LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 77—92. 2015
NEW SPECIES AND NOMENCLATURAL NOTES IN ACIANTHERA
FROM BRAZIL
A. L. V. ToscAno de BriTo1,3 & cArLyLe A. Luer2
1
2
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236-7726 U.S.A.
Missouri Botanical Garden, 2345 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A.
Corresponding address: 3222 Old Oak Drive, Sarasota, FL 34239-5019 U.S.A.
3
Corresponding author: atoscano@selby.org
ABsTrAcT. Two new Brazilian species of the orchid genus Acianthera, Acianthera calopedilon and Acianthera
cephalopodiglossa, are described and illustrated. The identities of Acianthera bidentula, Acianthera saundersiana,
and Acianthera serpentula are discussed. Acianthera velteniana, recently described for Espírito Santo, is placed in
the synonymy of Acianthera bidentula. An epitype is selected for Pleurothallis saundersiana and a lectotype for
Pleurothallis serpentula. Updated synonymy lists are provided for the taxa treated in the article.
Key words: Acianthera bidentula, Acianthera calopedilon, Acianthera cephalopodiglossa, Acianthera
saundersiana, Acianthera serpentula, Acianthera velteniana, Pleurothallidinae
Introduction. The genus Acianthera Scheidw.
comprises over two hundred Neotropical species.
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
(WCSP, accessed 17 Sept. 2014) published online
by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, lists 286
valid names of which 121 names have been recently
reported from Brazil (Chiron & van den Berg 2012;
Barros et al. 2014). As neither of these accounts on
Brazilian species presents a taxonomic revision of
the genus and because there still are several obscure
and problematic taxa, including a number of yet
undescribed species (Toscano de Brito & Luer, in
prep.), this latter number is obviously provisional and
will certainly change in the future.
While preparing a taxonomic revision of the
Brazilian Acianthera, the authors discovered two
new species that belong to a complex of long-repent,
similar taxa, henceforth referred to as Acianthera
saundersiana complex. Chiron & van den Berg (2012)
assigned some species of this complex to Acianthera
sect. Sicariae subsect. Auritae Chiron & van den
Berg. Species in this group are uncommon in Peru and
Bolivia but frequent and variable in southern Brazil
where it has accumulated a long list of epithets from
several authors. Of about 30 binomials published in this
complex, the most familiar is undoubtedly Acianthera
saundersiana (Rchb.f.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase.
After studying all protologues and available type
specimens in this species complex, it has become
clear that several names have been consistently
misidentified and confused in herbaria and
literature. A number of published illustrations have
been wrongly named (e.g. Cogniaux 1896; Pabst
& Dungs 1975; Chiron & Bolsanello 2010), and
several specimen citations in floristic treatments are
in fact a mixture of different taxa (e.g. Cogniaux
1896). Therefore, the taxonomy of this species
group is highly confused. It is, however, beyond the
scope of this work to discuss or review in detail all
published names in this complex. This will be part
of a forthcoming taxonomic revision of the genus,
which is currently in preparation by the authors.
In this article we describe two new species,
Acianthera calopedilon Toscano & Luer and A.
cephalopodiglossa Toscano & Luer. We briefly
discuss the identity of Pleurothallis bidentula Barb.
Rodr. [= A. bidentula (Barb.Rodr.) Pridgeon &
M.W.Chase], Pleurothallis saundersiana Rchb.f.
(= A. saundersiana) and Pleurothallis serpentula
Barb.Rodr. [= A. serpentula (Barb.Rodr.) F.Barros],
and the name A. velteniana Chiron & Xim.Bols. is
placed in the synonym of A. bidentula. An epitype
is selected for P. saundersiana and a lectotype for P.
serpentula.
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Figure 1. Acianthera calopedilon Toscano & Luer. Drawn by C.A. Luer based on C.A. Luer 2174 (SEL).
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ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
New Species
Acianthera calopedilon Toscano & Luer, sp.nov.
TYPE: Brazil. Paraná: road Alexandra to Matinhos,
collected and cultivated by M. Klingelfus s.n., lowered
in cultivation, 7 Oct. 2011, A. Toscano de Brito 2911
(Holotype: UPCB). Fig. 1–2.
Plant medium in size, epiphytic, long-repent, the
rhizome 0.5–2.5 cm long between ramicauls; roots
slender. Ramicauls ascending, suberect, 2–5 cm long,
enclosed by 2 loose, tubular sheaths toward the base.
Leaf suberect, coriaceous, elliptical, acute, 4.5–7.5 cm
long, 2.3–3.0 cm wide, the base shortly cuneate, sessile.
