Orchids of Mexico. Parts 2 and 3

426 Pages·2003·67.5 MB·

by  Eric Hágsater

ISSN 0188-4018
ISBN 968-7889-05-5
ICONES ORCHIDACEARUM
Fascicles 5 and 6
ORCHIDS OF MEXICO
Parts 2 and 3
CONTRIBUTORS TO FASClCLES 5 and 6
Authors: 111 ustrators:
Miguel Angel Soto Arenas Rolando Jiménez Machorro
Rodolfo Solano Gómez Rodolfo Solano Gómez
Gerardo A_ Sal azar Chávez Eric Hágsater
Rolando Jiménez Machorro Marco Antonio López-Rosas
Eric Hágsater Gerardo A. Sal azar Chávez
Victoria Sosa Miguel Angel Soto Arenas
Liliana Cervantes Ricardo Peláez
Javier Garda-Cruz Edmundo Saavedra
Luis Sánchez Sal daña Manuel Escamilla
Marco Antonio López-Rosas Edward W. Greenwood
Robert L. Dressler Ignacio Aguirre-Olavarrieta
Eduardo Alberto Pérez-Garda Elvira Yañez Guerrero
Germán Carnevali Fernández-Concha
Edward W. Greenwood
René Palestina
Elvira Yañez Guerrero
Günther Gerlach
Editors: Eric Hágsater & Miguel Soto
Herbario
AMO
Apartado Postal 53-123, 11320 México D.F. MEXICO
A.c.
©Derechos Reservados, 2003. Instituto Chinoin,

ORCHIDS OF MEXICO
Parts 2 and 3
Foreword
In 1990, the first volume of "Orchids of Mexico" appeared in the series "leones Orchidacearum".
After twelve years, members of AMO Herbarium have moved to other institutions, have been
engaged in postgraduate studies, or sadly passed away, as in the case of Ed Greenwood.
In these twelve years there have been several contributions of AMO to the knowledge of
Mexican orchid flora, but the idea of completing an illustrated work, including all the known
Mexican species, has not been put aside. There has been a continuous increase in the number of
taxa known for the country; more material of some groups has permitted a better understanding
of them, much work has been done in foreign herbaria trying to solve nomenclatural problems with
old taxa, and also the number of novelties (new species or new records) has been increasing; at
present more than 1,300 orchid species have been recorded from Mexico.
Two years ago, we started to work on another volume, but the amount of species ready to
appear in Icones was larger than necessary for a single fascicle. Therefore we are here presenting
parts 2 and 3 of "Orchids of Mexico".
In these volumes we are including many well-known species, others not as well-known, and
several new species resulting from the taxonomic work of our team. In the last years many new
species have been published, in several, scattered papers, often including a single taxon; this has
resulted in that literature search has become more difficult. In order to facilitate the floristic work
we include several new taxa published in different magazines.
Furthermore, we are making some new combinations and transfers of taxa to genera in which
they are thought to belong at present. For example, we recognize here the new circumscription of
some genera of Laeliinae (e.g. Prosthechea), in the Pleurothallidinae (including Acianthera,
Anathallis, Kraenzlinella, Stelis), and also the new generic definition in the Oncidium alliance (e.g.
the segregates and/or new circumscription of Cyrtochiloides, Erycina, Rhynchostele, Trichocentrum,
etc.). Taxonomic decisions in other groups, like Spiranthinae, have also been based on ongoing
molecular studies.
In these volumes we present so me results of our research in the field and herbaria on especially
difficult groups. Novelties in Encyc/ia and Lepanthes, two rather well-known groups, are included.
The Encyc/ia spatella complex is treated in so me detail, illustrating what we consider the true E.
spatella and E. meliosma, and proposing E. calderoniae, E. huertae, and E. rzedowskiana as new. AII
or most species of a group are included, as in Acianthera, Arpophyllum, Oryadella, or
Rossioglossum.
A special effort has been done to locate type material and to cite it under each taxon. In many
cases, lectotypes or neotypes are proposed to stabilize the current names. Synonyms have been
critically evaluated, and in several cases new synonyms have been added.
