Cohniella croizatii, Cetzal & Carnevali, Novon

COHNIELLA CROIZATII Cetzal & Carnevali, Novon View in CoL 21: 179. 2011. —TYPE: VENEZUELA. Amazonas: Mpio. Alto Orinoco, 1951, Croizat 984 (holotype, NY!; isotype [fragm.], CICY!) .

Epiphytic erect herbs; rhizome short, thin, brittle; roots 2 mm thick, white; pseudobulbs 8 + 9 mm, subspherical to broadly ovoid, apically 1-leaved, green, totally enclosed by 3 imbricate sheaths, 30–70 + 5–10 mm, eventually deciduous; leaves terete, thickly fleshy-coriaceous, 23.0– 37.2 cm + 4–6 mm, dark green; inflorescences solitary from the base of the pseudobulbs, 63–123 cm, a 10–15-flowered raceme or panicle with 3–4 long branches, each of these 3.6–10.0 cm, the branches 3–4-flowered; peduncle and rachis dark green with brownish spots; peduncle more or less erect, 2–4 mm thick, terete, with 8–13 remotely bracted internodes, the basal and apical bracts equally long, oblanceolate, acuminate, tubular; floral bracts 2–3 mm, narrowly elliptic, acuminate; flowers resupinate, with perianth segments widely opening, the petals and sepals somewhat reflexed; ovary with pedicel 15–20 mm, of which ca. 4–7 mm correspond to the ovary, this structure 0.4–0.8 mm thick; sepals basally clawed for about 1/3 their total length, flat or somewhat reflexed, dorsal sepal 6.5–7.0 + 4–5 mm, in general outline obovate, apically obtuse and minutely apiculate, concave in the upper half, the claw 2 + 1 mm; lateral sepals partially fused at the very base, then free, similar to dorsal, 8–9 + 4–5 mm; petals 7–8 + 3–4 mm, oblong, somewhat oblique, the apex subacute, somewhat reflexed in natural position; labellum deeply 3-lobed, 9–13 mm from the base to the apex of the central lobe, 12–15 mm wide across the apices of the lateral lobes, the lateral lobes in the same plane as the central lobe and ± perpendicular to it; central lobe (6–)9– 12 + (11 –) 17–21 mm, transversely elliptic or subreniform in outline, apically rounded, deeply emarginate (2–) 3– 4 mm, basally produced into a short isthmus, 2.5 + 3 mm; lateral lobes 5–6 + 3–5 mm, ±oblong to orbicular, obliquely obtuse; disc short, ca. 4 + 4 mm; callus with three large apical teeth, similarly sized, emerging directly from the labellum disk, the two lateral teeth separated by a narrow channel and marginally serrate to dentate on the proximal half, 2.8 + 0.6 mm, the central tooth is laterally compressed, ± equally sized than the lateral teeth, 2 + 0.6 mm; column 3 + 1 mm, ±oblong, the ventral face longitudinally convex, stigmatic surface obovate, ca. 1 + 0.8 mm; column wings ca. 1.8 + 0.8 mm, asymmetrically bilobed with the apical lobe slightly smaller; anther 0.9 + 0.7 mm wide, apical, operculate, ellipsoid; pollinarium 1.2 mm, tegula spathulate, 0.6 + 0.3 mm at the subtruncate apex; viscidium disc-like, small, pollinia 0.7–0.9 mm; fruit a capsule. Figure 5 View FIG .

Distribution and Ecology— This species is known from two collections of Puerto Ayacucho and the type collection of the upper Orinoco course in Amazonas, Venezuela. The labels of the specimens from the Puerto Ayacucho area describe the plants as locally common along the river Orinoco.

Diagnostic Characters— Cohniella croizatii seems to be a rather homogeneous taxon. It is easy to distinguish from related species by its small tripartite callus (vs. 5-partite), consisting of one laterally compressed central tooth or keel, which is similar to the lateral teeth, with relative lengths of 2 mm vs. 2.8 mm; the two lateral teeth are separated by a narrow channel and are marginally serrate to dentate along the proximal half. The column wings in C. croizatii seem to be proportionally larger than in C. cebolleta .

Range of Variation— Cohniella ultrajectina is known from type material and two collections and is fairly homogeneous in its vegetative and floral characters.

Taxonomic Comment— Due to its recent description ( Cetzal-Ix and Carnevali 2011) and traditional treatment under a broad concept of Cohniella cebolleta , this species has not been subject to different taxonomic interpretations.