Inlorescence a single lower or a fascile of 2 successively
lowers, from the apex of the ramicaul at the base of the
leaf, with a spathe 3 mm long; peduncles 6.0–8.5 mm
long; loral bract tubular, 2.2–3.0 mm long; pedicels 2.0–
2.5 mm long; ovary 2--3 mm long; sepals ivory to slightly
greenish, densely striped with deep purple, the apical
portion and the margins purple, the dorsal sepal oblongobovate or oblong-lanceolate, acute, 13.5–17.0 mm long,
4.5–5.0 mm wide, 3-veined, free from the lateral sepals,
the lateral sepals connate (easily separating) into an
A
79
elliptical, concave, usually incurved, acute, shortly biid
lamina, 13–15 mm long, 4.5–7.0 mm wide unexpanded,
6-veined; petals translucent-ivory, with three purple
veins, occasionally with two outer, obscurely verrucose
purple stripes, spathulate, unguiculate, serrate-imbriate
above the lower third, acute or subacute, 4.5–5.5 mm
long, 2.0–2.5 mm wide; lip deep purple, thick, rigid,
leshy, verrucose, trilobed, convex toward the apex,
6.0–6.5 mm long, 3.5–4.0 mm wide, with the margins
delexed and minutely denticulate, the apex broadly
rounded, the marginal lobes, on the lower quarter, small,
erect, subobovate-auriculate, the disc shallowly sulcate
between a low pair of verrucose calli on the middle third,
anterior to the marginal lobes, the base truncate, minutely
lobed at the angles, hinged to the column-foot; column
greenish-white, semiterete, slightly winged above the
middle, minutely denticulate at the apex, 4–5 mm long,
the foot thick, 3 mm long, the anther, rostellum and
stigma ventral.
disTriBuTion: This species occurs from Espírito Santo
(L.F. Varella, pers. com. 2014), in southeast Brazil, to
Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, in the south. It reaches
Argentina in its southernmost distribution.
B
Figure 2. Acianthera calopedilon Toscano & Luer. A – Flower in front view. B – Flower in side view. Photographs by Wade
Collier based on A. Toscano de Brito 3272 (UPCB).
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eTymoLogy: The speciic epithet derives from the
Greek kalopedilon, “a wooden shoe,” and refers to the
shape of the synsepal, which resembles the Dutch allwooden shoes or clogs.
Acianthera calopedilon is common in
private collections and usually confused with A.
saundersiana, from which it is distinguished by the
distinct convex, broadly obtuse lip. It is similar to A.
cephalopodiglossa, also described herein, with which
it has been also confused, but differs mainly in the
shape of lateral sepals and lip (see discussion under A.
cephalopodiglossa). Photographs of specimens of A.
calopedilon have been labelled “Acianthera andreana”
in a few websites (e.g. http://www.aorquidea.com.br/
forum/viewtopic.php?t=22299&sid=3f84b872ebc1fd
5ea4c215db21ac51e7) but this name has never been
validly and effectively published.
AddiTionAL mATeriAL exAmined: BRAZIL: São Paulo,
collected by Bauman s.n. from trees along the roadside
between São Paulo and Santos, 170 m, May 1976,
lowered in cultivation in Easton, Connecticut, 12 Nov.
1977, C.A. Luer 2174 (SEL). Paraná: without precise
locality, collected and cultivated by M. Klingelfus s.n.,
lowered in cultivation 7 Oct. 2011, A. Toscano de
Brito 2910 (UPCB). Rio Grande do Sul: Santa Vitória
do Palmar, Taim, 20 m, collected by Sérgio Englert,
lowered in cultivation L.F. Varella s.n., 19 July 2014,
A. Toscano de Brito 3272 (UPCB). ARGENTINA:
without precise locality, obtained from Rita Franke in
Argentina, lowered in cultivation, 14 Nov. 2003, B.
Rinke s.n. (SEL-OIC 15729).
Acianthera cephalopodiglossa Toscano & Luer, sp.
nov.
TYPE: Brazil. São Paulo: Registro, near sea level,
lowered in cultivation, 24 March 2007, J.L.M. André
s.n. (Holotype: MBM), C.A. Luer illustr. 21182. Fig. 3.
Plant medium in size, epiphytic, long-repent, the
rhizome 1.5–3.0 cm between ramicauls; roots slender.
