Encyclia bragancae Ruschi (1975: 1)

Bastos, Cláudia A., Meneguzzo, Thiago E. C. & Berg, Cássio Van Den, 2018, A taxonomic revision of the Brazilian species of Encyclia (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Epidendreae), Phytotaxa 342 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

9. Encyclia bragancae Ruschi (1975: 1) . Type:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Pico da Bandeira, Parque Nacional do

Caparão, 2200 m, 15 August 1975, Albuquerque et al. 3777 (holotype: MBML, spirit collection, photograph!) ( Figs.

8, 24I ).

Heterotypic synonym:

Encyclia xuxaensis Fowlie & Duveen (1991b: 157) . Type:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Sítio Bela Vista, Maio-Jun, 1991, Suter R. SDB90 B2 (holotype: UC). Encyclia xuxiana Fowlie & Duveen (1992: 204) .

Epiphytic herbs, 20.6−26.2 cm tall. Pseudobulbs conical, 3.1−3.5 × 0.8−1.2 cm. Leaves 2−3, oblong to oblanceolate, 18−22 × 0.5−0.8 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence a 3−6-flowered, simple raceme; peduncle 18.5−19.3 cm long; rachis 3.4−13.2 cm long. Flowers with pedicel c. 2.6 × 0.2 cm, warty; sepals brown, dorsal lanceolate, c. 1.7 × 0.6 cm, laterals lanceolate, c. 1.8 × 0.7 cm, erect, margin entire, apex mucronate; petals brown, spatulate, mucronate c. 1.7 × 0.7 cm, erect, margin gently undulate; lip unguiculate, claw c. 0.3 × 0.1 cm, lateral lobes oblong, obtuse, free from midlobe, c. 0.9 × 0.5 cm, pink with darker pink streaks, at an angle about 45° to the midlobe (in the flattened lip), not overlapping it, margin gently undulate, midlobe rounded, emarginate, c. 0.8 × 1.0 cm, pink with darker pink streaks, sinuous, margin strongly undulate, callus dolabriform, callus apex flabellate; column clavate, c. 0.9 × 0.3 cm, clinandrium apex tridentate, lateral teeth extended, horn-like, apex premorse, arms of the column quadrate, obtuse, c. 0.2 × 0.2 cm; stigma elliptic, with basal hooks; anther one, intense yellow, c. 0.25 × 0.20 cm.

Distribution and habitat:— Endemic to the Atlantic Forest in the southeast. Despite the fact previously it has been recorded only in Espírito Santo, it is likely to be found also in Minas Gerais, since the type material comes from Pico da Bandeira, which lies almost on the border ( Fig. 7 ).

Phenology:— Flowering March–August.

Etymology:— The epithet honours the Brazilian Imperial family, Bragança.

Taxonomic notes:— Herbarium material of Encyclia bragancae is similar to that of E. ionosma , especially in the undulating midlobe of the lip. However, in E. bragancae the midlobe is strongly undulate whereas in E. ionosma the undulation is more subtle, which confers some distinctiveness to the two species even in pressed material. In living material, the sepals and petals of E. bragancae are brownish green with a pinkish lip subtly streaked with darker pink, whereas in E. ionosma the sepals and petals are olive-green with a yellowish lip densely striped with pink. The lateral lobes of E. bragancae are oblong and form an angle of ca. 45° relative to the midlobe in the flattened lip, whereas in E. ionosma they are falcate and form an angle of ˂ 45°, giving a characteristic arching. The undulate lip midlobe and teeth on the clinandrium of E. bragancae also suggest a relationship to E. fimbriata Bastos, Van den Berg & Meneguzzo (2012: 27) , a species from Bahia.

A later synonym, Encyclia xuxiana was published one year after Encyclia xuxaensis as a correction to this name (Fowlie & Duveen 1992) because there was evidently a mistake in the Latin derivation of the former epithet in relation to the latter, indicating provenance instead of the intended personal name.

Specimen examined:— BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: Santa Teresa, Santa Lúcia Biological Station , 550 m, 30 March 2000, Kollmann et al. 2793 ( MBML) .

Figures

FIGURE 7. Distribution in Brazil of Encyclia bracteata, E. bragancae, E. caximboensis, E. chapadensis, E. chloroleuca and E. conchaechila.

FIGURE 8. A−G. Encyclia bracteata. A. Dorsal sepal. B. Lateral sepal. C. Petal. D. Lip. E. Detail lip callus. F. Column front view. G. Column side view (Carvalho 1279). H−N. Encyclia bragancae H. Dorsal sepal. I. Lateral sepal. J. Petal. K. Lip. L. Column front view. M. Column side view (Bastos 325). N−U. Encyclia caximboensis. N. Habit. O. Dorsal sepal. P. Lateral sepal. Q. Petal. R. Lip. S. Detail of lip callus. T. Column front view. U. Column side view (Pereira 2835). Illustration by Carla de Lima.

FIGURE 24. A. ×Catyclia ×intermedia. B. Encyclia advena. C. Encyclia alboxanthina. D. Encyclia andrichii. E. Encyclia argentinensis. F.Encyclia auyantepuiensis. G. Encyclia bohnkiana. H. Encyclia bracteata. I. Encyclia bragancae. J. Encyclia chapadensis. K. Encyclia chloroleuca. L. Encyclia conchaechila. M. Encyclia cyperifolia. (Photographers: A: A. Peres Júnior. B, D−E, G−J: C. van den Berg. C: U.C.S. Silva. F: E. Pessoa. K−L: T.E.C. Meneguzzo).