Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

A new Lepanthes species from the northern end of the Central Andes of Colombia is described, illustrated, and compared with morphologically similar species. Lepanthes wakemaniae is most similar to L. caesariata but is easily distinguished by its petals with oblong to ovate upper lobes and triangular lower lobes; semi-ovate lip blades, with their inner margins touching above the column; the appendix ligulate and pubescent, and a column with an expanded, orbicular stigma.

A new species of orchid, Thrixspermum patkaiensis from the tropical evergreen forest in Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India, is described. It is morphologically similar to T. musciflorum and T. formosanum but distinct from these species by the inflorescence 12–18 cm long; the lip with purplish bands and glandular hairy both side of the side lobes and the epichile forming a rim of glandular hairs.

A new small-flowered Cyrtochilum from Peru is described, illustrated with photos and drawings, and compared to similar species. The new species is similar to C. fidicularium and C. gracile in having extra thumb-like projections above the rounded ventral lobes of the column but differs from C. fidicularium by the more sharply pointed and forward projecting callus keels on the lip and by a longer front-lobe of the lip, versus blunt and downward directed lobes in C. fidicularium. The new species differs readily from C. gracile by the long and wiry inflorescence, versus a more sub-erect and straighter panicle in C. gracile.

A new species of Pleurothallis from the Cordillera del Cóndor in southeast Ecuador is described and illustrated. In addition, information concerning its distribution, habitat, and phenology is provided. Pleurothallis ariana-dayanae is similar to P. paquishae but differs in the size of the flower, the dorsal sepal 6.5–7.8 mm long, the petals slightly falcate, linear, microscopically verrucose-papillose on the dorsal surface, minutely denticulate along the margins; the lip is ovate-elliptic with, denticulate-ciliate margins, with a slightly bilobed glenion. Pleurothallis ariana-dayanae is also compared with P. scabrilinguis, and P. applanata, an endemic species to Ecuador.

The genus Scaphyglottis Poepp. & Endl. presents 78 species and occurs from Mexico to Brazil. Scaphyglottis punctulata (Rchb.f.) C.Schweinf. is known from various high elevation locations from Panama to Bolivia. Here, we report new records in two regions of the Brazil portion of the Guiana Shield. We provide a detailed description, photographic plates, updated distribution map, ecological and taxonomic comments for S. punctulata, and an identification key for Scaphyglottis species from the Brazilian portion of the Guiana Shield.

A new and previously little-known Cyrtochilum (Orchidaceae: Oncidiinae), is named in honor and in memory of Leonore Bockemühl, who published a monographic treatment of Odontoglossum in 1989, which included many species that subsequently were transferred to Cyrtochilum based on molecular evidence. One of these species that was included in her treatment as “Odontoglossum leucopterum” is in fact an undescribed Cyrtochilum and is described here. The real “Odontoglossum leucopterum”, which was transferred to Cyrtochilum in 2001, has proven to be quite elusive since its original description. It was only recently photographed in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, its only known location, and photos of this rare orchid are featured here for the first time. The new Cyrtochilum is described, illustrated and compared with closely related Cyrtochilum species which are featured with line drawings and color photographs to illustrate the differences.

The new species, Epidendrum sonsonense, was discovered while determining the herbarium specimens housed in the herbarium of Fundación Jardín Botánico Joaquin Antonio Uribe, JAUM. The species belongs to the informal Macrostachyum group and is endemic to the Paramo of Sonsón, Department of Antioquia, Colombia, characterized by the thickened stems, densely many-flowered raceme, and creamy-yellow flowers. A Lankester Composite Digital Plate (LCDP) of fresh material collected at the type locality is presented here. Studying additional collections at Colombian herbaria produced additional specimens of the same species.

Thrixspermum obyrneanum (sect. Thrixspermum) is a new species described from Narathiwat Province, southern Thailand, and from Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. It is morphologically similar to T. leucarachne but differs in the much shorter sepals and petals, tepals and lip pale yellow, lateral lobes of the lip 6–7 mm long, broadly triangular to ovate, with narrowly truncate and erose apex, mid-lobe 3.0–4.7 mm long, cylindrical to broadly triangular, obtuse.

A new species of Chiloschista from a restricted area in Bhutan is described and illustrated. It is featured with color photos and a map showing its only known locality. The new species is compared with the other three spotted Chiloschista species from Bhutan: C. densiflora, C. gelephuense, and C. himalaica, which have similarly colored flowers, but different lip structure, and the differences are explained and illustrated.

Artificial selection is the process by which humans change morphological and genetic characteristics of species through selection of “favored” characters. Although the gray literature suggests the process is occurring in orchids held in ex situ collections, there is limited evidence of this in the scientific literature. There is a perspective among growers that species (not hybrids) held in ex situ collections are potential sources of material for use in in situ re-establishment, however, this assumes that there has not been any artificial selection for morphological characters, or functional traits while grown and propagated ex situ. Here we evaluate if plants grown in ex situ collections show changes in morphological characters across time and if the range of character size is within the range from in situ populations. We evaluated plants from the American Orchid Society database from nine genera and 54 species. We noted that 35% of characters evaluated had evidence of significant change across time. Moreover, for most species in ex situ the evaluated characters were frequently (95%) outside the range of plants of natural populations based on species descriptions. If variation in size of ex situ collections as compared to in situ plants is genetically based, it is possible that these would be functionally maladaptive if re-introduced to their natural environment. Protocols for ex situ conservation programs need to focus on the morphological, biochemical, and ecological interactions and genetic diversity that would render the re-introduction of ex situ to their natural environment to maximize the likelihood of effective re-establishment. Consequently, species which are awarded recognition at orchid shows may potentially be inappropriate for plants within an in situ reintroduction conservation program.