Ramicauls ascending, erect, slightly compressed and
sulcate, 4–7 cm long, with 2 tubular sheaths, one below
the middle and another sheath at the base. Leaf suberect,
coriaceous, broadly elliptical, 5.5–6.5 cm long, 2.0–2.5
cm wide, obscurely notched, acute to subobtuse, the
base sessile, obtuse to broadly cuneate. Inlorescence
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a fascicle of successive, single lowers, from the apex
of the ramicaul at the base of the leaf, with a spathe 5
mm long; peduncles 10–12 mm long; loral bracts 2
mm long; pedicel 3 mm long; ovary 2 mm long; sepals
gray with dark purple veins, glabrous, the dorsal sepal
oblong-lanceolate, acute, concave below the middle,
convex and slightly recurved on the apical third, free
from the laterals, 17 mm long, 5 mm wide, 3-veined,
slightly carinate on the midvein; lateral sepals connate
to the apex into a concave, acute, broadly ellipticalobovate synsepal, 16 mm long, 8 mm wide expanded,
6-veined, obscurely bicarinate; petals same color as
sepals, lanceolate-spathulate, acute, margins minutely
denticulate on the apical half, 5.5 mm long, 1 mm wide,
3-veined; lip dark purple, obovate-oblong, trilobed,
rigid, coarsely verrucose on the upper surface, 8 mm
long, 4 mm wide, 3-veined, the lateral lobes below the
middle, erect, rounded, the disc shallowly channeled
between a pair of parallel, crested calli on the middle
third, the margins erose-denticulate, incurved at the
convex apical third, the lateral margins of the apical
third folded and auriculate, the base callose, truncate,
minutely biauriculate, hinged to the column-foot;
column semiterete, winged above the middle, minutely
denticulate at the apex, 5 mm long, the foot 2.5 mm
long, the anther, rostellum and stigma ventral.
disTriBuTion: So far, this species is only known for
the municipality of Registro, State of São Paulo,
southeastern Brazil.
eTymoLogy: From the Greek kephalópoda (=
Cephalopoda), a class of mollusks in which octopuses
are included, and the Greek element glossa (= tongue),
in reference to the lip, which resembles the head and
mantle of an octopus.
In habit and size of lowers, Acianthera
cephalopodiglossa is similar to large forms in the A.
saundersiana complex and to A. calopedilon. It is
readily distinguished from these and all other Acianthera
species by the peculiar shape of its verrucose, rigid
lip: the apical half is convex and folded on the lateral
margins, each fold forming two auricles, the whole lip
resembling the head and mantle of an octopus.
Nomenclatural note on Acianthera saundersiana
Acianthera saundersiana (Rchb.f.) Pridgeon &
M.W.Chase, Lindleyana 16: 246. 2001. Fig. 4–6.
ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
81
Figure 3. Acianthera cephalopodiglossa Toscano & Luer. Drawn by C.A. Luer based on the holotype, J.L.M. André s.n.
(MBM).
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Basionym: Pleurothallis saundersiana Rchb.f., Gard.
Chron. 74. 1866. TYPE: [BRAZIL?]: without
collection data, imported by Messieurs Linden of
Brussels, cultivated at Reigate, England, by W.W.
Saunders s.n. (Holotype: W; Epitype selected here:
original plate prepared by W.H. Fitch now kept in
the illustration collection in the orchid herbarium
at K, reproduced in Saunders’s Refug. Bot. 2, tab.
120. 1872).
Synonyms: Pleurothallis felislingua Barb.Rodr., Gen.
Sp. Orchid. 2: 18. 1881. TYPE: BRAZIL. Rio
de Janeiro, Rodeio, J. Barbosa Rodrigues s.n.
(Holotype: Lost; Lectotype selected by Chiron &
Bolsanello in Richardiana 10(4): 203. 2010, here
clariied: tab. 158, ig. A, vol. 3 in Iconogr. Orchid.
Brésil at the Library of Rio de Janeiro Botanical
Garden, cited as tab. 543 (then unpublished) in
Barb.Rodr. loc.cit; copied and reproduced in black
and white in Cogn., Fl. Bras. (Martius) 3(4), tab.
97, ig. 1. 1896; reproduced in color in Sprunger
et al., 1996, vol. 1: 216, ig. A, as “Pleurothallis
saundersiana”).
Pleurothallis josephensis Barb.Rodr., Vellosia, ed. 2,
1: 116. 1891. TYPE: BRAZIL. Minas Gerais, Serra
de São José Del Rei, J. Barbosa Rodrigues s.n.
(Holotype: Lost; Lectotype selected by Chiron &
Bolsanello in Richardiana 10(4): 203. 2010, here
clariied: tab. 160, ig. E, vol. 3 in Iconogr. Orchid.
Brésil at the Library of Rio de Janeiro Botanical
Garden, cited as tab. 825 (then unpublished) in
Barb.Rodr. loc.cit; copied and reproduced in
black and white in Cogn., Fl. Bras. (Martius) 3(4),
tab. 93, ig. 5; reproduced in color in Sprunger
et al., 1996, vol. 1: 218, ig. E, as “Pleurothallis
saundersiana”).
Pleurothallis repens Rolfe, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew
1912: 131. 1912, nom. illeg., non Ames 1908.