In other cases, more abundant material has revealed the existence of minor, but consistent
differences between populations of some taxa, that we believe, must be treated as different species.
Such are the cases of Acineta and the Stanhopea oculata complex.
Among the well-known species treated in these fascicles, there are many important in
horticulture. We have tried to illustrate and to assemble information on taxa that fall into categories
of risk, according to the Mexican laws that consider them extinct, endangered, threatened, or under
special protection. Some of them, fortunately just a few, are very rare at present, others are
common but collected in large quantities to supply demand, among them are Barkerias, Laelias,
Stanhopeas, Rhynchosteles, and Rossioglossums. We hope that these illustrations and texts my
help the authorities control the illegal extraction and trade of these showy orchids.
Most illustrations have been prepared from living plants. The detail and artistic quality of those
plates is very high, and we are pleased to present them here. We are sure that many species are
illustrated for the first time, and many more for the first time in such detail. It has been Rolando
Jiménez Machorro who has prepared most plates, the accuracy of the details usually permiting the
determination of a plate at first sight. We have a new tea m player, Marco López Rosas, who is
developing his illustration skills; some of his drawings are included.
These fascicles are essentially the result of team work. As in other fascicles of "Icones
Orchidacearum", each plate is authored separately and we strongly recommend to cite the authors
of individual plates and not only the editors when making references, as has be done very often.
We have had help and support from many individuals. Dr. Fernando Chiang prepared the latin
diagnosis. Dra. Francisca Acevedo read most of the draft and made suggestions to improve it. Mrs.
Nora Esponda was in charge of the administrative part of the project, and as always, she was
extremely efficient and kind in finding the best way in doing everything. Luis Sánchez helped us in
searching bibliography, critical specimens and their record s, and consulting data bases. Rolando
Jiménez, besides being the principal illustrator of this work, also discussed many other parts, was
ready to finish or modify the plates when necessary, and helped to complete the information in
many ways. A similar role was performed by Rodolfo Solano, always available to solve many
problems that arose along the way. Gerardo Sal azar was ready to search in the Kew library and
herbarium references and necessary records. Mr. Emilio Hernández , the printer, took care of many
details and made useful suggestions.
Although perhaps obvious, we do want to emphasize that descriptions were prepared by the
authors and are based exclusively on Mexican specimens, and not taken from other sources.
Extreme measurements reported in the literature have been added in parenthesis in a few cases.
In the distribution paragraph the physiographic provinces in which a taxon occurs are indicated, as
well as the political distribution. The dots in the distribution maps are based on confirmed
herbarium records and in some cases through direct knowledge of the occurrence of the
population. Representative specimens have been choosen in those cases where it has been
impossible to list all the examined specimens, although the dots on the respective maps represent
all the records that we have seen.
Notes on ecology refer to habit, abundance, vegetation in which the species has been found, the
altitudinal range, the flowering time, and in a few cases, the reports of their pollinators. Most
Mexican orchid species occur in cloud forest vegetation; of little extent in the country, the Mexican
cloud forests are extremely heterogeneous, so me more similar to the temperate deciduous forest
of eastern North America, others equivalent to the Andean montane rainforest of South America.
Although Rzedowski's (1978) vegetation classification is widely used in Mexico, we find Breedlove's
system for Chiapas (1981) more useful because he made a finer cloud forest division (pine-oak
liquidambar forest, montane rainforest, evergreen cloud forest, evergreen cloud scrub). We also
added the "mesophytic barranca forest", as in the sense of Miranda (his original "bosque mesófilo
de montaña"; 1947) and Rzedowski & McVaugh (1966) for those moist but seasonally drier,
mountain communities of western Mexico, and "elfin forest", so widely used in the ecological
literature, for those short, but not shrubby communities often dominated by C1usia species, which
it is one of the most particular and species-richest orchid habitats.
When available and when considered important for species delimitation (Iike in Stanhopeinae),
ii
the fragrance composition has been referred. A similar case occurs with chromosome numbers,
which have been obtained mostly from reviews made by Tanaka and Kamemoto (1984).
The Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) has
financed several projects in orchid diverse regions, like Chimalapas and Montebello, which have
permitted us to explore them, as well as to obtain material to prepare descriptions and illustrations.
