LANKESTERIANA 17(3): 403–409. 2017.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/lank.v17i3.31644
A NEW SPECIES OF CATASETUM (ORCHIDACEAE: CATASETINAE)
FROM CASANARE, COLOMBIA
Miguel M. Bonilla Morales1, Johan de J. Mosquera hernández1
& adarilda Petini-Benelli2,3
1
Grupo de investigación EduciTec, Lic. Pdn Agropecuaria, Universidad de los Llanos, Sede Barcelona,
Villavicencio, Colombia
2
Post-Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation of the Biodiversity,
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso. Av. Fernando Correa da Costa, 2.367, Bairro Boa Esperança,
CCBS-II, 78060-900 Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil
3
Author for correspondence: ada.benelli@gmail.com
aBstract. A new species of Catasetum was found in eastern Colombia, Casanare Department, in the Orinoquía
bioregion. The species is described and illustrated, and data associated with its phenology, distribution and
conservation status are discussed. The new species, C. lucisuareziae, is related to other species found in the
same region, like C. rectangulare and C. callosum, from which it mainly differs by the three-lobed labellum and
the presence of two subglobular calli at the base.
resuMen. Una nueva especie de Catasetum fue encontrada en el departamento de Casanare hacia el oriente de
Colombia, en la bioregión de la Orinoquía. Se describe e ilustra la especie y se estipulan parámetros asociados a
su fenología, distribución y estado de conservación. La nueva especie, Catasetum lucisuareziae, es comparable
con otras especies que se encuentran en la misma región, como C. rectangulare y C. callosum, pero difiere de
ellas principalmente por su labelo trilobulado y la presencia de dos callos subglobulares en la base.
Key words / PalaBras clave: biodiversidad, biodiversity, Catasetum bicolor, Catasetum lucisuareziae,
conservación, conservation, Cymbidieae, Epidendroideae, Orinoquía
Introduction. Orchidaceae include about 28,000 species
and, together with Asteraceae, it is the most diverse
group of angiosperms (Chase et al. 2015). Colombia
is one of the countries with the greatest diversity of
Orchidaceae, with 4,270 species in 270 genera; about
35% of the species are endemic (Betancourt, Sarmiento,
Toro-González & Valencia 2015). Most of the endemic
species are native to the Andean bioregion. The areas
with the lowest diversity are the Orinoco river basin
and the Atlantic slopes, with only 143 species recorded
(Betancourt et al. 2015, Sarmiento 2007).
The genus Catasetum includes about 140 species
distributed throughout the Neotropics (Romero &
Jenny 1993, Romero 2012), although Chase et al.
(2015) accept up to 176 taxa. For Colombia, Ortiz
and Uribe (2007, 2014), Bonilla, Mosquera and Otero
(2013a), Ortiz (2015) and Betancourt et al. (2015)
recognize 37 species.
Materials and methods. Casanare is one of the least
studied departments of Colombia (Usma & Trujillo
2011). In the Orchidaceae, 32 genera and 58 species
have been recorded from this area (Betancourt et
al. 2015). However, recent studies conducted in the
Orinoco river basin addressed the importance of the
region’s biodiversity, showing that 77 orchid species
were recorded in the Meta Department alone (Jiménez
2011). Two years after the start of the explorations in
this region, the number of documented orchid species
already overcome the 300 taxa (Bonilla et al. 2013b).
The material examined for this study was collected
in 2013, during the exploration of Casanare, when a
population of a unidentfied species of Catasetum was
found in the town of Hato Corozal. The plants were
cultivated in a greenhouse at Villavicencio (Meta), in the
farm of Luci Suárez, for their documentation and study.
Results. Based on floral morphology, the new species
described hereafter, Catasetum lucisuareziae, belongs
to a small group of species that in Colombia includes C.
bicolor Klotzsch, C. callosum Lindl. and C. rectangulare
G.F.Carr.