TYPE: Brazil. Without precise locality, imported
and found amongst a clump of Laelia purpurata,
lowered in cultivation 6 Jan. 1904 (not mentioned
in the protologue), F. Wigan s.n. (Holotype: K).
Pleurothallis juergensii Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov.
Regni Veg. Beih. 35: 54. 1925. TYPE: Brazil. Rio
Grande do Sul, Rio Pardo, Fazenda Boa Esperança,
70 m, March 1921, C. Jürgens 20 (Holotype: B,
destroyed).
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Pleurothallis insularis Hoehne & Schltr., Arch. Bot.
São Paulo 1(3): 217. 1926. TYPE: Brazil. São
Paulo, Ilha da Queimada, 6 April 1921, A. Gehrt s.n.
(Holotype: B, destroyed; Lectotype: SP, designated
by Barros in Orchid Memories: 17. 2004).
Pleurothallis josephensis var. integripetala Hoehne,
Arch. Inst. Biol. (São Paulo) 2: 22. 1929. TYPE:
Brazil. São Paulo, l. cult. 20 May 1897, G. Edwall
ex Comissão Geográica e Geológica de São Paulo
nr. 3705 (Holotype: SP).
Pleurothallis josephensis var. papillifera Hoehne,
Arch. Inst. Biol. (São Paulo) 2: 22. 1929. TYPES:
Brazil. São Paulo, Piassaguera, 14 March 1923, A.
Gehrt s.n. (Syntype: SP 8236); São Paulo, Ilha da
Queimada, 6 April 1921, A. Gehrt s.n. (Syntype: SP
5452, also the lectotype of P. insularis Hoehne &
Schltr.). São Paulo, Serra Negra, 1 June 1927, F.C.
Hoehne s.n. (Syntype: SP 20633, not located).
Pleurothallis josephensis var. subcrenulata Hoehne,
Arch. Inst. Biol. (São Paulo) 2: 22. 1929. TYPE:
Brazil. Minas Gerais, Pouso Alegre, 1 May 1927,
F. Hoehne s.n. (Holotype: SP).
Pleurothallis ascendens Garay, Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio
de Janeiro 12: 171.1953, replacement name for
Pleurothallis repens Rolfe.
Specklinia saundersiana (Rchb.f.) F.Barros, Hoehnea
10: 110.1983 [publ. 1984].
Acianthera insularis (Hoehne & Schltr.) Luer, Monogr.
Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 112: 118. 2007.
Reichenbach described this species in 1866 as
Pleurothallis saundersiana, based on a specimen
obtained by William Wilson Saunders of Hillield
House at Reigate, Surrey, England and whose epithet
it honors. No published illustration of this species was
known until 1872, when a detailed, partially colored
plate was published in Saunders’s Refugium Botanicum,
tab. 120. Reichenbach stated in the protologue that
this species was believed to have been imported from
Brazil by Hugh Low, from Clapton Nursery, London.
However, a note by Saunders in Refugium Botanicum
(1872) says that he received it from Messieurs Linden
of Brussels.
According to Reichenbach (1872), Saunders
suggested that the plant might have come from
Popayan, Colombia. Although the correct provenance
of the specimen cannot be ascertained, it seems that it
ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
83
Figure 4. Holotype of Pleurothallis saundersiana Rchb.f. at W. By permission of the Keeper, Herbarium Natural History
Museum in Vienna.
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Figure 5. Epitype of Pleurothallis saundersiana Rchb.f., proposed here. Original plate prepared by Walter Fitch and
reproduced in Refugium Botanicum plate 120. Reproduced with the permission of the Board of Trustees of the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
was in fact Brazilian in origin as stated by Luer (1977),
as this species is common and widespread in Brazil.
Still writing in Refugium Botanicum, Reichenbach
(1872) listed the materials that he had seen of this
species, namely: Saunders’s specimen and sketches,
and his own sketches and description. The type sheet
at W (Fig. 4) contains the two cited sketches but the
actual specimen seems to have been lost. With the
exception of an almost disintegrated lip in one of two
envelopes glued on the sheet, nothing else exists. This
lip is about 4 mm long and 2 mm wide and agrees well
with the drawings on the type sheet and those shown
on plate nr. 120 of Refugium Botanicum. It is possible
that this plate has been based on a clone of Saunders’s
collection sent to Reichenbach, or probably on a
specimen from the same gathering, which might have
lowered later in cultivation at Reigate. Reichenbach
(1872) stated that he did not see the plant depicted
on the Refugium plate 120 and that he could not
understand the “three lowering stems at once and
one of them also two-lowered at once.” Nonetheless,
this is a common feature, not only in this species
but also in other taxa of this complex. As the type
of Pleurothallis saundersiana contains drawings and
only a fragmented lip, we have selected as epitype
the original plate (Fig. 5) prepared by the Scottish
botanical artist, Walter Hood Fitch (1817–1892), and
reproduced in Refugium Botanicum plate 120. Fitch’s
drawings are now kept in the illustration collection in
the orchid herbarium at K.
