Angraecopsis lemurelloides P.J.Cribb & Hermans, Kew Bull. 76: 43 (2021).
Description:
Arching to pendent epiphytic herb 15 - 21 cm long; roots basal, glabrous, greenish-white, 1 - 2 mm in diam. Stem woody, up to 15 cm x 3 - 4 mm, zigzag, flattened, the margins winged, carrying 12 - 17 leaves, pale green with the lower part somewhat corrugate and brown. Leaves alternate, coriaceous, flat with an indistinct central vein, lanceolate-linear, 6.5 - 8.1 x 0.5 - 0.8 cm, narrowing towards the apex, attenuate, the base subcordate, surface somewhat glossy, pale green. Inflorescences emerging from the leaf-axils along the entire length of the stem, sometimes several produced from the same axil, 5 - 8 cm long, with 3 -7 flowers. Peduncle wiry, 3 - 5 cm, c. 0.5 mm in diam., with a short thin, brownish bract at the base peduncle, 1 - 2 peduncle sheaths c. 3 x 1 mm. Rachis loosely racemose, wiry, 3 - 5 cm, somewhat zigzag. Floral bracts amplexicaul, 3.1 - 3.8 x 1.1 - 1.4 mm, green becoming brown with age. Flowers small, c. 7 x 5 mm, yellowish-green. Pedicel and ovary turbinate, 9 - 12 x 1.3 - 1.6 mm. Dorsal sepal convex, ovate, acute, 2.1 - 2.5 x 1.9 - 2.2 mm. Lateral sepals partly fused to the petals at the base, broadly lanceolate, acuminate with the tip reflexed, 3.1 - 3.4 x 1.2 - 1.4 mm, margins recurved, the apex of the dorsal mid-vein mucronate before the apex of the leaf. Petals reflexed, ovate-triangular, acute, 1.4 - 1.7 x 1.5 - 1.7 mm, convex with a thickened mid-vein. Lip 3-lobed, 2.3 - 2.9 x 2 - 2.2 mm, the hypochile orbicular beneath with the obtuse lateral lobes partly enveloping the column, the epichile broadly ovate, concave, somewhat bullate with a few fine hairs at the base; spur incurved below the flower, 4.9 - 5.4 x 0.6 - 0.8 mm, narrow at the opening, slightly thickened in the apical half. Column, fleshy, short, c. 1.6 x 1.5 mm; rostellum 3-lobed, wings sub-orthogonal, with an acicular median tooth; pollinia on separate viscidia, oblong, c. 1 mm long; anther cap elliptic, c. 0.6 x 1.1 mm. Seed capsule turbinate, c. 20 x 5 mm, green.
Etymology:
Refers to the similarity of the flowers to those of the genus Lemurella Schltr. (Schlechter 1925: 366).
Recognition:
Angraecopsis lemurelloides is recognised by the long zigzag flattened stem with lanceolate-linear leaves alternate along its length, small flowers on the upper third of the serial wiry inflorescences, and flowers with petals and sepals that are fused at the base and with a mucronate tip to the mid-vein, the roundly 3-lobed lip with a concave epichile with wiry hairs at the base and the lateral lobes enveloping the column and a short inflated spur. It is very different in plant habit and flower morphology from Angraecopsis parviflora (Thouars) Schltr. (Schlechter 1914: 601), the only other Angraecopsis Kraenzl. (Kraenzlin 1900: 171) recorded from Madagascar. That species has a stem that is always much shorter than the leaf, a lip with three distinct attenuate lobes and a slightly longer spur. In habit and inflorescence it somewhat resembles A. trifurca (Rchb.f.) Schltr. (Schlechter 1915: 428) from the Comoros but it has a much longer stem, carrying leaves along its length, the flowers being about half the size, the spur much shorter and the lip very different (three distinct attenuate lobes in A. trifurca). It is closest to Angraecopsis pobeguinii (Finet) H.Perrier (1941: 81) from the Comoros in flower size and in having a lip with small rounded lateral lobes but the plant of A. pobeguinii is much smaller (3.5 cm long), the stem shorter (1 cm long), the leaves much smaller (c. 2 cm long), the spur is also much more clavate towards the apex.
Habitat:
Humid forest, epiphyte. Elevation c. 1550 m.
Flowering time:
March.
Notes:
Morphologically the new species is somewhat ambiguous in its generic position. With a long stem, many wiry inflorescences and flowers with a three-lobed lip with hairs at its base it resembles some species in the genus Lemurella and especially Lemurella culicifera (Rchb.f.) H.Perrier (1941: 334) but it lacks the non-resupinate flowers, has more flowers and the opening of the spur is narrow (vs funnel-shaped).
Distribution:
Endemic to NE Madagascar.
References:
New species in Orchidaceae from Madagascar by Johan Hermans, Landy Rajaovelona & Phillip Cribb. KEW BULLETIN Published online: 15 March 2021.; POWO (2022). "Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ Retrieved 28 November 2022."
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