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| Epidendrum katarun-yariku Hágsater & Wrazidlo in Hágsater & Wrazidlo, 2020. |
Abstract
Epidendrum katarun-yariku is hereby described and illustrated as a new species of Orchidaceae native to the summits and upper slopes of the sandstone tabletop mountains (tepuis) in the Guiana Highlands in South America.
Keywords: Monocots, Guiana Shield, Secundum subgroup, Venezuela, Brazil, Guayana, tepuy, Acopán-tepuí, Arekuna
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| Plate of Epidendrum katarun-yariku Hágsater & Wrazidlo. A. Habit. B. Inflorescence. C. Flower, frontal view. D. Flower, longitudinal section. E. Column. F. Dissected perianth. G. Anther and pollinia. Photographs by Mateusz Wrazidlo. Edited by Anaís Cisneros. |
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| Epidendrum katarun-yariku Hágsater & Wrazidlo. A. Plant in its natural habitat on Abacapá-tepuí, Chimantá Massif, Venezuela (photographed by Brad Wilson). B. Inflorescence photographed on a wild plant on Amurí-tepuí, Chimantá Massif, Venezuela (photographed by Martin Hingst). C. Flower on a specimen from Acopán-tepuí (photographed by Mateusz Wrazidlo). |
Epidendrum katarun-yariku Hágsater & Wrazidlo, sp. nov.
Epidendrum katarun-yariku is similar to E. secundum Jacq. but the sepals and petals yellow, the lip white, callus massive, deep yellow (vs. flowers entirely pink with a massive callus, pale yellow at the base center, the apical 2/3 white).
Etymology:— From the indigenous Pemón Arekuna language, katarun (high), and yariku (flower), meaning high flower, in reference to this species being found only on the summits and upper foothills of the tepuis. The name was chosen in consultation with members of the Pemón Arekuna community of Paruima, to honor the indigenous heritage of the Guiana Highlands.
Distribution and habitat:— Known currently from the “high-tepui belt”, especially summit plateaus and upper talus slopes of the tepuis in the southwestern part of the states of Bolívar and Amazonas, Venezuela: Chimantá Massif (Acopán-tepuí, Amurí-tepuí, Apacará-tepuí, Abacapá-tepuí), Auyán-tepuí, Ptari-tepuí, Camarcaibarai-tepuí, Meseta del Jaua, Sierra de la Neblina and Cerro Duida (Fig. 3) as well as the neighboring area around Pico da Neblina in Brazil. Terrestrial in wet savanna; “praderas húmedas y arbustales enanos sobre turberas, bosquecillos ribereños y vegetación sobre rocas abiertas”, at 1380 to 2400 m altitude, with the lowest occurrences recorded on Cerro Sarisariñama. Flowering throughout the year. From records in Reflora and AMO-DATA, it does not appear to be present in Serra do Aracá in Brazil. The plates by Barbosa-Silva & Forzza (2016: fig. 73) only show a white flowered species of this group. None of the specimens mentioned in the Appendix 1 of Barbosa-Silva et al. (2020, Appendix 1), correspond to this entity.
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| Epidendrum katarun-yariku. A. Plant in its natural habitat on Abacapá-tepuí, Chimantá Massif, Venezuela (photographed by Brad Wilson). B. Inflorescence photographed on a wild plant on Amurí-tepuí, Chimantá Massif, Venezuela (photographed by Martin Hingst). C. Flower on a specimen from Acopán-tepuí (photographed by Mateusz Wrazidlo). |
Eric Hágsater and Mateusz Wrazidlo. 2020. Epidendrum katarun-yariku (Orchidaceae), A New Species of the Schistochilum group from the Tepuis of the Guiana Highlands in South America. Phytotaxa. 472(1); 33–40. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.472.1.4
