Lepanthes carrizosana, a New Species of Lepanthes (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from the Southwestern Andes in Colombia

Abstract

A new species of Lepanthes from the southwestern Andes of Colombia is described, illustrated and compared with morphologically similar species. The new species was found in two localities in the municipality of San José del Salado, in the department of Valle del Cauca, where several new species have been found and described in the past several years.
Se describe, ilustra y compara una nueva especie de Lepanthes del suroeste de los Andes occidentales de Colombia con especies morfológicamente similares. La especie nueva fue encontrada en el municipio de San José del Salado en el departamento del Valle del Cauca donde se han encontrado y descrito varias especies nuevas en los últimos años.

Full text

Lepanthes Sw. is one of the most diverse genera in
the Orchidaceae, with more than 1158 species described
(Karremans and Vieira, 2020), of which 376 are reported
from Colombia (Farfán et al., 2003; Luer and Thoerle,
2012; Betancur et al., 2015; Bernal et al. 2016). The
Western Cordillera of the Andes is the most diverse region,
with Valle del Cauca Department second in diversity after
Antioquia. Seven new species of Lepanthes have been
described from San José del Salado, a region within the
Cauca department (Luer, 2009; Moreno et al., 2017, 2021,
2021, 2022). In 2022, we carried out new expeditions to
the mountains of San José del Salado and discovered a new
species of Lepanthes. Here we describe and illustrate it,
provide information about its distribution, and compare it
with the most similar species, adding the 377th species of
Lepanthes to the ora of Colombia.
LEPANTHES CARRIZOSANA, A NEW SPECIES OF LEPANTHES
(ORCHIDACEAE: PLEUROTHALLIDINAE)
FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN ANDES IN COLOMBIA
Juan SebaStián Moreno,1, 2,3,5 robinSon Galindo-tarazona,1 and aleJandro zuluaGa trÓchez2,4
Abstract. A new species of Lepanthes from the southwestern Andes of Colombia is described, illustrated and compared with morpho-
logically similar species. The new species was found in two localities in the municipality of San José del Salado, in the department of
Valle del Cauca, where several new species have been found and described in the past several years.
Keywords: Colombia, Dagua, Lepanthes, Orchidaceae, San José del Salado, Sistemática, Valle del Cauca
Resumen. Se describe, ilustra y compara una nueva especie de Lepanthes del suroeste de los Andes occidentales de Colombia con
especies morfológicamente similares. La especie nueva fue encontrada en el municipio de San José del Salado en el departamento del
Valle del Cauca donde se han encontrado y descrito varias especies nuevas en los últimos años.
Palabras claves: Colombia, Dagua, Lepanthes, Orchidaceae, San José del Salado, Sistemática, Valle del Cauca
We are very grateful to Danny Leandro Mora for his support during the eld trips to the areas of San José del Salado where the new and several other
species were found. Finally, to Luisa Calderón who helped us dissect and measure the owers of the new species.
1
Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia, Dirección Territorial Pacíco, Carrera 117 # 16B-00, Cali, Colombia.
2
Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 # 100-00, Cali, Colombia.
3
Grupo de Investigación Schultes, Fundación Ecotonos, Cali, Colombia.
4
Grupo de Investigación Ecología y Diversidad Vegetal, Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 # 100-00, Cali, Colombia.
5
Corresponding author: semoreno113@gmail.com
Harvard Papers in Botany, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2023, pp. 89–92.
© President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2023
ISSN: 1938-2944, DOI: 10.3100/hpib.v28iss1.2023. n11, Published online: 30 June 2023
MaterialS and MethodS
The description and drawings were prepared from living
specimens and owers preserved in 70% alcohol. Flowers
were dissected, measured, and photographed using Celestron
Handheld Digital Microscope Pro. Vegetative structures
were measured from dried material and reproductive
structures from spirit material. Digital images were taken
with a Nikon D610 and a Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro
lens. Sketches from living and preserved specimens were
digitized, and the images were used for diagramming a draft
composite template in Adobe Photoshop® CS6. A digital
composite line drawing was then made (lines and stippling)
in Procreate illustration application for iPad 6th generation
tablet computer (Bogarín et al., 2019). The new species
was described following the botanical terminology by
Beentje (2012) and Stearn (1992). All original descriptions
of related species were consulted for detailed comparisons
(Luer 1996; Luer and Thoerle 2012). Specimens from the
following herbaria, AMES, COL, CUVC, HUA, JAUM,
JBB, VALLE, CAUP and MO (online), were consulted, and
no additional material of the new species was found.
taxonoMic treatMent
Lepanthes carrizosana Gal.-Tar., Zuluaga & J.S.Moreno,
sp. nov.
TYPE: COLOMBIA, Valle del Cauca, municipality of
Dagua, corregimiento de San José del Salado, predio
El Almorzadero, 1730 m, 28 August 2022, R. Galindo-
Tarazona & D. L. Mora 1586 (Holotype: CUVC). Fig. 1–2.
Lepanthes carrizosana is most similar to Lepanthes
darioi Luer & R.Escobar. It can be distinguished by having a
pubescent, obovate, bilaminate lip with cuneate connectives
(vs. narrowly ovate lip and oblong connectives), and a
small appendix with a pair of minute apical lobes that come
from a slightly short pubescent, concave base (vs. broadly
triangular appendix held directly below the stigma).
Plant 4.5–6.8 cm tall, epiphytic, weak, caespitose. Roots
slender, exuous 0.7 mm in diameter. Ramicauls slender,
2.7–4.0 cm long, suberect, enclosed by 15 lepanthiform
sheaths, reducing in size towards the base, furrowed,
with a dilated and ciliated ostia, long-acuminate. Leaves
pendent, 2.5–2.8 × 0.6–0.8 cm, thinly coriaceous, ovate,
long-acuminate, the apex emarginate with an abaxial
central apiculum, 1.5 mm long, the base cuneate contracted
into a petiole 0.5–1 mm long. Inorescence a congested,
successively owered raceme, up to 0.8–1.0 cm long,
including the peduncle, borne on top of the leaf by a liform

