Specklinia lugduno-batavae Karremans, Bogarín & Gravend., 2015

Specklinia lugduno-batavae Karremans, Bogarín & Gravend. View in CoL , sp. nov. — Fig. 1 View Fig , 2a View Fig

Etymology. The name honours the Academia Lugduno Batava,nowadays Leiden University,and its Hortus Academicus Lugduno-Batavus,the current Hortus botanicus Leiden ( Fig. 5 View Fig ).

The species is similar to Specklinia pisinna but can be distinguished by the prostrate habit (vs erect habit), shorter leaves (up to 8 vs 11 mm long), the flexuous inflorescence with up to 6 flowers (vs straight and containing up to 3 flowers), the creamy-white flowers (vs heavily suffused and striped with purple) and the shorter lip (up to 1.6 vs 2.3 mm). Specklinia digitalis is also similar but the new species can be distinguished by the shorter leaves (4–8 vs 12–15 mm), the shorter inflorescence (up to 1.5 vs up to 15 cm), the shorter sepals (3–4 vs 5 mm long), the ligulate to narrowly elliptic petals (vs obovate) and the shorter lip (1.5–1.6 vs 2 mm long). — Typus: F. Pupulin, B. Arias, D. Bogarín & C. Ossenbach 7709 (holo JBL-spirit; D5055), Costa Rica, Heredia, Sarapiquí, Horquetas, unpaved road to Rara Avis, c. km 6, N10°20'40.2" W83°59'30.3", 200 m, 9 April 2009.

Epiphytic, caespitose, prostrate to sub-erect herb to 1 cm tall, excluding the inflorescence. Roots fibrous, flexuous, glabrous. Stem abbreviated, terete-cylindric, to 1–2 mm long, monophyllous, completely concealed by papyraceous, sheaths. Leaves coriaceous, suborbicular to broadly elliptic, 4–8 by 3–6 mm, densely spotted with purple abaxially. Inflorescence borne laterally from the apex of the stem, without an annulus, an erect, flexuous, distichous, successively flowered raceme, with 1–2 flowers open at once, producing up to 6 flowers per inflorescence, up to 15–20 mm long; peduncle cylindric, to 15 mm long. Floral bracts infundibuliform, broadly ovate, acute, 1 mm long. Pedicel cylindric, glabrous, persistent, 2 mm long including the subclavate ovary. Flowers whitish cream, immaculate to slightly brownish stained along the sepal veins. Sepals fleshy, glabrous; dorsal sepal elliptic, 3-veined, acute, 4.0 by 2.1–2.3 mm; lateral sepals completely fused into an elliptic synsepal, 4-veined, 4.0–4.5 by 3 mm. Petals ligulate to narrowly elliptic, obtuse, 2.1–2.2 by 0.9–1.0 mm, 1-veined. Lip ligulate, longitudinally slightly arched-convex in natural position, thinly articulate with the column foot by a hyaline claw, obtuse, longitudinally depressed in the middle, 1.5–1.6 by 0.7–0.8 mm. Column slightly arched, terete-slender at the base, 1.6–1.8 mm long without the foot, provided with low, broad membranous wings at the apex; column foot inconspicuous. Anther cap deeply cucullate, ovate, 2-celled. Pollinia 2, obovate-complanate, minutely hooked at the base, lacking caudicles. The description is based on Pupulin 7709, Pupulin 7710 and Bogarín 6761.

Distribution & Ecology — The species is known only from the tropical wet forest of the Caribbean lowlands occurring in Nicaragua and Costa Rica at elevations between 200– 350 m.

Additional material examined. COSTA RICA, Heredia, Sarapiquí; OET, La Selva, Surá trail, 350 m, R. Aguilar 8729 ( LSCR), 16 Apr. 2004 ; CES trail, O. Vargas 1264 ( LSCR), 13 June 2005 ; Unpaved road to Rara Avis, c. km 6, N10°20'40.2" W83°59'30.3", 200 m, F. Pupulin, B. Arias, D. Bogarín & C. Ossenbach 7707 (JBL-spirit; D3465), 9 Apr. 2009 GoogleMaps ; F. Pupulin et al. 7708 (JBL-spirit; D3752), 9 Apr. 2009 ; F. Pupulin et al. 7710 (JBL-spirit; D3126), 9Apr.2009 ; D. Bogarín, B. Arias, C. Ossenbach & F. Pupulin 6761 (JBL-spirit; D2921; Fig. 2b View Fig ), 9 Apr. 2009 .

Photographic images studied. NICARAGUA, Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatusos,photographed by Fabricio Díaz Santos (photographic voucher, 108 in ‘Orquídeas del Río San Juan‘ Díaz Santos (2010)); Guatusos Reserve, photographed by Dick Culbert (digital voucher,www.dixpix.ca/meso_america/ Flora/orchids/052_platystele.html).

Note — The short plant up to 1 cm tall, the suborbicular leaf with purple spots on the abaxial surface, the flexuous, successive racemose inflorescence with a single flower open at a time, the conspicuous thickening of the apex of the dorsal sepal, and the ligulate, unlobed, mostly inornate lip, which is shallowly depressed longitudinally in the middle places Specklinia lugduno-batavae in the S. digitalis species group ( Fig. 3 View Fig ). The few tiny flowers and short inflorescence are similar to that of S. pisinna ( Fig. 4 View Fig ), a species known to occur in Mexico, Gua- temala and Honduras. However, the new species can be distinguished by the prostrate habit (vs erect habit), with shorter leaves, up to 8 mm long (vs 11 mm), the flexuous inflorescence containing up to 6 flowers (vs straight, containing up to 3 flowers), the creamy-white flowers (vs heavily suffused and striped with purple) and the shorter lip (up to 1.6 vs 2.3 mm). From the Mexican endemic S. digitalis , it can be distinguished by the smaller prostrate habit with shorter leaves, 4–8 mm long (vs 12–15 mm) and shorter inflorescence (up to 2 vs 15 cm long) the ligulate to narrowly elliptic petals (vs obovate). Specklinia succulenta from French Guyana is also similar, but the new species can be distinguished by the prostrate habit (vs erect), the short inflorescence (up to 2 vs 10 cm long), the whitish cream flowers (vs greenish yellow) and the immaculate lip (vs a lip with two purple stripes).