Vanilla paulista Fraga & Pansarin, 2017

Fraga, Claudio Nicoletti De, Couto, Dayvid Rodrigues & Pansarin, Emerson Ricardo, 2017, Two new species of Vanilla (Orchidaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Phytotaxa 296 (1), pp. 63-72 : 66-69

Vanilla paulista Fraga & Pansarin , sp. nov. ( Figs. 2 , 4 )

The new species resembles Vanilla dungsii Pabst (49: 1975) and V. dubia but may be easily distinguished from them by its lip with a midlobe ornamentation with 1–3 rows of tuberculate papillae near of the base tapering to form a cuneate tuft of trichomes from the penicillate callus to near the base of the midlobe and the margin of the lateral, midlobe are denticulate-crisp.

Type— BRAZIL. São Paulo: Jundiaí, Serra do Japi, sentido bairro Eloy Chaves, próximo a represa do DAE, fl., 9 October 2000, E.R. Pansarin 727 (holotype UEC!, isotype SPFR!).

Hemiepiphyte, long scandent. Stem flexuous, cylindrical, fleshy, slightly sulcate, glabrous, dark green; internodes 42–100 × 4.1–5.8 mm. Leaves 9.2–16.2 × 2.5–3.2 cm, alternate, linear-lanceolate, thick to fleshy, glabrous, dark green, apex acuminate, base petiolate, petiole concave, 0.5–1.3 cm long. Inflorescence 4–5.2 cm long, axillar, racemose, with ca. 12 flowers opening in succession, where one or more rarely two flowers open each morning. Each flower lasts at about 12 hours; bracts 3.5–5 mm long progressively smaller toward the apex, alternate, ovate, coriaceous, subpatent, concave, apex acute. Flowers pedicellate; pedicel with ovary 2.4–4.7 cm long, geniculate, white along the ovary and green at the apex; sepals free, dorsal sepal 6.1–7.8 × 0.7–1.3 cm, lateral sepals 5.7–7.2 × 1.2–1.4 cm, oblanceolate, thick, slightly concave, greenish in both surface, apex obtuse, margin reflexed at apical portion; petals 6.5–7.1 × 0.8– 1.3 cm, linear-lanceolate, membranous, apex acute, slightly reflexed, greenish in both surface, central rib externally prominent; lip when distended 5.7–6.9 × 3.3–3.5 cm, long unguiculate, tubular, fused to the column along the margins from the base up to 3.4–3.9 cm long, slightly concave near the base, 3-lobed, dorsal surface smooth, completely white, ventral surface with two rows of glandular trichomes at the base to a penicillate callus at 3.4–3.7 cm from the base, penicillate callus with 6–8 transversal rows of imbricate and denticulate scales, 2.5–4.6 × 2.7–3 mm, continuous towards the apex by 1–3 rows of tuberculate papillae with 0.3–1.2 mm long, and near of the base of the midlobe form a small longitudinal tuft of retrorse trichomes with 1.2–4.7 mm long, on either side longitudinal brown stripes, white at the base and yellow at the entrance of the floral tube formed by the adnation of the column and labellum margins; lateral lobes 0.5–1.1 × 1.2–1.8 cm, obliquely rounded, overlapping above the column, denticulate margins, crisped, conspicuously reflexed and revolute; midlobe 0.6–0.8 × 1.1–1.4 cm, transversely oblong, surface covered with part of the tuft of trichomes at the base not reaching the apex, conspicuously reflexed and revolute, truncated to emarginated at the apex, denticulate margins, crisped; column 4.4 × 4.8 cm long, semi-cylindrical, slender, base attenuate, apex with two small membranous wings, ventral surface lanuginose below 3-lobed stigma, rostellum prominent; anthers versatile, saddle-shaped; pollen in monads. Fruit not seen.

Etymology:— The epithet paulista refers in Brazilian Portuguese to people native or inhabitants of the State of São Paulo, and is permitted by Article 23.2 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature ( McNeill et al. 2012).

Distribution and Habitat:— Vanilla paulista is only known from the type specimens. The species inhabits the mesophytic semideciduous forests of the municipalities of Jundiaí (in the Serra do Japi nature reserve), and Pradópolis, both in the São Paulo state. In the Serra do Japi (ca. 700–1,300 elevation), annual rainfall is about 1,500 mm and annual average temperature, ca. 17.5 °C and in Pradópolis (ca. 540 m altitude), mean annual rainfall is 1,600 mm and annual average temperature is 24 °C. Both in Jundiaí and Pradópolis, climate type is ‘Cwa’ (mesothermic with a dry winter and a hot summer) according to Köppen classification ( Pansarin et al. 2014).

