DEIREGYNE COCHLEATA (ORCHIDACEAE, SPIRANTHINAE), A ...

Polish Botanical Journal 46(1): 35–38, 2001 

DEIREGYNE COCHLEATA (ORCHIDACEAE, SPIRANTHINAE), 

A NEW SPECIES FROM MEXICO 

DARIUSZ L. SZLACHETKO, ROBERTO GONZALEZ TAMAYO & PIOTR RUTKOWSKI 

Abstract. A new species of the genus Deiregyne – D. cochleata Szlach., Tamayo & Rutk. – is described, illustrated and compared 

with the closely related D. ramentacea (Lindl.) Schltr. 

Key words: Magnoliophyta, Liliopsida, Orchidaceae, Spiranthinae, Deiregyne, new species, Mexico 

Dariusz L. Szlachetko & Piotr Rutkowski, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Nature Conservation, Gdańsk University, Al. Legionów 

9, PL-80-441 Gdańsk, Poland, e-mail: biodarek@univ.gda.pl, & biopr@univ.gda.pl 

Roberto Gonzalez Tamayo, Instituto de Botanica CUCBA, Universidad de Guadalajara, Apdo. Postal 139, 44100 Zapopan, Jalisco, 

Mexico 

The genus Deiregyne was described by Schlechter 

(1920). Originally it included eight species distributed 

in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. A 

problem around it arose in 1982 when Burns-Balogh 

and Garay published two concepts of Deiregyne. 

These authors used different species to 

lectotypify the genus: Burns-Balogh chose Spiranthes 

hemichrae Lindl. as the type, while Garay 

chose Spiranthes chloraeformis A. Rich. & Gal. 

As a result, different species were included by 

each author in Deiregyne (Table 1). According to 

Szlachetko (1995) the lectotype proposed by 

Burns-Balogh (1988) was closer to the protologue 

than that of Garay. 

Our detailed morphological studies suggest 

that Deiregyne sensu Burns-Balogh is not monophyletic. 

By removing Deiregyne riodelayensis 

Burns-Balogh and D. pyramidalis Lindl. to the 

genus Gracielanthus Tamayo & Szlach. (Tamayo 

& Szlachetko) and keeping the monotypic genus 

Aulosepalum based upon A. tenuiflorum (Greenm.) 

Garay, we got a uniform group of closely related 

species, Deiregyne s.str. 

While examining herbarium materials of 

Deiregyne kept in W, we found a specimen from 

Mexico which is, in our opinion, an undescribed 

species. We propose it below. 

Deiregyne cochleata Szlach., Tamayo & Rutk., 

sp. nov. Fig. 1 

A Deiregyne ramentacea tepalis brevioribus latioribusque, 

sepalis dorsalibus fere quadrato-ovalibus apiculatisque, 

petalis obtusis, sepalis lateralibus apiculatis, labello 

apice rotundato, emarginato cochleatove el epichilio 

latiori, crasso carnosoque facillime dignoscenda. 

Plant 43 cm tall, 5 mm in diameter at base, 2 

mm in diameter below inflorescence. Stem erect, 

rather stout, glabrous, below and along inflorescence 

sparsely glandular, completely covered by 

cauline bracts. Cauline bracts up to 13, scarious, 

imbricating, glabrous. Leaves absent at flowering. 

Inflorescence 7 cm long, up to 30-flowered, very 

dense. Flowers rather small, resupinate. Floral 

bracts up to 8 mm long, broadly ovate, apiculate, 

scarious, semitransparent, glabrous, 3–5-nerved. 

Ovary up to 4 mm long, cylindrical, twisted. Dorsal 

sepal 5.5 mm long, up to 3 mm wide, quadrateovate, 

apiculate, 3-nerved. Petals 4.2 mm long, 2 

mm wide, obliquely elliptic-ovate, obtuse, obscurely 

3-nerved. Lateral sepals 9 mm long, the 

free part 5 mm long, up to 3 mm wide, obliquely 

ovate to elliptic, obtuse to apiculate, 3-nerved. Lip 

5 mm long; claw narrow, widening towards apex; 

hypochile and epichile equal in length, succulent, 

thick; hypochile ribbon-like, with small basal

36 POLISH BOTANICAL JOURNAL 46(1). 2001. 

Table 1. Generic concept of Deiregyne Schltr. according to Schlechter (1920), Garay (1982), Burns-Balogh (1982) and the authors 

of this article. 