CONABIO also requested us to prepare information on those species enlisted in the NOM-059-
ECOL (the Mexican regulation that lists those species facing conservation problems). Some of these
species have been included here, and many more will appear in the next fascicles.
In "Conservation status" we are indicating the official category under which a particular taxon
is included in the NOM-059-ECOL. When the recent information suggests that a change of category
is necessary, we also indicate in which category it should fall. In some cases there are also
suggestions about the appropiate category of risk in which a taxon should be included, for example
for those species discovered in the country after 1994, year in which the lists were compiled.
This volume is dedicated to the late Ed Greenwood, in gratitude for all his teachings.
Eric Hágsater and Miguel Soto
Mexico City, March, 2003
iii
Edward W. Greenwood (1918-2002)
Edward Warren Greenwood was born in Toranto, Ontario, Canada on February 9th, 1918. He
grew u,P in nearby Stratford where he attended high school. During this time, he became very
interested both in local orchids and photography. One of his teachers was very supportive of his
interests, helping Ed obtain a plate holder so that he could build his own "pin hole" camera. His
first photograph was of Platanthera dilatata growing in a local fen. Thus began alife-long passion
for plants and photography.
While attending high school, he met his future spouse, Mary Scobbie, a Scottish-born fellow
student. He rernembered giving Mary a Showy Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium reginae) flower for her
16th birthday. Lady's-slippers were some of his favorite orchids, especially Paphiopedilum x
Maudiae which he encountered later in life. Upon graduation from high school, he obtained a
scholarship to study engineering chemistry at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. After
attending university for one year, he worked in industry for two years before returning to his
studies. In 1942, he married Mary Scobbie, who would become his life-Iong companion. Ed
graduated in 1943, earning a B.5c. (Engineering Chemistry), then entered the army where he was
sent to the Officers Training School. He continued his studies at the Royal Military College of
Science in England. He resigned his commission after the war ended but continued in research and
development with the Defense Research Board at Valcartier, Québec from 1947 to 1959. While
posted at Valcartier, he spent his spare time botanizing and photographing his discoveries. He
located 14 species of wild orchids growing within the base perimeter, including a population of the
rare Listera australis which was grawing in an old, flat lake bed. This prompted him to prepare his
first orchid papero
The Greenwoods' first vacation in Mexico was in 1958-59 when Ed and Mary spent two weeks
in Mexico City. While there, Ed attended the monthly meeting of the Sociedad Mexicana de
Cacto Io gía. He met plant explorer Tom MacDougall, and Drs. Helia Bravo Hollis and Eizi Matuda,
who were leaving on a trip for Chiapas the next day. Fortuitously, Ed, Mary and the others ended
up staying in the same hotel and thereafter continued on as a group; they saw lots of orchids during
the trip. During this same vacation, Ed met Glenn Pollard when he went to Oaxaca. After their first
Mexican vacation, the Greenwoods decided to eventually retire to Mexico. Ed Greenwood worked
with the Canadian Embassy, in Washington, D.e. from 1959 to 1962. He kept in touch with the
Mexican botanists of the National University, and a close relationship was established with Helia
Bravo. Helia had been invited by the Greenwoods to stay at their apartment in Washington, during
her stay there studying the cactus collections at the United States National Herbarium. Helia always
remembered him as a good friend and a very good cook. Many of Ed's pictures of cacti illustrate
Helia and Hernando Sanchez-Mejorada's "Las Cactáceas de México".
After completing the Washington assignment, Ed returned to Ottawa where he started the Native
Orchid Location Survey of the Ottawa District (see Reddoch & Reddoch, 1997) and across Canada,
which eventually resulted in his publications on Canadian orchids. They continued to spend annual
leave in Mexico except during the couple of years when Ed was working in Great Britain. While on
vacation in Oaxaca, in the summer of 1963, Eric Hágsater came through on his way to Chiapas,
meeting Ed and Mary at Pollard's place, starting an enduring friendship and collaboration. In July
1964, Ed and Mary travelled with Ruth Oberg, the orchid and cacti lover living in Oaxaca, to Jalisco
and Colima, where they met Eric Hágsater and collected together for a couple of weeks. At that time
Ed's main interest was in cacti.