The orchid flora of the Serra do Japi comprises 125 species distributed in 61 genera, with Vanilla bahiana Hoehne (108: 1941; Pansarin 78 and 727), and Vanilla edwallii Hoehne (61: 1950; Pansarin 407, 695, 840), being recorded in this area ( Pansarin & Pansarin 2008). After this, Pansarin et al. (2014), using the same specimens studied by the author in the field from Serra do Japi and other from Pradópolis (Pansarin 1277) identified them as Vanilla dubia . However, these determinations were misidentifications of the new species described here. In the areas studied, Vanilla paulista grows on both marshy soils and dry soils, along mesophytic semideciduous forests.

Conservation:— Vanilla paulista is found in a nature reserve (Serra do Japi). However, the main populations of the new species occur in residual forests adjacent to sugarcane plantations and pasture lands. Due to the apparent restricted distribution, apparent rarity, and vulnerability to human activities, it seems prudent to include this species in the Endangered category, based on the IUCN criteria [EN: B1ab (i,ii,iii)].

Additional specimens examined: — BRASIL. São Paulo: Pradópolis: Divisa entre Dumont e Pradópolis , 21 o 21’S, 48 o 03’W, sterile, 8 December 2008, Pansarin & Galli 1277 (SPFR!) ; idem, estrada Dumont–Pradópolis , em mata alagada adjacente ao canavial, 21 o 21’S, 48 o 03’W, fl., 25 November 2015, Pansarin 1527 (LBMBP!) ; idem, Pansarin 1528 (LBMBP!) .

Comments:— The new species is closely related to both V. dubia and V.dungsii , due to the shape and ornamentation of the lip. Both species have a long and unguiculate lip with a ventral penicillate callus connected to an apical callus by rows of papillae. Vanilla paulista is closely related to V. dubia with regard to the vegetative characters, how the distance between internodes (4.2–10 cm vs. 2.9–9.5 cm) and in the size of the leaves (9.2–16.2 × 2.5–3.2 cm vs. 5.5–20 x 2.3–3.5 cm), respectively, whereas V. dungsii is larger, as much in the distance between internodes (16–18 cm long) as in leaf size (20–21 x 4–5 cm).

Vanilla paulista has an ornamentation with 1–3 rows of tuberculate papillae near of the base tapering to form a cuneate tuft of trichomes from the penicillate callus to near the base of the midlobe, and the lip margin are denticulate-crisp. In V. dubia the ornamentation is forming by 3–5 rows of tuberculate papillae from the penicillate callus to near the apex of the midlobe without touching the apex of the midlobe and the margin of the lateral, and the lip margin are entire-undulate. Finally, in V. dungsii the ornamentation is similar but greater amount than V. paulista and the margin of the lateral and the lip margin are entire-undulate, similar to V. dubia ( Table 1).

Vanilla paulista is endemic to mesophytic semideciduous forests of the state of São Paulo and V. dungsii is endemic to the dense ombrophilus forest of Rio de Janeiro. In contrast, V. dubia is restricted to the Atlantic Forest, distributed in the states of Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and probably Minas Gerais ( Fraga 2002), also in Seasonally semideciduous forests, but their geographic distribution does not overlap.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Vegetation physiognomy and morphology of Vanilla capixaba Fraga & D.R. Couto (c–d) and Vanilla paulista Fraga & Pansarin (e–f). A. General view of the Tropical Semideciduous Forest and inselbergs of Alto Serra da Roseira, Alegre, Espírito Santo, Brazil. B. Vegetation physiognomy of the Tropical Semideciduous Forest. C. Flower of the Vanilla capixaba, front view. D. Detail of the lip apex of the Vanilla capixaba with rows of tuberculate papillae that covers almost entirely the midlobe surface. E. Flower of the Vanilla paulista, lateral view. F. Detail of the lip apex of the Vanilla paulista with rows of tuberculate papillae that covers the center of the midlobe surface. Photos: D.R. Couto (A–D), E.R. Pansarin (E–F).

FIGURE 4. Vanilla paulista Fraga & Pansarin. A. Habit. B. Flower, front view. C. Dissected flower D. Detail of the apex and abaxial surface of the lip. E. Lateral view of the lip and column. F.Lateral view of the column. (Pansarin 727).