The drawings and fragmented lip on the type sheet
and the selected epitype agree well with the illustrations
presented by Luer (1977, 2004) and with a collection
from Rio de Janeiro that lowered in cultivation at Rio
de Janeiro Botanical Garden in 1989 (Fig. 6). They
also agree with the types of the taxa placed herein in
synonymy and with collections from Peru and Bolivia
that we have studied.
Acianthera saundersiana is a variable species and
quite common in the Atlantic forests of southeastern
Brazil. An assortment of names has been assigned to
its synonymy (e.g. Barros et al. 2014; Luer 1977, 2004;
Chiron & Bolsanello 2010). However, some of these
names represent valid species, others are synonyms of
distinct species, while a few possess no extant types
or usable lowers and could refer to other similar taxa
in this complex. We have updated the synonymy of A.
85
saundersiana based on the examination and study of
types and protologues of various taxa. The synonymy
list represents the current knowledge by the authors and
might slightly change to include additional binomials
in the future. With exception of A. bidentula, which is
also discussed herein, the excluded binomials will be
treated in forthcoming articles.
Plants of Acianthera saundersiana are epiphytes
and possess a long-repent rhizome that gives rise to a
series of suberect to erect ramicauls, 2–5 cm long, each
with a sessile, broadly or narrowly elliptical leaf about
equally long. From the base of the leaf, a relatively
large, short pedunculate, bilabiate lower is produced
singly or in a successively two-lowered raceme. The
sepals are leshy and mottled, suffused or striped with
purple or brown, the dorsal is slightly longer than the
lateral ones, 11–12 mm long, 3–4 mm wide, the laterals
8–10 mm long, 5.0–6.5 mm wide. The petals are small,
narrowly obovate, acute, denticulate or erose, 2.5–4.0
mm long, 1.0–1.5 mm wide. The lip 3.5–5.0 mm long,
2–3 mm wide, usually very dark purple, sometimes
almost black, thick and oblong with small, marginal,
erect, denticulate lobes below the middle, a pair of
verrucose calli on the middle third, and a minute lobule
at each corner of the base. The column 2.5–3.5 mm
long and foot 1.5–2.0 mm long.
As said above, the taxonomy of Acianthera
saundersiana and other species in this complex has
been problematic and confusing since the time of
its publication in 1861. Chiron & Bolsanello (2010)
attempted to review this species complex in Espírito
Santo, southeast Brazil. Unfortunately, most illustrations
presented in Chiron & Bolsanello (2010) are crude, lack
detail and are therefore misleading. Several of them can
it any of the many species in this complex.
AddiTionAL mATeriAL exAmined: BRAZIL: Without
locality, lowered in cultivation in the Jardim Botânico
do Rio de Janeiro, 28 Nov. 1989, C.A. Luer 14487
(SEL). PERU: Amazonas: near Chachapoyas,
cultivated in Tacoma, WA, 1993, K. Tokach 17 (MO),
C.A. Luer illustr. 17028. BOLIVIA: La Paz: North of
Yungas, wet forest near Rio Coroico, 1100 m, collected
in Jan. 1980, lowered in cultivation at SEL 80-235, 30
March 1981, C.A. Luer et al. 5603 (SEL); Santa Cruz:
collected by Janet Kuhn with Fred Fuchs, probably in
1973, cultivated at J & L Orchids, Easton, CT., 29 Oct.
1975, C.A. Luer 592 (SEL).
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Figure 6. Acianthera saundersiana (Rchb.f.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase. Drawn by C.A. Luer based on C.A. Luer 14487
(SEL).
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ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
Nomenclatural note on Acianthera bidentula
Acianthera bidentula (Barb.Rodr.) Pridgeon
M.W.Chase, Lindleyana 16: 242. 2001. Fig. 7–8.
&
Basionym: Pleurothallis bidentula Barb.Rodr.,
Revista Engen. 3(7): 109. 1881. TYPE: BRAZIL.
Rio de Janeiro, Palmeiras, J. Barbosa Rodrigues
s.n. (Holotype: Lost; Lectotype selected by
Chiron & Bolsanello in Richardiana 10(4): 201.
2010, here clariied: tab. 158, ig. B, vol. 3, in
Iconogr. Orchid. Brésil at the Library of Rio
de Janeiro Botanical Garden, cited as tab. 728
(then unpublished) in Barbosa Rodrigues (1881,
1882); copied and reproduced in black and white
in Cogn., Fl. Bras. (Martius) 3(4), tab. 93, ig.
4. 1896; reproduced in color in Sprunger et al.
