Vanda Section Dactylolobatae: A Summary, Two New Species, and A Key To Identification
Vanda Section Dactylolobatae: A Summary, Two New Species, and A Key To Identification
Vanda Section Dactylolobatae: A Summary, Two New Species, and A Key To Identification
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T
HE SPECIES OF VANDA belonging to the sec- ify his sections on a specific species. It may have sub-
tion Dactylolobatae W. Suarez & J. Cootes (Suarez sequently been widely assumed that the type species
& Cootes 2007) have long caused confusion to for section Lamellaria was the species with the similar
both taxonomists and horticulturalists. The section is epithet, Vanda lamellata Lindl., but it appears that it was
geographically widespread, ranging from Kaliman- only in 1994 that Christenson himself “inadvertently”
tan in Borneo, through the Indonesian and Philippine typified Lindley’s section on V. lamellata in his paper
archipelagos, and south to New Guinea. One species, which erected section Hastiferae. Christenson merely
Vanda scandens Holttum is so distinct vegetatively that needed to list the sections, with authors, and state “type
one would be hard put to confuse it with any other = Vanda lamellata” to effectively typify section Lamellaria
species (although it has been!). The remaining six spe- with V. lamellata. Therefore, this section, distinguished
cies, Vanda celebica Rolfe, Vanda frankieana Metusala & from section Dactylolobatae by the species having lips
P. O’Byrne, Vanda gibbsiae Rolfe, Vanda hastifera Rchb. f., with flat midlobes, which are flared at the base and lack
Vanda lindenii Rchb. f., Vanda saxatilis J. J. Sm. and two side lobules, should correctly be named section Lamel-
new species, are so superficially similar that they have laria Lindl. All species in the section have cylindrical
been repeatedly confused. Here we seek to define the columns. Recent molecular studies have confirmed that
differences between these distinct and geographically V. lamellata and V. sanderiana are in this same section La-
isolated species and provide a key to their identifica- mellaria (Gardiner et al. 2013).
tion. The two undescribed species are also described As Christenson used V. roebelingiana to typify his ear-
here. lier concept of section Hastiferae, rather than V. hastifera,
Vandas of the section Dactylolobatae are character- the exclusion of V. roeblingiana from the section renders
ized by a lip that is more or less as thick as it is broad. the epithet Hastiferae unavailable, but allows us to use
In addition, the lip of species from the section has very the available sectional epithet Dactylolobatae W. Suarez
distinctive lobules as appendages to the midlobe; these and J. Cootes (Suarez & Cootes 2007), which is typified
appendages may be either glabrous or hirsute. The col- on the species V. lindenii. Suarez and Cootes placed the
umns of the species are cylindrical without the basal species V. lindenii and V. scandens in their new section
thickening characteristic of species from the section Dactylolobatae, and here we add the remaining species
Deltoglossae, which occupy much of the same geograph- from Christenson’s section Hastiferae that do not fit into
ical range as those from section Dactylolobatae. Because section Lamellaria.
of the cylindrical columns and flared bases of the mid Vanda hastifera was described by Reichenbach filius
lobes of Vanda javierae D. Tiu and Vanda roeblingiana in 1876. Endemic to Borneo, it grows as an epiphyte in
Rolfe, Christenson placed these two species in the same mangrove and lowland forests. Vanda hastifera bears
section as species with midlobe lobules, section Hastif- four to six dark yellow flowers distinctly marked with
erae (Christenson 1994). Higgins and Motes (2012), rec- vivid red spots on a lax inflorescence. Its hirsute lobules
ognizing this mistake, removed these two species and and nearly flat lip with only a moderately upturned
placed them with their newly described Vanda barnesii apex distinguish it from the closely related Bornean
in a separate section, section Roeblingianae Motes & W. species, V. gibbsiae.
E. Higgins. Also from Borneo, V gibbsiae, described by Rolfe in
Unfortunately this name is an illegitimate, superflu- 1914, was reduced by Cribb to a variety of V. hastifera in
ous name owing to the fact that the sectional epithet 1993 (Wood et al. 1993). This species occupies a distinct
Hastiferae is attached to the species Vanda roeblingiana, and different habitat from V. hastifera, the foothills of
which Christenson had used to typify his section Has- Mt. Kinabalu. The vegetative architecture of V. gibbsiae
tiferae. If Christenson had typified section Hastiferae on is also very different from V. hastifera, whose coarse
V. hastifera, then no change in sectional names would thick-set leaves are immediately recognizable in her-
have been necessary for the section with midlobe lob- barium specimens, whereas V. gibbsiae has more elon-
ules, and Motes and Higgins could have erected section gated stems and longer, narrower leaves. Unlike the
Roeblingianae, typified on V. roeblingiana. But because it boldly spotted flowers of V. hastifera, those of V. gibbsiae
contained V. roeblingiana, the new section would have are pale yellow, finely spotted with reddish brown at
to be named Vanda section Hastiferae, even though the the bases of the tepals with the spotting coalescing into
species V. hastifera remains back in section Dactyloloba- solid color at their apices. Further, the apex of midlobe
tae, if it were not for one extra twist. of the lip in V. gibbsiae is prominently upturned. The
In 1853, Lindley erected five sections in the genus broad, trapezoidal side lobes of V. gibbesiae are very dif-
Vanda, one of which was section Lamellaria. As it was ferent from the smaller, pointed side lobes of V. hastifera.
not required at the time, Lindley did not explicitly typ- Finally, the lobules of V. gibbesiae are distinctly glabrous.
