Dracula immunda A. Doucette 2011, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Doucette, Alfonso
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Asparagales
Orchidaceae
Dracula
Dracula immunda

description: Dracula immunda A.Doucette, sp. nov. (Figs. 1–4)
A Draculae ripleyanae floribus parvioribus et lamellis secundariis margines epichili attingentibus differt.
Type:— PANAMA. Veraguas: Gathered from material cultivated at Finca Dracula, reported from the Province of Veranguas from cloud forest above Santa Fe, Doucette 3389 (holotype BH!, isotype PMA!; this specimen is in cultivation at Finca Dracula) Fig. 1.
Epiphytic, caespitose herb, 12–20 cm tall. Roots flexuous, 2 mm in diameter. Stem semiterete, sulcate adaxially, keeled abaxially, 1.5–2.0 cm long, 1.5 mm in diam., enveloped by 3 bracts, 3–25 mm long, 3–5 mm wide. Leaf erect, narrowly elliptic-ligulate, acute, narrowed into an indistinct petiole towards the point of connection to the stem, 10.0– 18.5 cm long, 1.0–2.0 cm wide. Inflorescence a loose, successively fewflowered raceme, borne from low on the stem, 4.0–16.0 cm long, 0.1 cm in diameter; peduncle slender, terete, horizontal to descending, subverrucose, green suffused with purple, bracts 6–11, translucent, 2.5–5.0 mm long, 1.0 mm in diameter. Pedicel purple dorsally, olive ventrally, 11–22 mm long, 1 mm in diameter. Ovary terete, 6-sulcate, subverrucose, purple, 3–5 mm long, 2 mm in diameter. Flower facing down, not completely spreading, cupped, sepals dull white, suffused and speckled with purple, tails purple (rarely white), petals cream, sometimes suffused with purple, sometimes suffused with yellow, marked with dark brown, lip white, usually suffused with pink, column light yellow, anther cap cream. Sepals carinate, densely pubescent (rarely papillose) within; dorsal sepal transversely obovate, 6–8 mm long, 8–9 mm wide, the apex obtuse, contracted into a slender tail, 1.6–2.6 cm long; the lateral sepals ovate, oblique, 5–9 mm long, 8–9 mm wide, connate at the base to form a shallow mentum that is adorned with small purple warts within, apices obtuse, contracted into tails similar to that of the dorsal sepal. Petals oblong (rarely lanceolate), apex rounded (rarely acuminate), bivalvate, verrucose to tuberculate between the laminae, inner lamina rounded to acute with a denticulate margin, the outer lamina rounded (rarely acute) with a denticulate margin, and usually reflexed, 2.5–5.5 mm long, 1.0– 1.5 mm wide (Figs. 4a–4c, 1–4). Lip oblong to pandurate, 5.0–6.0 mm long, 2.0– 2.5 mm wide; the hypochile ovate to oblong, 3.5–4.0 mm long, 2.0– 2.5 mm wide, with erect, rounded marginal angles, cleft centrally, the base concave, hinged to the column foot; the epichile ovoid, minutely muricate externally, 2.0– 2.5 long, 2.0 mm wide, with a concavity filled with 3 closely spaced lamellae as tall as the erect margin and 2 or 3 lower, minute accessory lamellae radiating up the sides to the margin (Figs. 3a–3c, 1–4). Column stout, hunched, minutely winged, semiterete, 3.0– 3.5 mm long (excluding the foot), 1.0– 1.5 mm wide, provided dorsally with 2 microscopic, dentate crests before the apex, the apex membranous, contracted into acute points, and extending past the anther cap; the foot stout, 2–3 mm long (Fig. 3a, 1–4). Anther cap cucullate, membranous, 1.0 × 0.8 mm. Pollinia 2, ovoid, laterally flattened, 1.0 × 0.4 mm, each provided with a glandular caudicle.
Distribution and habitat:— Dracula immunda is known only from the type locality in the Parque Nacíonal Santa Fe de Veraguas in Panama. The park is situated on the easternmost part of the Central Cordillera. This mountain range is isolated by the low-lying, drier terrain of Nicaragua and Honduras and by the lowlands in the Isthmus of Panama. The Central Cordillera is a biodiversity hotspot with a concentration of endemic species (Brooks et al. 2002). Along the ridge where Dracula immunda is found, the rare and narrowly endemic Condylago furculifera Dressler & Bogarin (2007: 2), Trichosalpinx ringens Luer (1996: 108), and Zamia pseudoparasitica Yates in Seeman (1854: 202) are also found. At present, only one population of Dracula immunda is known, consisting of about 20 individuals. Because these mountains are isolated, it is not likely that the range of Dracula immunda is much greater.