Received 13 March 2017; accepted for publication 5 December 2017. First published online: 7 December 2017.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Costa Rica License
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LANKESTERIANA
Key to the coloMBian sPecies of Catasetum related to C. luCisuareziae
1. Petals linear to oblong-lanceolate
2. Lateral sepals falcate, labellum rectangular
2’. Lateral sepals reflexed or oblique, labellum lanceolate, ovate or trilobed
3. Labellum lanceolate, ovate or slightly off site with a central callus apiculate
3’. Labellum trilobed, without a callus
1’. Petals elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate
4. Labellum trilobed, the mid-lobe slightly elliptic
4’. Labellum pentalobed, the mid-lobe triangular
Catasetum lucisuareziae M. Bonilla, J. Mosquera &
Benelli, sp.nov. Fig. 1–2.
TYPE: Colombia. Casanare: Hato Corozal, Bosque de
Sabana, 6.133541° -71.728464°, 222 m, 26-VI-2013,
M Bonilla-M., J Mosquera, A Velázquez & L Suárez,
s.n. (holotype, LLANOS!).
diagnosis: Catasetum lucisuareziae is similar to C.
bicolor, from which it mainly differs by the 3-lobed
labellum (vs. 5-lobed) and the two subglobular calli at
the base of the lip (vs. two ligules); it also resembles
C. rectangulare and C. callosum, from which it differs
by the ovate-lanceolate bracts, elliptic petals, 3-lobed
labellum with 2 basal subglobular calli, and erect
staminal column.
Epiphytic, cespitose herb, 15–40 cm tall when
leafy. Pseudobulb ca. 13 × 6 cm, terete, ellipticalspindle, of 1–9 internodes. Leaves ca. 25 × 4 cm,
oblong-lanceolate, distichous, plicate, deciduous.
Inflorescence basal, 1–2 symultaneous, manyflowered (12–20) racemes, straight or curved at the
apex, ca. 25 cm long, provided with basal bracts.
Male flowers resupinate, fragrant, brown, the
labellum yellow-green. Pedicel ca. 45 mm long,
including the short ovary. Floral bracts lanceolateovate, 9 × 3 mm. Dorsal sepal oblong-elliptic, acute,
concave, membranous, ca. 29 × 7 mm. Lateral sepals
elliptic, acute, convex, membranous, ca. 30 × 7 mm.
Petals elliptic, convex, membranous, ca. 26 × 5 mm.
Labellum 3-lobed, sacciform, cordate when spread,
fleshy, 6–7 mm long, 10.0–10.8 mm wide, 9 mm deep,
the lateral lobes elliptic with the margin sometimes
undulate, the midlobe triangular, round, with two
subglobular calli at the base. Column trigonous,
erect, ca. 18 mm long, 3–4 mm wide toward the apex,
yellowish-green stained brown; rostellum 6–8 mm,
LANKESTERIANA 17(3). 2017. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2017.
2
C. rectangulare
3
C. callosum
C. boyi
4
C. lucisuareziae
C. bicolor
slim and projected forward and backward. Anther
operculate, apiculate, unilocular, ca. 9 × 3 mm, the
apex yellowish-green. Pollinia 2, elliptic-obovate,
flattened dorsiventrally, split, yellow, ca. 3 × 1 mm,
on a oblong stipe and sticky viscidium. Female
flowers not observed. Immature fruit green, trilocular.
distriBution: The species has been hiterto recorded
only from the municipality of Hato Corozal (Fig. 3).
ePonyMy: In honor of Luci Suárez, who has taken
charge of the conservation and management of native
orchid species of Meta.
Phenology: This species flowered in January in
cultivation.
conservation status: According to the criteria of
the IUCN (2014), C. lucisuareziae is characterized
as Data Deficient (DD). The only known population
of the species is not located within any conservation
unit. However, ex situ conservation management
performed by Mrs. Luci Suárez and his son on their
farm is highly relevant for its preservation.
Catasetum lucisuareziae belongs to subgenus
Catasetum section Isoceras (Mansf.) Senghas,
characterized by symmetrical antennae (Senghas 1990,
Romero 2009).
Among the species found in the bioregion of
the Orinoco (Bonilla et al. 2014), the most alike are
C. rectangulare and C. callosum. The three species
can be easily distinct, however, on the basis of their
characteristic floral morphology (Table 1). Catasetum
rectangulare and C. callosum have linear and
oblong-lanceolate floral bracts, respectively, while C.
lucisuareziae has ovate-lanceolate bracts. While in C.
lucisuareziae the petals are elliptic, they are linear to
oblong-lanceolate in C. rectangulare and C. callosum.