FiGure 1. Lepanthes carrizosana Gal.-Tar., Zuluaga & J.S. Moreno. A, Habit and plant; B, Flower; C, Dissected perianth; D, Lip, column
and ovary; E, Lip expanded; F, Pollinia and anther cap. Drawing by J. S. Moreno based on the holotype.
90 HARVARD PAPERS IN BOTANY VOL. 28, NO. 1

FiGure 2. In-situ photographs of Lepanthes carrizosana Gal.-Tar., Zuluaga & J.S. Moreno. A, Flower; B, Flower from the side; C, Habit
and plant. In-situ photographs by R. Galindo-Tarazona.
2023 MORENO ET AL. NEW SPECIES OF LEPANTHES (ORCHIDACEAE) 91

92 HARVARD PAPERS IN BOTANY VOL. 28, NO. 1
peduncle,7.0 mm long; oral bract, acuminate, 0.7–0.9 mm
long; pedicel 1.2–1.5 mm long, terete, persistent, longer
than oral bract. Flower 7–7.5 mm long, 4–4.2 mm wide.
Ovary costate, up to 1 mm long. Sepals convex, glabrous,
similar in size. Dorsal sepal ovate-acute, 1.8–2 mm long,
1.3–1.4 mm wide, 3–veined, connate to the lateral sepals for
1.4 mm. Lateral sepals ovate, oblique, acute, 1.5–1.7 × 0.9–
1.1 mm, 2-veined, connate for 0.7 mm. Petals transversely
bilobed, 0.4–0.5 × 1.6–1.8 mm, the upper lobe much longer
than the lower lobe, oblong-ovate, pubescent; the lower
lobe short, triangular, acute. Lip pubescent, bilaminate, the
blades obovate, with rounded ends, the apex of each lobe
short pubescent towards the base, 0.7–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm,
the connectives short, cuneate, the body thick, rounded,
pubescent, connate to the base of the column, the sinus
obtuse, the appendix small with a pair of minute apical lobes
that are borne from a slightly concave base, short pubescent.
Column terete, slender, 0.9–1 mm long, the anther dorsal
and stigma ventral. Anther cap pink, cordate, cucullate, 0.5
mm wide. Pollinia two, yellow, pyriform, 0.4 mm long.
Eponymy: The name of the new species honors Julio
Carrizosa Umaña, a scientist, environmentalist and
thinker with a great vision of the connection between
environmental institutionalism and strategies aimed at
sustainable development in Colombia. He was the Director
of the Institute of Environmental Studies of the National
University of Colombia from 1993 to 1998. He currently
coordinates the Natural Parks Committee of the Colombian
Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences. He has
been designated a full member of the Colombian Society
of Engineers, a full member of the Geographical Society
of Colombia, vice president of the Colombian Society of
Ecology in 1978, an honorary member of the Cartographic
Society of Colombia and the Association of Fisheries
Researchers, president of the Environment Committee
of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History
between 1973 and 1976, and corresponding member of the
Ecuadorian Institute of Natural Resources.
Conservation status: Lepanthes carrizosana is known
only from its type locality. Therefore, the species is classied
within the IUCN categories as data decient (DD), because
we lack adequate distribution and population information
to make an assessment (IUCN Standards and Petitions
Subcommittee 2017; IUCN 2023).
Lepanthes carrizosana is a medium size species with
small owers that are borne in a congested raceme above
the leave. The leaves are thin coriaceous, ovate, long-
acuminate, the apex emarginate with an abaxial apiculum
in the middle. Its petals, which are its most striking feature,
have an oblong-ovate upper lobe, much longer than the
small triangular lower lobe. It is most easily distinguished
by its pubescent, bilaminate lip, with obovate blades and
a small, short pubescent appendix with a pair of minute
apical lobes that comes from a slightly concave base.
The most similar species is Lepanthes darioi from the
Western Andes of the Department of Antioquia, but its
owers are borne in a congested raceme below the leaves
(vs. above the leaves). Also, the leaves are elliptical and
