peruvian M. cuzcoensis Schweinfurth (1945: 268) but that species has leaves more than twice as broad and quite different subinflated obtuse bracts on the inflorescences.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Maxillaria leucopurpurea Bennett & Christenson (drawn from Bennett 4247 by J. Perez C.). A. plant in flower; B. flower, from below; C. ovary, column, and labellum, side view; D. labellum, expanded, from above; E. sepals and petals, dissected; F. anther, dorsal view (left), ventral view (right).