BIOLOGY
FIELDIANA: BOTANY
A Continuation of the
BOTANICAL SERIES
of
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOLUME 32
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CHICAGO, U.S.A.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. A New Guatemalan Spigelia. By Dorothy N. Gibson 1
2. Three New Nicaraguan Epidendrums. By Alfonso H. Heller 7
3. Syagrus oleracea ( Mart. ) Becc. and Closely Related Taxa. By
S. F. Glassman *„
4. Tropical American Plants, X. By Louis O. Williams .35
5. Two New Guatemalan Tournefortias. By Dorothy N. Gibson 65
6. A New Member ofMorganella. By Patricio Ponce de Leon 69
7. A New Odontoglossum from Nicaragua. By Alfonso H. Heller 73
8. Studies in the Palm Genus Syagrus Mart. II. By S. F. Glassman 77
9. Revision of the Genus Vascellum ( Lycoperdaceae ) . By Patricio
Ponce de Leon JQQ
10. A Conspectus of the Palm Genus Butia Becc. By S. F. Glassman 127
11. Studies in American Plants, II. By Dorothy N. Gibson 173
12. Tropical American Plants, XI. By Louis O. Williams 179
13. The Juglandaceae of Guatemala. By Louis O. Williams and Antonio
Molina R 2Q7
14. An Overlooked Genus of the Scrophulariaceae. By Louis O. Williams 211
15. A Synopsis of the Palm Genus Syagrus Mart. By S. F. Glassman 215
16. A New Hybrid in the Palm Genus Syagrus Mart. By S. F. Glassman . , . . 241
A NEW GUATEMALAN SPIGELIA
DOROTHY N. GIBSON
THREE NEW NICARAGUAN EPIDENDRUMS
ALFONSO H. HELLER
SYAGRUS OLERACEA (MART.) BECC.
AND CLOSELY RELATED TAXA
S. F. GLASSMAN
TROPICAL AMERICAN PLANTS, X
LOUIS 0. WILLIAMS
FIELDIANA: BOTANY
VOLUME 32, NUMBERS 1, 2, 3, 4
Published by
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
AUGUST 19, 1968
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A NEW GUATEMALAN SPIGELIA
DOROTHY N. GIBSON
Custodian of the Herbarium
Field Museum of Natural History
THREE NEW NICARAGUAN EPIDENDRUMS
ALFONSO H. HELLER
Associate, Field Museum of Natural History
SYAGRUS OLERACEA (MART.) BECC.
AND CLOSELY RELATED TAXA
S. F. CLASSMAN
Research Associate, Palms
Field Museum of Natural History
and
University of Illinois, Chicago Circle
TROPICAL AMERICAN PLANTS, X
LOUIS 0. WILLIAMS
Chief Curator, Botany
Field Museum of Natural History
FIELDIANA: BOTANY
VOLUME 32, NUMBERS 1, 2, 3, 4
Published by
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
AUGUST 19, 1968
CONTENTS
A New Guatemalan Spigelia by Dorothy N. Gibson 5
Three New Nicaraguan Epidendrums by Alfonso H. Heller 7
Syagrus oleracea (Mart.) Becc. and Closely Related Taxa by S. F. Glassman . 13
Tropical American Plants, X by Louis 0. Williams 35
FIELDIANA . BOTANY
Volume 32, No. 2 August 19, 1968 Publication 1053
Three New Nicaraguan Epidendrums
ALFONSO H. HELLER
ASSOCIATE, FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Almost exactly a half century ago Rudolf Schlechter in his "Krit-
ische Aufzahlung der bisher aus Zentral-Amerika bekanntgewordenen
Orchideen" (1918) catalogued 57 species of orchids as having been
recorded from Nicaragua. Williams in his "Enumeration" in 1956
recorded a total of 139 orchids for the country. My own record for
May 1960 indicated that I had found and confirmed 315 species here.
Now in April 1968 this total has grown to nearly 700 species.
Nicaragua at the turn of the century was botanically the least
known country of Central America, and I am sure that this is still so.
Nicaraguan botanical exploration really has only just begun in very
recent years with the co-operative programs of Field Museum and
Escuela Agricola Panamericana supported with grant funds from
National Science Foundation. The total of flowering plants known
from Nicaragua is perhaps three or four times as great as at the be-
ginning of the century, and still great areas of Nicaragua are essen-
tially unknown botanically.
Epidendrum phragmites Heller & Williams, sp. nov.
