1990 - The first description

The AMO herbarium is constantly receiving plant material for identification. This material often contains very interesting samples and is a very valuable source for our work. Among the material collected by the group of collaborators of Dr Thomas Wendt from the Colegio de Postgraduados de Chapingo, we were surprised by the presence of a very peculiar plant that we were initially unable to identify due to the absence of flowers. It consisted of small leaf fans connected by long rhizomes and produced a very hairy apical inflorescence. These features suggested that it might be a Cypripedioidaea and our curiosity grew. Photocopies of the specimen were sent to a number of specialists, including Dr Robert Dressler, in the hope that they might provide clues to the identity.

Shortly afterwards, Rolando Jiménez from the AMO discovered a specimen from the same collection, but with a flower that confirmed that it was indeed a Cypripedioideae, probably a Phragmipedium.

Faced with such a find, we decided to organise an expedition to the site as soon as possible in order to obtain living material of such an interesting plant. The biologist Patricia Vera Caletti explained to us how we could get in touch with Mr Heriberto Hernández, the collector of the plant. She also pointed out to us that it is difficult to get to the region during the rainy season [to protect this new species, the exact location where it is found is omitted] as there is no passage for vehicles due to the high water level of the rivers.

After locating Mr Hernández, he kindly took us to the place where he had collected the plant we were interested in years before. The region where it was collected has very rich and diverse vegetation. In addition to the evergreen tall forest that one would expect in a warm and humid region at an altitude of 300 metres, there are also extensive oak, pine and liquidambar forests; a very impressive mosaic for any botanist. In certain parts near the rivers there are rugged karst areas that form sparse scree slopes, with sparse and rather xeromorphic vegetation. Small trees such as Bursera simaruba, Plumeria rubra, Pseudo-bombax ellipticum grow in the crevices where the humus accumulates and, despite the otherwise humid environment, the unusual presence of Beaucarnea, Yucca, Agave and Acanthocereus could be observed. This special biotope is the habitat of the plant we are now talking about.

The plant is by no means numerous and it took us a while to find the first specimens, which fortunately were in flower. We immediately realised that this was a new species of Phragmipedium, different from all previously described species. These are very small plants with very distinct vegetative propagation, and the flowers are also very small, white with pink speckles. The labellum is inflated, globose, delicate, incurved at the margin, has an uneven surface structure and is reminiscent of the labellum of some Cypripedium species or that of Paphiopedilum micranthum T. Tang & Wang and its relatives. The only Phragmipedium species with such a labellum are P. schlimii (Linden & Rchb. f.) Rolfe and P. besseae Dodson & Kuhn, but these species have very distinct broad petals. Their description can be found below:

Phragmipedium xerophyticum Soto, Sala zar &Hágsater, sp. nov.

Plant: Relatively small, clonally growing, rupicolous [growing on stone] herb, consisting of distichous (two-rowed) shoots and elongated rhizomes, about 15-20 cm tall and probably up to 1.0 m2 in size.

Roots simple or sparsely branched, slender, light brown or whitish, glabrous or hairy on the surface in contact with the substrate, strongly adherent to the bare rock or penetrating into the humus, originating only from the base of the shoots and absent from the rhizome, up to 0.8 mm thick and 11 cm long.

Rhizome very compact, elongated, almost straight, hard and brittle, consists of 5-12 internodes covered by as many leaf sheaths. Diameter 1-2 mm, length between the individual shoots 3-8 cm.

Rhizome sheaths numerous, scarious, conspicuously veined, brownish, tubular or somewhat cone-shaped, blunt or pointed, notched, loose, spaced or overlapping, chain-like, 6-9 mm long.

Shoots of 5-8 distichous (two-rowed) leaves, which are 3-4, occasionally up to 12 cm high and 6.5- 13 cm wide.

Leaves strongly convex, ribbon-like, tip unequal, obtuse, pointed, leaf surface crenate, very rigid, light green, once dead they seem to remain on the shoot for a long time, turning brown, basal leaves small, intermediate form between rhizome sheath and stem leaf, upper leaves gradually increasing in size, 3.5-12 cm long and 1.2-1.8 cm wide, approx. 1 mm thick.

Inflorescence apical, inflorescence formed of 2 internodes, elliptic in cross-section; an inflorescence with 2 panicles (rarely only one panicle), the upper panicle developing first, and only later the lower one, probably when the apical one no longer produces flowers; Hairy, with multicellular hairs of different lengths, reddish-brown, more abundant near the flower sheath, gradually less abundant towards the apex and also more ingrown until the surface is practically glabrous or slightly warty; total length of inflorescence 6.5-13.5 cm, 1- 1.3 mm thick.

Inflorescence bracts 1, about halfway up the pedicel, concave, tubular at the base, broadly rounded or with an extension at the tip, not divided, yellowish, densely hairy at the base, gradually with a few adhering hairs, medially with short cilia, glabrous apically, 8-15 mm long.