Deiregyne Schlechter (1920) Burns-Balogh (1982) Garay (1982) Szlachetko et al. (2000) 

albovaginata – Schiedeella Deiregyne Stenorrhynchos 

aline – – – Deiregyne 

chartacea – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

chloraeformis Deiregyne Schiedeella Deiregyne Burnsbaloghia 

cochleata – – – Deiregyne 

confusa – Schiedeella Deiregyne Funkiella 

dendroneura – Schiedeella Deiregyne Schiedeella 

diaphana – Schiedeella Deiregyne Burnsbaloghia 

durangensis – Schiedeella Deiregyne Funkiella 

eriophora – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

falcata – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

hemichrea Deiregyne Deiregyne Aulosepalum Deiregyne 

hondurensis Deiregyne Deiregyne Gularia Schiedeella 

nelsonii – Deiregyne Aulosepalum Deiregyne 

obtecta – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

obtusa Deiregyne Deiregyne Aulosepalum Deiregyne 

pandurata – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

pseudopyramidalis – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

pterygodium – – – Deiregyne 

pulchra Deiregyne Deiregyne Aulosepalum Deiregyne 

pyramidalis Schiedeella Deiregyne Kionophyton Gracielanthus 

ramentacea Deiregyne Deiregyne Aulosepalum Deiregyne 

rhombilabia – Deiregyne Deiregyne Triceratostris 

riodelayensis – Deiregyne – Gracielanthus 

tamayoi – – – Deiregyne 

tenella – Schiedeella Deiregyne Funkiella 

tenuiflora Gramosepalum Deiregyne Aulosepalum Deiregyne 

thelymitra Deiregyne Schiedeella Gularia Schiedeella 

trilineata Deiregyne Schiedeella Gularia Schiedeella 

velata – Schiedeella Deiregyne Oestlundorchis 

auricles; epichile up to 2.3 mm wide, semi-orbicular, 

with blunt ear-like lobules, rounded at apex, 

emarginate, cochleate. Gynostemium hook-like, 

column part 3 mm long, column foot 4 mm long, 

decurrent on the ovary apex. Anther 1.5 mm long, 

ovate. 

TYPE: MEXICO: “in umbrosis juxta cataractas 

flum.” Rio del Salto, sine dat., Hartweg 400 (HOLO- 

TYPE: W). 

ETYMOLOGY. An allusion to the shape of the 

lip, especially the epichile. 

DISTRIBUTION. Known so far from the type 

collection only. 

The new species is related to Deiregyne ramentacea 

(Lindl.) Schltr., but the tepals are shorter and 

wider, the dorsal sepal is almost quadrate-ovate, 

apiculate, the petals are obtuse, and the lateral se-

D. L. SZLACHETKO ET AL.: DEIREGYNE COCHLEATA, SP. NOV. 37 

Fig. 1. Deiregyne cochleata Szlach., Tamayo & Rutk.: a – flower and bract, b – lip, spread, c – epichile, d – lip, side view, e – 

dorsal sepal and petal, f – lateral sepal, free part (Hartweg 400 (holo W). 

pals apiculate. The lip of D. cochleata is rounded 

at the apex, emarginate, cochleate, and the epichile 

is wider, thick and succulent. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We are grateful to the Curators of 

B, P and W for their hospitality during our visits, to the 

Curator of L for the loan of herbarium materials, and to

38 POLISH BOTANICAL JOURNAL 46(1). 2001. 

Prof. Dr. hab. Ryszard Ochyra for Latinizing the diagnosis. 

This study was financed by KBN grant No. 

6P04C-063-15. 

REFERENCES 

BURNS-BALOGH P. 1988. A monograph of the genus Deiregyne 

Schlechter (Orchidaceae). Orquidea (Mex.) 11: 1–232. 

Received 8 June 2000 

GARAY L. A. 1982. A generic revision of the Spiranthinae. Bot. 

Mus. Leafl. Harvard Univ. 28(4): 278–425. 

SCHLECHTER R. 1920. Versuch einer systematischen Neuordnung 

der Spiranthinae. Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 37(2): 317– 

454. 

SZLACHETKO D. L. 1995. On the lectotypification of Deiregyne 

(Orchidaceae, Spiranthinae). Fragm. Flor. Geobot. 40(2): 

785–795.

DEIREGYNE COCHLEATA (ORCHIDACEAE, SPIRANTHINAE), A ...

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