Lankesteriana

Voucher specimens matter! Confirmation of Lecanorchis multiflora (Vanilloideae): in the tropical rainforest of the Philippines with notes on its habitat and conservation status

Abstract Lecanorchis multiflora (Orchidaceae) was recently collected in Mt. Timolan Protected Landscape, province of Zamboanga del Sur, in the Philippine archipelago. This is the first record of the species with a voucher specimen in the Philippines. A description based on our recent collection, colour photographs to aid identification, geographic distribution information, ecology, phenology, and IUCN conservation assessment are provided below.

Orchids of the Southern Cone (1830-2000) - Part I Claude Gay's Physical and political history of Chile

Abstract The life and works of French botanist Claude (Claudio) Gay (1800-1873) are presented, with special consideration to Orchidaceae. This work aims to bring to light the life of a brilliant scientist who dedicated his professional life to the study of Chile's natural history and his seldom-mentioned monumental work that contains the first complete orchid flora of Chile. The most important modern and contemporary bibliographical sources have been consulted, as well as Gay's original publications. Claude (Claudio) arrived in Chile in 1828 and lived in the country until 1842, engaged by the Chilean government to conduct a scientific survey of the country. He traveled across the country collecting objects of natural history which became the foundation stone of the Cabinet of Natural History, the precursor of Chile's National Museum of Natural History. Gay returned to France in 1842 and, commissioned by the Chilean Minister of the Interior, published his Historia física y política de Chile, a monumental work in 30 volumes that were published between 1844 and 1871. Eight volumes, published in Paris between 1845 and 1852, containing 3767 species of plants, were dedicated to botany. Following the incomplete works of Juan Ignacio Molina's Saggio sulla Storia Naturale del Chili (1782) and Ruiz and Pavon's Flora Peruvianae et Chilensis (1789-1803), it was the first attempt to produce a complete flora of Chile. A total of 49 species of Orchidaceae were described and partly illustrated, a remarkable achievement if we consider that by the turn of the 21st century, a total of orchids was only 52 had been reported for Chile. Claudio Gay is considered the first recorder of the country's history and the founder of modern natural science in republican Chile.

A small-flowered Cyrtochilum (Oncidiinae) from Colombia

Abstract A new species of Cyrtochilum from the Cordillera Oriental range in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia, is described, illustrated, and compared with C. suarezii and C. parviflorum. The new species is easily distinguished by its broadly elliptic to sub-rhomboid lip with two short rounded simple calli on the lip, ornamented with short papillae at the base.

Resumen Se describe e ilustra una nueva especie de Cyrtochilum de la Cordillera Oriental del departamento de Cundinamarca, Colombia, y se compara con C. suarezii y C. parviflorum. La nueva especie se distingue fácilmente por su labelo ampliamente elíptico a sub-romboidal con dos callos cortos, redondeados y simples en el labelo, adornados con papilas cortas en la base.

Spread of the African spotted orchid Oeceoclades maculata in the New World

Abstract Oeceoclades maculata (= Eulophia maculata) has a broad native range across tropical Africa and Madagascar. Here, we document the spread of O. maculata in the New World, using published records, herbarium specimens, photographs posted online, and our own collections. The earliest known New World record of O. maculata is from Brazil dating to before 1790. Until 1962, O. maculata was known in the New World only from South America. Since then, this species has spread north through Central America into Mexico and across the West Indies to Florida and the Bahamas. It was first found in Florida in 1974, and until 1994 all Florida records of O. maculata were restricted to Miami-Dade County (except one record of greenhouse escapees in Gainesville). Her we document O. maculata records from the following geographic areas in the New World: 11 South American countries (all except Chile and Uruguay), all 7 Central American countries, Mexico, 22 West Indian island-groups, and Florida. We also document records from 31 counties in peninsular Florida. Oeceoclades maculata has now been recorded in the New World from northeastern Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (~28.5°S) and Estancia Santa Teresa, Corrientes, Argentina (28.0°S) in the south, to Gainesville (29.7°N) and Palm Coast, Florida (29.6°N) in the north. A report of O. maculata populations in Gainesville dying out after a hard frost suggests that this species may have reached its northern outdoor limit in peninsular Florida. Although its impact on native species in the New World appears to be minor, there are efforts to eradicate O. maculata in some natural areas.

Size dependent allocation to vegetative and reproductive organs of the orchid Lankesterella ceracifolia (Spiranthinae)

Abstract How functional organ traits vary with increasing plant size reveals the strategies of plants to acquire, store and utilize resources that ensure vegetative growth and reproduction. Plant size can influence fitness; thus, the relationships of organ traits should be evaluated together with reproductive allocation, but this is rarely the case. The relationship among plant size, functional organ traits (number and size of roots, leaves and flowers, and scape size), and dry mass partitioning was analyzed intraspecifically using 35 reproductive individuals of the epiphytic orchid Lankesterella ceracifolia. The relationships between vegetative and reproductive organ traits were evaluated using different regression models. Size-dependent allocation to reproduction was evaluated through reproductive versus vegetative (RV) regressions for the entire inflorescence and separately for scape and flowers. The four regression models included simple (slope only), linear (slope and intercept), allometric (without intercept), and non-linear (allometric with intercept), were fitted to RV and compared via a log likelihood-ratio test. Preferential allocation to leaves instead of roots influenced how rosette frontal area changed with increasing plant size. Flower dry mass represented 70% of the inflorescence dry mass, an unusual result as scape dry mass generally represents most of the reproductive structure in plants. The allometric model was suitable for the entire inflorescence or only the scape, while the isometric model was best for flowers. Dry mass investment in the scape influenced the final reproductive allometry found for the orchid L. ceracifolia.

