Key words:
Galeandra chapadensis, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Goiás, Die Orchidee, Galeandra curvifolia.

Abstract:
This article shows one species recently described from Chapada dos Veadeiros, Goiás. Its name is Galeandra chapadensis Campacci, and was found by the author in september 2000. It bloomed in cultivation in December of the same year, and was published in the Die Orchidee magazine of September/October 2001.


 

General considerations :

We present an Orchidaceae species from the genus Galeandra which we found in the Brazilian Central Plateau, more exactly in Chapada dos Veadeiros, in the north of the state of Goiás. This species was already present in some collections, however the identification was questionable. With the survey we did with plants of this genus, mainly the Brazilian ones, we came to the conclusion that it was really question of a good species, just presenting some similarities in the general aspect with Galeandra curvifolia Barb. Rodr. a species from Amazon region. It differs mainly by the lip, with slender and longer spur and also by its total size whcih is longer and narrower than the lip of that species. Its anther and also the body formed by the retinaculum, caudicle and pollinia is shorter and wider than the corresponding parts in Galeandra curvifolia Barb. Rodr.

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Description:

Herb epiphytic, caespitose, with fusiform pseudobulbs reaching 13,0 cm length by 1,5 cm diameter in the wider part; first, foliate and then covered by the leftover of the foliaceous sheaths.
Linear-lanceolate distal leaves, grayish green, slightly plicate, articulate, deciduous, variable size, the biggest reaching until 20,0 cm length by 1,5 cm width in the central part.
Apical inflorescence, with arched raceme, showing, in general, from 5 to 6 simultaneous flowers.
Sepals are greenish ochre, with 2,7 cm length by 0,4 cm width, the dorsal is lanceolate and the lateral are slightly falcate.
Falcate petals, the same color as the sepals, with 2,5 cm length by 0,6 cm width.
Infundibuliform lip, obscurely trilobate, with internal 4 ridges in the center, the two external are clearly higher than the central ones; with narrow spur; measuring 6,00 cm length by 3,5 cm width when spread; whitish tube, purple apex and yellowish spur.
The column is whitish and has 10,0 mm length by 3,0 mm width.
Whitish anther, with 3,0 mm length, with superior filiform appendix, finishing in verrucose, widened and bifurcate extremity.

  It presents a pair of yellow pollinia with short caudicle.

 

Distribution:
Goiás, Chapada dos Veadeiros, next to Alto Paraíso de Goiás city.

Blooming season :
Brazilian Summer.

Habitat:
Sparse woods of the Cerrado (Savannah) in Central Plateau, in altitudes upper to 900 m.


Etymology:
It refers to place of origin of the species, Chapada dos Veadeiros (Veadeiros plateau).

Holotypus:
SP.

Collector:
Marcos Antonio Campacci, # MAC-633, September 2000, on the dead branches of small trees in the cerrados (Savannah).

 

  Final considerations :

The genus Galeandra is very well represented in Brazil, with epiphyte species like this plant and also terrestrial or rupicolous species. Some of our species are misunderstood with foreign species due to many reasons and the main is the difficult to have access to herborized material outside Brazil and this is true for many other genera. For this reason, we believe that a deeper study is necessary to better understand and identify our species.
In the particular case of the genus Galeandra, many information brought by João Batista Fernandes da Silva and also Gustavo Romero gave an important help to compare the species. We thank both for that.
The original publication, done in the magazine Die Orchidee - September/October 2001, has been only possible by the translation into German Language and the contacts made by Waldemar Scheliga, from Rio de Janeiro, a great enthusiast of the Brazilian orchidology.


Drawings and photographs: ©Marcos A. Campacci

* E-mail: campacci@cpo.org.br


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