Rhachis very short with about 3-7 consecutive flowers, only one flower open at a time, about 12-15 mm long;

Perianth imbricate [roof-tile-like], two-lined, strongly conduplicate, cylindrical, with caudal, recurved and thickened apex, dark brown, hairy and ciliate, the hairs multicellular, reddish, 4-5-veined; when spreading (which is not possible without some damage) broadly triangular, 4-5 mm long, 5 mm wide, gradually smaller towards the apex.

Pedicel short, almost completely covered by the bracts, very stiff, inclined, hairy, the hairs are multicellular, 2.5-3 mm long, 0.8 mm thick in the centre, widening towards the break-off zone of the ovary.

Ovary unilocular (in cross-section basal, medial and apical), placentation parietal; three-axis, elongated, attenuated towards the base and apex, densely hairy, the hairs multicellular, pink, approx. 2.7-2.8 cm long, 1.5 mm at the thickest point.

Flower small, showy, not fragrant, very similar to Cypripedium californicum, 1.3-2.5 cm high, 1.5-2.0 cm in diameter.

The perianth falls off and hangs down, although the flower is apparently fresh; it is white with a pink tinge and very weakly structured.

Sepals keeled, the lateral ones usually completely fused into a synsepalum, occasionally the fusion is not complete, the abaxial surface is smooth, the adaxial surface is conspicuously hairy, the hairs are multicellular, denser and longer towards the apex and near the separation zone with the ovary.

Dorsal sepal pointing forwards, elliptic, apex pointed-subacute, crenate and slightly thickened, 7-8-veined, veins branched and anastomosing towards the apex, concave, 9- 14 mm long and 5-6.5 mm wide.

Synsepalum pointing downwards, suborbicular, obtuse (or, if the fusion is not complete, with 2 adjacent tips), tapering and thickened at the apex, 12-nerved, veins branched and anastomosing towards the apex, concave, 8-9.5 mm long and 8.5-12 mm wide.

Petals linear-band-like, pointed, arched, sometimes slightly bent downwards, not or only slightly twisted, margin wavy, five-veined, glabrous or ciliate at the base, 11-15 mm long, 2.5-3 mm at the widest point.

Labellum cup-shaped, bulbous, inflated, slightly furrowed along the veins near the opening, very delicate in texture; outer surface smooth, the inner surface near the base conspicuously hairy, with glandular, multicellular, bright purple, very attractive hairs, towards the underside of the labellum the hairs are much reduced, continuing along the midline and are white and apparently thinner and sparser and clustered; Basal margins (around the exit hole) erect, somewhat recurved and thickened; apical margin curved; entrance hole small, ovoid, ca. 2 x 3 mm; margins of labellum not very long. 2 x 3 mm; lateral lobes small, inwardly curved, broadly triangular, subacute, without thickening at margins, nor forming outgrowths (horns) or hollow, bulging areas, adherent to each other, ca. 3 mm. Entry and exit holes well defined; labellum surface without ‘windows’ or transparent areas; total length of the labellum 10-14 mm, 6-8 mm high, 7-9 mm wide.

Columna [gymnostemium] short, gynoecium and androeceum only 1-2 mm fused, almost completely covering the exit opening.

Stigma curved, downward-directed, fleshy and massive, consisting of an almost trilobed body with a horizontal surface in front of the staminode, provided with a less conspicuous longitudinal margin and with multicellular trichomes, which are longer near the middle part; the tip of the body is directed downwards and longitudinally serrate;

Stigma lobes forming a more or less fan-like, apical structure projecting beyond the staminodes, thick, concave, ovate-triangular; densely hairy on the abaxial surface, with tiny papillae on the adaxial surface, the lateral lobes reduced to two inconspicuous margins on the lower surface; 4-5 mm long, 1. 0-1.3 mm at the widest part.

The stamens have 2 fertile anthers and a petaloid staminode. Anthers conspicuously stalked (c. 1 mm) convex, broadly 3-lobed, apex subacute and rounded, incised lengthwise and glabrous on the outer surface, purple or violet; with an axial rib on the inner surface, with two groups of multicellular, long, pale purple hairs along the rib, the rest of the inner surface smooth; lateral lobes elongated and directed downwards, nearly square, with slightly reddened margins; overall 3 mm long, 4-5 mm wide.

Anthers 2, each at the end of an elongated stalk, broad, short, slightly curved, fleshy, glabrous except for the slightly papillose apex; the actual anther is perpendicular to the columna and connected to it by a very small area; ovoid-triangular, somewhat keeled, pointed or blunt, fleshy, white, the apex directed downwards and outwards; with 2 ventral, brown, sucker-like zones containing the pollinia, separated by a groove that continues into a depression in the apical part of the anthers; ca. 1 mm long.

Pollinia 2 in each anther, adhering to each other, forming an oval, bevelled structure, granular, yellowish, 0.5 x 0.4 mm.

Mature seed pod not known, the young pods similar to the ovary, but somewhat thicker.