Bonilla et al. — A new Catasetum from Colombia
405
figure 1. Catasetum lucisuareziae. A. Male flower, frontal view. B. Column set: a, frontal view; b, lateral view. C. Column
with labellum set: a, lateral view; b, same, with the labellum longitudinally sectioned. D. General view of the plant habit
without leaves, the inflorescence with male flowers. E. Male flower, dissected perianth: a, dorsal sepal; b, petal; c, lateral
sepal; d, labellum, frontal view. F. Pollinarium, two views. G. Anther cap in frontal, lateral and dorsal views. H. Floral
bract. Illustration by M. M. Bonilla-M. from the type.
LANKESTERIANA 17(3). 2017. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2017.
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figure 2. Catasetum lucisuareziae M. Bonilla, J. Mosquera & Benelli. A. Inflorescence. B. Male flower, lateral view. C.
Male flower, frontal view. D. Imature fruit. Illustration by M. M. Bonilla-M.
In addition, C. lucisuareziae has a lobed labellum with
two subglobulares calli (vs. entire with a single callus),
and the apex straight basck (vs. arched and slightly
curved) (Table 1).
Catasetum lucisuareziae can also be compared
to C. bicolor, which is recorded for Colombia in the
LANKESTERIANA 17(3). 2017. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2017.
bioregion of the Atlantic and the Middle Magdalena
valley between the Cordillera Central (CC) and
the Cordillera Oriental (CO), on the western flank.
However, it was not registered from the eastern flank
of the CO or the bioregion of the Orinoco (Bonilla et al.
2013b, Ortiz 2015). Nevertheless, the 3-lobed labellum
407
Bonilla et al. — A new Catasetum from Colombia
from Brazil (Govaerts et al. 2015), in regions quite
distant from the area of occurrence of C. lucisuareziae
in the Colombian Orinoquia. The main morphologic
differences between the species of this complex can be
by observed in Figure 4, where the flowers of the four
species related to C. lucisuareziae are shown. Catasetum
lucisuareziae differs from C. boyi by its elliptic oblong,
2.9 cm long dorsal sepal versus elliptic-lanceolate, 2.5
cm long. The lateral lobes of the labellum are suberect in
C. lucisuareziae, vs. distinctly erect in C. boyi (Fig. 5); in
the first species they have slightly undulate margins and
the mid-lobe is smooth, whilst in the latter the margins of
the lateral lobes and the midlobe are strongly undulate;
in the central portion, the labellum of C. lucisuareziae is
9 mm depth, while in C. boyi it is only 3 mm depth; the
calli of the lip are subglobular in C. lucisuareziae, but
they are triangular and obliquely erect in C. boyi.
acKnowledgeMents. We thank Álvaro Velázquez Suárez
figure 3. Distribution of C. lucisuareziae in Colombia.
Illustration by M. M. Bonilla-M.
with elliptical lobes distinguishes this species, whereas
in C. bicolor the lip is 5-lobed with three lobes at the
apex (the triangular central lobe triangular and the other
two linear), and the laterals lobes are upright. Moreover,
instead of the two subglobular calli at the base of the lip,
C. bicolor presents two ligules, one on each side lobe.
The new species and C. bicolor can also be compared
to C. boyi Mansf. However, while C. bicolor is distributed
from Panama to Venezuela, C. boyi is exclusively known
for providing the specimens used for this study. To the
anonymous reviewers who have provided helpful comments.
APB thanks the ‘Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de
Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES’ for the fellowship
awarded to the last author.
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taBle 1. Comparison of floral details between Catasetum lucisuareziae and its closest relatives.
Catasetum lucisuareziae
C. rectangulare
C. callosum
C. boyi
Bract
Oval-lanceolate
Lanceolate
Oblong
Ovate-lanceolate
Peduncle
30 ×4–5 mm
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Dorsal sepal
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Labellum ornament
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Entire, rectangular,
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Staminate Column
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Arched, 14 × 7 mm
Slightly curved, 12 × 5–6 mm
Erect, 20 × 4 mm
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figure 4. Comparison of the flowers between A. Catasetum bicolor, B. C. boyi, C. C. callosum and D. C. retangulare.
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figure 5. Catasetum boyi, frontal and lateral view, with closeups of the labellum. Photography by A. Petini-Benelli.
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