Telipogon marietalamae and T. puyensis (Orchidaceae, Oncidiinae), two new species from the Amazonian region of Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract Two new species of miniature Telipogon (Orchidaceae: Oncidiinae) from eastern Ecuador, Telipogon marietalamae and T. puyensis, are described and illustrated. Phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear nrITS and plastid matK markers placed these two new taxa in distinct phylogenetic clades. Morphologically, the new species are distinguished from closely related taxa by unique combinations of floral characters. Telipogon marietalamae is characterized by its 1-veined ligulate-lanceolate petals, a velvety, basally swollen lip, and dense tufts of stellate column setae with few apical tips, whereas T. puyensis is characterized by a facultatively branched inflorescence and column setae that are hispid from near the middle to the apex. The new species inhabit disturbed or secondary forests and are restricted to the Amazonian piedmont and Andean foothills of Ecuador. Furthermore, T. reventadorensis is treated here as a heterotypic synonym of T. hystrix, based on studies of field populations, and a taxonomic key for all known Ecuadorian miniature Telipogon is generated. These findings highlight the underestimated diversity of miniature Telipogon in the Andean–Amazonian region of Ecuador.