In 1969, Ed Greenwood moved to London, England, where he was attached to the Canadian
High Commission. On his weekends, he spent time in the Kew Herbarium and in libraries at Kew
iv
and the British Museum. During his stay in London he amas sed an incredible amount of literature
about Mexican orchids, mostly photocopies of original descriptions, books on the subject, pictures
of type and critical specimens, and became very familiar with the historical collections housed in
European herbaria. It is evident that he carefully prepared his retirement to work formally with the
Mexican orchids. He was sending copies of this material to Glenn Pollard; eventually it was shared
also with Eric Hágsater. At present this unique and comprehensive collection forms the core of the
files of the AMO Herbarium.
In 1973, Ed returned to Ottawa and retired. He spent that summer and autumn visiting orchid
rich areas across Ontario. The Greenwoods departed for Mexico in late 1973 where they stayed for
six months. They went back to Canada the next spring to visit Newfoundland and to see what
orchids grew there. After that trip, they returned to Mexico where they stayed for the next 20 years.
When the Greenwoods decided to set up their home in Oaxaca, the most productive period in
Mexican orchidology began. Ed had high qualifications in science and very good editorial and
photographic skills. Shortly after the Greenwoods moved to Mexico permanently, Eric Hágsater
revived the old orchid society "Amigos de las Orquídeas". They began publishing Orquídea (Méx.);
the articles were in Spanish with English summaries. Ed first offered to edit the English and went
on to beco me one of the editors of Orquídea (Méx.).
The first years in Mexico were spent in close collaboration with Glenn Pollard and with the other
orchid enthusiasts living in Oaxaca, Ruth Oberg, Tom MacDougall, and Anita Jones. Perhaps the
most fruitful relationship started with a Oaxacan boy, Octavio Suárez. Initially, Octavio was in
contact with Pollard, but Glenn's poor health prevented him from working and exploring the
countryside as he had done before. Glenn introduced Octavio to Ed and immediately they became
good friends. Together, and often also with Mary's company, they explored the Oaxacan roads,
sometimes in remote and little explored areas. They very carefully surveyed the famous Sierra de
San Felipe, which had been botanized previously by Karwinski, Galeotti, Pringle, Nagel and many
others; it is the type locality of many plants species. Ed and Octavio concentrated their efforts in
little-known groups such as Lepanthes, Isochilus and terrestrials, since many other more showy
groups were being studied by other orchidists. They formed a very good team with plants often
being grown at Octavio's place until flowering. Then Ed carefully worked with the living plants,
trying to identify them, taking notes, preparing descriptions, making superb photographic studies,
and preparing herbarium specimens. Ed's slide collection has amazed everyone who has had the
privilege of seeing it. The first set is presently housed at AMO; the second set is being curated by
Dr. Paul M. Catling and will be donated to AMES. The herbarium material is housed at AMO.
Ed's knowledge on Mexican Spiranthinae eventually became very authoritative and he started
collaborations with sorne students of the group, Dr. Pamela Burns-Balogh and Roberto González
Tamayo, among them. In 1982 Dr. Burns-Balogh went on to. publish one of the generic
reclassifications of the subtribe. However, Ed Greenwood's most important contribution was the
formation of a new generation of Mexican orchidists in systematics. His endless enthusiasm was
contagious and joining him on field trips was very enlightening.
In the field, Ed was a terrific observer, always looking for the rarest, smallest, and most
inconspicuous terrestrials. His engineering and naturalist backgrounds were important in locating
likely habitats and in understanding the environmental conditions in which the orchids were
growlng.
In the library Greenwood was extremely familiar with the old literature and in the herbarium he
recognized the importance of locating type material s, studying them, and connecting them with
"real populations". He was very good with the microscope and his mechanically-oriented mind
easily realized the function of the different structures and the pollination mechanisms. He taught
us to see orchid flowers as "machines for pollen transfer and deposition".
v
In a recent obituary in Orchids, Dr. Robert L. Dressler wrote: "Ed had a keen sense of humor
and was a superb raconteur", and this is absolutely true. We all have wonderful memories of him
telling stories of trips to collect plants, World War 11 recollections, or meetings with interesting
people during his diplomatic postings.