Herbae epiphyticae usque ad 80 cm. longae. Folia coriacea, ovato-elliptica vel
ovato-lanceolata, obtusa, obliqua et retusa, articulata; inflorescentia lateralis, uni-
biflora; sepala anguste oblongo-lanceolata, acuta, 5-nervia; petala anguste oblongo-
oblanceolata, acuta, 3-nervia; labellum ovatum vel ovato-rhombicum, acutum,
obscure trilobulatum, carinatum, columna seccionis Pleuranthium.
Spreading or pendent epiphytic herbs with unbranched stems 80 cm. long or
perhaps more. Stems slightly compressed up to 1 cm. in diameter but mostly less,
leafy on annual increment but these falling away with time, covered with charta-
ceous sheath which persists far on the reed-like stems; leaves fleshy, coriaceous,
ovate-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, carinate dorsally, the apex obtuse, oblique, retuse
4-8 cm. long and 1.5-4 cm. broad, articulate to the sheaths and easily deciduous;
inflorescence of one or two flowers borne from the stem at the base of the sheath
corresponding to the leaf axil, subsessile or on peduncles to 3 mm. long, the pe-
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-31882
8 FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 32
duncles with about 4 closely appressed, imbricated bracts; flowers coriaceous,
greenish yellow, sepals narrowly oblong-lanceolate, acute, 5-nerved, the laterals
slightly oblique, about 1.2 cm. long and 0.3-0.4 mm. broad; petals narrowly oblong-
oblanceolate, acute, slightly oblique, 3-nerved, the nerves on the inner face carinate,
about 1.1 cm. long and 0.2 cm. broad; lip ovate or ovate-rhombic, acute, somewhat
constricted above the middle and appearing lobulate, disc with a transverse lamel-
late flap at about the apex of the column, this with two tube-like cavities extending
back to the claw and with two longitudinal lamellate carinae that extend three-
fourths the length of the lip, the lateral margins erect and enclosing the column,
about 10-11 mm. long and 7 mm. broad when spread; column with the rostellum
on the lower two-fifths which is fleshy and terete, the upper part semi-tubular and
denticulate at the apex; anther suberect with 4 pollinia; pedicellate ovary about
9 mm. long.
NICARAGUA: epiphyte, Perla Finca, Cordillera Central de Nica-
ragua, Depto. Jinotega, alt. 1,100 m., March 1961, Heller 4377
(type, F). Additional collections are Heller 6384, 7117, 8948 and
91 43, all from the Cordillera Central de Nicaragua in Jinotega and
Matagalpa departments.
Allied to Epidendrum albertii Schltr. which it resembles in habit
and in inflorescence. It is a larger plant with flower about twice as
large, the sepals have five nerves instead of three, the petals with
three nerves instead of one. E. phragmites is a species of the wet
highland forests.
Epidendrum segoviense Heller, sp. nov.
Herbae epiphyticae parvae, repens; caules subfusiformes, bi-vel trifoliates;
folia lineari-oblonga vel ligulata, obtusa, subcoriacea; inflorescentia triflora; sepala
lineari-lanceolata, acuta vel acuminata; petala lineares vel lineari-lanceolata, acuta;
labellum trilobatum; columna generis.
Small epiphytic herbs from repent rhizomes, up to about 15 cm. tall. Stems
obscurely fusiform thickened, the bases concealed by scarious sheath, the apex with
2 or usually 3 leaves, mostly 5-6 cm. long and to 8 mm. in diameter when living,
stems about 2 cm. apart on the rhizome; leaves linear-oblong or ligulate, obtuse
and retuse at the apex, narrowed slightly to the base, carinate dorsally, subcoria-
ceous; inflorescence terminal from a short peduncle, usually with 3 pedicellate
flowers; flowers creamy white, aging yellow, column green, anther yellow, subtend-
ing bracts minute, linear-lanceolate; sepals linear-lanceolate, acute or acuminate,
3-nerved, about 15 mm. long and 3 mm. broad, the laterals slightly oblique; petals
linear or linear-lanceolate, acute, 1-nerved, about 13 mm. long and 0.8 mm. broad
below the middle; tip trilobate, the lateral lobes dolabriform, spreading, the apex
rounded, about 3 mm. long, the mid-lobe triangular-lanceolate, acute, about 6 mm.
long and 3mm. broad across the base, the disc with two erect mammillate calluses
in front of the column; claws narrow, attached to full length of the 6 mm. long
clavate column; clinandrium small, triangular; anther oblong-cordate, with 2 large
and 2 small locules; pollinia 4, 2 large and 2 one-third as large.