A new species of Andinia (Pleurothallidinae) from Peru and an updated phylogenetic analysis of the genus with emphasis on subgenus Aenigma

Abstract A new species, Andinia peruviana, from Amazonas department, Peru, is described and illustrated. Updated phylogenetic analyses of nuclear internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) sequences in this study re-affirm the monophyletic nature of Andinia sensu lato and further support the previously proposed circumscription which incorporated genera Lueranthos, Masdevalliantha, Neooreophilus, and Xenosia. Andinia subgenus Aenigma was strongly supported in all analyses. The new species was determined phylogenetically to belong to subgenus Aenigma, along with A. barbata, A. dalstroemii, A. hirtzii, A. pogonion, A. schizopogon, and A. uchucayensis. The phylogenetically-confirmed representatives of subgenus Aenigma are illustrated with drawings and photographs, and their geographic distribution is discussed. The updated phylogenetic analyses also show the corrected phylogenetic positions of A. vestigipetala, as the sole representative of the clade corresponding to subgenus Minuscula, and A. trimytera, as a member of the clade corresponding to subgenus Andinia.

Resumen Se describe e ilustra una nueva especie de Andinia, A. peruviana, procedente del departamento de Amazonas, Perú. Los análisis filogenéticos actualizados de las secuencias del espaciador transcrito interno nuclear (nrITS) en este estudio reafirman la naturaleza monofilética de Andinia sensu lato y apoyan aún más la circunscripción propuesta anteriormente que incorporaba los géneros Lueranthos, Masdevalliantha, Neooreophilus y Xenosia. El subgénero Aenigma de Andinia recibió un fuerte apoyo en todos los análisis. Se determinó que la nueva especie pertenece filogenéticamente al subgénero Aenigma, junto con A. barbata, A. dalstroemii, A. hirtzii, A. pogonion, A. schizopogon y A. uchucayensis. Los representantes del subgénero Aenigma confirmados filogenéticamente se ilustran con dibujos y fotografías y se discute su distribución geográfica. Los análisis filogenéticos actualizados también muestran las posiciones filogenéticas corregidas de A. vestigipetala, como único representante del clado correspondiente al subgénero Minuscula, y de A. trimytera, como miembro del clado correspondiente al subgénero Andinia.

Evidence of artificial selection: are orchids in cultivation an effective ex situ conservation strategy?

Abstract: Artificial selection is the process by which humans change morphological and genetic characteristics of species through selection of ''favored'' characters. Although the gray literature suggests the process is occurring in orchids held in ex situ collections, there is limited evidence of this in the scientific literature. There is a perspective among growers that species (not hybrids) held in ex situ collections are potential sources of material for use in in situ re-establishment, however, this assumes that there has not been any artificial selection for morphological characters, or functional traits while grown and propagated ex situ. Here we evaluate if plants grown in ex situ collections show changes in morphological characters across time and if the range of character size is within the range from in situ populations. We evaluated plants from the American Orchid Society database from nine genera and 54 species. We noted that 35% of characters evaluated had evidence of significant change across time. Moreover, for most species in ex situ the evaluated characters were frequently (95%) outside the range of plants of natural populations based on species descriptions. If variation in size of ex situ collections as compared to in situ plants is genetically based, it is possible that these would be functionally maladaptive if re-introduced to their natural environment. Protocols for ex situ conservation programs need to focus on the morphological, biochemical, and ecological interactions and genetic diversity that would render the re-introduction of ex situ to their natural environment to maximize the likelihood of effective re-establishment. Consequently, species which are awarded recognition at orchid shows may potentially be inappropriate for plants within an in situ reintroduction conservation program.

Resumen: La selección artificial es el proceso por el cual los humanos cambian las características morfológicas y genéticas de las especies a través de la selección de caracteres ''favorecidos''. Aunque la literatura gris sugiere que el proceso está ocurriendo en orquídeas mantenidas en colecciones ex situ, existe evidencia limitada de esto en la literatura científica. Esta presente una perspectiva común entre los cultivadores de que las especies (no los híbridos) que se mantienen en las colecciones ex situ son fuentes potenciales de material para usar en el restablecimiento in situ, sin embargo, esto supone que no ha habido ninguna selección artificial de caracteres morfológicos, o rasgos funcionales mientras crecían y se propagaban ex situ. Aquí evaluamos si las plantas cultivadas en colecciones ex situ muestran cambios en las características morfológicas a lo largo del tiempo y si el rango de tamaño de los fenotipos está dentro del rango de las poblaciones in situ. Evaluamos plantas de la base de datos de la American Orchid Society de nueve géneros y 54 especies. Notamos que el 35% de los caracteres evaluados tenían evidencia de cambios significativos a lo largo del tiempo. Además, para la mayoría de las características evaluadas de las especies ex situ estaban frecuentemente (95%) fuera del rango de plantas de poblaciones naturales según las descripciones de las especies. Si la variación en el tamaño de las plantas en colecciones ex situ en comparación con las plantas in situ tiene una base genética, es posible que estas sean funcionalmente inadaptadas si se reintroducen en su entorno natural. Los protocolos para los programas de conservación ex situ deben centrarse en las interacciones ecológicas incluyendo la variación morfológica, bioquímicas y la diversidad genética que harían que la reintroducción de plantas ex situ a su entorno natural maximizara la probabilidad del restablecimiento efectivo. Por consecuencia, las especies que reciben reconocimiento en las exposiciones de orquídeas pueden ser potencialmente inapropiadas dentro de un programa de conservación de reintroducción in situ.