Pupulin, Karremans & Pupulin & Damián-Parizaca, 2025

2. Vanilla subgen. Gondwana Karremans , Damián & Pupulin , subgen. nov.

Type species:— Vanilla cameroniana View in CoL Damián (in Damián-Parizaca et al. 2023: 223).

Etymology: —The name derives from the landmass that existed in the Southern Hemisphere uniting South America and Africa, alluding to the unresolved phylogenetic position and intermediate morphological features of its only known member.

Diagnosis:—Nomadic vines, with subcoriaceous, bullate, spathulate, reticulate, petiolate leaves. Stem pustulate. Inflorescence racemose, short, with small non-foliaceous floral bracts. Flowers with greenish, narrow sepals and petals and a white lip, forming a cone-like, floral tube made by the adnation of the column and lip margins. Lip with a distinct penicillate callus above the middle and an elevated, trullate, crenulate to dactilar, apical disc. Column straight with a well-developed rostellum. Pollen in monads, forming two easily disrupted masses.

Discussion:—This monotypic section is currently represented only by the odd V. cameroniana , a species exclusively known by a few collections from French Guiana and which does not seem to have any currently known allies. The thin leaves with reticulate margins and greenish flowers with a white lip are reminiscent of members of Vanilla subgen. Membranacea , but the penicillate callus and tubular lip with fused margins place it among the members Vanilla subgen. Vanilla . However, unlike any member of either Vanilla subgen. Vanilla and most members of Vanilla subgen. Tethyos , the leaves of this species are large, bullate, spathulate, broadly-spathulate to cuneate, with a well-developed petiole, and the tubular lip forms a narrow cone with an apical bulge. The stem is pustulate, a feature that also occurs in Vanilla subgen. Tethyos , the sepals and especially the petals are extremely narrow, almost linear, a rather rare character found only in a few members of Vanilla subgen. Vanilla . Members of both sections have diverse arrangements of verrucae and papillae, but none have an elevated, trullate, crenulate to dactilar, apical disc as the one found in the sole member of V. subgen. Gondwana . Despite the absence of DNA data for the current analysis, V. cameroniana ’s distinctive morphology strongly supports its recognition as a separate lineage.

Ecology:—The only species in this subgenus is poorly known. No information on the fragrances produced by their flowers or fruits, or anything regarding pollination and dispersal of this species is known.