Ed was asevere critic of our drafts when we were not presenting the information in such a way
that the reader could evaluate if our decision was the correct one or not. He was a very patient
teacher trying to develop the editorial skills of the AMO team. He was also very critical of the work
of other researchers of the Spiranthinae, and so it is curious that no species has been dedicated to
him who collected so many new taxa of the group. Ed was much more critical with himself, and the
result was the relatively few publications he has in orchids. Clenn Pollard once told Eric Hágsater
that he feared Ed would never publish because he spent so much time setting up his cameras to
photograph the orchids. The detailed observations he did make and record permitted him to
develop the knowledge and the insight he shared with us all. His knowledge On the Spiranthinae
was impressive, but he published almost nothing of it. This was probably the result of his finding
so many mistakes in the literature that he was very skeptical of that source. Another reason was the
amazing orchid diversity he had in front of him, and the scant published information he was able
to find. Consequedtly he hesitated to apply a name before studying the original material and the
variation within the taxon. Furthermore, the simultaneous publications of Drs. Pamela Burns-Balogh
and Leslie Caray on Spiranthinae, so different and sometimes contradictory, and especially the
severe criticisms of the work of Dr. Burns-Balogh, discouraged him from publishing the many new
species he was discovering. "1 know it is new, but not to which genus it belongs", he often said.
The only group of species where Ed not only studied the material in the field as well as in the
herbarium, but also published new species and a revision of the Mexican material was Govenia. It
had always been difficult to recognize species until he came up with the distinguishing character,
the spotting on the underside of the lip, a feature which most botanists would never think of using!
Atypically, he published a key to the species under the title "Govenia in Mexico, an introductory
note"; later he would publish other new species, Govenia dressleriana, G. bella, G. praecox, and
papers on G. liliacea and G. capitata.
His most important contribution was the publication of "Viscidium types in the Spiranthinae"
(1982), which Dressler considered as one of the significant contributions on orchids in the period
between the publication of his classical books of 1981 and 1993. He recognized two radically
different viscidium types in the subtribe.
Ed corresponded with many orchid enthusiasts, and in various ways he directed the research
of some of the youngest through keen questions and suggestions. Failing health and the advantages
of the Canadian public health service lured Ed and Mary back to Canada in 1994, where Ed
continued to correspond with his friends in Mexico and elsewhere as long as his health permitted.
Ed Creenwood was the most formative influence in the academic life of his Mexican fellows. If
some rigor can be found when we refer to original specimens, vouchers, literature search, and
accuracy in illustrating and describing the plants and their variation, this is, in great part, his legacy.
Ed Creenwood was the most influential person in contemporary Mexican Orchidology. Ernesto
Aguirre, Roberto Conzález Tamayo, Pamela Burns-Balogh, Cerardo Sal azar, Victoria Sosa, Natalie
Warford, Rolando Jiménez, Paul Catling, Eric Hágsater, and Miguel Soto, all worked closely with
him, talking and discussing orchid topics. He was a loving teacher and friendo We, the orchid
students in Canada and Mexico, will remember him with love and gratitude.
Mexico City, March 2003
Marilyn H.5. Light, Joyce M. Reddoch, Eric Hágsater, and Miguel Soto
vi
SUMMARY OF TAXONOMIC NOVELTIES
Twenty six new taxa are proposed in this volume:
Acianthera breedlovei Soto Arenas, Solano & Sal azar
Acianthera greenwoodii Soto Arenas
Acianthera majakoluckae Soto Arenas & Solano
Acineta hagsateri Sal azar & Soto Arenas
Acineta salazarii Soto Arenas
Alamania punicea subsp. greenwoodiana Soto Arenas & R.jiménez
Anathallis greenwoodii Soto Arenas & Sal azar
Dryadella greenwoodiana Soto Arenas, Sal azar & Solano
Encyc/ia calderoniae Soto Arenas
Encyc/ia huertae Soto Arenas & R.jiménez
Encyc/ia nizandensis Pérez-García & Hágsater
Encyc/ia rzedowskiana Soto Arenas
Govenia greenwoodii Dressler & Soto Arenas
Govenia matudae E.W.Greenw. & Soto Arenas
Lepanthes maldonadoae Soto Arenas
Lepanthes mazatlanensis Solano & Reynaud
Liparis madrensis Soto Arenas, Sal azar & R.jiménez
Polystachya mcvaughiana Soto Arenas
Prosthechea mulasii Soto Arenas & L.Cerv.