(1996, vol. 1: 216, ig. B).
Synonyms: Pleurothallis vinosa Hoehne & Schltr.,
Arch. Bot. São Paulo 1: 227. 1926. TYPE: Brazil.
São Paulo: Prata, 29 March 1920, F.C. Hoehne
s.n. (Syntype: B, destroyed; Lectotype: SP [photo
seen], designated by Barros in Orchid Memories:
18. 2004. Minas Gerais: Poços de Caldas, 24 March
1920, F.C. Hoehne s.n. (Syntype: B, destroyed;
Isosyntype: S, photo seen).
Acianthera velteniana Chiron & Xim.Bols.,
Richardiana 13: 278. 2013. TYPE: Brazil. Espírito
Santo, Domingos Martins, 780 m., L. Velten s.n.
ex Chiron 13321 (Holotype: MBML, not located),
syn. nov.
Barbosa Rodrigues irst described Acianthera
bidentula in the genus Pleurothallis R.Br. based
on a specimen from Palmeiras, in Rio de Janeiro. A
description irst appeared in Revista de Engenharia in
1881 and was later reproduced in Genera et Species
Orchidearum Novarum in 1882. Pridgeon and Chase
(2001) proposed the new combination A. bidentula
with a full and direct reference to “Pleurothallis
bidentula Barb.Rodr., Gen. Spec. Orch. 2: 20. 1882.”
This, however, is not the place of valid publication
of P. bidentula. According to article 41.6 of the ICN,
Pridgeon’s and Chase’s error does not affect the valid
publication of their new combination.
According to Barbosa Rodrigues (1881, 1882),
Pleurothallis bidentula was apparently a common
species in the type locality for it was found covering
tree trunks in the virgin forests of Palmeiras. As far
87
as we could ascertain, Palmeiras is a locality in the
municipality of Paulo de Frontin, formerly Rodeio,
in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Barbosa Rodrigues
collected extensively in Rodeio and described several
new species from this area (see Duveen & Toscano de
Brito, 1991).
The type specimen of P. bidentula is lost and the only
extant original material is the illustration that appeared
in Barbosa Rodrigues’s Iconographie des orchidées du
Brésil, which is now deposited in the library of Rio de
Janeiro Botanical Garden. This illustration, of which
a copy is reproduced here (Fig. 7), was selected as
lectotype by Chiron & Bolsanello (2010). It was copied
and reproduced in black and white in Cogniaux (1896)
and reproduced in color in Sprunger et al. (1996).
Despite the fact that Barbosa Rodrigues neither included
measurements in his original description nor in his
original illustration, plant and loral sizes of this species
can be traced back through consultation of Barbosa
Rodrigues’s original illustration and Cogniaux’s orchid
illustration in Martius’s Flora Brasiliensis (1896).
Barbosa Rodrigues’s original drawings show a small,
repent plant whose ramicauls are c. 1 cm apart, the
ramicauls are only c. 1 cm long, leaves are 2.0–2.5
cm long, 1.3–1.5 cm wide, the inlorescence is singlelowered, the dorsal sepal 8.5–9.0 mm long, 2.5 mm
wide, and c. 1 mm fused with the synsepal at base,
synsepal is c. 8 mm long, 6.5 mm wide, petals c. 3
mm long, 1.25 mm wide, and the lip c. 3.25 mm long,
2.25 mm wide across the lateral lobules. The column is
enlarged and is shown in side view, but no enlargement
ratio is provided. Based on other collections we
studied, we believe the column was about 2.5 mm
long. As far as lower color is concerned, the sepals are
described as white, the dorsal sepal as having 3 lines,
the synsepal suffused with purple, the lip and columnfoot purple. Cogniaux (1896) expanded signiicantly
Barbosa Rodrigues’s original description of Acianthera
bidentula (as Pleurothallis bidentula) by adding
measurements and information on the morphology of
this species. Although his description mostly agrees
with Barbosa Rodrigues’s illustration, it was based not
only on Rodrigues’s illustration and description but also
on examination of an additional Brazilian collection
by L. Riedel, a specimen without precise provenance.
We have been unable to locate Riedel’s collection and
conirm Cogniaux’s determination.
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Figure 7. Acianthera bidentula (Barb.Rodr.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase. Barbosa Rodrigues’s original illustration reproduced
in Sprunger et al. (1996: vol. 1: 216, ig. B, as Pleurothallis bidentula Barb.Rodr.) and here modiied to show this
species with estimated scales. Reproduced with permission of the Reinhardt Verlag, Basel.
