Encyclia xerophytica Pabst (1976: 81)

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

38. Encyclia xerophytica Pabst (1976: 81) . Type:— BRAZIL. Bahia: no locality, 21 November 1971, Ferreira 167

(holotype: HB 57726!; isotype: K 293649!) ( Figs. 23 , 26M ).

Homotypic synonym:

Encyclia caximboensis Menezes (1992b: 14) , nom. superfl.

Heterotypic synonym:

Encyclia caximboensis Menezes (1992c: 10) . Type :— BRAZIL. Pará : Serra do Cachimbo, Military Reserve, 400 m, September-October, Prenholado UB 15 (holotype: UB!).

Lithophytic herbs, occasionally terrestrial in sand, 13.5−24.3 cm tall. Pseudobulbs conical, 2.5−6.2 × 1.0− 1.2 cm. Leaves 3, lanceolate, 7.5−16.0 × 0.7−1.0 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence a loosely 5−15-flowered, simple raceme; peduncle 32.0− 68.7 cm long; rachis 10.6−28.1 cm long. Floral pedicel 2.3−3.2 × 0.15−0.3 cm, warty; sepals yellowish to greenish brown stained, dorsal lanceolate, 2.2−2.5 × 0.5 cm, laterals lanceolate, 2.0−2.5 × 0.6−0.7 cm, erect, margin entire, apex acute; petals yellowish to greenish brown stained, oblanceolate to obelliptic, 2.1−2.6 × 0.4−0.5 cm, erect, margin entire, apex acute; lip claw 0.10−0.15 × 0.3−0.4 cm, lateral lobes free relative to midlobe, 1.0−1.2 × 0.4−0.5 cm, white with pinkish streaks, at a ˂45° angle to the midlobe (in the flattened lip), not overlapping it, margin entire, apex obtuse, midlobe deltoid to cordate, 1.0−1.5 × 1.1−1.5 cm, white streaked pink with white margin, sinuous, margin undulate, apex emarginate, callus cymbiform, long trifid; column clavate, 1.0−1.1 × 0.3−0.4 cm, clinandrium apex tridentate, lateral teeth triangular, apex acute, column arms oblong to elliptic, 0.15 × 0.10 cm, apex obtuse; stigma elliptic to triangular, with basal hooks; anther 1, pinkish, 0.25−0.30 × 0.20−0.30 cm.

Distribution and habitat:— Endemic to cerrado in the Northeast and to the Amazon in Pará State. Here, it is also recorded for the first time for Mato Grosso State, where it occurs in the municipality of Novo Mundo in the Parque Estadual do Cristalino. This park actually borders the Airforce Base in Pará where the Serra do Cachimbo is located, the latter the origin of the type of E. caximboensis . It has also been found in Apiacás, Mato Grosso State, ca. 290 km from Novo Mundo, where it grows in dry areas ( Fig. 22 ).

Phenology:— Flowering May–December.

Etymology:— From the Greek xeros, dry, and phyton, plant, probably a reference to the aridity of the type locality.

Taxonomic notes:— The original plant from which the type specimem of Encyclia xerophytica was made still exists in cultivation, and its origin was indicated as the State of Bahia ( Pabst 1976). This locality has been questioned because according to Ferreira (1996) this is actually a specimen “sine loco”, since the original collector failed to disclose its origin. Further exploration should be done, especially in the western part of Bahia to check for its possible occurrence there. Although E. xerophytica is known only from the type material, its continuing presence in cultivation (from the original plant and specimens produced by selfing of this plant) has produced several herbarium specimens. However, they all originated from that single mother plant, making assessment of morphological variation difficult. Nevertheless there is high similarity to E. caximboensis , described from northern Brazil, such as the short leaves (7.5−16 cm), rupicolous habit, inflorescences with lax flowers and similarity in colour and arrangement of the flower parts. The subtle differences in the lip could be related to phenotypic plasticity.

Selected specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Bahia:no locality, 21 November 1971, Ferreira 167 ( HB) ; 8 December 2009, no collector ( HUEFS) ; Bahia-Pernambuco border, no date, Meneguzzo 474 ( HUEFS) . Mato Grosso: Apiacás, mountain of the São João da Barra waterfall, 10 June 1977, Rosa & Santos 2080 ( MG, RB, UEC) ; Novo Mundo, Cristalino State Park , 277 m, 4 May 2007, Henicka et al. 16 ( INPA) . Pará: Novo Progresso, Serra do Cachimbo , 485 m, 23 August 2003, Silva 4097 ( MG, SP) .

Figures

FIGURE 22. Distribution in of for E. viridiflora, E. xerophytica and E. yauaperyensis.

FIGURE 23. A−I. Encyclia viridiflora. A. Inflorescence (Bastos 329). B. Flower pedicel. C. Dorsal sepal. D. Lateral sepal. E. Petal. F. Lip. G. Column front view. H. Column side view (Bastos 324). I. Variation in the lip (s. leg. K 583894). J−P. Encyclia xerophytica. J. Dorsal sepal. K. Lateral sepal. L. Petal. M. Lip. N. Detail of lip callus. O. Column front view. P. Column side view (Meneguzzo 474). Q−W. Encyclia yauaperyensis. Q. Dorsal sepal. R. Lateral sepal. S. Petal. T. Lip. U. Detail of lip callus. V. Column front view. W. Column side view (Stern s.n. HB177). Illustration by Carla de Lima.

FIGURE 26. A. Encyclia oncidioides. B. Encyclia osmantha. C. Encyclia patens. D. Encyclia patens var. serroniana. E. Encyclia pauciflora. F. Encyclia randii. G. Encyclia replicata. H. Encyclia seidelii. I. Encyclia spiritusanctensis. J. Encyclia thienii. K. Encyclia unaensis. L. Encyclia viridiflora. M. Encyclia xerophytica. (Photographers:A−C, E−M: C. van den Berg. D: A. Peres Júnior).