Additional Material Examined— VENEZUELA. Amazonas: Puerto Ayancho [sic] on the Orinoco River, Grown at the New York Botanical Garden , 50 ft., 1 Jan 1961, Prop. 1270 / 59 (NY!) ; At Raudal de Atures, 10 km. south of Pto. Ayacucho , 100 –120 m, 10 Nov 1953, Maguire et al. 36131 (AMES!, NY!) .

Cohniella juncifolia (L.) Cetzal & Carnevali, comb. nov. Epidendrum juncifolium L., Sp. Pl. (ed. 2) 1351. 1763. Cymbidium juncifolium (L.) Willd., Sp. Pl. 4: 102. 1805. Oncidium juncifolium (L.) Lindl., Coll. Bot. 27. 1821. —TYPE: presumably collected in Haiti [“habitat in America”], Plant. Amer. fasc. 8: t. 184, f. 2. 1759; lectotype: designated by Cribb in Cafferty and Charles 1999: [Icon] “ Epidendrum foliis radicalibus subulatis ” in Burman, Pl. Amer.: t. 184; EPITYPE: designated by Carnevali et al. (2010), Martinique, Duss 2078 (NY!).

Epiphytic erect herbs, shortly creeping to cespitose; rhizome short, thin; roots 30–90 + 1–2 mm, white; pseudobulbs 6–9 + 5–8 mm, subspherical to broadly ovoid, totally enclosed by 3 imbricate sheaths, these 3–7 + 0.8–1.6 cm upon spreading, eventually deciduous; leaves 20–38 + 0.3 –0.6 cm, thickly fleshy-coriaceous, dark green; inflorescences solitary, born at the base of the pseudobulbs, (34–)52–98(–106) cm long, a 8–4-flowered raceme or panicle with 2–3(–4) branches, (2.8–)4.0–12.0 cm long, the branches 3–4-flowered; peduncle and rachis dark green, purple tinged; peduncle terete, erect to arched, 2.0 – 3.7 mm thick, with (5–)8–11 remotely bracted internodes, peduncle bracts 7–20 + 4– 10 mm, the basalmost longest, oblanceolate, acuminate, tubular; bracts subtending the lateral branches 2.4 –5.0 + 1.6 –3.0 mm, elliptic, acuminate, tubular; floral bracts 1.5–6 + 0.5 –1.2 mm, narrowly elliptic, acuminate; flowers resupinate, medium sized for the genus, 22 –25 mm diameter, with widely opening perianth segments and the petals and sepals somewhat reflexed, greenish yellow with reddish-brown spots; ovary with pedicel 17–20 mm long, of which 5–6 mm correspond to the ovary, this 0.8–1.0 mm thick; sepals basally clawed for almost 1/4 of their total length, spreading or somewhat reflexed, dorsal sepal 8–11 + 4–6 mm, obovate to oblanceolate, apically obtuse and minutely apiculate, concave in the upper half, the claw 2–3 mm long; lateral sepals 9–12 + 3–5 mm, partially fused at the base, then free, similar to dorsal; petals 8–10 + 3–4 mm, oblong to oblanceolate, somewhat oblique, the apex rounded, somewhat reflexed in natural position; labellum yellow, deeply 3-lobed, 12–15 mm long from the base to the apex of the central lobe, 12–15(–18) mm wide across the apices of the lateral lobes, the lateral lobes in the same plane as the central lobe and +/– perpendicular to it; central lobe 6.0–8.5(–10.0) + 10–14 mm, spathulate to transversely elliptical or rounded, apically rounded, conspicuously emarginated, the emargination 2.0– 2.5 mm deep, basally produced into an isthmus, 2–3 + 2.2–2.8 mm; lateral lobes 5.3–6.2 + 1.8–2.5 mm, erect-patent, narrowly elliptical, apically oblique, somewhat reflexed in natural position; disc 3.5–4.0 + 4.0– 4.2 mm, yellow with reddish spots at the base, obtriangular; the disc bearing a well-developed callus, 4–5 + 1.6–2.0 mm, consisting of an elevated, +/– flat, rectangular platform, 1.4–1.5 + 0.8 –1.0 mm, the apical margins of the platform with two conical, divergent teeth, 0.8–1.0 + 0.2 –0.6 mm; proximally with two lateral, divergent teeth that are cylindrical and point inward, 1.8–2.0 + 0.3–0.8 mm; distally with two lateral, divergent teeth that are cylindrical and point inward, 0.8–1.8 + 0.2–0.4 mm; the proximal and distal teeth parallel to each other and perpendicular to central tooth or keel; the central tooth or keel laterally compressed, 2.1–3.0 + 1.5–2.0 mm; the basal portion of the callus with conspicuous lateral extensions, conical, yellow with red-brown spots; column 2.5 + 1.0– 1.2 mm, yellow with red-brown spots at the base, the ventral face in the same plane as the labellum lobes, oblong, tabula infrastigmatica longitudinally channelled, stigmatic surface 1.0–1.5 + 0.9–1.0 mm, obovate; column wings 1.2–1.8 + 2.0– 2.5 mm, yellow, ovate; anther cap 2 + 1 mm, operculate, ellipsoid; pollinarium typical for the genus. Figure 6 View FIG .