Rossioglossum hagsaterianum Soto Arenas
Sobralia macdougalii Soto Arenas, Pérez-García & Sal azar
Stanhopea whittenii Soto Arenas, Sal azar & G.Gerlach
Stelis greenwoodii Soto Arenas & Solano
Stelis megachlamys subsp. teotepecensis Soto Arenas
Stelis nonresupinata Solano & Soto Arenas
Stelis tacanensis Solano & Soto Arenas
Thirty eight new combinations and/or status changes are proposed in this work:
Acianthera eximia (L.O.Williams) Solano
Acianthera herrerae (Luer) Solano & Soto Arenas
Acianthera hartwegiifolia (H.Wendl. & Kraenzl.) Solano & Soto Arenas
Acianthera pacayana (Schltr.) Solano & Soto Arenas
Acianthera unguicallosa (L.O.Williams) Solano
Anathallis haberi (Luer) Solano & Soto Arenas
Anathallis in voluta (L.O.Williams) Solano & Soto Arenas
Anathallis lewisae (Ames) Solano & Soto Arenas
Anathallis oblanceolata (L.O.Williams) Solano & Soto Arenas
Anathallis yucatanensis (Ames & C.schweinf.) Solano & Soto Arenas
VII
Dichromanthus cinnabarinus (LaLlave & Lex.) Caray subsp. galeottianum (Schltr.) Soto Arenas &
Salazar
Encyclia adenocaula subsp. kennedyi (Fowlie & Withner) Soto Arenas, Sal azar & Hágsater
Kraenzlinella erinacea (Rchb.f.) Solano
Kraenzlinella hintonii (L.O.Williams) Solano
Prosthechea punctulata (Rchb.f.) Soto Arenas & Sal azar
Rhynchostele beloglossa (Rchb.f.) Dressler & N.H.Williams
Sarcoglottis richardiana (Schltr.) Salazar & Soto Arenas
Sarcoglottis scintillans (E.W.Creenw.) Salazar & Soto Arenas
Specklinia alata (A.Rich. & Caleotti) Solano & Soto Arenas
Specklinia blancoi (Pupulin) Soto Arenas & Solano
Specklinia echinata (L.O.Williams) Soto Arenas & Solano
Specklinia fimbriata (Ames & C.Schweinf.) Solano
Specklinia fuegii (Rchb.f.) Solano & Soto Arenas
Specklinia pisina (Luer) Solano & Soto Arenas
Specklinia segregatifolia (Ames & C.Schweinf.) Solano & Soto Arenas
Stelis aristocratica (L.O. Williams) Solano & Soto Arenas
Stelis emarginata (Lindl.) Soto Arenas & Solano
Stelis nicaraguensis (Liebm.) Solano & Soto Arenas
Stelis punctulata (Rchb. f.) Soto Arenas
Stelis quadrifida (La Llave & Lex.) Solano & Soto Arenas
Stelis xerophila (Schltr.) Soto Arenas
Trichocentrum andreanum (Cogn.) R.jiménez & Carnevali
Trichocentrum andrewsiae (R.jiménez & Carnevali) R.jiménez & Carnevali
Trichocentrum cosymbephorum (C. Morren) R.jiménez & Carnevali
Trichocentrum chrysops (Rchb.f.) Soto Arenas & R.jiménez
Trichocentrum oerstedii (Rchb.f.) R.jiménez & Carnevali
Trichocentrum pachyphyllum (Hook.) R.jiménez & Carnevali
Trichocentrum x teaboana (R.jiménez, Carnevali & Tapia Muñoz) R.jiménez & Carnevali
VIII