Pterichis aragogiana Kolan. & Szlach.

1. Pterichis aragogiana Kolan. & Szlach. View in CoL — Fig. 1 View Fig

Pterichis aragogiana Kolan. & Szlach.(2019) View in CoL 176. — Type: L. Holm-Nielsen, J. Jaramillo & F. Coello 29519 (holo AAU), Ecuador, Azuay, Páramo de Matanga , km 25 on road Sigsig – Gualaquiza (old muletrack), W of the pass, alt. 3150 m, 14 Dec. 1980.

Plant c. 55 cm tall, leafless during flowering. Scape glandular in upper third, enclothed in 7 tubular, acute sheaths, 25–37 mm long, upper ones glandular-ciliate. Inflorescence c. 8.5 cm long, densely ciliate. Flowers orange-red, lip with violet in basal part of middle lobe, sepals externally densely glandular-ciliate. Floral bracts 14– 20 mm long, ovate, cucullate, externally densely ciliate. Ovary c. 13 mm long, densely glandular-ciliate. Dorsal sepal c. 14.5 by 4.5 mm, ovate in lower half, apical part narrow, rolled up along margins hence appearing acuminate-caudate, 3-veined. Lateral sepals c. 15 by 3.5 mm, obliquely ovate in lower half, rolled up along margins above giving an acuminate-caudate appearance, subobtuse, 3-veined. Petals free from dorsal sepal, c. 14.5 by 1.4 mm, linear, subobtuse, 3-veined, glabrous. Lip c. 12 by 11 mm, hastate, basal part reniform above truncate base; middle lobe ovate, acuminate, fleshy in basal 2/3, delicate in apical part; disc primarily 9-veined, lateral veins branching, ornamented with knob-like projections along margins in upper part of lateral lobes, middle lobe densely glandular in basal 2/3. Gynostemium c. 5.5 mm long.

Distribution — Ecuador and Bolivia. Here newly recorded for Bolivia ( A.F. Fuentes et al. 8771, LPB).

Habitat & Ecology — Terrestrial in yungas (moist broad-leaf forest transition along Andean slope between Amazonian and highland Puna; Olson et al. 2000, 2001) wet forest at the altitude of c. 2650 m. Flowering in Bolivia: June.

Additional specimens examined. BOLIVIA, La Paz, Parque Nacional Madidi , entre Chunkani y Tokoake, alt. 2673 m, 25 June 2005, A. F . Fuentes et al. 8771 (LPB!). – ECUADOR, Zamora Chinchipe, Cerro Plateado , Á. J . Pérez 1355 ( QCA!) .

Note — Until now this species was known exclusively from the Ecuadorian Andes ( Kolanowska & Szlachetko 2019). It is easily distinguished from all other Pterichis representatives by the spreading, long-caudate sepals, which give a spider-like appearance to the flower. From the Bolivian representatives of sect. Pterichis this species differs also in the long, acuminate lip of the middle lobe that constitutes half of the lip’s total length.