Pleione 3(1): 107 - 109. 2009. © East Himalayan Society for Spermatophyte Taxonomy Oberonia longilabris King & Pantling (Orchidaceae): A new record for Nepal Bhakta B. Raskoti¹ and Lokesh R. Shakya2 2 ¹IUCN Nepal Department of Botany, Amrit Campus, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal E-mail: nibeshshak@gmail.com Abstract Oberonia longilabris King & Pantling (Orchidaceae) in Nepal is reported. Detailed description, illustration and relevant notes are provided. Key words: Oberonia longilabris, New record, Nepal. INTRODUCTION The genus Oberonia Lindley consists of about 350 species in the world and is distributed from East Africa via Midland Asia to Pacific. In the Himalayas the genus Oberonia is represented by 34 species (Shakya 1999). In Nepal the genus is represented by 17 species (Hara et al. 1978; Banerji & Pradhan 1984; Coba et al. 1994; Press et al. 2000; Shakya et al. 2002). King and Pantling (1898) established Oberonia longilabris as distinct taxon. Seidenfaden (1968) and Ansari & Balakrishnan (1990) treated this species as synonym of Oberonia caulescens Lindley. The second author while revising Oberonia of the Himalayas (Shakya 1999) the type specimen (Pantling 227, CAL) and other specimens labeled as Oberonia longilabris deposited at ASSAM were critically studied and compared with its allied species Oberonia caulescens and found that Oberonia longilabris exists as distinct taxon. The gross morphological characters of Oberonia longilabris are similar to Oberonia caulescens, but it can readily be distinguished from the latter in habit, lip and column characters (Table- 1). Table 1. Distinguishing characters of Oberonia longilabris and Oberonia caulescens Characters Oberonia longilabris Habit Lip Acaulescent or subcaulescent Veinless Lateral lobes orbicular, distinct Column Oberonia caulescens Caulescent Faintly 3-veined Lateral lobes orbicular, smaller than in Oberonia longilabris Lobules of the terminal lobe acuminat Lobules of the terminal lobe acute Laterally winged Wingless Recently a species of Oberonia was collected from Satyawati VDC, Ward No. 3, Palpa District, Lumbini zone, Western Nepal, at an altitude of 600 m. On critical study it was identified as Oberonia longilabris. The present report is, therefore, a new record of this species for Nepal and hence an addition to the country’s rich orchid flora. This study also focuses on reinstatement of Oberonia longilabris as a distinct taxon. 108 Oberonia longilabris - a new record for Nepal Fig. 1. Oberonia longilabris King & Pantling. A1 habit, A2 habit; B bract; C flower; D outer three sepals, inner two petals and the lip spread out; E1 column, E2 operculum, E3 pollinia; F fruit. Bhakta B. Raskoti and Lokesh R. Shakya 109 Oberonia longilabris King & Pantling in J. As. Soc. Bengal 64: 330. (1895); Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta 8: 13, pl. 13A [Fig. 1] Plants 5 – 8 cm long, 2.5 – 3.5 cm broad, caespitose, acaulescent or subcaulescent. Leaves 4 – 7, ca. 2.5 – 4.5 x 0.25 – 0.5 cm, distichous, equitant, linear, acute, subfalcate, fleshy. Inflorescence longer than longest leaf; scapes ca. 6.5 – 7.5 cm long, slender, ribbed bracteate; Spikes ca. 3.5-5cm long, flower verticels ca. 4 mm apart. Flowers ca. 2 mm across, bracteate, subsessile, yellow. Bracts ca. 2 x 0.6 mm, slightly exceeding the subsessile ovary, oblong-lanceolate, acute, slightly erose. Sepals similar, ca. 1 x 0.5 mm, ovate, acute, entire. Petals ca. 1 x 0.3 mm, oblong, obtuse, entire. Lips ca. 1.7 x 0.8 mm long, 3-lobed, lateral lobes small, distinct, orbicular, bent upward, entire; mesochile with a small elongated cavity near the column; terminal lobe deeply cleft into two lobules; lobules subtriangular, acuminate, entire, diverging, sinus broad with small subtriangular protuberance. Columns ca. 0.4 mm long, cylindrical, laterally winged. Fruits 0.5 cm long, clavate, pediceled, ribbed. Type: India, Sikkim, Namgah, Pantling 227 (Holotypus- CAL!) Specimen cited: West Nepal, Lumbini zone, Palpa District, Satyawati VDC, Ward No. 3, 600 m, August 2008, Raskoti 147 (TUCH) Flowering: August Altitude: 600 – 1200 m Distribution: India (Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland), Nepal Acknowledgement The second author is grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta for providing facilities to work at Central National Herbarium (CAL), Howrah, India and Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) for financial support to visit India. The Curator of the National Herbarium (KATH) is thankfully acknowledged for allowing us to study herbarium specimens. LITERATURE CITED Ansari, R. & Balkrishnan, N.P. 1990. A Revision of the Indian species of Oberonia. Orchid Monographs vol. 4. Rijksherbarium, Leiden, Nederland. Banerji, M.L. & Pradhan, P. 1984. The Orchids of Nepal Himalaya. J. Cramer, Vaduz. Hara, H.; Stearn, W. T. & Williams, L.H.J.(Eds.) 1978. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal. Vol.-1: British Museum, London. King, G. & Pantling, R. 1898. The Orchids of Sikkim Himalaya. Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta. Koba, H.; Akiyama, S.; Endo, Y. & Ohba, H. 1994 Name List of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Nepal. The University of Tokyo. Material Reports no. 32, Japan. Press, J. R.; Shrestha, K. K. & Sutton, D. A. 2000. Annotated checklist of the Flowering plants of Nepal. The Natural History Museum, London. Seidenfaden, G. 1968. The genus Oberonia in Mainland Asia. Dansk Botanisk Arkiv 25 (3), Denmark. Shakya, L.R. 1999. Revision of the genus Oberonia in the Himalayas, Ph.D. Thesis, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.