In the absence of an actual specimen, it is impossible
to be sure of the true identity of Pleurothallis bidentula
and any conclusion relies on interpretation of the
only extant materials, namely, Barbosa Rodrigues’s
original illustration and description. Nevertheless, as
illustrated in Barbosa Rodrigues’s Iconographie, this
species is shown to be distinct from all other species
in the Acianthera saundersiana complex. The closest
taxon, and certainly only a variant with slightly larger
leaves, is P. vinosa Hoehne & Schltr., which Pabst &
Dungs already reduced to synonymy in 1975. The
collections we have so far examined agree well with
Barbosa Rodrigues’s original illustration. With the
exception of the dorsal sepal, which is narrower in
Barbosa Rodrigues’s drawings, overall loral size and
morphology it: dorsal sepal 10–12 mm long, 4–5 mm
LANKESTERIANA 15(1), April 2015. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2015.
wide; synsepal 8–12 mm long, 6–8 mm wide; petals
2.5 mm long, 1–2 mm wide; lip 3.3–4.0 mm long, 2
mm wide, column c. 2.5 mm long. The dorsal sepal of
P. bidentula is illustrated and described as fused to the
synsepal at base. In the specimens examined, dorsal
sepal is obscurely fused to the synsepal. One would feel
tempted to use this feature to separate this species from
others in this complex. However, fusion of dorsal sepal
and synsepal can be observed in a certain degree in other
species of this complex (e.g. A. glanduligera (Lindl.)
Luer, A. rostellata (Barb. Rodr.) Luer, and A. serpentula)
and cannot be used to distinguish this species.
Acianthera bidentula is apparently a common
species in southeast Brazil. It has been found in Rio
de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and has been
recently redescribed as A. velteniana Chiron & Xms.
ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
89
Figure 8. Acianthera bidentula (Barb.Rodr.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase. A – Habit. B – Flower in side view. A: Photographed
by A. Toscano de Brito based on A. Toscano de Brito 2890 (UPCB); B: Photographed by Wade Collier based on A.
Toscano de Brito 3289 (UPCB).
Bols. based on a collection from Domingos Martins, in
Espírito Santo. A. velteniana is only distinguished from
the lectotype of Pleurothallis bidentula by the slightly
shorter, more elliptical, subdeltoid petals. However,
petals of A. bidentula seems to vary even in the same
individual and cannot be used to distinguish these
two species. Figures 8A–8B are based on cultivated
specimens from Rio de Janeiro. Figure 9 illustrates
a collection from Domingos Martins, Espírito Santo,
Brazil, the type locality of A. velteniana. We have
been unable to locate the holotype of A. velteniana
at MBML and apparently it has never been deposited
there (L. Kolmman 2014, pers. com.). Barros et al.
(2014) recorded A. bidentula for Rio Grande Sul, Santa
Catarina, and Paraná. We have been unable to study
any collection of A. bidentula from these Brazilian
states. We believe that these records are based on
misidentiications.
AddiTionAL mATeriAL exAmined: BRAZIL: without
collection data, purchased from Seidel in 2004, 15
March 2007, D.H. Baptista 071 (SEL), C.A. Luer
illustr. 21115; without collection data, lowered
in cultivation in Piracicaba, São Paulo, 15 March
2007, D.H. Baptista 058 (SEL), C.A. Luer illustr.
21128. Espírito Santo: Domingos Martins, lowered
in cultivation by R.A. Kautsky 807, 3 Feb. 1991, A.
Toscano de Brito 912 (SEL), C.A. Luer illustr. 20558.
Rio de Janeiro: without precise locality, obtained
from Orquidário Exdra in Rio de Janeiro, lowered
in cultivation by M. Klingelfus s.n., 31 July 2014,
A. Toscano de Brito 3289 (UPCB); without precise
locality, lowered in cultivation by M. Klingelfus s.n.,
24 July 2011, A. Toscano de Brito 2890 (UPCB).
Nomenclatural Note on Acianthera serpentula
Acianthera serpentula (Barb.Rodr.) F. Barros, Hoehnea
30: 187. 2003.
Basionym: Pleurothallis serpentula Barb.Rodr., Gen.
Sp. Orchid. 2: 20.1882, replacement name for
Pleurothallis punctata Barb.Rodr. 1877, non Ker
Gawl. 1823, nec Lindl. 1835, nec Schltr. 1919.
TYPE: BRAZIL. Minas Gerais, Caldas, J. Barbosa
Rodrigues s.n. (Holotype: Lost;
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Figure 9. Acianthera bidentula (Barb.Rodr.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase. Drawn by C.A. Luer based on A. Toscano de Brito
912 (SEL).
LANKESTERIANA 15(1), April 2015. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2015.
ToscAno de BriTo and Luer — New species and nomenclatural notes in Acianthera
Lectotype designated by Barros in Hoehnea 30(3):
187. 2003: A. Regnell III-1649 (SP), here rejected.