HELLER: THREE NICARAGUAN EPIDENDRUMS
D
FIG. 1. Epidendrum vulcanicola. A, habit, X ^2 ; B, sepals dissected, X 2 1/2;
C, longitudinal section through flower, X 2J/2; D, lateral view of flower, X 2^;
E, flower from front in natural position, X 2^; F, anther and pollinia, X 10.
NICARAGUA: epiphytic herbs, mountains near Villa de F'lor, de-
partment of Nueva Segovia, alt. 1,230 m., 26 December 1966, Heller
10790 (type in herbarium of Field Museum).
Epidendrum segoviense is closely related to Epidendrum cardio-
chilum L. Wms., a species which was originally discovered on a vol-
cano on the west coast of Mexico. The two species, both considered
to belong to the section Encydium, may be distinguished as follows :
Epidendrum segoviense has usually three leaves at or near the apex
of the thickened stem with an oblique, retuse apex with an apicule in
10
FIELDIANA: BOTANY, VOLUME 32
FIG. 2. Epidendrum segoviense. A, habit, X 2/3 approx.; B, apex of a leaf,
about natural size; C, flower segments, X ±2; D, longitudinal section of column
and lip, X 14; E, lip and column in natural position, X ±3; F, pollinia, X ±14;
G, anther, X ±14.
the notch, while E. cardiochilum has two; E. segoviense has usually
more flowers in each inflorescence, usually three contrasted to one,
the sepals have three nerves instead of five and the petals one instead
of three; the lip in E. segoviense is three-lobed while that of E. cardio-
chilum is not. The two species are similar in the mammillate calluses
on the disc.
The similarity of this species to the more abundant E. octomeri-
oides Schltr., when the plants are out of flower, is striking.
HELLER: THREE NICARAGUAN EPIDENDRUMS 11
The illustration was prepared in Nicaragua from living material.
Epidendrum vulcanicola Heller, sp. nov.
Herbae epiphyticae usque ad 50cm. altae; folia elliptica velelliptico-lanceolata,
acuta, coriacea; inflorescentia racema fractiflexa 3-4 flora; sepalum dorsale oblongo-
lanceolatum, acutum; sepala lateralia ovato-lanceolata, acuta, arcuata; petala
oblong-elliptica, acuta; labellum cordatum, basi bicallosum, serrulatum; columna
generis.
Much branched epiphytic herbs up to about 50 cm. tall. Stem slender much
branched, twisted, up to about 30 cm. long and 2-4 mm. in diameter, covered by
the inflated sheathing leaf bases above, becoming naked with age; leaves 4-5 toward
the apex of the stems, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, acute, coriaceous, 3-7 cm long
and 1-2 cm. broad, articulated to the laterally compressed leaf sheaths; inflores-
cence a 3-4-flowered fractiflex raceme to about 6 cm. long; the subtending bracts
scanous, navicular, prominently striate, about 1 cm. long and 0.8 cm. broad when
spread, rose-colored; sepals all 3-nerved; dorsal sepal oblong-lanceolate acute
about 6 mm. long and 2.5 mm. broad; lateral sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute arcu-
ate, free portion about 6 mm. long and 2.5 mm. broad, the bases joined and form-
ing a spur-like sac about as long as free portion, the sac adnate to the ovary but
free at the base; petals oblong-elliptic, acute, about 6 mm. long and 2.3 mm broad
lip cordate, acute, about 4 mm. long and 3.8 mm. broad, the disc fleshy with a
prominent raised median nerve and 2 shorter lateral nerves, with 2 short, divergent
calli at the base, the lateral margins obscurely serrulate; column short, about 3 mm
long and 2 mm. in diameter, the apex serrate; anther 2-celled but each cell with a
division thus giving appearance of 4 cells; pollinia 4 from a single branched stipe.
NICARAGUA: uncommon epiphytic herb in mossy cloud forest, Ma-
dera Volcano, Omotepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, Prov. Rivas alt
1,260 m., April 1963, Heller 8012 (type in herbarium Field Museum).
So far as I know this is only the second species of Epidendrum in
Central America in which the lateral sepals are joined to form an
elongated spur-like base adnate to the ovary, the other is E. puteum
L. Wms. There are several characters which separate these species.
In E. vulcanicola the leaves are narrower and longer, the lip is cordate
instead of subquadrate and the keels on the lip are much less promi-
nent, the sepals and petals are shorter 5.5-6 mm. long in contrast to
8-10 mm. in E. puteum.
The illustration was prepared in Nicaragua from living material
and later readied for engraving by Miss Davida Simon.
Publications 1052, 1053, 1054, and 1055