©Martin Motes
unusual lip shape, it was assumed that the other Van-
da species (clearly a section Dactylolobatae plant) from
the South Moluccas, which J. J. Smith had described as
V. saxatilis, was synonymous with V. furva. As a result
Vanda saxatilis of Motes’s explorations in Seram which re-discovered
Rumphius’s V. furva, we know that this is not accurate.
Motes also found complete specimens of V. saxatilis
which match Rumphius’s drawings and J. J. Smith’s
description of the species. The two species are easily
distinguished by their plant architecture alone. Vanda
furva is a larger plant with broad leaves. Vanda saxatilis
is smaller with much more narrow leaves. The flower
illustrated in Renziana (Gardiner & Cribb 2013) and
labeled as V. furva is therefore actually V. saxatilis J. J.
Smith.
Smith also discovered and illustrated a plant from
Bacan, North Moluccas, and identified it as Vanda has-
tifera. The dissected flower displays the prominently
upturned apex of the lip midlobe that characterizes V.
hastifera but it clearly differs from Reichenbach’s Kali-
mantan species. The long, narrow tubular spur of the
©Martin Motes
©Martin Motes
the information and key provided here. All the species
are either island endemics or from closely proximate is-
land groups. Other taxa in this section are very likely to
be encountered in the other islands of the widespread
Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos. Future taxon- Vanda aliceae
omists should be cautious when identifying material of
section Dactylolobatae that come to light from different
locales.
Distribution: Reported from southern Mindanao, sea Vanda mindanaoensis Motes, L. M. Gardiner & D. L.
level to 500m (Cootes 2011). Roberts, sp. nov.
Conservation status: Data deficient. Vanda saxatilis J. J. Sm., Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg,
Etymology: Named after the island on which it was sér. 3, 8: 66 (1926).
discovered (Mindanao). Vanda scandens Holttum, Sarawak Mus. J. 5: 389
(1950).
Clarification of sectional names and delimitations:
Nomenclatural note: the sectional epithets Dactylolo- Vanda section Lamellaria Lindl., Fol. Orch. 4: 1 (1853).
batae, Deltoglossae, Hastiferae, and Roeblingianae were Type species: Vanda lamellata Lindl. - typified by Chris-
originally published as Dactylolobata, Deltoglossa, Has- tenson, Proc. 14th World Orchid Conf.: 209 (1994)
tifera, and Roeblingiana by their respective authors but Heterotypic synonyms:
as these epithets are adjectival, the endings should be Vanda section Hastiferae Christenson, Proc. 14th
plural and agree with the generic name Vanda (Art. World Orchid Conf.: 211 (1994), type species:
21.2 and 32.2, McNeill et al. 2012). This is a correctable Vanda roeblingiana Rolfe
error which requires no formal nomenclatural action. Vanda section Roeblingiana Motes & W.E. Higgins,
Lindley treated Lamellaria as a noun, rather than as an Orchid Digest 76(4): 241 (2012), nom. illeg., nom.
adjective, and therefore the original sectional epithet is supfl., type species: Vanda roeblingiana Rolfe
correct. Species in section:
Vanda barnesii W. E. Higgins & Motes, Orchid Digest
Vanda section Dactylolobatae W. Suarez & Cootes, 76: 241 (2012).
Philipp. Orchid Rev. 15(2): 16 (2007). Vanda javierae D. Tiu ex Fessel & Lückel, Orchidee
Type species: Vanda lindenii Rchb. f. (Hamburg) 41: 146 (1990).
Species in section: Vanda lamellata Lindl., Edwards’s Bot. Reg. 24(Misc.):
Vanda aliciae Motes, L. M. Gardiner & D. L. Roberts, 66 (1838).
sp. nov. Vanda roeblingiana Rolfe, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew
Vanda celebica Rolfe, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1899: 1894: 365 (1894)
131 (1899). Vanda sanderiana (Rchb. f.) Rchb. f. Gard. Chron.
Vanda frankieana Metusala & P. O’Byrne, Malesian (1882) t.588
Orchid J. 9: 24 (2012 publ. 2011).
Vanda gibbsiae Rolfe, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 42: 158 (1914). References
Vanda hastifera Rchb. f., Linnaea 41: 30 (1876). Christenson, E. A. (1994). Taxonomy of the Aeridinae
Vanda lindenii Rchb. f., Gard. Chron., n.s., 26: 70 with an infrageneric classification of Vanda Jones ex
(1886). R.Br. In: A. M. Pridgeon, ed. Proceedings of the 14th