New lectotype designated here: tab. 167, ig. A,
vol. 3 in Iconogr. Orchid. Brésil at the Library of
Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, cited as tab. 407
A (then unpublished) in Barbosa Rodrigues (1877,
as Pleurothallis punctata); copied and reproduced
in black and white in Cogn., Fl. Bras. (Martius)
3(4), tab. 97, ig. 5.1896; reproduced in color in
Sprunger et al. (1996, vol. 1: 225, ig. A).
Barbosa Rodrigues proposed the name Pleurothallis
serpentula in 1882 to replace the illegitimate name
P. punctata Barb.Rodr., which he published in 1877.
As already stated elsewhere (e.g. Cribb & Toscano
de Brito 1966; Buzatto et al. 2013, Toscano de Brito
2013), Barbosa Rodrigues did not explicitly cite type
specimens in his publications. Following standard rules
of his time, he only cited provenance and lowering
time of his collections. Most of Barbosa Rodrigues’s
illustrations were based on living material and are
usually dated. The original plate of P. serpentula,
which is reproduced in Sprunger et al. (1996, vol. 1:
225, ig. A), shows the following information: “Caldas
19 December 1876.” When Barros (2003) transferred
this species to the genus Acianthera, he claimed to
have seen an isotype at SP, a collection made by A.
Regnell, nr. III-1649, dated 26 December 1876. We
have seen a photograph of this collection at SP and
images of duplicates at P and BR. There seems to
exist a confusion with the collection dates of these
specimens. Differently from the collection at SP, the
specimen deposited at P is dated 28 June 1878, while
a duplicate at BR is dated January (“Janv.”) 1877.
Even though it is dificult at present to ascertain a
correct collection date for Regnell’s materials, this is
actually not relevant for the purpose of typiication of
this species. Regardless the collection date, Regnell’s
collection nr. III-1649 is not the type of P. serpentula.
When Barbosa Rodrigues (1882) proposed the
new name Pleurothallis serpentula, he made a direct
reference to the protologue of his P. punctata, the
replaced synonym. He also cited Regnell’s collection
nr. III-1849 (most probably an error for “III-1649”).
In Barbosa Rodrigues’s Iconographie, Regnell’s
collection number III-1649 is found next to the loral
analysis of P. serpentula and was later annotated there
91
by his son, João Barbosa Rodrigues Jr. Regnell’s
collection is not cited anywhere in the original
description of P. punctata and, therefore, it is not part
of the protologue of this species. Barbosa Rodrigues
based his illustration of P. punctata on a specimen he
collected in Caldas, most certainly around the same
date he made his illustration, i.e., on 19 December
1876. This collection should be considered the type
of the name P. punctata and therefore the type of P.
serpentula, the replacement name. Unfortunately,
Barbosa Rodrigues’s actual specimen has been lost. For
this reason, we have selected as lectotype the original
illustration in Barbosa Rodrigues’s unpublished
Iconographie, the only extant original material.
Acianthera serpentula is apparently related to
A. saundersiana and to several other similar taxa in
this complex. The loral color in Barbosa Rodrigues’s
original illustration, mainly the dorsal sepal, resembles
that of A. calopedilon. However, A. serpentula is
readily distinguished not only from these two species,
but also from all others in this complex, by the shape of
its oblong, slightly pandurate lip. It is apparently a rare
species, whose actual specimens, living or preserved,
we have so far not been able to study.
AcKnowLedgmenTs. The present paper is part of the
project “The Pleurothallid Orchids of Brazil: Contributions
to an inventory and an understanding of evolution, ecology
and conservation,” currently sponsored by the Marie Selby
Botanical Gardens. We thank Wade Collier for providing
photographs used in this article; the curator of SP, Maria
Candida Mamede, for making available several images of
types deposited at SP; Luiz Fillipe Varella, Jacques Klein,
and Bryon Rinke, for providing specimens and additional
information on Acianthera calopedilon; Maria Rita Cabral
for providing useful information on A. velteniana; Kanchi
Gandhi of AMES for his assistance in resolving some
nomenclatural issues; Rudolf Jenny for help in obtaining
literature; Nancy Karam and Wade Collier for help in
assembling the illustrations; Stig Dasltröm for inking the
illustrations, and the Pleurothallidinae Alliance for making
it possible.
LiTerATure ciTed
Barros, F. de, Vinhos, F., Rodrigues, V.T., Barberena, F.F.V.A.,
Fraga, C.N., Pessoa, E.M., Forster, W. & Menini Neto,
L. (2014). Orchidaceae in Lista de espécies da lora do
Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Published on
the Internet: http://relora.jbrj.gov.br/jabot/loradobrasil/
LANKESTERIANA 15(1), April 2015. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2015.
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LANKESTERIANA 15(1), April 2015. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2015. Received 11 March 2014. Accepted 15 January 2015.