Distribution and Ecology— Cohniella juncifolia is endemic to the Lesser Antilles. This species is known from Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines where it is found growing in deciduous tropical forests and on seaside cliffs at altitudes from sea level to 600 m.

Diagnostic Characters— Cohniella juncifolia is distinguished by its labellum with narrowly elliptical lateral lobes that are 1.8–2.5 mm wide (vs.> 3–12 mm wide in other species of C. cebolleta complex). Furthermore, the callus of the labellum is composed of a rectangular platform with two large teeth on each side, these teeth are laterally flattened, conical and divergent; proximally and distally the callus features two cylindrical, lateral teeth, which are divergent, apically oblique, and pointing inward. The proximal and distal teeth are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the central tooth or keel; the distal teeth are partially separated from the central keel, while in other species of the genus that have distal teeth, these are completely attached to the central keel, giving the appearance of one unit. Another feature is the length of the column wings (1.2–1.8 mm), these are almost half the total length of the column (2.5–3.0 mm), while other species usually have much smaller column wings (e.g. 1.0–1.2 vs. 3.5–5.5 mm long in C. macrocebolleta or 1.3–1.5 vs. 3–4 mm long in C. ultrajectina ).

A particular feature of this species is that it preserves the intense red of the sepals and petals in herbarium material. This feature was observed in specimens from different herbaria (e.g. AMES, NY, P) and dried in different years (e.g. 1839, 1858, 1903, and 1958), while in other species the red pigments entirely fade away or remain as dim red areas.

Range of Variation— Cohniella juncifolia is known from several herbarium specimens and in general appears to be homogeneous in its vegetative and floral morphology.

Taxonomic Comment— Cribb in Cafferty and Jarvis (1999) lectotypified Epidendrum juncifolium L. designating tabula 184, Fig. 2 View FIG “ Epidendrum foliis radicalibus subulatis ” of Plumier in Burman (1758). The type locality of Cohniella juncifolia is unknown, although some authors (e.g. Linné and Willdenow 1805; Carnevali et al. 2010) cited “... Habitat in America ...” or presumably from Haiti. However, we have not found records of this species from the Greater Antilles in herbarium material, taxonomic treatments, or floristic studies (e.g. Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico). Carnevali et al. (2010) based on the Plumier illustration and other possible collection sites in the Lesser Antilles, designated a specimen of Martinique as epitype. This species, as most members of the complex, were previously included in the synonymy of Oncidium cebolleta , but these C. cebolleta - like populations from Lesser Antilles are distinctive in their morphology and geographical distribution, and are hence proposed here for reinstatement.

IUCN Conservation Assessment— According to the IUCN (2004) categories and criteria applied in Guadeloupe, Cohniella juncifolia treated as “ Cohniella cebolleta ” is classified as endangered (EN) ( Feldmann 2006). The status is based upon the threats posed by human activities (habitat transformation), coupled with the pressures associated with the collection by horticulturists of this attractive species. These threats are exacerbated by the small size of the island (1,700 km 2 for the Guadeloupe archipelago). Albeit collection pressure may seem unimportant at this time, given the reduced size of the populations and the small area covered by suitable habitats, it may eventually have a significant impact on natural populations

Additional Material Examined— Without exact locality and collector (BM-000534276!).

DOMINICA. 1903, Lloyd 826 (NY!). GUADELOUPE. 1896, Duss 3847 (NY!); Sdellé 2577 (NY!); Sdellé 3187 (P!).

MARTINIQUE. 1869, Lareti 710 (P!); 1839, Rivoire s.n. (P!).

SAINT LUCIA. Middle W slope of Gros (Sic) Piton, 500 –2,000 ft, 19 May 1858, Proctor 18062 ( AMES!) ; Volcanic sea-cliffs at Marquis Bay , 20 –200 ft., 24– 25 May 1958, Proctor 18107 ( AMES!) .

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES. Bequia, 26–31 Mar 1950, Howard 11281 (NY!).