SAMUEL CUNHA OLIVEIRA GIORDANI’s scientific contributions

This study describes and illustrates Cattleya mireileiana (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae), a new species endemic to the Southern Espinhaço Complex near Diamantina, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, where it was found in a few isolated rocky outcrops, sharing habitat with Cattleya rupestres. It is close to three other species: Cattleya bradei, C. briegeri, and C. cruziana. However, the new species differs in the number of nodes present in the pseudobulb components, the size of the diameter, the scent of the flowers and the time of flowering. In addition, its flowers have two unique chromatic characteristics that distinguish it from all other species with yellow flowers in the Parviflorae series: the color of the carinae and the whitish area at the base of the petals and sepals. We provide a detailed morphological description, a distribution map, in situ photographs, and compare it with similar species. We assessed its state of conservation as data deficient (DD), as the only know population consists of at least 150 mature individuals and is outside of an environmentally protected area.

Fieldwork focused on the Orchidaceae family from the Diamantina Plateau of the Espinhaço Range in Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil, resulted in the rediscovery of Bulbophyllum barbatum almost 140 years after its original description, in 1882. The species, known only from the original illustration by Barbosa Rodrigues, was originally described from the region known as Zona da Mata Mineira, and its rediscovery is reported from over 400 km to the northwest of that region. The new record allowed a more detailed study of its morphology, the first photographs of the species, as well as the preliminary assessment of its conservation status as Critically Endangered. Such unexpected rediscovery highlights the importance of conservation actions in the Brazilian campos rupestres given its high diversity and endemism, the deficient knowledge on the taxonomy and distribution of its species, and the increasing pressure of human activities.