obtuse (vs. ovate and long-acuminate) and the lip has
narrowly ovate blades at the anterior margins of erect,
oblong connectives, with a broad triangular appendix held
directly below the stigma (vs. small appendix with a pair
of minute apical lobes that comes from a slightly concave
base, short pubescent).
literature cited
bernal, r., S. r. GradStein, and M. celiS (edS.). 2016. Catálogo
de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias
Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá; http://
catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co
beentJe, h. 2012. The Kew Plant Glossary: an illustrated dictionary
of plant Terms. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Kew Publishing,
Richmond, UK.
betancur, J., h. SarMiento., l. toro-González, and J. Valencia.
2015. Plan para el estudio y la conservación de las orquídeas
en Colombia. Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible.
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. https://www.
minambiente.gov.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PLAN_
ORQUIDEAS_2015_DOC.pdf
boGarín, d., K. eberhard, and M. díaz-MoraleS. 2019.
Lepanthes elusiva—a new Species of Lepanthes (Orchidaceae:
Pleurothallidinae) from Tapantí area in Cartago, Costa Rica and
a glance to Other Species of the genus in a small Area around the
Río Grande de Orosi in Costa Rica. Die Orchidee 5(03): 17–28.
FarFán, J., J. tupac-otero, and c. a. luer. 2003. Especies de
Lepanthes (Orchidaceae) de Colombia. Biota Colombiana, 4:
33–47.
iucn StandardS and petitionS SubcoMMittee. 2017. Guidelines
for using the IUCN red list categories and criteria. Version 13.
Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Avail-
able at: http://cmsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/RedListGuidelines.
pdf (accessed March 3, 2021).
iucn.2023. The IUCN red list of threatened species. 2018.
Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed April 3, 2023).
luer, c. a. 1996. Icones Pleurothallidinarum, XIV: The genus
Lepanthes, subgenus Lepanthes in Ecuador. Monographs in
Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, 61: 1–255.
–––––––. 2009. Miscellaneous new species in the Pleurothallidinae
(Orchidaceae). Selbyana 30(1): 1–71.
luer, c. a. and l. thoerle. 2012. Icones Pleurothallidinarum
XXXII: Lepanthes of Colombia (Orchidaceae). Missouri
Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri.
Moreno, J. S., S. Vieira-uribe, and a. p. KarreManS. 2017. A new
Species of Lepanthes (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from
Colombia with a large and protruding column. Lankesteriana
17: 193–202. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/lank.v17i2.29928
Moreno, J. S., r. Galindo-tarazona., M. aleGría-Valencia.,
d. l. Mora-a, and a. zuluaGa. 2021. Three new species of
Lepanthes (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from San José Del
Salado, Valle Del Cauca, in Southwestern Colombia. Harvard
Papers in Botany 26(1): 177–188. https://doi.org/10.3100/hpib.
v26iss1.2021.n11
Moreno, J. S., r. Galindo-tarazona., M. aleGría-Valencia,
and a. zuluaGa. 2021. Four new species of Lepanthes
(Pleurothallidinae) from the Southwestern Andes in Colombia.
Lankesteriana 22(2): 85–100. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/
lank.v22i2.51696
Moreno, J. S., d. hoyoS., M. rincÓn., M. Sierra-ariza., M.F.
Valencia-eScalante, and n. Gutiérrez MoraleS. 2022.
Lepanthes orenciana (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae), a new
species from theEastern Andes of Colombia. Phytotaxa 559(1):
055–063 doi: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.559.1.6
KarreManS, a. p. and S. Vieira-uirbe. 2020. Pleurothallids
neotropical jewels (Vol. 1). Imprenta Mariscal.
Stearn, W. t.1992. Botanical Latin (4th ed.). Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.