Dracula immunda grows epiphytically in the understory of cloud forests at elevations around 1100 m (Fig. 2). They occur as single individuals or in small colonies of up to 10 plants on trunks of living trees or fallen branches. The plants are found 0.3–10.0 m above the ground in association with species of Anthurium Schott (1829: 828), Dichaea Lindley (1833: 208), Epidendrum Linnaeus(1753: 952), Maxillaria Ruiz & Pavón (1794: 116), and Pleurothallis Brown (in Aiton, 1813: 211). A collection of representatives of the local flora was deposited at PMA (Doucette 3394–3437).
Phenology: — Free-flowering in cultivation at Finca Dracula. One wild plant was observed flowering in March (Doucette, Maduro & Nuñez 3205), but this does not seem to be the common flowering period in the wild, as no other plants had any active inflorescences.
Conservation status:— Data are insufficient to assign a conservation status to Dracula immunda. The species is rare, but it does not seem to be in immediate danger of extinction. It is currently being propagated by seed at Finca Dracula. The habitat in which this species was discovered is protected in a national park under the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) of Panama.
Etymology:—from the Latin immunda, “unclean,” in reference to the white sepals with the appearance of being stained and spotted with purple.
Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— PANAMA. Veraguas: Parque Nacíonal Santa Fe, 1200 m, March 25 2010, Doucette, Maduro & Nuñez 3205 (PMA, Fig. 3); flowered in cultivation at Cornell University, 24 November 2010, Doucette 3438 (BH); the remaining specimens were flowered in cultivation at Finca Dracula, from a specimen obtained from Eric Olmos in Veraguas in cloud forest near Santa Fe, 1000 m, 26 March 2010, Doucette 3390 (PMA); 26 March 2010, Doucette 3392 (PMA); 5 July 2010, Doucette 3391 (PMA, Fig. 4); 14 July 2010, Doucette 3393 (PMA).
Dracula immunda is part of the D. erythrochaete complex (D. astuta, D. carlueri, D. erythrochaete, and D. ripleyana). Dracula erythrochaete s.s. is a highly variable species that is distinguished from related species by the stability of the lip morphology (Luer 1993). The species in this group can be differentiated from each other by five morphological features: degree of sepal cupping (Dracula astuta versus D. erythrochaete versus D. carlueri), tail length (D. astuta versus D. erythrochaete), flower size (D. ripleyana versus D. astuta, D. erythrochaete, D. carlueri), the color pattern of the sepals (D. astuta versus D. erythrochaete and D. ripleyana versus D. erythrochaete), and lip characters. These characters may be related to pollination and thus to the maintenance of species integrity. The lip of flowers in this complex is characterized by an inflated epichile that is longer and wider than the hypochile, with revolute, toothed margins, and low, thin lamellae.
Differences in size of the epichile relative to the hypochile as well as texture of its external surface are used as distinguishing characters in the D. erythrochaete complex. The lip of Dracula astuta is most like that of D. erythrochaete, but the epichile of D. astuta is larger relative to the hypochile (Luer 1993). The lip of Dracula carlueri is most like that of D. erythrochaete, but the epichile is smaller relative to the hypochile (Luer 2000). The lip of Dracula ripleyana is most like that of D. carlueri. Lips of both species are similar in shape and size, but the epichile of D. ripleyana is minutely verrucose externally. The lip of Dracula immunda is unusual for species in this complex, but the general shape and structure is most similar to the species recognized in the D. erythrochaete complex than to the other Central American Dracula species. The epichile of Dracula immunda is comparatively thick, more textured, not inflated, narrower or the same width and smaller or the same length as the hypochile, with erect margins and high lamellae that reach the upturned margin of the epichile. Within the D. erythrochaete complex, Dracula immunda is most similar to D. ripleyana; both species have small flowers with a similar color pattern (white with a purple central mark) and an epichile with a textured surface. The small flowers and color pattern distinguish D. immunda and D. ripleyana from the other species in the D. erythrochaete complex (Fig. 4d). Dracula immunda is distinct from D. ripleyana in having sepals that are more strongly cupped, plus shorter tails and a unique lip. There is a subtle difference between the petals and column of Dracula immunda and those of D. ripleyana. The petals of Dracula immunda are stouter and the outer lamina of the petal does not reflex as greatly as those of D. ripleyana. The petals are more tightly held against the column in flowers of D. immunda than in flowers of D. ripleyana. The column of D. immunda is stouter and more hunched than that of D. ripleyana. The specimens examined do not show variation in the diagnostic features that are intermediate between Dracula immunda and D. ripleyana. This new species differs from all previously described species by the ovoid epichile that is the same width or narrower than the hypochile and muricate externally and has three closely spaced lamellae that reach the margin (Fig. 3b).
description: Published as part of Doucette, Alfonso, 2011, Dracula immunda (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae), a new species from Panama, pp. 37-44 in Phytotaxa 16 on pages 38-41, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.16.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/4893957